If you’re a Christian or just want to learn about Christianity, c’mon and join us. Just to let you know what I usually do, I post a Bible chapter every day at any time between 5 and 11 A.M. U.S. central time, but we don’t have to stop there. We can make animations together, share Christian songs, parodies, comedy, sermons, and whatever else you want.
Now, just because I’m a little more light-hearted than some Christians doesn’t mean that this is all going to be fun and games. As a Christian, I have a responsibility to call out the things that God disapproves of. Some of the conversations we have might get a little hairy, and that’s okay, as long as we abide by the site’s community guidelines. 😊 You may ask, “If your goal is to draw people into God’s kingdom, why are you calling out things that He disapproves of? Wouldn’t that, for one, push people away from God and, for another, get you into fights that you don’t want to be in?” I will answer the first question with these verses:
James 5:20
“Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him”
Titus 2:15
“Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins”
1 Timothy 5:20
“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear”
2 Timothy 4:2
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction”
Psalm 141:5
“Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it”
Proverbs 9:8
“Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you”.
And for the second question, Christianity is a sacrifice. I will take on challenges as a Christian that I wouldn’t as a lukewarm Christian, an atheist, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Jew, etc. And when I encounter those challenges, I have to put my faith in Yahweh above my feelings and desires. I’m not supposed to store up treasures here on Earth, but in the heavenly kingdom. In order to do that, I have to be inconvenienced and mocked, and I’m fine with that. I’ve chosen to give up everything I want for my God.
If I post anything on here that has anything to do with my opinion or interpretation of a situation, 9 times out of 10, it’s because that is my interpretation of the Bible. I believe that that everything in the Bible is objectively true, there’s just debates on how to INTERPRET said truth. I try my hardest not to let my worldview effect my biblical view, though, it may seep through.
If you’re curious about the name, I had to think of something, so I came up with “Pest” Control (as atheists seem to think that the way we communicate our religion to them is annoying, so they could see us as pests, and we are all in one group so that we can contain the Christian stuff mostly inside the group for “control”).
Before I edited the description of this group, it said: “We can brainstorm to find out more ways to win atheists over to Christ.” Since I typed that, my beliefs have changed slightly. I believe that, yes it is great to have atheists have a change of heart, that’s one of our biggest goals is to have more people up in heaven, but we shouldn’t be intentionally TRYING to change their religion (both because it pushes people away from the religion, and it’s just not what any human needs to do to another human). We need to be ourselves around them, have them see how we are as a person, how Christianity (even if they can’t identify it as that) affects us, and if they want to, change. And we should never, ever, push them to change; the Bible even tells us this. I have made this mistake for years, and to all of the atheists and people with other religious beliefs that I have hurt by doing this, I’m so unbelievably sorry.
Thank you for your time. Have a blessed and wonderful day!
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This is the last chapter of Joel! Next, Amos.
