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Earwax contains a treasure-trove of information about our health—including cancer status. _ Emma Suttie

We all likely take earwax for granted—and prefer not to think about it. However, the under-appreciated substance does more than keep your ears clean and free of debris—scientists have discovered that it contains a goldmine of health data. Beyond that, earwax might be able to signal diseases like diabetes and cancer.

Cerumen is the technical term for earwax. Ceruminous and sebaceous glands secrete a substance in the external auditory canal that mixes with sweat, hair, dust, and other debris. The purpose of cerumen is to keep the ears lubricated and clean and create a barrier to discourage the entry of bugs and other foreign objects that might infiltrate and wreak havoc.

In 2006, a landmark study discovered that earwax varies between people, finding a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that determines what type of earwax a person has—wet or dry. Of note, a SNP (pronounced “snip”) is the most frequent type of genetic variation among people, and each SNP signifies a difference in a single DNA building block (nucleotide).

Subsequent work found that earwax type also varies among different ethnic groups. Dry earwax is prevalent among East Asians, and the wet type is most common among those of European and African descent.

Interestingly, the gene that determines earwax type is also responsible for whether your armpits smell, and those with the dry type generally produce less sweat and body odor—traits found more in East Asian populations.

The Science of Cerumen

In recent years, earwax has gone from a relatively untapped biological resource to the focus of scientific study, particularly diagnostics.

In 2019, scientists developed a new way to detect cancer using earwax, publishing their findings in Nature. The researchers called the new method the Cerumenogram. The study collected earwax from two groups: people with cancer (lymphoma, carcinoma, or leukemia) and those without cancer.

When tested, 27 biological markers could discriminate between cancer patients and healthy controls 100 percent of the time. The new test has the potential to be a quick, non-invasive, inexpensive, and highly accurate test for cancer diagnosis.

In a subsequent study, published in April, the authors expanded on their findings, demonstrating the Cerumenogram’s effectiveness in detecting metabolic changes associated with cancer.

Nelson Roberto Antoniosi Filho, a professor of chemistry at the Federal University of Goiás in Brazil and an author of both studies, explained the findings and their implications for finding cancer early.

In 2019, he and his colleagues demonstrated that earwax could be used to diagnose any cancer at any stage, which they have since verified by studying more than 1,000 samples, he said. Their most recent research showed that the same method can detect pre-cancer stages, diagnose metabolic remission of cancer, and distinguish between benign and malignant tumors.

Filho says he and his colleagues have found that their method detects cancer earlier than traditional tests or expensive imaging, meaning that treatment can start sooner, be less aggressive, and cost less—often before the cancer fully develops—significantly improving the chances of success. For patients in remission, it also clearly shows the moment they are cured, ending years of anxiety and uncertainty, which often last for 5 years or more of follow-up.

Filho says he and his team are currently focusing their studies on metabolic disorders like diabetes mellitus, xeroderma pigmentosum, cancer, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. They are also beginning to focus on autism and depression.

A 2020 study led by Dr. Andrés Herane-Vives, a psychiatrist, scientist, and lecturer at University College London and King’s College London in the UK, collected earwax and measured for cortisol comparing it with standard measurements using hair. Although hair samples are typically used to measure long-term cortisol levels in chronic stress or endocrine dysregulation conditions, the study’s results indicated that using earwax samples may yield more accurate results.

In another 2020 study using earwax, Herane-Vives and his team found that glucose levels reflected in earwax matched levels found in blood, and that earwax glucose reflected short- and long-term blood glucose with 59 percent more accuracy than the HBA1c test, the standard blood test used to measure blood sugar levels as well as monitoring and diagnosing diabetes.

Herane-Vives explained why earwax is unique and offers a more complete picture for tracking certain conditions over time.

“We needed a new specimen to reflect chronic levels of different biomarkers, because so far, the samples that we’ve got—like saliva, urine, or blood—are not able to accumulate substances, and only give us a snapshot,” he told The Epoch Times.

One of the ways earwax was collected in both studies was using a self-sampling device that Herane-Vives has since further developed through his biotech company, Trears Biomarkers. The device allows patients to collect their earwax in the comfort of their homes, which can then be sent through the post to a lab for analysis.

The Earwax Self-Sampling Device developed by Trears Biomarkers. Courtesy of Dr Andrés Herane-Vives

Herane-Vives says the future of cerumen research and Trears, is to improve diagnosis so people get the treatments they need.

“We don’t need new treatments, we need better diagnosis,” he said.

The device could change the game for many patients with chronic diseases like diabetes, allowing them to collect samples at home for regular testing, making it easier, more reliable, and vastly less expensive, in addition to easing an enormous financial burden on the health care system.

The only challenge of using earwax may be that some people lack a sufficient amount, making testing difficult.

