#through the soul speaking in the spirit of christ
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Hey guys and girls hopefully day is very sweet in coo!:-) hey will come share musica wed k.
,🙏💛💗🙏💕💋🌻🌹🍁🍃🍵☕🎼🎶🙏😇👼
Light above the earth and within whom God choose to have it. Most are children and people who do seen not strong to some. Others who take spiritually to keep that person in or to surround the with darkness. Really never wanted to understand the light. We aren't going to give up either. God's will for us is not a game.
#strangegirlwithaheart#strangmelodies#musiciscreativityofthesoul#peace be with you💕🎼#godblessinheart#through the soul speaking in the spirit of christ#godblessu inheart💋💕🎶🌹
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With This Ring (5)
Chapter 4 here, Ao3 here
“So. You and Wheeler.”
It was a poor conversation starter, but Steve didn’t blame Eddie. He was still half-convinced he was dreaming anyway, so why not indulge his dead friend with some gossip?
“Eh…yeah. Kinda. I mean, it’s not fully like that?” Technically, if he told Eddie about Nancy’s real partner, it wouldn’t be a breach of trust, would it? He promised not to tell a living soul and Eddie wasn’t technically living. Then again, they were climbing an insane number of stairs towards a menacing tower of some sorts, Steve’s ankle was throbbing in pain and his breath was coming shorter and shorter. “So…we were together. Stuff happened and we’re friends. Great friends. But we really don’t…you know. Don’t want to get married, but our families think it just needs a push. Or a hundred. So now…we’re just stalling. Until her birthday. Which is why I need you to pretend you’re...I don’t know. An evil spirit I accidentally raised and that you’ll let me go in a few days if I fulfill our contract or something. Or that we’re married in the afterlife or something in the meantime so they can’t just drag me and Nancy to the altar. Or both. Preferably both.”
Eddie chuckled and shook his head. His hair was still dark and full of dirt, but at least he managed to wipe his face. Mostly. “Wow. So you’re doing a decent thing then? Saving the damsel from an unwanted marriage? You’re the knight in shining armor on a majestic horse?” There was a prick of irony in his words.
“Sure.” Arguing would have been the right thing to do, but breathing was also nice. Jesus Christ, how many stairs were there? Why was the stupid tower the only way to the world of the living anyway? “Speaking of horses, you happen to see mine somewhere? Because I could use it for this trip to the bloody undead Everest-“
“Dramatic.” With a huff, he helped Steve up another crooked and dangerously high stair. “We do have a few dead horses around, you know. Friendly enough. But no saddles and trust me, those bones are not comfortable. So we’re stuck walking.”
There was nothing left to do but to grit his teeth, force his way through the pain, and pray that they would arrive at their destination soon. “Why the tower though?” Steve asked. “Is there some kind of a magical door? I mean, why is it…”
“In such a stupid place?” Eddie was laughing now and the memory of their lost friendship hurt almost as much as the injured ankle. “I asked the same thing when I arrived here. The thing is, Steve, it’s not a door, it’s a person. And unfortunately for us, that person is a massive recluse with tendencies to see conspiracies left and right. So persuading him to meet us anywhere else is not happening.” Wheezing, he pulled Steve to the last stair and wiped his brow. No sweat, just dirt, but old habits probably died hard. “We’re here.”
And what a “here” it was. The tower was even taller from up close, looming over them like a massive, crooked shadow. The windows glowed sickly green and there was a sweet scent in the air, so unfitting for the eerie atmosphere.
Before Steve could ask what the scent was, Eddie already knocked on the massive door and, to Steve’s astonishment, didn’t even wait for a response before moving back and looking defiantly upwards.
Steve hobbled on to join him. “What are you staring at? A window or…oh.”
“Told you,” shrugged Eddie and pointed at a massive eyeball that turned to examine the visitors. “Lots of security measures, trust issues, all of that. And before you ask, no, I have no idea how he got the eyeball.”
Before Steve could react, a screeching sound assaulted his eardrums. “And I wouldn’t tell you even if you asked, Munson.” The words came from an army-grade loudspeaker mounted onto the tower in a blatant disregard for its impressive age.
As Steve fought the ringing in his ears, the massive eyeball moved to inspect him closer and well, that was disturbing. He’d never seen an iris this vividly blue in his life, and, as he realized when the eye twitched to focus on his face, Steve found himself hoping he would never meet its original owner.
The eye retreated to its position above the door and turned back to Eddie. It seemed weirdly judgmental, for a single eyeball. “That one’s alive. He’s not supposed to be here. Are you out of your mind?!”
Eddie shook his head and gestured towards Steve’s bandaged ankle. “Wasn’t intentional, I swear on my guitar, Murray. Actually, I very much agree with you, Steve here isn’t supposed to be with us yet, but stuff happened and now I really, really need to get him back upstairs. And maybe join him for a brief trip to get some fresh air.” He poked the eye in a misguided attempt to playfully nudge it. “What do you say, oh wise one?”
The loudspeaker roared again, and Steve started wishing he’d packed his earplugs. His migraines had been better recently, not too many and almost bearable, but the high-pitched sound threatened to disturb the status quo. “Very sad. Consider me touched. But I have important things to do, books to sort. Can’t you bother someone else?”
“I’d love to, a wonderful idea! Now if you can just point me to the other creepy tower with all the magical tomes in the underworld, I’ll be on my way. And I have full faith in you not just blowing me off so I don’t have to bring my sweetheart, you remember Murray, the electric guitar you hate so much, so I don’t have to bring her over and serenade you every day at max volume until your skull cracks-“
Steve snickered into his palm. He was injured, hungry, tired beyond belief and engaged to a dead man while his real fiancée faced all the bigotry of American small towns, but he was also having the time of his life. He’d missed Eddie’s confidence, that wide, almost manic smile as he leaned towards the creepy eyeball, challenging it.
“Smartass.” Although the sound was far from ideal, Steve could hear the resignation in Murray’s voice. “Stay there. I’ll come to the door.”
With that, the loudspeaker finally returned to being blissfully quiet.
Eddie stayed still for a moment, making sure the eye could no longer see him, and then broke into a victory dance. “Hell yeah. Persuasion, baby.”
His enthusiasm was as radiant as ever. Steve laughed and started clapping when Eddie finished his twirling in a theatrical bow. “Fantastic work.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” grinned Eddie and leaned against the door, tapping his fingers on the heavy wood. “Getting Murray to open that door is a heroic feat, if I do say so myself.”
“So what’s his story? Did he just drop dead one day and find a perfectly good uninhabited tower here?”
“Errr…no.” Eddie’s hand twitched and he reached to the back of his head, smoothing the hair over the old wound. “The thing with him is – I don’t blame him for being so paranoid. The way you die, it...it’s not easy to get over it, for any of us. And Murray, he was crazy reclusive for most of his life. Then he got into conspiracy theories. He’d jump at every scrap of information he could find, obsessing over it for days. When he was convinced he got it right, he'd go to the Hawkins police.”
A frown furrowed Steve’s forehead. “Let me guess. They never took him seriously.” Just like when you disappeared, he thought with a pang of bitterness.
Eddie nodded. “Bingo. But Murray knew he was right. Or…thought he was. And his biggest revelation was that there was a secret Russian base under the old mall. Starcourt.”
“The one that burned down?” Steve was just a kid during the time of the Starcourt tragedy, but he remembered the smell of smoke, the sirens, missing posters that would gradually turn yellow and brittle. Hawkins never forgot and ever since the mall’s ruins got torn down, no one ever attempted to challenge the variety of specialized shops in the center of the town. The police rookie Jim Hopper emerged as a local hero from that tragedy, but apart from his name, Steve couldn’t remember anyone else connected with it.
Another nod and a scowl this time. “Oh yeah. The thing is – when no one took him seriously, Murray decided to take things into his own hands. You won’t believe this, but the base was real – and Murray snuck in between crates masked as an ice cream delivery. He managed to bluff his way into the base – he speaks Russian, the crazy bastard – and somehow made it to the core of the operations or whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately, that’s where his luck ran out. The head scientist caught him taking a picture as a proof and confronted him.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. To make things even better, the guards in that base thought the scientist was the one who let Murray in, and they shot them both, no questions asked.” Eddie spread his arms for the grand finale. “And so Murray made it here with a bunch of bullet holes in his chest and a new Russian acquaintance who couldn’t speak a word of English and refused to…you know. Not talk. He’s also here. And don’t tell Murray, but I think they’ve become friends. Kind of.”
“…okay. That’s…” Steve was closing and opening his mouth, searching for words. But apart from what the fuck, he couldn’t think of any.
“A lot?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s messed up in so many ways. But that still doesn’t explain the tower.”
As Eddie took a deep breath to continue the story of Murray’s life and death, the heavy door swung open and revealed a balding skeleton. Steve never thought there could even be a balding skeleton, but this one stubbornly held onto his remaining hair and beard, or more precisely, what was left of them. It probably wasn’t a good idea to bring it up. Or the fact that he still wore glasses, even though he had no ears to hang them on.
“Aren’t you a nosy one, Stevie,” he said and stabbed both visitors with a suspicious look.
It might have been menacing to Steve, but Eddie just laughed and took a step forward, patting Murray’s shoulder…blade. Or another bone in that area. “Really, Murray? Of all the people in the world and beyond, would you be the one blaming others for their curiosity? I know you, you’re no hypocrite.”
