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Recent encounter in my yard.

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“After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me...” -Job‬ ‭42‬:‭7‬

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Tenant by czesław miłosz

It happened in wilno, in june 1940 or later, after we had been overrun from the east— the state that paid the old woman’s pension was gone, and she let a room to a foreign officer, a captain— he was a russian, a huge man, taciturn, and friendless— his reading light often stayed on into night, and we knew that sometimes he lay on his bed in the dark— no one really knew what kind of work he did, and what measure of discretion it required— we never learned his name, and we will never know his thoughts— we can only guess that he was struggling with a new experience, a wholly new civilization— he had been raised with no god and no devil, and now marveled at the crowds in the churches— the futility of human belief began to impress itself on him, and bitterness at the sight of prayers thrown up to absence— he probably meditated on evil, on the suffering that human animals inflict on one another— on the evil in which we all have a share, and on our obligations in a world in which evil provides order— and the question:  if saying no to evil means cursing one’s own birth, what then?— one night he put a bullet into his skull, and the secret police came to take his clothes, his pistol, his books— it would be indecent to say that angelic choirs greeted him, though the gospel insists:  “blessed are those who thirst for justice”— it is best to keep silent about faith, remembering those who disappeared— this planet mostly consists of traceless souls, acquired over earthly millennia, and uncountable others who did not ascend to consolation—.

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“Much of life is tame and that can steal certain qualities from the soul. Comfort and routine can breed complacency and a catatonic mood can take hold of you that prevents the fruits that wildness gives. I don’t have much, but I have wonder, fierce and frightening wonder.

God is also wild and untamed. Domesticated Religion can seem to erase this truth and many experiences of worship work to remove the fear of God. We create spirituality that’s safe and sane and we try to craft worship experiences that remove the stories in the Bible that give us glimpses of harrowing encounters with the Divine. He isn’t safe, but He is good.”

Read more:

https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/the-fear-of-god?

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Chickens meandering about in the evening light is a living meditation. One does not have to practice meditation, you are pulled into it. Being present in these small moments of calming normalness is the act of mindful gratitude. As we behold the gifts of various aspects of the natural world simply being what they were created to be and do, we recieve intended grace through common things. We are peaced in deeper parts of ourselves, as sleep regenerates, repairs and renews. God’s creation interacts with itself in ways, rhythms and frequencies that sustain, support and strengthen the essential aspects of what it means to be fully alive. Divine design is integrated wholeness, body, soul and spirit.

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The Fallen Angel (1847) by Alexandre Cabanel vs Anakin Skywalker: Revenge of the Sith (2005) Dir. George Lucas

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Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

“Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you-it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you-it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ, but look to Christ; look not at your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.

We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep your eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh in your mind; when you wake in the morning look to him; when you lie down at night look to him.”

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I saw a man holding a bottle today,

clutching it like a pet scorpion, razored boomerang or agitated rattlesnake.

I saw a man holding a bottle today,

an unfulfilled promise, unfaithful lover,

or broken bone,

whispering worthless words of support

and sanity.

I saw a man holding a bottle today,

a traveler with no destination,

living a dream turned nightmare,

mumbling prophesies that never

come true.

He was a small man,

searching for a Sycamore tree,

growing from the seeds planted

by faithful hands.

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“Soldiers and comrades in this adventure, I hope that none of you in our present strait will think to show his wit by exactly calculating all the perils that encompass us, but that you will rather hasten to close with the enemy, without staying to weigh the odds, seeing in this your best chance of safety. In emergencies like ours calculation is out of place; the sooner the danger is faced the better.”

-a paraphrase of the spirit of the writings and calls to action of Demosthenes in the 4th century.

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Boromir: “The need of Gondor is dire. We are hard pressed, and the Enemy’s eye is fixed upon us. Long have we guarded the borders, but our strength wanes, and little aid comes to us.”

“I have seen more than you know. In Gondor we have fought, and we fight still, against a shadow that grows ever stronger. Osgiliath is beleaguered, and the river Anduin is no longer wholly ours. From the walls of the city we have looked upon the Black Land, and seen the fires of its forges. What hope is there, unless some new strength comes to our aid?”

“And yet its vigilance and its valour hold back the tide of evil. Believe not that in the land of Gondor the blood of Númenor is spent, nor all its pride and dignity forgotten. By our valour the wild folk of the East are still restrained, and the terror of Morgul kept at bay; and thus alone are peace and freedom maintained in the lands behind us, wardens of the West.”

-The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 2 (“The Council of Elrond”),

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“It’s holy and horrible to touch God, but to truly believe, we must open our eyes to suffering, turn our ears to the cries and reach out our hands to touch the wounds. Belief is discovered in the blood.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/put-your-hand-into-the-wound

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“Too many people have gotten the wrong script. They are reading Jesus’s lines and think it’s thier part. You’re not the Hero…you’re the Gardener.

“Wild fantasies” distract us from the meaningful and often mundane duties and demands that our lives require of us. The “Ring” as it were puts you in a fever that inflates your view of yourself. Soon you’re overwhelmed with the reality that you are: “…not large enough to bear such a burden.”.

Read more:

https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/youre-not-the-hero

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This song was on the “Flannery” documentary I watched last week. It perfectly fits her vibe.

"I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe….What people don't realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful." -Flannery O'Connor

O’Connor’s theology is this:

“God’s real, sin’s universal, and grace is a wild, unasked-for force that hunts us down through life’s mess. Grace isn't a hug; it's a hammer. It smashes pride, forces humility, and drags you kicking and screaming toward redemption.” -Grok3

Song: Get Right With God by Lucinda Williams

[Verse 1]

I would risk the serpent's bite

I would dance around with seven

I would kiss the diamondback

If I knew it would get me to heaven

[Chorus]

'Cause I want to get right with God

Yes, you know you got to get right with God

[Verse 2]

I would burn soles of my feet

Burn the palms of both my hands

If I could learn and be complete

If I could walk righteously again

[Verse 3]

I would sleep on a bed of nails

'Til my back was torn and bleeding

In the deep darkness of Hell

The Damascus of my meeting

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I asked God about his plan

To save us all from Satan's slaughter

If I give up one of my lambs

Will you take me as one of your daughters?

https://youtu.be/AVFwkoXSUvo?si=SvXZwzKXmSlXe7w8

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There are no blessings for sale. Balaam is alive and well and his or her prophesying is a fraud based on greed. The prosperity gospel that arises out of the word of faith movement is a house of lies that feeds on the vulnerability of desperate people. These charlatans are the ones Jesus said: “devour widow’s houses” (Matt 23:14). The reformation put an axe to this money grubbing root of idolatry. Don’t fall for it dressed up in fancy clothes, good looking smiles quoting illusionary promises built on horrible exegesis.

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them— bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." -2 Peter 2:1-3