“A few people produce little earwax or don’t produce earwax at all. In this regard, we are also finalizing studies to overcome this problem,” Filho said.

The combination of tests like the Cerumenogram and self-sampling devices that allow people to collect their earwax without having to visit a doctor’s office or lab offers an exciting vision of the future of medicine.

Filho said there is no doubt that earwax analysis will become routine in the coming years.

In Brazil, the approach is already being used to diagnose tumor development, including both cancerous stages and pre-cancerous conditions, as well as to assess whether the cancer is in remission, he said.

“This examination has been routinely applied in one of the largest oncology hospitals in the country or Hospital Amaral Carvalho (Jaú-São Paulo), and we are working to ensure that in the next 5 years, all public educational and research institutions in the country offer this examination at the lowest possible cost to the entire population.”

For the rest of the world, he said, the Cerumenogram will become as common as a blood test within the next decade.

“Perhaps in the future, while we listen to music through headphones, those headphones will diagnose our health conditions and tell us what precautions we need to take. I suggest that a samba be played to indicate that health is good!”

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I was crushed...so much so that I despaired even of life, but that was to make me rely not on myself, but on the God who raises the dead"

*(2 Cor. 1:8, 9)*

"Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;

Pressed so intensely it seems, beyond strength;

Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul,

Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll.

Pressure by foes, and a pressure from friends.

Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.

"Pressed into knowing no helper but God;

Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.

Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;

Pressed into faith for impossible things.

Pressed into living a life in the Lord,

Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured."

The pressure of hard places makes us value life. Every time our life is given back to us from such a trial, it is like a new beginning, and we learn better how much it is worth, and make more of it for God and man. The pressure helps us to understand the trials of others, and fits us to help and sympathize with them.

There is a shallow, superficial nature, that gets hold of a theory or a promise lightly, and talks very glibly about the distrust of those who shrink from every trial; but the man or woman who has suffered much never does this, but is very tender and gentle, and knows what suffering really means. This is what Paul meant when he said, "Death worketh in you."

Trials and hard places are needed to press us forward, even as the furnace fires in the hold of that mighty ship give force that moves the piston, drives the engine, and propels that great vessel across the sea in the face of the winds and waves.

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Counterfeit Repentance

To discover what true repentance is, I shall first show what it is not. There are several deceits of repentance which might occasion that saying of Augustine that repentance damns many. He meant a false repentance. a person may delude himself with counterfeit repentance.

1. The first deceit of repentance is legal terror. A man has gone on long in sin. At last God arrests him, shows him what desperate hazard he has run,and he is filled with anguish. Within a while the tempest of conscience is blown over, and he is quiet. Then he concludes that he is a true penitent because he has felt some bitterness in sin. Do not be deceived. this is not repentance. Ahab and Judas had some trouble of mind. It is one thing to be a terrified sinner and another to be a repenting sinner. Sense of guilt is enough to breed terror. Infusion of grace breeds repentance. If pain and trouble were sufficient to repentance, then the damned in hell should be most penitent, for they are most in anguish. Repentance depends upon a change of heart. There may be terror, yet with no change of heart. 2. Another deceit about repentance is resolution against sin. A person may purpose and make vows, yet be no penitent. Thou saidst, I will not transgress Jer 2. 20. Here was a resolution. but see what follows. under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Notwithstanding her solemn engagements, she played fast and loose with God and ran after her idols. We see by experience what protestations a person will make when he is on his sick-bed, if God should recover him again; yet he is as bad as ever. He shows his old heart in a new temptation. Resolutions against sin may arise.

1 From present extremity. not because sin is sinful, but because it is painful. This resolution will vanish.

2 From fear of future evil, an apprehension of death and hell. I looked, and behold a pale horse. and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him Rev 6. 8 . What will not a sinner do, what vows will he not make, when he knows he must die and stand before the judgment seat. Self-love raises a sickbed vow, and love of sin will prevail against it. Trust not to a passionate resolution. it is raised in a storm and will die in a calm.

3 The third deceit about repentance is the leaving of many sinful ways. It is a great matter, I confess, to leave sin. So dear is sin to a man that he will rather part with a child than with a lust. Shall I give the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul. Mic 6. 7 . Sin may be parted with, yet without repentance.

1 A man may part with some sins and keep others, as Herod reformed many things that were amiss but could not leave his incest Mat 14. 3.

2 An old sin may be left in order to entertain a new, as you put off an old servant to take another. This is to exchange a sin. Sin may be exchanged and the heart remained unchanged. He who was a prodigal in his youth turns usurer in his old age. A slave is sold to a Jew. the Jew sells him to a Turk. Here the master is changed, but he is a slave still. So a man moves from one vice to another but remains a sinner still.

3 A sin may be left not so much from strength of grace as from reasons of prudence. A man sees that though such a sin be for his pleasure, yet it is not for his interest. It will eclipse his credit, prejudice his health, impair his estate. Therefore, for prudential reasons, he dismisses it.