Their host just shook his head and ushered them both in. “If you know me that well, you can tell the damn story yourself. I’ll have to get the elevator running since your friend here can hardly walk. My office is on the top floor.”
“Oh god. Thank you,” breathed out Steve. He wondered how long his leg would take to heal. Normally he’d be up and running in a few days, but he wasn’t able to give his injury any rest at all.
Murray disregarded his words of thanks, examining the rusty mechanism of a heavy metal platform resting on the first stair. There was a crank handle attached to the handrail and he started slowly moving it, swearing in at least three languages at the resistance it was giving.
“So. The tower,” said Eddie, or rather shouted over the sounds of Murray’s insults and the rusty handle creaking. “There actually was a real...well. An assigned keeper of this tower, even before Murray and Alexei arrived here. He’d refused to move on and safeguarded all this knowledge.”
Murray kicked the stubborn handle. “Hoarded, more like. The old fart refused to share.”
Eddie snickered. “Right. Unfortunately for him, this afterlife works in conditions. If you want to make double sure you move or don’t move on, you set a condition for yourself, as in - I’m not going until I see my wife again. When she dies and arrives here, you...leave. Not sure where, but you continue your journey. Our former lore keeper was very, very old. He set a condition that he thought would never happen.”
Steve was so immersed in the story that he failed to notice that Murray’s efforts started paying off. “What was it?”
“I’ll move on when a man walks on the moon,” wheezed Murray and finally turned the crank enough for the platform to start moving towards them. Or at least that’s what Steve assumed from the screeching sounds from the top of the staircase.
“...but that was years ago?”
Murray nodded and leaned against the ancient wall, tapping his fingers as if he could speed up the machinery. “Right. But no one told him. He was useful to have around, they used to say. I, on the other hand, believe that a man should have all the information. It was unfair that he was kept in the dark.”
“And having a free library full of spells, curses and incantations didn’t hurt either,” muttered Eddie.
Murray graciously decided to ignore him in favor of the platform that finally stopped with a deafening screech in front of them. “You make it sound so easy. You should have seen it when we took over, it was...” The torn muscle next to his eye twitched.
“A mess?” offered Steve.
“A paper tower of Babel more like.” Ushering Steve in with more care than he’d expected of the dead researcher, Murray gestured at Eddie to follow. “Imagine all the spells, curses, incantations, chants, everything magical ever invented, in all languages, fonts, with tons of spelling mistakes and pictograms that you’ve never seen in your life. All of that and no notes on which spell is in which language. And of course, you need to verify if it works before you catalog it.”
Eddie leaned against the rusty railing and crossed his arms. “Wait. That half-dead, fully monstrous bat thing that got caught in Benny’s window? That was yours?”
“Might have been.”
“And the walking candle screeching Latin prayers?”
“That too, but that one was a success.” There was a hint of pride in Murray’s voice, as if anyone should aspire to whatever that experiment was. “I assure you, we have everything under control. Compared to before, I mean. Now, I suggest you close your mouths if you value your tongues intact, just one more turn of that stupid crank, and...”
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH.
“Up we go!” yelled Murray over the sounds that no machine ever should have made.
The “up” was indeed very high up. The platform was moving fairly slowly, but since the tower was so narrow, Steve’s head had started spinning by the time they arrived to their destination. Around halfway up, he’d started wondering if things would be better if he was already dead, but one look at Eddie’s firmly pressed together lips and an even firmer grasp on the rusty railing told him that no, this was an universal experience. Only Murray seemed unaffected, hopping off the platform with an annoying vigor. “Well, come on then. We don’t have all day.”
“I sure hope they have a bucket up here,” muttered Eddie and took a wobbly step down.
Steve could only swallow hard and will his afternoon snack to stay where it was. He clung to Eddie’s shaky frame as he joined the two dead men in a...wow.
The room was massive. Either the tower was so tall the perspective made the top seem so small, or it must have been magically made bigger. Because there were just so. Many. Books. Piles and columns of them were lying all over the room, a massive oak desk included. And on the tallest pile of papers was a massive raven, eyeing the three of them with a menacing expression.
“That’s Alexei,” waved Murray towards his feathered assistant. “Alexei, this is Eddie and Steve.”
Steve watched in amazement how Alexei’s dark wings spread and he swooped down, finding a comfortable spot on Murray’s shoulder. “Uh. Hi, Alexei. I thought...” Steve’s eyes sought Eddie’s for answers.
The other man just shook his head. “Don’t ask me. The last I’ve heard, Alexei was human.”
“Oh, he was.” Murray was trying very hard to appear unbothered by the sudden weight on his shoulder, but the slowness of his movements and the unsuccessful attempt at balancing his hips gave it away. “Until last...uh. May, I think. We were cataloging a fascinating transformative spell. It worked fantastically.”
Against his better judgment, Steve took a step forward and examined Alexei more closely. His feathers were beautiful and dark, save for a ruffled spot on his chest. It bore a disturbing resemblance to the wound on Eddie’s head. “Can’t you turn him back?” he asked.
“Oh, we can,” shrugged Murray,or at leat attempted to. Alexei’s weight didn’t allow much movement in his shoulder. “We just chose not to. His intelligence is intact. And his wings are wonderfully useful in navigating this...chaos.”
“Good. Good with high shelves,” croaked out Alexei. “Murray. Chto eto byl za shum?”
“Etot duratskiy lift.” Noticing Steve and Eddie’s confused expressions, Murray gestured towards the raven. “What? Do you think the scientists in the Soviet Union learn English? Easier for us to learn Russian. Still, he’s made a lot of progress and he understands almost everything, so be careful what you say. Now, what was it that you wanted?”
Suddenly, Eddie didn’t seem so confident. “Uh, yeah. I’d like to send Steve here back upstairs because...you know. He belongs there. And I will accompany him because I...” he trailed off, his eyes focusing on a random pile of old parchments. “I think I’ll be able to move on afterwards.”
That caught Murray’s attention. With a pained huff, he settled Alexei onto the desk, and shook his head. “Are you sure? Because you know how that works. There’s no I think, if you think this is it, we have to do it the proper way. You’ll say the words, go upstairs, do what you need to do and...that’s it.”
Eddie nodded, still avoiding everyone’s gaze. “Yeah, I know. It’s not what I thought it’d be, but...you know. I don’t want to go back down there, waiting for god knows what. So I’ll take that chance.”
“Wait wait wait.” Steve grasped Eddie’s shoulder, shaking him hard enough to force his eyes back to him. “What do you mean? Care to enlighten me?”
“None of your actual business, Harrington,” he snapped and moved to the side, out of Steve’s reach.
“It kind of is. He’s helping you do it, after all.” Murray started rummaging through his desk, trying and tossing away a bunch of dried out ball pens. “Those conditions Eddie mentioned before? Just saying it isn’t enough, you sign a contract if you want it to be binding. Even if what you end up doing doesn’t fill that emptiness, you are obliged to go. And it seems that Eddie’s ready.”
“Is he now?”
Several things happened at once. Murray dropped a fistful of pens and pencils, Steve turned around so quickly he lost his balance and had to lean against the desk, Eddie forgot to be mad at Steve and reached out to stabilize him...
And Alexei calmly tilted his head, nodding at the new arrival. “Bob.”
“Hi, long time no see.” He waved his hand, the healthy looking one, if that can be said about a corpse. “The door was open, so I let myself in.”
Murray shot him a nasty look. “It wasn’t open.”
Bob’s smile was unflinching and innocent. “It wasn’t locked properly enough. Now, I’ve come to volunteer to speed up the spell sorting, there’s little to do around here otherwise and I’m bored out of my mind. I offer several languages, a knack for puzzle solving and...” he reached into his shoulder bag, “a bribe for the master of the house.”
In his hand was a jar of cherries.
Murray’s expression was not amused. “You’re joking.”
“Only partially.” With one more rummage through his bag, Bob produced a bottle of vodka. “Better?”
The researcher’s face split into a wide grin. “Absolutely. You’re hired, but I’m watching you.” The bottle disappeared behind his desk so fast it seemed like a magic trick. Now...to our lovebirds here. Are you ready to sign, Eddie?”
“Sure fucking am,” he muttered, taking a step forward. “My terms are: I record my music and send it to my contact, Craig in Indianapolis, with potential royalties, rights, whatever...to Wayne. When it reaches him, I can go. Good enough?”
Murray nodded, scribbling down the conditions. “Good. Sign here and then we can proceed with the teleportation spell. Alexei, can you please fetch-”
“Cherry,” the raven croaked and pecked at Murray’s shoulder.
This apparently wasn’t a new conversation for them. Murray didn’t seem surprised, only mildly annoyed. He rubbed his eyes and gestured towards the massive bookcase. “Get the damn book, will you? And then you’ll get your cherry.”
Alexei shook his head, the black feathers shining in the lamplight. “No cherry, no deal.”
“See what I have to work with?! Extortion, that’s what this is.” Despite his grumbling and complaints, Murray quickly opened the jar of cherries and tossed one towards Alexei. He immediately gobbled it down and blinked at his annoyed undead friend.
Stretching his wings, he prepared for a takeoff. “Good cherry. What shelf?” he asked Murray.