Joel 3:1-21 MSG
[1-3] “In those days, yes, at that very time when I put life back together again for Judah and Jerusalem, I’ll assemble all the godless nations. I’ll lead them down into Judgment Valley And put them all on trial, and judge them one and all because of their treatment of my own people Israel. They scattered my people all over the pagan world and grabbed my land for themselves. They threw dice for my people and used them for barter. They would trade a boy for a whore, sell a girl for a bottle of wine when they wanted a drink. * * * [4-8] “As for you, Tyre and Sidon and Philistia, why should I bother with you? Are you trying to get back at me for something I did to you? If you are, forget it. I’ll see to it that it boomerangs on you. You robbed me, cleaned me out of silver and gold, carted off everything valuable to furnish your own temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem into slavery to the Greeks in faraway places. But I’m going to reverse your crime. I’m going to free those slaves. I’ll have done to you what you did to them: I’ll sell your children as slaves to your neighbors, And they’ll sell them to the far-off Sabeans.” God’s Verdict. * * * [9-11] Announce this to the godless nations: Prepare for battle! Soldiers at attention! Present arms! Advance! Turn your shovels into swords, turn your hoes into spears. Let the weak one throw out his chest and say, “I’m tough, I’m a fighter.” Hurry up, pagans! Wherever you are, get a move on! Get your act together. Prepare to be shattered by God! [12] Let the pagan nations set out for Judgment Valley. There I’ll take my place at the bench and judge all the surrounding nations. [13] “Swing the sickle— the harvest is ready. Stomp on the grapes— the winepress is full. The wine vats are full, overflowing with vintage evil. [14] “Mass confusion, mob uproar— in Decision Valley! God’s Judgment Day has arrived in Decision Valley. [15-17] “The sky turns black, sun and moon go dark, stars burn out. God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem. Earth and sky quake in terror. But God is a safe hiding place, a granite safe house for the children of Israel. Then you’ll know for sure that I’m your God, Living in Zion, my sacred mountain. Jerusalem will be a sacred city, posted: ‘no trespassing.’ [18-21] “What a day! Wine streaming off the mountains, Milk rivering out of the hills, water flowing everywhere in Judah, A fountain pouring out of God’s Sanctuary, watering all the parks and gardens! But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot, Edom turned into barren badlands, All because of brutalities to the Judean people, the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents. Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people, Jerusalem inhabited forever. The sins I haven’t already forgiven, I’ll forgive.” God has moved into Zion for good. -
Joel 2:1-32 MSG
[1-3] Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion! Trumpet the alarm on my holy mountain! Shake the country up! God’s Judgment’s on its way—the Day’s almost here! A black day! A Doomsday! Clouds with no silver lining! Like dawn light moving over the mountains, a huge army is coming. There’s never been anything like it and never will be again. Wildfire burns everything before this army and fire licks up everything in its wake. Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden. When it leaves, it is Death Valley. Nothing escapes unscathed. [4-6] The locust army seems all horses— galloping horses, an army of horses. It sounds like thunder leaping on mountain ridges, Or like the roar of wildfire through grass and brush, Or like an invincible army shouting for blood, ready to fight, straining at the bit. At the sight of this army, the people panic, faces white with terror. [7-11] The invaders charge. They climb barricades. Nothing stops them. Each soldier does what he’s told, so disciplined, so determined. They don’t get in each other’s way. Each one knows his job and does it. Undaunted and fearless, unswerving, unstoppable. They storm the city, swarm its defenses, Loot the houses, breaking down doors, smashing windows. They arrive like an earthquake, sweep through like a tornado. Sun and moon turn out their lights, stars black out. God himself bellows in thunder as he commands his forces. Look at the size of that army! And the strength of those who obey him! God’s Judgment Day—great and terrible. Who can possibly survive this? [12] But there’s also this, it’s not too late— God’s personal Message!— “Come back to me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!” [13-14] Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, your God. And here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, This most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe. Who knows? Maybe he’ll do it now, maybe he’ll turn around and show pity. Maybe, when all’s said and done, there’ll be blessings full and robust for your God! * * * [15-17] Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion! Declare a day of repentance, a holy fast day. Call a public meeting. Get everyone there. Consecrate the congregation. Make sure the elders come, but bring in the children, too, even the nursing babies, Even men and women on their honeymoon— interrupt them and get them there. Between Sanctuary entrance and altar, let the priests, God’s servants, weep tears of repentance. Let them intercede: “Have mercy, God, on your people! Don’t abandon your heritage to contempt. Don’t let the pagans take over and rule them and sneer, ‘And so where is this God of theirs?’” * * * [18-20] At that, God went into action to get his land back. He took pity on his people. God answered and spoke to his people, “Look, listen—I’m sending a gift: Grain and wine and olive oil. The fast is over—eat your fill! I won’t expose you any longer to contempt among the pagans. I’ll head off the final enemy coming out of the north and dump them in a wasteland. Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea, the other half in the Mediterranean. There they’ll rot, a stench to high heaven. The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!” [21-24] Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things. Fear not, wild animals! The fields and meadows are greening up. The trees are bearing fruit again: a bumper crop of fig trees and vines! Children of Zion, celebrate! Be glad in your God. He’s giving you a teacher to train you how to live right— Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do. And plenty of food for your body—silos full of grain, casks of wine and barrels of olive oil. * * * [25-27] “I’ll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation— Locusts savage, locusts deadly, fierce locusts, locusts of doom, That great locust invasion I sent your way. You’ll eat your fill of good food. You’ll be full of praises to your God, The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder. Never again will my people be despised. You’ll know without question that I’m in the thick of life with Israel, That I’m your God, yes, your God, the one and only real God. Never again will my people be despised. [28-32] “And that’s just the beginning: After that— “I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters. Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions. I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both. I’ll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: Blood and fire and billowing smoke, the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Judgment Day of God, the Day tremendous and awesome. Whoever calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help. On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be a great rescue—just as God said. Included in the survivors are those that God…[Read more] -
Missed a day, sorry, guys! This is the first chapter of Joel.