True leaving of sin is when the acts of sin cease from the infusion of a principle of grace, as the air ceases to be dark from the infusion of light.

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The pope is dead

22 April 2025

When Joseph Radzinger cum Pope Benedict xvi, (who had fought in Hitler's Nazi forces in his youth) resigned as pope amidst the pressure of drowning in a sea of scandals of internationally orchestrated conspiracies to protect pedophile sex criminal clergy at the expense of not protecting hundreds of thousands of victimized defenseless Roman Catholic children on a global scale, Jorge Bergoglio took his place. This Jesuit from Argentina took the alias 'Pope Francis' referring to Radzinger ironically as his "dad", and asserted a divine mandate to 'transform' the Roman Catholic Church.

Transform it he most certainly did. After responding to a question concerning homosexuality and lesbianism with the response "who am I to judge" in open rejection of The Word of God discounting passages such as The Epistle to The Romans Chapter One, he progressed even further telling Roman Catholic priests to bless same sex marriages, placing the benediction of the Church of Rome on homosexual and lesbian marital unions, while not actually performing the nuptial liturgy. The hypocrisy failed to satiate the demands of homosexuals & lesbians for a full same sex nuptial mass, but infuriated Roman Catholic traditionalists for granting religious sanction to same sex matrimony in violation of their moral teaching and church dogma.

Cardinal Pell of Australia called Pope Francis a 'disaster'. Some viewed Vatican abandonment when Pell was imprisoned for child molestation (but later acquitted due to insufficient evidence) as retribution. Cardinal Carlo Vigano was literally excommunicated by Pope Francis for being schismatic when Vigano objected to Pope Francis restoring criminally convicted serial pedophile Cardinal McKenrick of Washington DC to ministry as a papal liaison to China. Pope Francis also removed Texas Archbishop Joseph Strickland from office for his objections to Pope Francis' position on LGBTQ+ issues.

Pell and Vigano had both ranked among the powerful senior cardinals in the Pontifical Curia. Yet, his progressivist pro same sex activism had only been one cause of discontent among more conservative elements of Roman Catholicism. Francis was more progressive activist than clergyman in the opinion of many Roman Catholic clergy and laymen alike. He denounced the opposition to illegal immigration policies of Donald Trump, endorsed scientifically disputed radial green agendas and other left-wing ideologies in an attempt to use religion to dictate the political agendas he subscribed to as the political policies Roman Catholics should support on religious grounds.

While our own strong theological disagreement with Roman Catholicism doctrinally is very well established, this is not to say that we do not share common ground with Roman Catholics on the contemporary socially divisive crises of sexual morality upholding heterosexuality as natural divinely designed normality and deviations from it as perversion (as well as on issues of non-therapeutic abortion). Without hatred or personal acrimony towards homosexuals & lesbians, we do, as do traditional Roman Catholics, hinge our values to "God created them male and female". Bergoglio did not need to judge; God already has, and Bergoglio used his pontificate to defy Him.

Jesus commanded "Call no man on earth your Father" (as a religious title), for One is your Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 23:9). Yet, rejecting the command of Jesus, Bergoglio usurped the place of the Almighty and called himself "The Holy Father". Now he knows that he wasn't. The Greek term antichrist (antikristos) co-equally means in opposition to and in place of Christ. Translated to Latin this is "vicarious Christos", the 'Vicar of Christ'. God's word however tells us that it is His Holy Spirit who acts vicariously for Christ. Popes place themselves in place of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Peter claimed no primacy (1Peter 5:1) but described himself only as a "fellow elder". In the first church council in Jerusalem in Acts 15 it was James, not Peter, who presided. Peter plainly was no monarchial pontiff. Neither did Peter anywhere decree such a position was to be inherited by future bishops in Rome. Pontiff was the Pontificus Maximus title of the pagan Roman emperor as bridge building head of the Pantheon of idols that St. Paul identified to be demons (1 Corinthians 10:20).

The Vatican is the miniature restoration by Hitler's allie, the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, of the Medieval Papal States at the Concordat of San Giovanni Latereno.. Jesus however insisted that "His Kingdom was NOT of this world" (John 18:36). The papacy has always been an institutionalized den of political and financial corruption besmirched by an ugly history of moral debauchery. This is not to state that Calvin's Geneva, or other Protestant states were any better, but it is to face the undeniable legacy of the papacy.

The papacy has always been a dynasty of popes given to wickedness, crime, treachery, bank fraud, and reprobation. Carol Wojtyla / John Paul II gave refuge to wanted clergy inside the Vatican, including the Ambrosiano bank collapse and Calvi affair that involved dozens and dozens of murders and saw the Vatican paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation. The unceasing pedophilia fiascos in country after country and the coverups that racketeers wouldn't perpetrate under Radzinger followed.