With a bony finger stabbed in the massive list on his desk, he pointed towards his left, way too high for anyone without a ladder to reach. “Section 21, shelf G, dark green, contained mold stains. Plane traversal and the issue of materialization.”
Alexei croaked in response. With a strong flap of his wings, he rose from the desk and scattered around several parchments. Before Murray could gather all of them and finish his string of curses, the raven was back, the book in his talons. “Not right. Shelf F,” he pointed his beak accusingly at the offending bookcase.
Murray scratched out a part of his long list. “Noted. OK, so...short term revival spells, transportation between planes of existence, portals...”
“Are there long term revival spells too?” asked Steve. He went for an uninterested tone, but his heart was beating like crazy. Maybe this library could save Eddie where he’d failed. He could see Wayne again, could conquer the world with his music. Maybe with the right book, the right spell, he could-
“Sure are,” snickered Murray, still buried nose deep in the book. “Plenty of them, a bunch per every culture. The thing is - they’re either risky as hell, bringing back zombies, skeletons and all that, not the local ones but nasty, soulless creatures. Or they require some really ugly sacrifices. No one here would even dare to ask for such a spell, believe me. It’s the one good rule that’s worth keeping, try to move on, not back. Even though I see where you’re coming from,” he added, not unkindly.
Steve’s chest felt heavy with desperation. He wasn’t the sharpest one, sure, but still...what good was all that knowledge when it couldn’t even save one single person?
He only realized he said it out loud when Alexei landed next to him and nudged his shoulder with his beak, which was equally comforting and weird. “Not fair. But trying to make it fair...er.”
Murray only shrugged his shoulders. “What he said. As much as we’d love to unleash every single curse here no matter the consequences, we have a certain responsibility. Now, if Eddie’s done signing...let me send you up. We’ll come collect you when the contract is fulfilled. You should take your friend with you, just in case something goes wrong.”
Steve frowned at him, confused. “But…I’m going already?”
Bob laughed and poked Eddie’s shoulder. “The other friend. You really suck at introductions, Eddie.”
“He was sleeping,” grumbled Eddie, but he opened his jacket and gently removed something small and fluffy from his chest pocket. Something that looked…like a bat.
The bat squeaked at Eddie and it sounded delightfully annoyed. It nuzzled into Eddie’s palm and Steve could just imagine the tiny creature slapping a ringing alarm clock, forcing it to let it sleep for five more minutes.
Eddie extended his hand towards Steve. “This is Ozzy. He understands everything, he’s probably smarter than both of us. But he doesn’t like to speak.”
Steve shook his head in disbelief. Reanimated dead, short trips between planes or whatever that was, a corpse town underneath Hawkins, talking cats, Russian scientists turned into ravens, and now a smart bat who refuses to speak? Sure.
Murray gleefully ignored Steve’s inner turmoil. “That should do it. Ready?”
Steve opened his mouth to protest, but Eddie simply nodded. “Yeah. Let’s breathe some fresh air.”
With a snap of Murray’s fingers and an incantation in a long dead language, they were gone.
When the dust settled on the creaky floor of the tower, Bob smiled at the disgruntled researcher and stretched his hands. “Now, shall we start? We have a lot to do.”
Chapter 6 here
#steve harrington#stranger things#eddie munson#steddie#steddie au#steddie fanfiction#corpse bride au#corpse groom eddie#steddie big bang 2023
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please pray for me. This is too unbearable and there is no respite in sight
Of course, I'm so very sorry that you're struggling right now. I pray that God will send you the comfort and strength that you need. If you can, I would also recommend taking some time each day to read some Psalms. The Psalms have a lot of prayers that really speak to being in this condition, and I hope that they will be of some comfort to you.
Under the readmore, I will include some other prayers that you might benefit from. If you can, each day try and pray one or two prayers that really resonate with you. If at times, these prayers are too long for you. Then try your best to pray 'Lord, have mercy' or 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner'. When I am in a lot of distress, I find saying the Jesus prayer as I fall asleep (or during times of great pain or anxiety) to be of some comfort. And I hope it can be of comfort to you. There are audio recordings of the Jesus prayer on Youtube and Spotify, that you could always play if that would help you.
Prayer for Mental Health
O Master, Lord my God, in Whose hands is my destiny: Help me according to Thy mercy, and leave me not to perish in my transgressions, nor allow me to follow them who place desires of the flesh over those of the spirit. I am Thy creation; disdain not the work of Thy hands. Turn not away; be compassionate and humiliate me not, neither scorn me, O Lord, as I am weak. I have fled unto Thee as my Protector and God. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. Save me for Thy mercy's sake, for I have cleaved unto Thee from my youth; let me who seeks Thee not be put to shame by being rejected by Thee for mine unclean actions, unseemly thoughts, and unprofitable remembrances. Drive away from me every filthy thing and excess of evil. For Thou alone art holy, alone mighty, and alone immortal, in all things having unexcelled might, which, through Thee, is given to all that strive against the devil and the might of his armies. For unto Thee is due all glory, honor and worship: To the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer for Healing
O Christ, Who alone art our Defender: Visit and heal Thy suffering servants, delivering them from sickness and grievous pains. Raise them up that they may sing to Thee and praise Thee without ceasing, through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.
Prayer to the Theotokos for Healing
Where bitter sorrows overcome us, there will Patience and Rest be revealed.
Where the torment of despair dwells in the soul, there will shine the ineffable Light of Divinity!
Console the fainthearted, strengthen the weak, bestow softening and enlightenment upon embittered hearts. Heal Thine ailing people, O All-merciful Queen!
Bless the minds and hands of our physicians, that they might serve as instruments of the All-powerful Physician, Christ our Savior.
We pray before Thine Icon, that Thou mightest truly live with us, O Sovereign Lady!
Stretch out Thine hands, filled with healing and cures, O Joy of the sorrowful, Consolation in afflictions, that having speedily received miraculous help, we may glorify the Life-creating and Undivided Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
Healing Prayer of Saint Ambrose of Milan
Thee alone I follow, Lord Jesus, Who heals my wounds. For what shall separate me from the love of God, which is in Thee? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine? I am held fast as though by nails, and fettered by the bonds of charity. Remove from me, O Lord Jesus, with Thy potent sword, the corruption of my sins. Secure me in the bonds of Thy love; cut away what is corrupt in me. Come quickly and make an end of my many, my hidden and secret afflictions. Open the wound lest the evil humor spread. With Thy new washing, cleanse in me all that is stained. Hear me, you earthly men, who in your sins bring forth drunken thoughts: I have found a Physician. He dwells in Heaven and distributes His healing on earth. He alone can heal my pains Who Himself has none. He alone Who knows what is hidden can take away the grief of my heart, the fear of my soul: Jesus Christ. Christ is grace! Christ is life! Christ is Resurrection! Amen.
Prayer to the Mother of God in a Time of Distress
O my beloved Queen, my hope, O Mother of God, protector of orphans and protector of those who are hurt, the savior of those who perish and the consolation of all those who are in distress, thou seest my misery, thou seest my sorrow and my loneliness. Help me—I am powerless; give me strength. Thou knowest what I suffer, thou knowest my grief: Lend me thy hand, for who else can be my hope but thee, my protector and my intercessor before God? I have sinned before thee and before all people. Be my Mother, my consoler, my helper. Protect me and save me, chase grief away from me, chase my lowness of heart and my despondency. Help me, O Mother of my God!
Prayer against Passions, Torments, Despair and Distress
Waves of passion disturb my spirit, great sadness and anguish have overwhelmed my soul. Embalm my soul with Thy Son's peace, O Most Holy One, and by His Grace drive away every doubt and despair. Calm the storm of my sins that, like a fiery worm, burn me, and quench its flame. Fill my heart with joy, O Most Pure One, and disperse the fog of my iniquities before me, for it confuses me. Illumine me with the light of Thy Son. Helpless is my soul, and everything is cumbersome, even prayer. Here I am, cold as a stone, my lips whispering prayers, while my heart remains immovable, for it is smothered in anguish. Melt the ice which envelops my soul and warm my heart with Thy love.
I rely not on human protection, but fall down before Thee, O Most Pure Sovereign Mother of God; reject me not, but hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant. Sadness has overcome me; I can endure the demonic attack no more. I have no protection; there is no shelter for this poor man, and in this battle I am ever being wounded. I have no consolation, but in Thee, O Holy Sovereign. O Hope and Protection of all who believe, reject not my prayer.
O Most Holy Mother of Christ, Most Pure, Most Blessed Theotokos, Satan is pounding at me like the waves of the sea against a ship, pursuing me by day and tormenting me at night. I have no peace; turbulent is my soul, my spirit trembles. Hearken, O Most Holy One and help me. Intercede before the dear Lord that He may have mercy on me and forgive the sins I have committed. O Most Holy Mother of Jesus, Thy grace is great, and the mightiest opponent to the powers of Hades. Thou art able to save even the greatest of sinners who, having been cast into the depths of hell by unclean powers, should call upon Thee. So too, save me, for lo, Satan will have me stumble and will destroy my faith, but I trust in the Lord. I magnify Thee, Who art more holy than the Cherubim and the Seraphim.
Amen.
