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I was raised Christian (Pentecostal). One Sunday, when I was about 15 years old (in the year 1994 or 1995), I was in church with my mother, ...

Friday, December 24, 2021

Tweets - December 24th - Christmas

Gospel of John 7:40-43 ~ "Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, 'This certainly is the Prophet.' Others were saying, 'This is the Christ.' Still others were saying, 'Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?' So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him."

There appear to have been first century debates over whether or not Jesus was the Christ.

According to the tradition of the priests at that time, the Christ would be born in Bethlehem (this appears to have been based on a specific interpretation of Micah chapter 5). So if Jesus is indeed the Christ, he would have be born in Bethlehem.

But Jesus was not born in Bethlehem, and this complaint is made known to us in the story of John 7:40-43 (which is only a story to illustrate the realities of the contentions and debates that occurred at the time).

According to the understanding of the authors of John, the first century Jews, and the very early Church, Jesus was born and raised in Galilee (Nazareth of Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth).

This issue of the Christ being born in Bethlehem was a controversial issue among first century Jews, and there were some who refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ because he was not born in Bethlehem.

If Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, there would never have been any divisions among them (for this reason) and John 7:40-43 would not exist.

Well the scriptures do not lie, do they? Jesus must have been born in Bethlehem; and all it takes is for one person to spark this idea and for a lot of careless hearers to not seek out what is true (not that there was any way to disprove the idea after enough time had passed).

So stories add on to stories, from desire to mouth to ear to mouth.

Though it does not appear the intention of the birth narratives found in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew were written to convince Jews of the birth location of Jesus, the author of Luke and the editor of Matthew did end all disputes for all time for Jews and Christians alike.

By the time their narratives were written, hearsay regarding "Jesus of Bethlehem" had already become Christian faith and understanding. There would be no more challenges and no more debates about the birthplace of Jesus or the fulfillment of prophecy.

A Jew: According to the scriptures, the Christ will be born in Bethlehem.

A Christian: Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

A Jew: How do you know?

A Christian: Matthew 2 and Luke 2.

 - Christian drops mic

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Tweets - December 21st - Condemnation and Restoration

God condemns according to God's purpose, and whatever God condemns, God restores (unlike this race whose people condemn daily and restore nothing).

Unlike mistakes, bad behavioral patterns do require condemnation - as correction does nothing for people who know the correct things to do and yet refuse to do them.

The condemnation of bad behavioral patterns, depending on the nature of the behavior, are either 1) the natural consequences of such actions, or 2) the enforced inability to continue such actions, or 3) both, until justice and restoration lead to decent behavior (if possible).

This is one of my disagreements with some of the Jewish prophets who both foresaw and witnessed God's devastation:

Israel rejected correction, and therefore, the Jewish prophets considered God's hand against Israel a "punishment" (in the sense of inflicting emotional and physical distress or death because of anger, jealousy and disappointment - from what I gathered in their writings); but ultimately, Israel was treated no differently by God than all the surrounding nations whose people were either slaughtered or dragged off into exile.

This was God's plain message to Israel: "you will receive no good or merciful thing; I have rejected you; you will be treated no differently than anyone else in this world; and I will make sure this message is clear as it is severe, and unmistakable as it is unforgettable."

This wasn't a message for anyone else in any other nation (to them, it was more of the same bad news - though far more personal). To view this as a punishment would be like whipping all 10 of your children with only 1 of them understanding why they were all being whipped.

Children who are often whipped will also have additional cognitive and emotional difficulties in their journey with God, as they will have much to learn and so much to unlearn (speaking from experience).

As for those of us being saved from death, there may be forgiveness, but when justice is required there is no restoration or healing without it (setting right what we set wrong; stopping the foul and harmful things we put in motion).

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Tweets - December 19th - Competition and Healing

No, competition does not breed any of these things. Competition brings to light what is already there in us (even when hidden in our darkness).

In response to: https://www.sanctuaryforjustice.org/2020/12/tweets-december-19th-competition.html

Prophecy? I don't know. But it's interesting that this correction came to me today, exactly a year later.