No, Bergoglio was not the first nefarious pope - not by a long shot. But as honest Roman Catholics, including the senior cardinals and bishops who opposed him themselves have admitted - Jorge Bergoglio, alias Pope Francis, diabolically dragged the papacy to an all-time low. He was not The Holy Father, he was rather of his father the Devil (John 8:44).

_J. Jacob Prasch

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Special deal

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The Cloward-Piven Strategy, Steps & Aftermath - Lesson

https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-cloward-piven-strategy.html#section---TheClowardPivenTheory

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When I read my bible through

I supposed I knew my Bible

Reading piecemeal, hit and miss,

Now a bit of John or Matthew,

Now a snatch of Genesis,

Certain chapters of Isaiah

Certain Psalms (the twenty-third!);

Twelfth of Romans, First of Proverbs—

Yes, I thought I knew the Word!

But I found that thorough reading

Was a different thing to do,

And the way was unfamiliar

When I read the Bible through.

Oh, the massive, mighty volume!

Oh, the treasures manifold!

Oh, the beauty of the wisdom

And the grace it proved to hold!

As the story of the Hebrews

Swept in majesty along,

As it leaped in waves prophetic,

As it burst to sacred song,

As it gleamed with Christly omens,

The Old Testament was new,

Strong with cumulative power,

When I read the Bible through.

Ah! Imperial Jeremiah,

With his keen, coruscant mind;

And the blunt old Nehemiah,

And Ezekiel refined!

Newly came the Minor Prophets

Each with his distinctive robe,

Newly came the Song idyllic,

And the tragedy of Job;

Deuteronomy, the regal,

To a towering mountain grew,

With its comrade peaks around it,

When I read the Bible through.

What a radiant procession

As the pages rise and fall,

James the sturdy, John the tender

O the myriad-minded Paul!

Vast apocalyptic glories

Wheel and thunder, flash and flame,

While the church triumphant raises

One incomparable Name.

Ah, the story of the Saviour

Never glows supremely true

Till you read it whole and swiftly,

Till you read the Bible through.

You who like to play at Bible,

Dip and dabble, here and there,

Just before you kneel, aweary,

And yawn thro’ a hurried prayer;

You who treat the Crown of Writings

As you treat no other book—

Just a paragraph disjointed,

Just a crude, impatient look—

Try a worthier procedure,

Try a broad and steady view;

You will kneel in very rapture

When you read the Bible through!

—by Amos R. Wells

I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. Psalm 119:162

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The follow up of the missile strike in KRYVYI RIH 7 March '25. Eye witness who lives close to where the missile struck. He said their whole five story building shook. You will see it mentions damage to 32 houses. A house is the term for a block of apartments. Each missile strike causes massive damage in the whole area around where it hits. These rescue workers do a tremendous job. The community also helps carry the wounded and help look for people that might be under the rubble. The city is a place of refuge for around 100,000 displaced people at last count reported. So these are people who have evacuated from locations where the fighting is and have lost everything. They come and try and get on with their lives but no one is guaranteed safety anywhere, more so in our area.

Local news video

Update:

This is absolutely wicked. First strike then they waited for rescue workers to arrive and start work and they stuck again.

‼️ 11 dead and 47 injured - these are the consequences of the attack on Dobropilly as of 16:00, - Vadym Filashkin...

7 wounded were hospitalized in Dobropil, 3 more in a more serious condition were evacuated to Dnipro. Seven children are among the wounded.

At least 8 five-story buildings, a shopping center, shopping pavilions, and 30 cars were destroyed and damaged. Some houses burned almost completely.

Elimination of the consequences of shelling continues. We are establishing the final amount of the damage.

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Pomegranate

The hidden treasures of a pomegranate: What it means to "taste and see that the Lord is good"

My first experience with a pomegranate was unpleasant. 

While growing up in South Mississippi, I had a neighbor who had a pomegranate “tree” (which was more of a large shrub). I tried taking a bite of the inside of the fruit and immediately spat it out and threw it away. 

I formed a quick opinion about pomegranates based on my first experience, and it was not until my adult years—when someone showed me the correct way to eat one—that I discovered they are very tasteful and healthy. 

Had I not learned how to eat a pomegranate, I would never have discovered the abundance of goodness and benefits found inside.

What does it mean to “taste and see”?

Recently, I was removing the edible seeds from a pomegranate (there are lots!) when my husband commented on how tedious it looked and offered to help. 

I told him that it was like finding hidden treasures. 

There’s a lot of truth there that can be applied to our spiritual life. 

David encourages us to “taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8). 

Metaphorically, to taste means to experience. 

You will not know the goodness of God, the benefits of God, unless you experience them for yourself. 

Before I began eating pomegranates, I did some research about their nutritional values (there are many) and uncovered some other interesting facts relating to the Bible. 