Guardian Angel Prayers for Protection
O Angel of God, my Holy Guardian, safeguard my life in the fear of Christ the God, set my mind on the right path, and strengthen my soul in the love of God. Guide me that I may receive a great mercy from Christ the God.
O Holy Angel, standing by my miserable soul and by my life affected by passions: Leave me not alone, nor depart from me because of my intemperance. Leave no chance to the crafty demon to get hold of me by overpowering this mortal flesh of mine. Strengthen my miserable and feeble hand, and set me upon the path of salvation. Yea, O Holy Angel of God, the guardian and protector of my miserable soul and body: Forgive me everything whereinsoever I have offended thee in all the days of my life; And if I have committed any sin during the last night, protect me during the coming day; And save me from every temptation of the adversary so that with no sin of mine should I incur the anger of God. Pray to God for me that He may fortify me in the fear of Him, and make me a servant worthy of His kindness.
Amen.
Prayers for yourself in sickness
O Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, the Physician of our souls and bodies, Who didst become Man and suffer death on the Cross for our salvation, and through Thy tender love and compassion didst heal all manner of sickness and affliction: do Thou, O Lord, visit me in my suffering, and grant me grace and strength to bear this sickness with which I am afflicted, with Christian patience and submission to Thy will, trusting in Thy lovingkindness and tender mercy. Bless, I pray Thee, the means used for my recovery, and those who administer them. I know, O Lord, that I justly deserve any punishment Thou mayest inflict upon me, for I have so often offended Thee and sinned against Thee in thought, word, and deed. Therefore, I humbly pray to Thee, look upon my weakness, and deal not with me according to my sins, but according to the multitude of Thy mercies. Have compassion on me, and let mercy and justice meet; and deliver me from the sickness and suffering I am undergoing. Grant that my sickness may be the means of my true repentance and amendment of my life according to Thy will, that I may spend the rest of my days in Thy love and fear; that my soul, being helped by Thy grace and sanctified by Thy holy mysteries, may be prepared for its transition to the eternal life and there, in the company of Thy blessed saints, may praise and glorify Thee with Thy Eternal Father and Life-giving Spirit. Amen.
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O Holy Father, heavenly Physician of the body and soul, Who hast sent Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to heal ailments and deliver us from death; do Thou heal me, Thy servant, of all suffering, and restore me to health by the grace of Thy Divine Son, through the intercessions of our Most Holy Queen Ever-virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and all the saints. For Thou art the Fountain of all cure, O Lord, and we give thanks to Thee, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayers to Saint Dymphna
Good Saint Dymphna, great wonder-worker in every affliction of mind and body, I humbly implore your powerful intercession with Jesus through Mary, the Health of the Sick, in my present need. (Mention it.) Saint Dymphna, martyr of purity, patroness of those who suffer with nervous and mental afflictions, beloved child of Jesus and Mary, pray to Them for me and obtain my request.
(Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.)
Saint Dymphna, Virgin and Martyr, pray for us.
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I turn to you, dear virgin and martyr, confident of your power with God and of your willingness to take my cause into your hands. I praise and bless the Lord for giving you to us as patron of the nervous and emotionally disturbed. I firmly hope that through your kind intercession He will restore my lost serenity and peace of mind. May He speak to my heart and reassure me: "My peace I give you. Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid." Pray for me, dear St. Dymphna, that my nervous and emotional turmoil may cease, and that I may again know serenity and personal peace.
Amen.
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I appeal to you in my illness, dear St. Dymphna. I would be so grateful for a total and happy recovery, for the blessed gift of health in every fiber of my being. May the Lord Jesus, who mercifully healed the sick during His earthly days, have pity on me and make me well again. Ask Him to command sickness to depart and grant me a full measure of health, that I may rejoice in giving Him glory and praise.
Amen.
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Glorious St. Dymphna, you are the patron of the nervous and emotionally disturbed. I am certain, however, that your charity embraces everyone. I am certain that you lend a listening ear to any prayer offered for any special need. You will, I am sure, take my problem to heart and pray for me that it may be happily settled. (Here
mention your special problem or difficulty.) You will plead for me and obtain the help I need. Already I offer you my sincere and grateful thanks, so great is my confidence that God will hear and answer your prayers.
Amen.
St. Dymphna, Virgin and Martyr, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, patron of nervous and emotional illnesses, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, crowned for the glory in heaven, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, faithful to your covenant with Christ, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, precious in the eyes of the Lord, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, our helper in every need, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, our friend at heave's court, pray for us.
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When soil gets dry, it cracks and crumbles, and grass stops growing on it. A little water runs quickly to the deep ground, leaving the soil thirsting for more. It takes a mighty rain to quench the thirst of dry soil.
So too, is our thirst for God when we seek Him with all of our heart and soul. Everyday, we must long to drink in His goodness and be nourished, so that life may abound where we are. May God pour out His light and love on us, so that we may be filled throughout our being, re-nourished, refreshed and restored by His Holy Word and Spirit. May He use us to bring forth new and vibrant life from the soil of our lives. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for the wisdom of His Holy Word and Spirit. May He help us to make time to listen to Him, so that we may be continuously learning and always growing spiritually. May He increase our humility and wisdom, so that we may humble ourselves and seek Him daily and know Him better. May He bridle our tongues and help us to speak wisely also, so that we may speak with truth and discernment when He leads us to speak. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him, and for the life-giving presence of His Holy Word and Spirit. May He give us strength, so that we might cling to Him and receive nourishment from Him through prayer and His Holy Word. And as we grow spiritually daily, may He work through us and use us to produce an abundant harvest for His glory.
To God and His Kingdom of Heaven be all the honor and praise and glory! Seek, follow and trust in Him - ALWAYS! AMEN!
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The historical Spiritualism vs Modern New Ageism
The word “Spiritualist” is thrown around quite frequently on the Internet as a catch-all term for Pagans,Occultists and Folk practitioners. However, the term is not an umbrella term at all, and actually originates from the Spiritualist movement of the 1800s.
The Spiritualist movement is said to have been deeply inspired by the Theologian Emanuel Swedenborg who wrote "The Heavenly Doctrine", after supposedly receiving a vision from Jesus Christ himself, illustrating the nature of the afterlife, and that all good souls live together regardless of Faith. This universalist perspective was widely rejected by the majority of Christendom but gained traction with various groups such as the Quakers and Shakers and created the foundation of radical acceptance that spiritualism would be known for.
The Spiritualist movement can be accredited to the Fox sisters in the mid-late 1840s, a group of sisters who claimed mediumistic abilities who had physical evidence that they could communicate with spirits on the other side. In fact, the day I am writing this, is considered the day Spiritualism really emerged. March 31st 1848 Hydesville New York, the three sisters established a channel with the dead, with a spirit that communicated through “rapping” or tapping on wood rhythmically and systemically.
This religious movement would grow because of the radical foundation of equality, abolitionism, and a feminism so profound, suffragettes even found them intolerable.
Catching the eyes of disenfranchised Quakers early on who felt their church had not done enough in the way of women's rights, abolitionism and genuine community care, many Quakers were smitten with the structure, ideologies and practices of the movement. Women at the time we're not permitted to speak in public, let alone lead a religious service or be spiritual community leaders of any kind, In the spiritualist church, the majority of trance speakers (working class young girls who would do public speaking on various topics possessed by the spirits of the dead), mediums and faith healers were all female.
Along with female spiritual leaders, the worship style of the Spiritualist tradition was loose, and they organized in learning circles known as Lyceums. Some Spiritualists did create active Ministry, with full churches, holidays, and baptisms and you can even find old hymnals from the churches online.
This egalitarian attitude towards women, a genuine and consistent track record with the pursuit of equality in gender relations garnered a poor reputation among the greater population.
Along with its incredibly abolitionist narrative, and an earnest pinning for racial equality and the end of slavery in the US. Spiritualism was one of the first religious institutions in the Americas to seek to make the conditions of Indigenous Americans better. Spiritualists claimed to see native American spirits at their seances who were embittered and distraught with their displacement and the poor treatment of their ancestors. The spiritualist church sought to rectify this.
Characterized by the belief in the ability to communicate with the dead, and radical equality, You can see why the religion did not take off.
The doctrine of spiritualism was formed largely through mediumship and the interrogation of various spirits and entities from the other side as the "ministry of angels" was paramount to its development. Ideas such as reincarnation, faith healing and the ability to see the future became integral aspects of the Religion.
Offshoots of the religion continue to exist to this day particularly through Spiritism or Kardecism, a branch of spiritualism that sought out to reconcile Christian dogma and belief with a spiritualist conception of reality. This form of spiritualism became especially prominent in the Caribbean and Latin America and is known as Espiritismo. Spiritualist doctrine found itself quite amenable to Latin American and Black Diasporic beliefs and was easily folded into religions and beliefs already centered in the veneration of the dead and those who came before.
Spiritualism in layman's terms is a coming home to the plurality of the divine.
Spiritualism was despised by the likes of the Theosophical Society and Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn. Helena Blavatsky in particular, a co-founder of the Theosophical Society disliked it in particular and spoke strongly against the religion.
Interestingly, the modern-day New age movement, while borrowing to a degree from spiritualism regarding especially terms such as Spirit Guide and Spirit Team, takes very little from actual Spiritualist or Spiritist dogma and lends itself more to Theosophy which is about the reappropriation of Eastern philosophy and mysticism through a western lens and New Thought Christianity.