Joel 1:1-20 MSG
[1-3] God’s Message to Joel son of Pethuel: Attention, elder statesmen! Listen closely, everyone, whoever and wherever you are! Have you ever heard of anything like this? Has anything like this ever happened before—ever? Make sure you tell your children, and your children tell their children, And their children their children. Don’t let this message die out. [4] What the chewing locust left, the gobbling locust ate; What the gobbling locust left, the munching locust ate; What the munching locust left, the chomping locust ate. [5-7] Sober up, you drunks! Get in touch with reality—and weep! Your supply of booze is cut off. You’re on the wagon, like it or not. My country’s being invaded by an army invincible, past numbering, Teeth like those of a lion, fangs like those of a tiger. It has ruined my vineyards, stripped my orchards, And clear-cut the country. The landscape’s a moonscape. [8-10] Weep like a young virgin dressed in black, mourning the loss of her fiancé. Without grain and grapes, worship has been brought to a standstill in the Sanctuary of God. The priests are at a loss. God’s ministers don’t know what to do. The fields are sterile. The very ground grieves. The wheat fields are lifeless, vineyards dried up, olive oil gone. [11-12] Dirt farmers, despair! Grape growers, wring your hands! Lament the loss of wheat and barley. All crops have failed. Vineyards dried up, fig trees withered, Pomegranates, date palms, and apple trees— deadwood everywhere! And joy is dried up and withered in the hearts of the people. [13-14] And also you priests, put on your robes and join the outcry. You who lead people in worship, lead them in lament. Spend the night dressed in gunnysacks, you servants of my God. Nothing’s going on in the place of worship, no offerings, no prayers—nothing. Declare a holy fast, call a special meeting, get the leaders together, Round up everyone in the country. Get them into God’s Sanctuary for serious prayer to God. [15-18] What a day! Doomsday! God’s Judgment Day has come. The Strong God has arrived. This is serious business! Food is just a memory at our tables, as are joy and singing from God’s Sanctuary. The seeds in the field are dead, barns deserted, Grain silos abandoned. Who needs them? The crops have failed! The farm animals groan—oh, how they groan! The cattle mill around. There’s nothing for them to eat. Not even the sheep find anything. [19-20] God! I pray, I cry out to you! The fields are burning up, The country is a dust bowl, forest and prairie fires rage unchecked. Wild animals, dying of thirst, look to you for a drink. Springs and streams are dried up. The whole country is burning up. -
This is the last chapter of Hosea. Tomorrow, we\’ll start on Joel.