It is indeed a most-interesting fruit.

The biblical background of the pomegranate

Jewish traditions hold that the fruit has 613 seeds, which correspond to the laws in the Torah. 

Many believe the pomegranate represents Israel. It is used as a symbol for Rosh Hashana. 

Some theologians believe the pomegranate mentioned in Scriptures is symbolic of fruitfulness, blessing, and prosperity (Numbers 13:23; Deuteronomy 8:8), or a nation’s wealth (Joel 1:12; Haggai 2:19). 

Pomegranates were also sewn to the hem of the robe of the high priest, along with bells (Exodus 28:33–35). 

I enjoyed learning some biblical background about the pomegranate and researching its benefits, but it was only when I tasted it correctly for myself that I experienced its goodness and reaped its benefits. 

Don’t we do that with God? 

Experience his fullness 

We read about God or hear people talk about him, but we may limit our experience with him. 

I like The Living Bible translation of David’s admonition in Psalm 34:8: “Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him.” 

The Apostle Paul tells us that it is through Jesus that we experience God: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation . . . in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:15, 19). 

He told the Christians in Colossae that he was praying they would “reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2–3). 

I found the hidden treasures in the pomegranate . . . oh, to find the treasures found in Jesus! 

Jesus says of himself “I came that [you] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). 

He is the only way to experience the fullness of God. 

Discover for yourself the abundance and goodness that’s awaiting you. 

-Minni Elkins

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*Prayer Pointers from Psalm 16

*1. Seek Refuge in Yahweh (vv. 1–2)*

> “Keep me, O God, for I take refuge in You. O my soul, you have said to Yahweh, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good without You.’”

- Pray for a heart that continually seeks refuge in Yahweh amid trials and uncertainties.

- Confess your dependence on Him, acknowledging that apart from Him, there is no true good.

- Ask for a deepened trust in Yahweh’s protection, provision, and sovereign care.

*2. Delight in the People of God (vv. 3–4)*

> “As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.”

- Thank Yahweh for the gift of fellow believers who encourage and strengthen you in the faith.

- Pray for a heart that delights in the community of God’s people, seeking to serve and build up the church.

- Ask for discernment to remain separate from idolatry and the empty pursuits of those who reject Yahweh.

*3. Find Satisfaction in Yahweh Alone (vv. 5–6)*

> “Yahweh is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my inheritance is beautiful to me.”

- Rejoice in the truth that Yahweh is your greatest treasure and inheritance.

- Pray for contentment in what He has provided, trusting that He has placed you exactly where you need to be.

- Ask Yahweh to keep your heart from covetousness and worldly pursuits that cannot satisfy.

*4. Follow Yahweh’s Wisdom and Counsel (vv. 7–8)*

> “I will bless Yahweh who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set Yahweh continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

- Seek Yahweh’s wisdom in your daily decisions, asking Him to guide you through His Word.

- Pray for a heart that remains steadfast in Yahweh’s presence, continually setting Him before you.

- Ask for unshakable confidence in Yahweh, even when facing trials or uncertainties.

*5. Rejoice in the Security of Yahweh’s Salvation (vv. 9–10)*

> “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not forsake my soul to Sheol; You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption.”

- Praise Yahweh for the joy and security that come from His salvation.

- Pray for steadfast faith, knowing that Yahweh will never forsake those who belong to Him.

- Rejoice in the fulfilment of this verse in Christ, whose resurrection secures eternal life for all who trust in Him.

*6. Walk in the Path of Life and Eternal Joy (v. 11)*

> “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

- Pray for a heart that longs to walk in Yahweh’s ways, seeking His path of life.

- Ask for a deeper experience of joy in His presence, rather than in temporary worldly pleasures.

- Rejoice in the promise of eternal pleasures at Yahweh’s right hand, anticipating the glory of being with Him forever.

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What Is Valentine's Day and Is it Connected to Christianity?

February 14 is when we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Although some enjoy it as the celebration of love, others reject it as a materialistic commercialized holiday. 

Valentine’s Day started with a connection to Christianity but there is a lot of information to wade through to find the truth. The details within the stories connecting it to Christianity are difficult to prove.

Nevertheless, Valentine’s Day is connected to Christianity, but not solely.

Christian Connections

Valentine’s Day began as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. The feast was first established by Pope Gelasius I to honor one or two saints named Valentinus for being martyred on February 14. 

Those familiar with this connection believe there to be a single man, but there were actually three saints bearing the name Valentine or Valentinus. Two were from Italy and one was from Africa. Two were clearly beheaded, while the third one’s martyrdom is only “supposed” by some.

One Valentine's story is that he was a temple priest who was imprisoned for ministering to Christians when they were being persecuted by the Roman empire. While in prison, he fell in love with a young woman (possibly the jailer’s daughter) and sent her a farewell note (from “Your Valentine”) before his execution. One version of the story states that the young woman was blind, and Valentine healed her, while other stories leave that part out.