This movement wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the Reformation taking place at the time which is where a schism between the social attitudes of culture and society were at odds with what the church could deliver at the time.
As stated earlier, remnants of the church do remain despite the brevity of practice such as the National Spiritualist Association, International Spiritualist Federation, Spiritualist National Union and Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ.
So I ask again, are you really a Spiritualist?
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What does Jesus and the Bible teach about being a “good Christian”?
at the request of @iridescent-glass-bubbles, i wrote some scriptural advice. and i apologize for being long winded, but i wanted the verses to do a lot of the talking 😂🙏
The most important thing in learning to set a good example as a Christian is to continually read God’s Word.
Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know Me,” (NLT). And in the KJV, it says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” It means, how can we know God and His ways if we’re not actively reading about them? It’s much easier to be confused and led astray when you’re not familiar with what He’s said and how He works. (If you can read a novel, you can read Matthew or John or Romans.)
Similarly, what you’re constantly focusing on will affect how you think and act. Jesus says, “But the words you speak come from the heart- that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander,” (Matthew 15:18). This is why Paul says in Colossians 3:2, “Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth.” And in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Fill up your heart with things of the Lord, and that’s when your actions will start to follow.
As for how Jesus wants us to act, it’s all through the New Testament, especially His “Sermon on the Mount” speech in Matthew. Among some are: don’t hate anyone (5:21-22), don’t seek revenge (5:38-42), love and be kind to those who hate you (5:43-48), forgive everyone without holding a grudge (6:14-5), and don’t let pride convince you you’re better than everyone else (7:1-5). He says in Matthew 22:37-38, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” The Golden Rule: treat others the way you’d want to be treated, is actually from the Bible (in Matthew 7:12).
A good summary is found in Colossians 3:12-15 which says, “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with Love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.” (Also see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23).
Jesus didn’t just teach these things, He lived them. Every account of a situation He was in is an example of how He honored these principles.
It sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? The truth is we aren’t capable of being perfect examples of Christ. We mess up all the time. But the Holy Spirit can help us with these things. Jesus wants to grow us into bright lights that shine His love on everyone, but we need to be willing. I didn’t see that much change in myself until i started regularly reading the Bible and thinking on how He wanted me to act. And then i started putting in the effort to obey, and He provided the increase.
We can’t be “good Christians” if we’re relying only on our own efforts. But we’re called to listen to and obey the Lord and He will change us more and more into His image. As Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work in you, will continue his work until it is finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” So let God’s promises fill you with peace, stand for the truth, and love others even in difficult situations. 💙
#christianity#jesus christ#God#bible verse#bible scripture#faithstuff#religion#the bible#apologetics#10 asks#my writing
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True Vine
by Andrew Murray
"I Am the True Vine."
– John 15:1
All earthly things are the shadows of heavenly realities—the expression, in created, visible forms, of the invisible glory of God. The Life and the Truth are in Heaven; on earth we have figures and shadows of the heavenly truths. When Jesus says: “I am the true Vine,” He tells us that all the vines of earth are pictures and emblems of Himself. He is the divine reality, of which they are the created expression. They all point to Him, and preach Him, and reveal Him. If you would know Jesus, study the vine.
How many eyes have gazed on and admired a great vine with its beautiful fruit. Come and gaze on the heavenly Vine till your eye turns from all else to admire Him. How many, in a sunny clime, sit and rest under the shadow of a vine. Come and be still under the shadow of the true Vine, and rest under it from the heat of the day. What countless numbers rejoice in the fruit of the vine! Come, and take, and eat of the heavenly fruit of the true Vine, and let your soul say: “I sat under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.”
I am the true Vine.—This is a heavenly mystery. The earthly vine can teach you much about this Vine of Heaven. Many interesting and beautiful points of comparison suggest themselves, and help us to get conceptions of what Christ meant. But such thoughts do not teach us to know what the heavenly Vine really is, in its cooling shade, and its life-giving fruit. The experience of this is part of the hidden mystery, which none but Jesus Himself, by His Holy Spirit, can unfold and impart.
I am the true Vine.—The vine is the living Lord, who Himself speaks, and gives, and works all that He has for us. If you would know the meaning and power of that word, do not think to find it by thought or study; these may help to show you what you must get from Him to awaken desire and hope and prayer, but they cannot show you the Vine. Jesus alone can reveal Himself. He gives His Holy Spirit to open the eyes to gaze upon Himself, to open the heart to receive Himself. He must Himself speak the word to you and me.
I am the true Vine.—And what am I to do, if I want the mystery, in all its heavenly beauty and blessing, opened up to me? With what you already know of the parable, bow down and be still, worship and wait, until the divine Word enters your heart, and you feel His holy presence with you, and in you. The overshadowing of His holy love will give you the perfect calm and rest of knowing that the Vine will do all.
I am the true Vine.—He who speaks is God, in His infinite power able to enter into us. He is man, one with us. He is the crucified One, who won a perfect righteousness and a divine life for us through His death. He is the glorified One, who from the throne gives His Spirit to make His presence real and true. He speaks—oh, listen, not to His words only, but to Himself, as He whispers secretly day by day: “I am the true Vine! All that the Vine can ever be to its branch, “I will be to you.”
Holy Lord Jesus, the heavenly Vine of God’s own planting, I beseech Thee, reveal Thyself to my soul. Let the Holy Spirit, not only in thought, but in experience, give me to know all that Thou, the Son of God, art to me as the true Vine.
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Saints &Reading: Wednesday, February 21, 2024
february 8_february 21
E PROPHET ZECHARIAH (ZAKHARIAH) THE SICKLE-SEER FROM AMONGST THE 12MINOR PROPHETS (520 BC)
The Prophet Zachariah the Sickle-Seer the eleventh of the twelve Minor Prophets. He was descended from the tribe of Levi, and seems to have been a priest (Nehemiah 12:4,16). He was called to prophetic service at a young age and became, in the wondrous expression of church hymnology, “a spectator of supra-worldly visions.”
The Book of the Prophet Zachariah contains inspired details about the coming of the Messiah (Zach 6:12); about the last days of the Savior’s earthly life, about the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem on a young donkey (Zach 9:9); about the betrayal of the Lord for thirty pieces of silver and the purchase of the potter’s field with them (Zach 11:12-13); about the piercing of the Savior’s side (Zach 12:10); about the scattering of the apostles from the Garden of Gethsemane (Zach 13:7); about the eclipse of the sun at the time of the Crucifixion (Zach 14:6-7).
“Enlightened by dawnings all above,” the Prophet Zachariah, “saw the future as it were the present.” According to Tradition, this “most true God-proclaimer” lived to old age and was buried near Jerusalem, beside his illustrious contemporary and companion, the Prophet Haggai (December 16). The title “Sickle-Seer” given Zachariah comes from a vision in which he saw a sickle flying in the air, destroying thieves and perjurors (Zach 5:1-3).
The holy Prophet Zachariah died around 520 B.C. His tomb was discovered in 415 in a village near Eleutheropolis (Sozomen, Hist. Eccles. VI:32, IX:17). At the prophet’s feet was the body of a child dressed in royal accouterments. His holy relics were transferred to the church of Saint James the Brother of the Lord (October 23) in Constantinople.
1 PETER 4:1-11
1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
MARK 12:28-37
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him. 35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' 37 Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son? And the common people heard Him gladly.
#orthodoxy#orthodoxchristianity#easternorthodoxchurch#originofchristianity#spirituality#holyscriptures#gospel#bible#wisdom#saints
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Have you ever been through heartbreak? What does it feel like for you? How do you get over it?
Oh yes, for sure! Definitely. Man, it's so tough, right? I hate it. However, I lean into it. I don't shy away from pain or numb it or medicate it or drink it away, etc. I feel it, I process it, I pray through it, I bring it to the Lord in tears and contrition. I want to feel it, get through it, heal from it. Let it take its time. The process of heartbreak/heartache and getting through those seasons and coming through it will make you tenderized, wise, tenacious, and closer to the Lord (He is near to the brokenhearted; He is well acquainted with sorrows, all of this in His Word).
I have been through some very heavy things in life, some of the worst things you can imagine that people go through. I don't say this as a brag because that would be weird, but some of the top things in life that can cause great, great grief I have experienced. It is what has led me closer to the Lord. I thank God for being drawn closer to Him. How do I get through it, besides time and prayer? Daily in His Word, I read a few chapters a day and read through the Bible continuously starting in Genesis and finishing in Revelation. His Word transforms our minds and thinking and our hearts. I need Him. I also write, I write out my griefs and my prayers. I pray for those who have hurt me. When I pray for them it softens my heart towards them and I know I need to (and actually grow in desiring to) extend the grace that I have been forgiven with. How can I withhold that which I have been given in Christ?
I turn to those I love for prayer and for processing through things in trustful conversation. I have a small circle but it is greatly treasured–don't settle when it comes to having a close, small tight circle with those who truly love the Lord and love you. I haven't always had that, but when it comes and you have kindred spirits in your life that care about you (and most importantly they truly know the Lord! I've just had so many lukewarm friends that were not really living out things biblically/truly following Christ), it is healing in and of itself. Well, it contributes to the healing. It's hard to find though. True Christians are getting harder and harder to come by, but they are there–it may just take some time. And in those lonely times the Lord was my Everything, my best friend, my husband, my confidant, my Savior, the very One keeping me alive and facing another day despite my heart being broken on the floor and stomped on in a thousand pieces. I have been greatly hurt by those I loved the most, and that stings, but it got my eyes on Christ. I don't look for fullness in frail human beings. Fellowship and friendship and relationships are beautiful, but they cannot ultimately save us.