Hosea 14:1-9 MSG
[1-3] O Israel, come back! Return to your God! You’re down but you’re not out. Prepare your confession and come back to God. Pray to him, “Take away our sin, accept our confession. Receive as restitution our repentant prayers. Assyria won’t save us; horses won’t get us where we want to go. We’ll never again say ‘our god’ to something we’ve made or made up. You’re our last hope. Is it not true that in you the orphan finds mercy?” * * * [4-8] “I will heal their waywardness. I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out. I will make a fresh start with Israel. He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. He’ll put down deep oak tree roots, he’ll become a forest of oaks! He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia, his fragrance like a grove of cedars! Those who live near him will be blessed by him, be blessed and prosper like golden grain. Everyone will be talking about them, spreading their fame as the vintage children of God. Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods. From now on I’m the one who answers and satisfies him. I am like a luxuriant fruit tree. Everything you need is to be found in me.” * * * [9] If you want to live well, make sure you understand all of this. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn this inside and out. God’s paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily; wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling. -
Hosea 13:1-16 MSG
[1-3] God once let loose against Ephraim a terrifying sentence against Israel: Caught and convicted in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died! And now they’re back in the sin business again, manufacturing god-images they can use, Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it: Anything you want in a god you can get. Can you believe it? They sacrifice live babies to these dead gods— kill living babies and kiss golden calves! And now there’s nothing left to these people: hollow men, desiccated women, Like scraps of paper blown down the street, like smoke in a gusty wind. [4-6] “I’m still your God, the God who saved you out of Egypt. I’m the only real God you’ve ever known. I’m the one and only God who delivers. I took care of you during the wilderness hard times, those years when you had nothing. I took care of you, took care of all your needs, gave you everything you needed. You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me. You forgot me. [7-12] “I’ll charge them like a lion, like a leopard stalking in the brush. I’ll jump them like a sow grizzly robbed of her cubs. I’ll rip out their guts. Coyotes will make a meal of them. Crows will clean their bones. I’m going to destroy you, Israel. Who is going to stop me? Where is your trusty king you thought would save you? Where are all the local leaders you wanted so badly? All these rulers you insisted on having, demanding, ‘Give me a king! Give me leaders!’? Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn’t happy about it. Now, fed up, I’ve gotten rid of him. I have a detailed record of your infidelities— Ephraim’s sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box. [13-15a] “When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born, Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb. When the passage into life opened up, he didn’t show. Shall I intervene and pull them into life? Shall I snatch them from a certain death? Who is afraid of you, Death? Who cares about your threats, Tomb? In the end I’m abolishing regret, banishing sorrow, Even though Ephraim ran wild, the black sheep of the family. [15b-16] “God’s tornado is on its way, roaring out of the desert. It will devastate the country, leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage. The cities will be gutted, dear possessions gone for good. Now Samaria has to face the charges because she has rebelled against her God: Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks, pregnant women ripped open.”-
Just read Hosea a few weeks ago, really good, but this book can get you banned for nsfw lol (if Ralph chooses to be a pussy about it).
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Replying to:
If every apostle was killed for spreading His word, getting banned is small potatoes.
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Replying to:
Yeah. I’m reading acts rn and damn early New Testament Christians had it rough.
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Hosea 12:1-14 MSG