As for how it came to me, well, even though it's simple enough to perceive in hindsight, it is the result of a few things.

I mentioned some time ago that I have dermatitis that presents itself on various areas of my skin, including my scalp. It's also present on my face, especially where there is hair, such as my beard and my eyebrows.

My skin looked and felt great for a good while, but a few weeks ago I noticed an uptick in itching on my scalp and a few days ago, I noticed that the skin around my beard and eyebrows were itching and "flaring up".

These things do occur with stress, I noticed some time ago. My body does not respond well to perpetual stress (I have a history stress-induced eye twitches, migraines, and dermatitis flare-ups).

I haven't had a migraine in many years, and haven't had stress-induced eye twitches in a few years as well, so I'd been wondering where this skin flare-up had been coming from.

My first thought was to think about what I had been eating, but I hadn't been eating anything out of the ordinary - certainly not for weeks at a time. My diet is primarily whole foods/grains, vegetables, and very little meat on some days (chicken, turkey, sometimes fish).

I take out the trash twice a month maybe. I drink tea and filtered water daily, a cup of coffee weekday mornings (I usually drink half and toss the rest - I only prefer it while it's hot or very cold or until I get tired of the taste), sometimes juice and soda if I have them.

I talk to God about everything, and this skin issue was one of the things I talked to God about. Then I understood again, "the salvation of the body is the salvation of the Garden, through and through".

A few weeks ago, I downloaded a Spades app on my tablet. I'd been playing that game almost everyday since. Though I didn't experience any "anger", "pride", or "aggression" - when I played with partners I did experience "expectation" (of my partners, and more deeply of myself).

I'm not talking about the agreed-upon expectations between myself and my partners (which we are bound by in a joint effort), but rather the expectation to not always be human (we sometimes make mistakes repeatedly, we're sometimes forgetful even when we're careful, we sometimes lack foresight even when see clearly).

I expected my partners to not always be human by rolling my eyes (condemning them) when I thought they played strangely or made a mistake. But more importantly, I agreed to not be human myself in order to ensure my partners were pleased with my performance; I thought it was what my partners expected of me (and a few of them made known to me that it's exactly what they expected by insulting me when I made a mistake or attempting to pressure me so I would avoid making them in the future).

Attempting to meet the lofty standards of others caused me undue stress, and my flesh cried out.

I'm requiring some specific adjustments of myself and this place.

Mistakes should bring about care through correction and justice, and never judgment and condemnation (not even of oneself). We all know how we hate to be treated.

I ask this to seedlings: Was I condemned when I ate undercooked pigeon peas or was I healed? Though these things may not seem like much of a big deal, they are truth, and therefore, important for our sakes (our understanding, a healthy mind, and our physical and ongoing healing).

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While outside a few moments ago, 2 spacecrafts became luminous and flew one behind the other. They flew at the same speed, in close proximity to one another (from my perspective), in a wide arc pattern (rather than straight). Then both went dim, one after the other.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Tweets - December 12th

Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus were all lined up tonight, positioned diagonally. While acknowledging this beautiful display, a spacecraft became luminous and flew as bright or almost as bright as Jupiter until it dimmed and flew out of sight.

Later, there was another spacecraft that flew and it shifted extremely fast, and pierced brightly and sharply.

Friday, November 19, 2021

Tweets - November 19th - Strength

Just as there is no separation between the Living God and all things that exist, there is no separation between myself and the Garden. When I've asked God for anything, I've asked for the sake (the life, prosperity, progression, and understanding) of the eternal Garden, even inadvertently. There is no separation nor distinction between us. In knowing the Garden, whatever I ask of God for myself I'm also asking for everyone else, as God's gifts, wisdom, and understanding are truths.

And I seek to understand myself more everyday because I always want to be myself, and not be someone who tries to be something else - such as the one who (with integrity) tries to be a good example for the sake of being a good example, even though it isn't what they truly are. The subconscious mind has worked wonders for me in this regard, as dreams can be very telling of who you actually are. (I imagine this is less true for narcissists and folks who are so self-centered that their own subconscious minds glorify their lies.)