If you are going through heartache, may the Lord heal you in His timing, will, and way. Lord, please be with this soul and comfort them and lead them to portions in Your Word that speak to the wound they are carrying. Lord, comfort them and be with them, Your Word, Your presence, and Your Spirit are a balm to the brokenhearted and staggering in strength. Keep them and hold them, I pray. Heal them and provide beautiful relationships that honor you in time I pray, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen. We trust you, Lord, we love You and we need You. Please heal the broken places and spaces.
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I am Anchored In Christ
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK
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+ Job 42:2: “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
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VERSE OF THE DAY
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+ Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **
I AM SETTLED
I AM AT PEACE
GOD IS MY PEACE
GOD IS LOVE
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THOUGHTS:
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When you see the ocean, a lot of times, you see the waves move back and forth, and it's such a beautiful sight. I love going to the beach and just watching it go; I have said this before: my parents always took us to the beach and spent hours there. I'm like a fish in the water, but sometimes, the waves can be a bit much if you are not used to swimming. You get pulled here and there because the force of the ocean is brutal. We, as humans, can try to control everything. We can try to control what our eye color is, and we can try to control animals on farms and such, but we can't control the ocean and beaches because those are something we can't tame.
As much as we humans try to tame everything, we can’t do that. But as we go through life, we will encounter many different religions: Buddhist, Muslim, Hinduism, Catholicism, etc. But we have to always be ready and grounded in ourselves to know what's the truth. The truth of God will always stand. These other religions will continue to grow and try to change the doctrine of God, but they can't because God's word will always stand.
When we are confused about where we are in life or why we believe in Christ, when we are tossed back and forth by the waves and blown by situations of life, sometimes this only happens with infants in the word of God because when we are mature not how long you have been a Christian no no my friends but when you are mature you have been through the season. You still cry out to God through your bad days and pray through tough times. You never doubt that you are a faithful, mature Christian; when you get this way, you are mature.
When people in life try to tell you why Jesus isn't the Messiah and why his word shouldn't stand in your life, you're able to say that greater is he that in the world that I walk by faith and not by sight, we walk in the word of God because we believe what it tells us. We believe that the word is living and can pierce to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart".
See, we become stronger when we walk in God’s strength and not our strength. Christ is the beginning and the end; what he starts in you will always manifest into something good when we keep our hand in God!
Life can happen, sure, sickness may come, sure, but the word of God won't fade. " Hebrews 13:9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.”
The Bible tells us again not to be led away by strange teachings. See, people know we will change if they keep talking and we keep allowing ourselves to listen. It doesn't matter if it's a little bit. It happens. We have to be careful what we listen to because when we listen to things that don't align with the Bible, we start to say maybe they are correct.
Hence, the enemy needs a foot and a small opening, and once he's in, he's in, and he will begin to fool you into something different. God wants us to understand today, friends, that life is what we allow him to make for us. If we allow ourselves to rest on the enemy's schemes, that is all we will know. When we allow ourselves to become more open to the things of the enemy, that's all we can think and speak about.
When we allow the word of God to plant itself in us, and we allow the Holy Spirit to stand and rest in us, we no longer have to worry about being in the ocean waves and being tossed around; we will hold on to God and no matter how rough that water get God will be there always to safeguard our life!!
*** Today, we learned that when our mind is going back and forth and we aren’t settled, we must look at what’s going on in us, what we are allowing in our presence to affect our mind. See, our mind always needs something to anchor to. We must figure out who or what we are doing that with. Are we allowing God to be our anchor, or are we allowing the world to be our anchor?
The word of God will change everything in our lives mentally and emotionally, but the world will change that, too. But it’s a difference when we allow God to purify our hearts, minds, and views on life for the better. He doesn’t make us double-minded; he makes us settle. We, as believers, must strive to be settled in God every day. Allow God to cease the waves in your life today. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee
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PRAYER
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Heavenly Father, thank you for today, being our anchor and saving us from this world and ourselves. Lord, please make us settled in our minds, and please make us settled in our lives. Please help us to apply this word to our lives. Lord, if there is anything that’s making us unsettled, please change it and remove it. If there are any ideas and things we have gathered from this world that are not of you, please change them. Lord, we bind anything trying to attach itself to us; lord, we ask you to bring peace to our minds. In Jesus' Name Amen
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REFERENCES
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+ Hebrews 13:9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
+ 1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature
+ 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
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FURTHER READINGS
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Proverbs 29
Isaiah 22
2 Kings 19
Galatians 4
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#bible#bible quotes#christian quote#daily devotion#daily devotional#inspiration#scripture#bible verse#christian life#christan life
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An excerpt from My Life in Christ, the spiritual diary of St. John of Kronstadt:
How is it that the saints see us and our needs and hear our prayers? Let us make the following comparison: Suppose that you were transplanted to the sun and were united to it. The sun lights the whole earth with its rays, it lights every particle of the earth. In these rays you also see the earth, but you are so small in proportion to the sun, that you would form, so to say, but one ray, and there are an infinite number of such rays. By its identity with the sun this ray takes an intimate part in lighting the whole world through the sun. So also the saintly soul, having become united to God, as to its spiritual sun, sees, through the medium of its spiritual sun, which lights the whole universe, all men and the needs of those that pray.
Have you learned to see God and represent Him to yourself—as the omnipresent Wisdom, as the living, acting Word, as the vivifying Holy Spirit? The Holy Scripture is the domain of Wisdom, Word and Spirit, of God in the Trinity: in it He clearly manifests Himself: "The Words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life," said the Lord. The writings of the Holy Fathers are again the expression of the Mind, Word and Spirit of the Holy Trinity, in which the spirit of the higher class (spiritually speaking) of mankind has largely participated; the writings of ordinary worldly men are the expression of the fallen spirit of men, with all their sinful attachments, habits and passions. In the Holy Scriptures we see God face to face, and ourselves as we are. Man, know thy self through them, and walk always as in the presence of God.
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Van Gogh's First Sunday Sermon: 29 October 1876
I Am a Stranger on the Earth . . . . .
Psalm 119 : 19. I am a stranger on the earth, hide not Thy commandments from me. It is an old belief and it is a good belief, that our life is a pilgrim's progress – that we are strangers on the earth, but that though this be so, yet we are not alone for our Father is with us. We are pilgrims, our life is a long walk or journey from earth to Heaven.
The beginning of this life is this: there is only one who remembereth no more her sorrow and her anguish for joy that a man is horn into the world. She is our Mother. The end of our pilgrimage is the entering in Our Father's house, where are many mansions, where He has gone before us to prepare a place for us. The end of this life is what we call death – it is an hour in which words are spoken, things are seen and felt, that are kept in the secret chambers of the hearts of those who stand by, – it is so that all of us have such things in our hearts or forebodings of such things. There is sorrow in the hour when a man is born into the world, but also joy, deep and unspeakable, thankfulness so great that it reaches the highest heavens. Yes the Angels of God, they smile, they hope and they rejoice when a man is born in the world. There is sorrow in the hour of death, but there is also joy unspeakable when it is the hour of death of one who has fought a good fight. There is one who has said: I am the resurrection and the life, if any man believe in Me though he were dead, yet shall he live. There was an apostle who heard a voice from heaven saying: Blessed are they that die in the Lord, for they rest from their labour and their works follow them. There is joy when a man is born in the world, but there is greater joy when a spirit has passed through great tribulation, when an angel is born in Heaven. Sorrow is better than joy – and even in mirth the heart is sad – and it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasts, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. Our nature is sorrowful, but for those who have learnt and are learning to look at Jesus Christ there is always reason to rejoice. It is a good word that of St. Paul: as being sorrowful yet always rejoicing. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, there is no death or sorrow that is not mixed with hope – no despair – there is only a constantly being born again, a constantly going from darkness into light. They do not mourn as those who have no hope – Christian Faith makes life to evergreen life.
We are pilgrims on the earth and strangers – we come from afar and we are going far. -The journey of our life goes from the loving breast of our Mother on earth to the arms of our Father in heaven. Everything on earth changes – we have no abiding city here – it is the experience of everybody. That it is God's will that we should part with what is dearest on earth – we ourselves change in many respects, we are not what we once were, we shall not remain what we are now. From infancy we grow up to boys and girls – young men and women – and if God spares us and helps us, to husbands and wives, Fathers and Mothers in our turn, and then, slowly but surely the face that once had the early dew of morning, gets its wrinkles, the eyes that once beamed with youth and gladness speak of a sincere deep and earnest sadness, though they may keep the fire of Faith, Hope and Charity – though they may beam with God's spirit. The hair turns grey or we lose it-ah-indeed we only pass through the earth, we only pass through life, we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. The world passes and all its glory. Let our later days be nearer to Thee, and therefore better than these.