[1-5] Ephraim, obsessed with god-fantasies, chases ghosts and phantoms. He tells lies nonstop, soul-destroying lies. Both Ephraim and Judah made deals with Assyria and tried to get an inside track with Egypt. God is bringing charges against Israel. Jacob’s children are hauled into court to be punished. In the womb, that heel, Jacob, got the best of his brother. When he grew up, he tried to get the best of God. But God would not be bested. God bested him. Brought to his knees, Jacob wept and prayed. God found him at Bethel. That’s where he spoke with him. God is God-of-the-Angel-Armies, God-Revealed, God-Known. * * * [6] What are you waiting for? Return to your God! Commit yourself in love, in justice! Wait for your God, and don’t give up on him—ever! [7-8] The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud. They love to rip people off! Ephraim boasted, “Look, I’m rich! I’ve made it big! And look how well I’ve covered my tracks: not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!” [9-11] “But not so fast! I’m God, your God! Your God from the days in Egypt! I’m going to put you back to living in tents, as in the old days when you worshiped in the wilderness. I speak through the prophets to give clear pictures of the way things are. Using prophets, I tell revealing stories. I show Gilead rampant with religious scandal and Gilgal teeming with empty-headed religion. I expose their worship centers as stinking piles of garbage in their gardens.” [12-14] Are you going to repeat the life of your ancestor Jacob? He ran off guilty to Aram, Then sold his soul to get ahead, and made it big through treachery and deceit. Your real identity is formed through God-sent prophets, who led you out of Egypt and served as faithful pastors. As it is, Ephraim has continually and inexcusably insulted God. Now he has to pay for his life-destroying ways. His Master will do to him what he has done. -
Hosea 11:1-12 MSG
[1-9] “When Israel was only a child, I loved him. I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt. But when others called him, he ran off and left me. He worshiped the popular sex gods, he played at religion with toy gods. Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim. I rescued him from human bondage, But he never acknowledged my help, never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon, That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek, that I bent down to feed him. Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria— anything but return to me! That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets and every plan to improve things falls to pieces. My people are hell-bent on leaving me. They pray to god Baal for help. He doesn’t lift a finger to help them. But how can I give up on you, Ephraim? How can I turn you loose, Israel? How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah, devastated like luckless Zeboim? I can’t bear to even think such thoughts. My insides churn in protest. And so I’m not going to act on my anger. I’m not going to destroy Ephraim. And why? Because I am God and not a human. I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst. [10-12] “The people will end up following God. I will roar like a lion— Oh, how I’ll roar! My frightened children will come running from the west. Like frightened birds they’ll come from Egypt, from Assyria like scared doves. I’ll move them back into their homes.” God’s Word! Ephraim tells lies right and left. Not a word of Israel can be trusted. Judah, meanwhile, is no better, addicted to cheap gods. * * * -
Hosea 10:1-15 MSG
[1-2] Israel was once a lush vine, bountiful in grapes. The more lavish the harvest, the more promiscuous the worship. The more money they got, the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image. Their sweet smiles are sheer lies. They’re guilty as sin. God will smash their worship shrines, pulverize their god-images. [3-4] They go around saying, “Who needs a king? We couldn’t care less about God, so why bother with a king? What difference would he make?” They talk big, lie through their teeth, make deals. But their high-sounding words turn out to be empty words, litter in the gutters. [5-6] The people of Samaria travel over to Crime City to worship the golden calf-god. They go all out, prancing and hollering, taken in by their showmen priests. They act so important around the calf-god, but are oblivious to the sham, the shame. They have plans to take it to Assyria, present it as a gift to the great king. And so Ephraim makes a fool of himself, disgraces Israel with his stupid idols. [7-8] Samaria is history. Its king is a dead branch floating down the river. Israel’s favorite sin centers will all be torn down. Thistles and crabgrass will decorate their ruined altars. Then they’ll say to the mountains, “Bury us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” [9-10] You got your start in sin at Gibeah— that ancient, unspeakable, shocking sin— And you’ve been at it ever since. And Gibeah will mark the end of it in a war to end all the sinning. I’ll come to teach them a lesson. Nations will gang up on them, Making them learn the hard way the sum of Gibeah plus Gibeah. [11-15] Ephraim was a trained heifer that loved to thresh. Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck, I wanted to harness Ephraim, Put Ephraim to work in the fields— Judah plowing, Jacob harrowing: Sow righteousness, reap love. It’s time to till the ready earth, it’s time to dig in with God, Until he arrives with righteousness ripe for harvest. But instead you plowed wicked ways, reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies. You thought you could do it all on your own, flush with weapons and manpower. But the volcano of war will erupt among your people. All your defense posts will be leveled As viciously as king Shalman leveled the town of Beth-arba, When mothers and their babies were smashed on the rocks. That’s what’s ahead for you, you so-called people of God, because of your off-the-charts evil. Some morning you’re going to wake up and find Israel, king and kingdom, a blank—nothing. -