As for this path, given by God, it is walked in weakness, and yet, not driven along in fear. But who would be so foolish to cling to weakness? Who would be so stupid to travel alongside us? We are told everyday to be strong - strong and black, strong and woman, strong and trans, strong and man, strong and gay. But this path, set by God, it is walked in softness and weakness. You are every "fag", "punk", "bitch nigga" and "sissy" hurled your way. Even the most devoutly righteous religious person knows it is a stupid idea to put too much trust in God (except in emotional, spiritual, and other unseen invisible matters) - for all paths seen lead to the grave, and all its roads are smooth and sleek.

It takes a strong person to do God's work. It takes a strong individual to both recognize God's needs and be the one to fulfill those needs. But as the sissy psalmist sung, "God is my strength and my salvation." Their punk-bitch prophet said to them, "Woe to those who, rather than go to God, go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses; who, rather than trust in God's mercy, trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong. The helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together." ~ Isaiah 31. It takes a real true sissy to both lean on God and care (through deed) for the salvation of judgmental, cruel, and violent strangers. The Garden of God is care in trust, and trust in care.

What is the strength of mankind but an illusion; a mirage in the dry desert without a single life-giving drop of water for a single person? All its roads are smooth and sleek, and they're all built on the steepest of hills.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Tweets - October 22nd - Toxic Soil and Water

You ever notice how there's always something awry with the Lord's plans. Every time he tells mankind to do something - anything - it always ends up with millions of people being raped, attacked, assaulted, oppressed, or killed - every time.

Doesn't even matter the religion - pick one and see plainly what I mean. You'd think the Lord would have known better before opening his mouth. It's almost as if he's as clueless and myopic as mankind and couldn't foresee any of these things beforehand.

When dealing with the harmful violent foolishness of this world, we consider that you reap what you sow; but as we all know, this isn't always true.

We have no individual control over the web of rules and laws we're bound by through threats and violence - most of which none of us agreed to; and we have no control over toxic soil and water being our only option to sow into. So sometimes you sow peace and you reap destruction.

This made me question how God will deal with something like this. Will God completely destroy the soil and water so that we'll build anew (learning lessons along the way)?

Or will we be destroying the toxic soil and water (all through hands that are faithful and loving-careful, and through minds that are sound and unperturbed)?

A spacecraft flew tonight and confirmed the latter by shining brightly. It's been a few months since I've seen them for sure, let alone, shine brightly.

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Tweets - October 10th - Fear and Worry

My faith is in God's mercy. My trust is in God's mercy, not just in God's ability. I don't know God's plans or Christ's plans, and that's always been OK, because I am only required to trust in God's mercy.

Hell is only going to get hotter; it must. It is about to get a lot hotter here. If the tiny flame from afar torments me day and night, how much more will the up-close burning building terrify me?

I am always being spared and always being healed, and I have not yet been denied God's mercy. 

None of this is to say that the flames haven't caused me alarm. Even now, sometimes a bubble of "what could be" comes up to the surface. They've even caused me one bad dream. But I know I never need to fear the future - all these things belong to God.

To be clear, I am not saying that I won't endure awful and painful things, but I am saying that these things belong to God and to God's purpose, so they won't be able to destroy me (perpetually) and I have never needed to invest worry in them.

With fear and worry comes judgment and condemnation. "I'll draft you into war and require you to carry a gun; and if you don't, I'll have you locked up and your liberties denied," said Fear and Worry.

As for the fires I've caused... Justice continues to be required, and even then, I've relied on God's mercy to help me see through to the end what I began, and I have not yet been denied.

For me, I was never going to do anything else - I was only ever going to be myself in this regard.

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After reading my last thread, I noticed it reads differently depending if one thinks I'm speaking to myself or if one thinks I'm speaking to others. I am speaking to others.