Another Valentine's story says that he was beheaded for performing secret weddings when Emperor Claudius had outlawed them for young soldiers.

And yet another story: Valentine was a priest who was arrested, but instead of being put in jail, he was put into the custody of an aristocrat named Asterius. After hearing Valentine speak, he challenged him about the validity of Christ. He bargained with him to heal his for Asterius to believe. Valentine healed her and they all got baptized. After Emperor Claudius II found out, he had Valentine killed.

With the difficulty of determining which details are true, it’s no wonder they can be found all mixed together, giving us the idea of a single person.

Pagan Connections

While it is clear that the origin of Valentine’s Day is connected to Christianity, there are those who claim paganism is the root. Those telling this story say Christianity took the Roman festival called Lupercalia and “Christianized” it.  

Lupercalia was a fertility festival that honored the Roman gods on February 15. Some stories say Juno and Pan, while others say Faunus, Romulus, and Remus.

The details of the festival have differences depending on which story you read, but they’re all quite gory.

Nevertheless, Paganism may or may not have had anything to do with Valentine’s Day.

Love Birds

How Valentine’s Day became connected with romantic love is said to be due to a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. In 1375, he wrote “Parliament of Foules” connecting romantic love to the beginning of mating season for birds (mid-February). He wrote, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day/Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.”

During that time in history, courtly love flourished, and couples took the occasion to express their love in the form of flowers, candies, and cards (valentines).

Perhaps this is where we get the term love birds from?

What Does This Mean?

Whatever Valentine’s Day is to you, it is for you to decide. Personally, I think it’s a great opportunity to celebrate love, whether it be for family, friends, lovers, or neighbors because Jesus said that people would know us by our love. 

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:14).

I found the one my heart loves (Song of Solomon 3:4).

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised (Song of Solomon 8:6-7). 

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10).

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Valentine’s Day Fun Facts

Passing out Valentine's is a 600-year-old tradition. Esther Howland is the first manufacturer of Valentine's. Today, millions of greeting cards are purchased every year. People consider pink and red the colors of love. Candy hearts were originally medical lozenges. Wearing your heart on your sleeve is more than just a phrase. The candies got their iconic shape much later. The heart shape wasn't always a romantic symbol. Cupid's bow and arrow aren't just for show. Roses are the flowers of love. Men and women prefer the same of candy. The chocolate box has been around for more than 140 years.

Danielle Bernock 

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"So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. Then all the people said to Samuel, 'Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.' ... 'For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way'" (1 Sam 12:18-19, 22-23). This passage draws an unmistakeable parallel between the prophet Samuel and Moses (compare 1 Sam 12:18 with Exod 9:28; 14:31). The author obviously wants us to see Samuel as a new Moses. But what makes the prophet Samuel most like Moses in this story is his willingness to intercede to God on behalf of his wayward people (compare 1 Sam 12:19 with Num 11:2; 21:7; Deut 9:20, 26). By looking carefully at this OT portrait of a prophet like Moses pleading on behalf of Israel, we also get a glimpse of a NT apostle from the tribe of Benjamin, who like Moses, Samuel, and his Savior Yeshua before him (see Isa 53:10-12), also prayed, pleaded, and interceded on behalf of his sinful people. And the image of our prophets, apostles, and most especially our Moses-like Messiah is most clearly reflected when we pray, plead, and stand in the gap for God's wayward people as well. "I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Rom 9:1-2). "Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation" (Rom 10:1). "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew" (Rom 11:1).

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So Much More Than a Nickname

Often commentaries seek to explain the titling of Peter as Jesus merely

bestowing a nickname, as he did when he called James and John the “sons

of thunder.” But Jesus is up to infinitely more. This is not simple

camaraderie; it is the call. The new title contains a prophetic promise. It

could have only been finally affirmed after Peter’s statement of faith in who

Jesus is. His confession was the necessary indication that Peter was indeed

the first stone to be laid. Now that this confession has been spoken, Jesus

will begin to build.

Though Jesus bestows the new title of “Rock” (Cephas in Aramaic), he

will never call Simon by that name because it is, after all, not a proper

name. He is always Simon to Jesus. Only later, in Acts, will the name

Simon give way to Peter, in the same way “Christ” is a title that later

became a part of Jesus’ name. Jesus Christ. Simon Peter. So Peter (Cephas)is not merely an affectionate nickname but a prophetic title that describes

who Simon will, by grace, become, a new name signifying a new life.

This is not the first time God called an ordinary man to an extraordinary

future by giving him a new title. “When God looked on Abraham who was

to appear, he said, ‘Behold, I have found a rock on which I can build and

base the world.’ Therefore he called Abraham a ‘rock’ ” (from an ancient

Jewish commentary, called a midrash,on Isaiah 51:1-2).