Hosea 9:1-17 MSG
[1-6] Don’t waste your life in wild orgies, Israel. Don’t party away your life with the heathen. You walk away from your God at the drop of a hat and like a whore sell yourself promiscuously at every sex-and-religion party on the street. All that party food won’t fill you up. You’ll end up hungrier than ever. At this rate you’ll not last long in God’s land: Some of you are going to end up bankrupt in Egypt. Some of you will be disillusioned in Assyria. As refugees in Egypt and Assyria, you won’t have much chance to worship God— Sentenced to rations of bread and water, and your souls polluted by the spirit-dirty air. You’ll be starved for God, exiled from God’s own country. Will you be homesick for the old Holy Days? Will you miss festival worship of God? Be warned! When you escape from the frying pan of disaster, you’ll fall into the fire of Egypt. Egypt will give you a fine funeral! What use will all your god-inspired silver be then as you eke out a living in a field of weeds? * * * [7-9] Time’s up. Doom’s at the doorstep. It’s payday! Did Israel bluster, “The prophet is crazy! The ‘man of the Spirit’ is nuts!”? Think again. Because of your great guilt, you’re in big trouble. The prophet is looking out for Ephraim, working under God’s orders. But everyone is trying to trip him up. He’s hated right in God’s house, of all places. The people are going from bad to worse, rivaling that ancient and unspeakable crime at Gibeah. God’s keeping track of their guilt. He’ll make them pay for their sins. [10-13] “Long ago when I came upon Israel, it was like finding grapes out in the desert. When I found your ancestors, it was like finding a fig tree bearing fruit for the first time. But when they arrived at Baal-peor, that pagan shrine, they took to sin like a pig to filth, wallowing in the mud with their newfound friends. Ephraim is fickle and scattered, like a flock of blackbirds, their beauty dissipated in confusion and clamor, Frenetic and noisy, frigid and barren, and nothing to show for it—neither conception nor childbirth. Even if they did give birth, I’d declare them unfit parents and take away their children! Yes indeed—a black day for them when I turn my back and walk off! I see Ephraim letting his children run wild. He might just as well take them and kill them outright!” [14] Give it to them, God! But what? Give them a dried-up womb and shriveled breasts. [15-16] “All their evil came out into the open at the pagan shrine at Gilgal. Oh, how I hated them there! Because of their evil practices, I’ll kick them off my land. I’m wasting no more love on them. Their leaders are a bunch of rebellious adolescents. Ephraim is hit hard— roots withered, no more fruit. Even if by some miracle they had children, the dear babies wouldn’t live—I’d make sure of that!” [17] My God has washed his hands of them. They wouldn’t listen. They’re doomed to be wanderers, vagabonds among the godless nations. -
Hosea 8:1-14 MSG
[1-3] “Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm! Vultures are circling over God’s people Who have broken my covenant and defied my revelation. Predictably, Israel cries out, ‘My God! We know you!’ But they don’t act like it. Israel will have nothing to do with what’s good, and now the enemy is after them. [4-10] “They crown kings, but without asking me. They set up princes but don’t let me in on it. Instead, they make idols, using silver and gold, idols that will be their ruin. Throw that gold calf-god on the trash heap, Samaria! I’m seething with anger against that rubbish! How long before they shape up? And they’re Israelites! A sculptor made that thing— it’s not God. That Samaritan calf will be broken to bits. Look at them! Planting wind-seeds, they’ll harvest tornadoes. Wheat with no head produces no flour. And even if it did, strangers would gulp it down. Israel is swallowed up and spit out. Among the pagans they’re a piece of junk. They trotted off to Assyria: Why, even wild donkeys stick to their own kind, but donkey-Ephraim goes out and pays to get lovers. Now, because of their whoring life among the pagans, I’m going to gather them together and confront them. They’re going to reap the consequences soon, feel what it’s like to be oppressed by the big king. [11-14] “Ephraim has built a lot of altars, and then uses them for sinning. Can you believe it? Altars for sinning! I write out my revelation for them in detail and they pretend they can’t read it. They offer sacrifices to me and then they feast on the meat. God is not pleased! I’m fed up—I’ll keep remembering their guilt. I’ll punish their sins and send them back to Egypt. Israel has forgotten his Maker and gotten busy making palaces. Judah has gone in for a lot of fortress cities. I’m sending fire on their cities to burn down their fortifications.” -