Yet we may not live on casually hour by hour – no we have a strife to strive and a fight to fight. What is it we must do: we must love God with all our strength, with all our might, with all our soul, we must love our neighbours as ourselves. These two commandments we must keep, and if we follow after these, if we are devoted to this, we are not alone, for our Father in Heaven is with us, helps us and guides us, gives us strength day by day, hour by hour, and so we can do all things through Christ who gives us might. We are strangers on the earth, hide not Thy commandments from us. Open Thou our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. Teach us to do Thy will and influence our hearts that the love of Christ may constrain us and that we may be brought to do what we must do to be saved.
On the road from earth to Heaven
Do Thou guide us with Thine eye;
We are weak but Thou art mighty,
Hold us with Thy powerful hand.
Our life, we might compare it with a journey, we go from the place where we were born to a far-off haven. Our earlier life might be compared to sailing on a river, but very soon the waves become higher, the wind more violent, we are at sea almost before we are aware of it – and the prayer from the heart ariseth to God: Protect me 0 God, for my bark is so small and Thy sea is so great. The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, its tides and its depths; it has its pearls too. The heart that seeks for God and for a Godly life has more storms than any other. Let us see how a Psalmist describes a storm at sea. He must have felt the storm in his heart to describe it so. We read in the io7th Psalm: They that go down to the sea in ships that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He commandeth and raiseth up a stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to Heaven, they go down again to the depth, their soul melteth in them because of their trouble. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
He bringeth them into their desired haven.
Do we not feel this sometimes on the sea of our lives?
Does not every one of you feel with me the storms of life or their forebodings or their recollections?
And now let us read a description of another storm at sea in the New Testament, as we find it in the VIth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John in the i7th to the 21st verse. "And the disciples entered into a ship and went over the sea towards Capernaum. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about five-and-twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea and drawing nigh unto the ship and they were afraid. Then they willingly received Him into the ship and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went." You who have experienced the great storms of life, you over whom all the waves and all the billows of the Lord have gone – have you not heard, when your heart failed for fear, the beloved well-known voice with something in its tone that reminded you of the voice that charmed your childhood – the voice of Him whose name is Saviour and Prince of Peace, saying as it were to you personally, mind to you personally: "It is I, be not afraid." Fear not. Let not your heart be troubled. And we whose lives have been calm up till now, calm in comparison of what others have felt – let us not fear the storms of life, amidst the high waves of the sea and under the grey clouds of the sky we shall see Him approaching, for whom we have so often longed and watched, Him we need so – and we shall hear His voice: It is I, be not afraid. And if after an hour or season of anguish or distress or great difficulty or pain or sorrow we hear Him ask us: "Dost thou love me?" Then let us say: Lord Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee. And let us keep that heart full of the love of Christ and may from thence issue a life which the love of Christ constraineth, Lord Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee; when we look back on our past we feel sometimes as if we did love Thee, for whatsoever we have loved, we loved in Thy name.
Have we not often felt as a widow and an orphan – in joy and prosperity as well and even more than under grief – because of the thought of Thee.
Truly our soul waiteth for Thee more than they that watch for the morning, our eyes are up unto Thee, 0 Thou who dwellest in Heaven. In our days too there can be such a thing as seeking the Lord.
What is it we ask of God – is it a great thing? Yes, it is a great thing, peace for the ground of our heart, rest for our soul – give us that one thing and then we want not much more, then we can do without many things, then can we suffer great things for Thy name's sake. We want to know that we are Thine and that Thou art ours, we want to be Thine – to be Christians – we want a Father, a Father's love and a Father's approval. May the experience of life make our eye single and fix it on Thee. May we grow better as we go on in life. We have spoken of the storms on the journey of life, but now let us speak of the calms and joys of Christian life. And yet, my dear friends, let us rather cling to the seasons of difficulty and work and sorrow, for the calms are often treacherous. The heart has its storms, has its seasons of drooping but also its calms and even its times of exaltation. There is a time of sighing and of praying, but there is also a time of answer to prayer. Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.
The heart that is fainting
May grow full to overflowing
And they that behold it
Shall wonder and know not
That God at its fountains
Far off has been raining.
My peace I leave with you – we saw how there is peace even in the storm. Thanks be to God, who has given us to be born and to live in a Christian country. Has any one of us forgotten the golden hours of our early days at home, and since we left that home – for many of us have had to leave that home and to earn their living and to make their way in the world. Has He not brought us thus far, have we lacked anything, Lord we believe help Thou our unbelief. I still feel the rapture, the thrill of joy I felt when for the first time I cast a deep look in the lives of my Parents, when I felt by instinct how much they were Christians. And I still feel that feeling of eternal youth and enthusiasm wherewith I went to God, saying: "I will be a Christian too." Are we what we dreamt we should be? No, but still the sorrows of life, the multitude of things of daily life and of daily duties, so much more numerous than we expected, the tossing to and fro in the world, they have covered it over, but it is not dead, it sleepeth. The old eternal faith and love of Christ, it may sleep in us but it is not dead and God can revive it in us. But though to be born again to eternal life, to the life of Faith, Hope and Charity, – and to an evergreen life – to the life of a Christian and a Christian workman, be a gift of God, a work of God – and of God alone, yet let us put the hand to the plough on the field of our heart, let us cast out our net once more – let us try once more. God knows the intention of the spirit. God knows us better than we know ourselves, for He made us and not we ourselves. He knows of what things we have need. He knows what is good for us. May He give us His blessing on the seed of His word, that He has sown in our hearts. God helping us, we shall get through life. With every temptation he will give a way to escape.
Father we pray Thee not that Thou shouldest take us out of the world, but we pray Thee to keep us from evil. Give us neither poverty nor riches, feed us with bread convenient for us. And let Thy songs be our delight in the houses of our pilgrimage. God of our Fathers be our God: may their people be our people, their faith our faith. We are strangers on the earth, hide not Thy commandments from us, but may the love of Christ constrain us. Entreat us not to leave Thee or refrain from following after Thee. Thy people shall be our people. Thou shalt be our God.
Our life is a pilgrim's progress. I once saw a very beautiful picture: it was a landscape at evening. In the distance on the right-hand side a row of hills appeared blue in the evening mist. Above those hills the splendour of the sunset, the grey clouds with their linings of silver and gold and purple. The landscape is a plain or heath covered with grass and its yellow leaves, for it was in autumn. Through the landscape a road leads to a high mountain far, far away, on the top of that mountain is a city wherein the setting sun casts a glory. On the road walks a pilgrim, staff in hand. He has been walking for a good long while already and he is very tired. And now he meets a woman, or figure in black, that makes one think of St. Paul's word: As being sorrowful yet always rejoicing. That Angel of God has been placed there to encourage the pilgrims and to answer their questions and the pilgrim asks her: Does the road go uphill then all the way?"
And the answer is: "Yes to the very end."
And he asks again: "And will the journey take all day long?"
And the answer is: "From morn till night my friend."
And the pilgrim goes on sorrowful yet always rejoicing – sorrowful because it is so far off and the road so long. Hopeful as he looks up to the eternal city far away, resplendent in the evening glow and he thinks of two old sayings that he heard long ago – the one is:
"Much strife must be striven
Much suffering must be suffered
Much prayer must be prayed
And then the end will be peace."
And the other is
"The water comes up to the lips
But higher comes it not."
And he says: I shall be more and more tired but also nearer and nearer to Thee. Has not man a strife on earth? But there is a consolation from God in this life. An Angel of God comforting man – that is the Angel of Charity. Let us not forget her. And when each of us goes back to the daily things and daily duties let us not forget that things are not what they seem, that God by the things of daily life teacheth us higher things, that our life is a pilgrim's progress, and that we are strangers on the earth, but that we have a God and father who preserveth strangers, – and that we are all brethren.
Amen.
And now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us forever more.
Amen.
~Vincent Van Gogh
(Via vggalery.com)
#I didn't know that Vincent Van Gogh wrote a sermon#artist#Christian#Lord Jesus Christ#strangers on the earth#pilgrims on the road to God#Christian life#Vincent Van Gogh
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May I have a prayer or two? For safety and to be protected from deceivers. I'm staying in a hotel away from family for a few days and I'm trying to help a friend out but I'm worried that they may try to take advantage of me but I don't want to abandon or push them away.
Of course, may God bless and protect you. I have attached some prayers under the readmore that you might find beneficial.
Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Saint Patrick's Breastplate Prayer
The full prayer can be found here: https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/greenford/wp-content/uploads/sites/127/2020/03/St-Patricks-Breastplate.pdf
But I often see it shortened to this part, so it comes down to personal preference how much of the prayer you want to say
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who
thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who
speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me
A Prayer in Time of Attack
O Lord, our God, pre-existing before all ages and remaining forever; who are as great in compassion as you are in uncontainable power; who because of your ineffable mercy bowed the heavens, came down on earth and became man for the salvation of sinners; who put on and immortalized our nature and ascended with it to the place from which you descended; hear from heaven and become merciful to all those who cry out to you with a broken heart. You, O Master of all, lend you ear and hear us. We know your undefeatable love for your creation and your inexhaustible goodness. Hence, we throw ourselves into the ocean of your compassions and entreat you: turn not your face from us nor cast us away from your countenance neither hand us over to those who are so furiously attacking us. Look upon us with your compassionate eye. Show us how to rise above both the visible and invisible enemies. Place in us a power from on high; encompass us with your almighty right hand; keep us under the protection of your wings; fortify us with love for one another and grant us unshakable peace. But before all and above all, instill in us your fear and your love that your holy name may also be glorified in us. Upon you alone we look, on you alone we have placed our hopes, and to you we send up the glory, together with your Father, who is without beginning, and the life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Cross
Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered; and let those who hate Him flee from His presence. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish; and as wax melts from the presence of fire, so let demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the sign of the Cross and say in gladness: Hail, most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, for Thou drivest away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on thee, Who went down to hades and trampled on the power of the devil, and gave us thee, his venerable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me, with our Holy Lady, the Virgin Mother of God, and with all the Saints throughout the ages. Amen.