“Consider . . . the rock from which you were cut . . . Abraham,” Isaiah

had proclaimed six hundred years before. Abram, the one who was called,

renamed and given a promise that he would build a holy nation, provides

the true Old Testament background for understanding the new title Simon

receives.

Jesus’ pronouncement concerning Simon Peter sounds hauntingly

similar to the words of the rabbis when they sought to explain Isaiah’s

statement in their commentary. The character of Abram has nothing to do

with the reference to the rock. He is not particularly strong or steadfast. In

fact, the record will reveal quite the contrary. What is significant about

Abram is the God who calls him. It is all about the fact that God is building

something— a new nation—and he has graciously determined to use men

and women as building stones. The result was that the nation of Israel

eventually found their corporate identity in Abraham. Later they would

identify corporately with a series of priests and kings. All the while God

would long for them to find their identity in him.

In the same way Simon will become for the followers of Jesus what

Abraham was for Israel: a foundational leader for the community by virtue

of a divine call and a confession of personal faith. In time the disciples of

Jesus will find a corporate identity in Simon Peter. They will come to him

to ask Jesus to clarify his sayings. Jesus will speak to the Twelve often by

addressing only Simon. When the tax collectors want to collect the temple

tax from Jesus, they will come and ask Simon. When the Three fall asleep

in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus will correct only Simon. Not by any

virtue of character or accomplishment but solely because of the call of

Jesus, Simon will serve as the representative of the Twelve whose head and

leader is always unquestionably Jesus.

After Jesus returns to the Father, Simon will be the vital bridge between

two disparate worlds: the world of a physically present, perfect Leader and

the other world of diverse and decidedly imperfect leaders.Like any building, the living structure Jesus proposes to build has a

door. That door requires a key, and Peter is promised that someday he will

receive that key. Once more we are in Old Testament territory, again in the

book of Isaiah. The prophet tells of a divine oracle who promised that his

authority (symbolized by keys) would pass to a man named Eliakim. “I will

give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal

court. He will open doors, and no one will be able to shut them; he will

close doors, and no one will be able to open them” (Isaiah 22:22).

As Simon’s identity becomes solidified in Acts, we will see several

instances of his “unlocking” the door of the kingdom. Through his healing

people and speaking the word of Jesus, the door of the kingdom will

eventually be opened to the Gentiles and to the whole world. The Pharisees,

Jesus would say, “shut the kingdom of the heaven in men’s faces” (Matthew

23:13 NIV). Peter and his followers would, by grace, unlock and open wide

that door. The process of unlocking and opening the kingdom’s doors will

continue on until the end of time (Revelation 1:18; 3:7; 21:25).

But all of that lies ahead of this simple, confused fisherman. For now,

he is still standing beside his familiar lake. He is holding not keys but

smelly, soggy nets in chapped hands. Before him stands simply a new

friend who seems to see him with understanding and sympathetic eyes. It is

one of those ordinary, earthshaking, timeless moments when two lives

intersect. Simon Peter has no idea what lies ahead.

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Let them hear...

Click The Gospel image for video message

⤵️⤵️⤵️

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... But you did!

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Ireland is Committing Genocide Against Itself

The obsession of the Irish government with falsely accusing Israel of genocide is only equaled by its determination to commit an actual genocide against the Irish people.

In its latest move, the Irish government has called for watering down the definition of genocide to be able to apply it to the Jewish State, but there is no need to water down the formal definition, the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, to charge Ireland’s government with ‘self-genocide’ or ‘autogenocide’ against its own people.

In the last 20 years, Ireland, a small nation of millions, has been overwhelmed by a mass migration of 1.6 million people. In 2023, there were 54,678 births in the Republic of Ireland and 141,600 immigrants. Birth rates dropped 5% in 2023 (hovering at 1.5 births per woman well below replacement rate) but the number of immigrants grew by 31%. And will grow further.

The most popular name for boys was Jack, among Irish parents, while the most popular name among non-European immigrant parents was ‘Mohammed’.

Churches are closing across Ireland and mosques are opening in their place. There were only 400 Muslims in all of Ireland in 1991. That shot up to 19,000 in 2002 and 83,000 in 2023. 3% of Ireland’s children are Muslim now and the numbers are increasing every year.

Some Muslims are impatient with those numbers and have been trying to hurry them along.

In November, an Algerian Arab began stabbing children outside a Catholic school in Dublin. A five and six-year-old girl suffered severe injuries. When a crowd gathered to protest the latest act of Muslim violence, a ruthless police and media crackdown quickly ensued.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the son of an Indian father, scolded that the Irish protesters had “brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves.” No shame was brought on those who had allowed Riad Bouchaker and a legion of foreign invaders like him to occupy Ireland, slaughter and displace the native population.