Hosea 7:1-16 MSG
[1-2] “Every time I gave Israel a fresh start, wiped the slate clean and got them going again, Ephraim soon filled the slate with new sins, the treachery of Samaria written out in bold print. Two-faced and double-tongued, they steal you blind, pick you clean. It never crosses their mind that I keep account of their every crime. They’re mud-spattered head to toe with the residue of sin. I see who they are and what they’ve done. [3-7] “They entertain the king with their evil circus, delight the princes with their acrobatic lies. They’re a bunch of overheated adulterers, like an oven that holds its heat From the kneading of the dough to the rising of the bread. On the royal holiday the princes get drunk on wine and the frenzy of the mocking mob. They’re like wood stoves, red-hot with lust. Through the night their passion is banked; in the morning it blazes up, flames hungrily licking. Murderous and volcanic, they incinerate their rulers. Their kings fall one by one, and no one pays any attention to me. [8-10] “Ephraim mingles with the pagans, dissipating himself. Ephraim is half-baked. Strangers suck him dry but he doesn’t even notice. His hair has turned gray— he doesn’t notice. Bloated by arrogance, big as a house, Israel’s a public disgrace. Israel lumbers along oblivious to God, despite all the signs, ignoring God. [11-16] “Ephraim is bird-brained, mindless, clueless, First chirping after Egypt, then fluttering after Assyria. I’ll throw my net over them. I’ll clip their wings. I’ll teach them to mind me! Doom! They’ve run away from home. Now they’re really in trouble! They’ve defied me. And I’m supposed to help them while they feed me a line of lies? Instead of crying out to me in heartfelt prayer, they whoop it up in bed with their whores, Gash themselves bloody in their sex-and-religion orgies, but turn their backs on me. I’m the one who gave them good minds and healthy bodies, and how am I repaid? With evil scheming! They turn, but not to me— turn here, then there, like a weather vane. Their rulers will be cut down, murdered— just deserts for their mocking blasphemies. And the final sentence? Ridicule in the court of world opinion.” -
Hosea 6:1-11 MSG
[1-3] “Come on, let’s go back to God. He hurt us, but he’ll heal us. He hit us hard, but he’ll put us right again. In a couple of days we’ll feel better. By the third day he’ll have made us brand-new, Alive and on our feet, fit to face him. We’re ready to study God, eager for God-knowledge. As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.” * * * [4-7] “What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What do I make of you, Judah? Your declarations of love last no longer than morning mist and predawn dew. That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention, why my words cut you to the quick: To wake you up to my judgment blazing like light. I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings. You broke the covenant—just like Adam! You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches! [8-9] “Gilead has become Crime City— blood on the sidewalks, blood on the streets. It used to be robbers who mugged pedestrians. Now it’s gangs of priests Assaulting worshipers on their way to Shechem. Nothing is sacred to them. [10] “I saw a shocking thing in the country of Israel: Ephraim worshiping in a religious whorehouse, and Israel in the mud right there with him. [11] “You’re as bad as the worst of them, Judah. You’ve been sowing wild oats. Now it’s harvest time.” -
Same thing today. I may post something later, but for now, here you go.
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I’m not going to post any verses or chapters or anything today. I’m only going to post a link to this video today. While the sum of what I’ve learned from both this video and the one I posted yesterday is NOT more important than the Gospel of Yeshua the Christ dying in the most humiliating and painful way for our sins, however, I believe that order of operations matters, and this should have been ingrained in me as a child before I was able to fully understand the gospel because now that I’ve gotten old enough to be lazy it’s like pulling teeth to get my mind in these places! If you’re a believer and have children, instill this in them FIRST but also in conjunction with the gospel. I’m not saying this as a parent, but as an adult who’s realizing how much of a child he is.
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This is an amazing testimony that rocked my faith for a few weeks (meaning it completely changed the way I viewed my walk with God and made me do a double check on the way that I live). It’s over an hour and a half long, but if you have time, you won’t regret it.
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