Prayer Before Sleep
Beneath your compassion we seek refuge, Theotokos. Do not overlook our prayers, but deliver us from danger, only pure and blessed one. My hope is the Father; my refuge, the Son; my protection, the Holy Spirit. Holy Trinity, glory to you. I place all my hope in you, Mother of God. Keep me under your protection. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy and save us. Amen.
Under the protection of your wings I shall be covered and fall asleep, for in you only, Lord, does my hope lie. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my soul and my body. Do bless me, do have mercy on me, and grant me eternal life. Amen.
Protection Prayer
Jesus, I will arise. Jesus, do thou accompany me. Jesus, do thou lock my heart into thine and let my body and my soul be commended unto thee. The Lord is crucified. May God guard and protect my senses so that misfortunes may not overcome me. In the name of God, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer Against Every Evil
Spirit of our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Most Holy Trinity, Immaculate Virgin Mary, angels, archangels, and saints of heaven, descend upon me. Please purify me, Lord, mold me, fill me with yourself, use me. Banish all the forces of evil from me, destroy them, defeat them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds.
Banish from me all spells, witchcraft, black magic, evil spells, ties, curses, and the evil eye; diabolic infestations, oppressions, possessions; all that is evil and sinful, jealousy, deceitfulness, envy; physical, psychological, moral, spiritual and diabolical ailments.
Burn all these evils in hell, that they may never again touch me or any other creature in the entire world. I command and bid all the powers who assault me—by the power of God all-powerful, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary–to leave me forever, and to be consigned into the everlasting hell where they will be bound by Saint Michael the archangel, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, our guardian angels, and where they will be crushed under the heel of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Prayer to Your Guardian Angel
O Holy Angel, who stand by my wretched soul and my passionate life: do not abandon me, a sinner, neither depart from me because of my lack of self-control. Leave no room for the evil demon to gain control of me through the violence of this mortal body. Strengthen my weak and feeble hand, and instruct me in the path of salvation. O holy Angel of God, the guardian and protector of my wretched soul and body: forgive all the sorrows I have caused you, every day of my life. If I have sinned in this past night, protect me during this day. Keep me from every adverse temptation, that I may not anger God by any sin. Pray to the Lord for me, that He may establish me in His fear and make me, His servant, worthy of His goodness. Amen.
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Time to be boldly honest. I hate June. I hate what it represents. And I feel so sorry for the people who celebrate it so joyfully.
It is a sin to be gay/bi. And just like it's a sin to be anything other than straight, for God made us to be straight and male and female only and that love and sex and marriage to be between a male and female only, it's also a sin to be trans. You're basically playing God and turning yourself into something other than what God created you to be before you were even conceived. And don't forget who used the original "they/them" first: Demons via deception and possession. For THEY are legion. And no, you can't be a "Gay Christian" either.
Being homosexual and transsexual and any other false gender/orientation out there is not just a sin and deception of Satan, but an abomination in the eyes of God, our Heavenly Father and Almighty Creator. And only Jesus can save our souls and free us of our sins and the eternal damnation sin brings. We must continually put our faith and trust in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ and lean on Him and His Holy Word and Spirit daily. For He is the ONLY way to eternal salvation and Heaven. The Way, The Truth, and The Life. PERIOD! Don't believe me? Read the Holy Bible. Listen to testimonies of people who have come to Jesus Christ and have gotten saved. There is no sin Jesus cannot free us from.
Don't fall for the lies and deceptions of Satan and this fallen world. Put your trust in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ and experience true salvation and peace and freedom in Him and His Holy Spirit. Outside of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, there is no sin He cannot cleanse and save us from. We are His creation. He loves us so much and wants to see us come to Him and be saved, so that we may enter our true home that is our true home that is His Kingdom of Heaven. And much like God, I want this for this world as well. Like Him, I hate the sin, but not the sinner.
It's time to turn back to God. And it's time to take back the rainbow for what it truly represents: God's promise! Never pride. June and every day before and after that is for Jesus! And He did not die for our sins and rise again in vain. Repent and seek Him and His Truth and eternal and everlasting love and grace. Our souls and eternity depend on it - On HIM! I've lost friends and loved ones for speaking this Biblical truth. But as a born-again Christian, as an adopted child of God, a sinner saved by His grace, I refuse to hold back any longer. I have enough past trauma and things, with so-called friends and family refusing to listen and trying to silence me for over half my life now, not just for this, but anytime I try to be open with people. Anyone who knows me, knows I used to be VERY open when it came to my feelings and the things happening in my life. But being hated for Christ's sake, and even just being abused and abandoned by others in general, it just shows me who my true friends are.
I tire of living in survival mode. God is the only one I and any of us can trust wholeheartedly. God is the only one who will never abandon us, no matter what we are going through. And I'd rather lose a few friends for standing up for Christ than to see any soul damned to Hell. After all, Jesus Christ was hated long before any of us were. Especially when it came to speaking His Truth. Jesus is God. Jesus is our LORD and Savior. Jesus is King of kings. And He must be our EVERYTHING! I love you and I will be praying for your lost souls and this fallen world, as I do everyday. God bless you
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Perhaps Paul was committed to the idea that covenantal circumcision of necessity could occur only on the eighth day of the male child's life (see Phil 3.5), a position that would limit it specifically to Jews. He would have on his side the Greek text of Genesis 17.14: "And the uncircumcised male, who shall not be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be cut off from his people, for he has broken my covenant" (LXX; cf. Jub 15.25-26). Lacking this phrase "on the eighth day," the Masoretic text of this verse opens up the possibility of circumcision at other times and, thus, of circumcision as a rite of entry of an adult non-Jew into Israel....
Allied to the more stringent, genealogically restrictive view -- and it must be said, to a minority view -- Paul according to this construction holds that circumcision was of no value for the adult male gentile, whether Christ-following or not. Proselyte circumcision would not bring him into Israel's covenant -- just, indeed, as Ishmael's circumcision at age thirteen did not bring him into Israel's covenant (Gal 4.21-31; Rom 9.7). "Circumcision benefits, if you keep the Law. But if you a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become foreskin" (Rom 2.25). When Paul speaks this way in Romans, he speaks to a Judaizing gentile, and has the law of eight-day circumcision specifically in mind. The Judaizing gentile -- clearly older than eight days -- who subjects himself to circumcision accordingly transgresses the "law of circumcision" even as he tries to honor it, precisely because he is more than eight days old; hor him, then, circumcision still counts as uncircumcision. His circumcision notwithstanding, the pagan is still a pagan, still outside the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; still trapped, accordingly, in his servitude to the flesh, to sin, and to death (Rom 7); still enslaved to the stoicheia of the universe (Gal 4.9-10). The only way for the gentile to share in the blessing promised to Abraham, Paul urges, is through Christ, thus through spirit; not through flesh, thus not through circumcision.
- Paula Fredriksen Paul: The Pagans' Apostle pp 129-130
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So it often is—in the making of a home. At first the individual lives are self-assertive, and there is discord in the household. It takes time and patient love—to bring all into harmony. But if the wife and mother, the real homemaker, has learned this blessed lesson of quietness; her life is the one calm, clear, true song—which never falters, and which brings all the other lives, little by little, up to its own sweet key, until at last—the life of the home is indeed a song of love!
Sometimes it is a daughter and sister in the home, whose quiet sweetness blesses the whole household. She has learned the lesson of patience and gentleness. She has smiles for everyone. She has the joyful tact to dissipate little quarrels, by her kind words. She softens the father's ill-temper when he comes in weary from the day's cares. She is a peacemaker in the home, a happiness-maker, through the influence of her own lovingness of spirit—and draws all into her own quietness and peacefulness.
These are familiar illustrations of the blessing of quietness. Wherever we find it in any life, it has a wonder-working influence. It surely is a lesson worth learning—which is better than the winning of a crown! But can it be learned? Can the blustering, quick-tempered, rash-speaking man or woman—learn to be quiet and self-mastered? Yes! Moses learned it, until he became the meekest of men. John learned it, until he became the beloved disciple, lying on Jesus' bosom. It can be learned by anyone who will enter Christ's school, for He says, "Come unto Me. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; and you shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:28, 29).
But quietness never can come through the smoothing of circumstances, so that there shall be nothing to trouble or irritate the spirit. We cannot find or make a quiet place to live in—and thus get quiet in our own soul. We cannot make the people about us so loving and sweet—that we shall never have anything to irritate or annoy us. The quietness must be within us. Nothing but the peace of God in the heart—can give it. Yet we can have this peace—if we will simply and always do God's will—and then trust Him. A quiet heart—will give a quiet life!
- The Strength of Quietness | J. R. Miller
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