Media accounts emphasized that the Algerian Muslim stabber, Bouchaker, who needed an Arabic translator in court, was really an “Irish citizen” and condemned bigotry against him.

No mention was made in the media that Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, the Catholic school attended by the children, was four blocks away from the ‘Dublin Mosque’ and the headquarters of the ‘Islamic Foundation of Ireland’ which had formerly been the Donore Presbyterian Church.

And no questions were asked about what this proximity to the largest mosque in the city might have had to the attack. Such questions, according to the government, are “disinformation”.

Bouchaker was only doing to Ireland’s children what the Dublin Mosque had done to a church.

One cannot fault the current Irish government for its Jihad over Israel. It’s really treating the Jews no worse than it treats the Irish. And if it expects Israel to lie down and die rather than stand up to Islamic terrorists that is the exact expectation that it (and not just it) has for Ireland.

And perhaps the Irish government is jealous that the Israelis refuse to follow in its footsteps.

The modern rebirths of Israel and Ireland were linked by common rebellions against British rule. Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel is the grandson of the Chief Rabbi of Ireland. His father, Chaim Herzog, Israel’s sixth president, was born in Belfast. His grandfather, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was both an enthusiastic Irish nationalist and Zionist. Rabbi Herzog became known as the ‘Sinn Fein Rabbi’ despite Sinn Fein being founded by Arthur Griffith who hated the fairly small Jewish community in Ireland so much that he had cheered on the Limerick pogrom.

The ideological heirs of those who prided themselves on driving the Jews out of Limerick have welcomed in Limerick’s multiple mosques. Muslims are now the second largest religion in Limerick. And history shows it will only be a matter of time until the second will become the first.

Israel and Ireland as modern states arose from 19th century nationalist movements seeking to restore the glorious past of diaspora peoples. Animated by writers, artists, linguists and poets determined to revive what many saw as dead languages and the dead past, Zionism and Celtic nationalism seemed to have much in common. But the outcomes have been very different.

Half the Jewish diaspora lives in Israel while the vast majority of the Irish diaspora still lives abroad. Israel is a technological pioneer while Ireland serves as a Big Tech tax shelter. Israel has fought and won wars against Muslim invaders while Ireland shamefully kneels to them.

The revival of Israel is an object of pride to Jews around the world, but Ireland remains little more than a tourist stop with little about its state to take pride in as a modern day nation.

And most damningly, Israel’s birth rate is double that of the Irish birth rate.

Israel could very easily have ended up like Ireland: a kleptocracy run by crooked club socialists doling out just enough social welfare to keep the population voting for them, a cafe cultural establishment whose literary and linguistic experiments had soured into a club of worthless worthies, and plenty of history for scholars to look back on but no future to look forward to.

And if the Israelis hadn’t spent the last century fighting for their lives, maybe it would have.

If Israel had been living next door to some dying socialist republics with nothing to aspire to beyond wrangling about their share of EU subsidies, maybe it would have also become a failed experiment with Labor and Likud as its Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, Amos Oz as its Joyce, and people who don’t bother with the national language, but just want to move to Europe.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) the Jews were cursed or blessed with their enemies.

Mediocre decline was never an option for Israel. More than the Jews, it is their enemies who will not allow Zionism to die out. And so Israel is in yet another war for the Irish government to deplore. The Irish were allowed to stop fighting while the Jews can never have any respite.

And so paradoxically they can also never die out.

The Jews and the Irish are both a little mad, self-destructive and prone to endless infighting. We ought to understand each other better, but true to form we do not when we most need to.

Israel is what the Irish nationalists once dreamed of before they became small petty men.

The poet warriors who go off to die for their homeland are not historical figures in Israel, they are friends and neighbors. Everyday life is a struggle for survival against enemies out to kill you. Each child born is a triumph. Keeping a shop going while serving in the war is heroic. And so everyone takes a break from the infighting and pulls together because life means something.

Ireland once had that. It no longer does. And by the time it does again, it may be too late.

Where the Irish government allows Arab Muslim invaders to murder their children, the Israelis refuse. The Irish government calls this genocide: the Israelis call it survival. The Irish nationalists have sold out their homeland and their people, and resent those who won’t.

A generation hence the Israelis will have sons in their homeland while the sons of Ireland will be everywhere but in Dublin, mourning a homeland lost once again to foreign invaders and traitors.

Ireland is facing its own genocide. And few dare to talk about it. In Ireland, hating the Jews is safe, but opposing Muslims is a crime. Israel is not Ireland’s problem: instead it ought to be Ireland’s model. And yet accuse Israel of genocide and you’re a national treasure, but accuse the Irish government of genocide and you’ll face smear campaigns and criminal charges.

There’s a genocide problem in Ireland. The blood of Irish children stains a nation. Israel’s worst enemies are outside it, but Ireland’s worst enemies are inside its own government.

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