#BUT APOLLO HEED MY PRAYERS

[2sleepy4dis]

What to say? The roles are probably already taken but I'M CLINGING to that little hope!!

As a tradition of who weilds the spirit of hero, the one who should get Link's role shall be an unknown actor and not a celebrity with face plastered just for the sake of attracting audience who doesn't even know the franchise.

I have nothing against big actors, they're great, but if a humble man have courage and stepped in, knowing what's he is into, when he applied for that role I'd give him more kudos you can give in A03.

[mastermindmp3]

Oh, misery, misery! Again comes on me The terrible labor of true prophecy, dizzying prelude.

- Robert Fagles' translation of Agamemnon by Aeschylus

Cassandra is a song about a universal truth: the warning unheard, and the people who do the warning.

There are many, many variations on the myth of Cassandra, the prophet whose visions were always true, but never believed. In all of them, she is the daughter of the King and Queen of Troy.

Aeschylus said she promised the god Apollo to marry him in exchange for her prophetic powers. When she later walked back that promise, Apollo cursed her to never be believed. Hygneius sources say Cassandra never promised anything, and that the gift of prophecy was only given as an attempt to win her affection. When it did not succeed, Apollo cursed Cassandra. Men who do things for you expecting to be rewarded in sex: a tale as old as time.

Even later versions cut Apollo entirely - instead, Cassandra fell asleep in a temple, and snakes whispered prophecies into ears, giving her this power to foretell the future. In all versions, this power cannot save her. After the fall of Troy, Cassandra is kidnapped by Agamemnon as a concubine and later killed by Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra (or her lover, depending on whose telling the tale.)

I don't think Swift is directly mapping her experience to the myth in Cassandra, the song. Instead, the prophetess is a metaphor. It is all about the ways that public opinion is swayed by the first voice it hears, even if the truth comes out later.

The myth of Cassandra has become shorthand in the modern understanding for someone whose warning was correct, but not heeded. Swift's Cassandra, while pulling from this cultural consciousness, is much more concerned with Cassandra as a person; Swift depicts a very personal picture of her narrator, who clearly relates to the Prophetess.

It is empathy, all the way down.

The song itself is very clear with its imagery: Swift's narrator is "patching up the crack along the wall," repairing a small damage, when the unnamed family come along and burn her life down. So, she turns her "smiles into snarls," pacing with pain in her heart and venom whispered in her ears by snakes. The Narrator watches as the world realizes she was right, and then, she throws their image of perfect puritans in their face.

Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul.

It's all very I told you, you should have listened to me. And clearly, now that the truth is out, and it's cool to hate the ones she's held in her ire for years, Swift's narrator gives herself a little bit of room to say:

Do you believe me now?

It's almost very funny that I'm discussing this today - there has been a recent uproar about, specifically, scientific paper mills that exist to make money, as opposed to actually conduct research. To what end? Credentialing is a whole thing, but it's basically buying legitimacy. Scientific fraud is definitely not what this song is about, but the fact that truth tellers are so ignored in favor of profit or not shaking the status quo.

Swift loves a universal truth, and anyone who warns of duplicity is liable to be lambasted. Swift says to them - you were right, justified, and allows anyone in that position to feel both the grief and pride.

New hot take: Cassandra is the song for Retraction Watch nerds (me) and Brian Deer. I'm only partially being facetious.

[jason-hates-grass]

Come, O Muses, and heed my prayer!

Come Kalliope, muse of epic poetry, and bless my studies.

As I begin the grand Iliad, assist me in learning from its messages.

Teach me, O Muses, to discern truth from myth and bring the words into the light.

~~~~~~~~~~

Come, O Hermes Hermeneutes, Interpreter of languages,

Bless my studies of Homer, that the translation I read will be illuminating.

Be with me, o Translater, between these pages so I might learn about the ancient culture of your people.

~~~~~~~~~~

Come, Apollo Musgetes, and sing with the muses.

Sing of epic tales and heros, of kings and warriors.

Grant me, O Shining One, Wisdom to understand your songs.

~~~~~~~~~~

Come, finally, Mnemosyne, goddess of memory.

Grant to me your power so I may learn well and retain these lessons.

I offer these cakes and wine to you O Theoi, so that you may grant the wisdom and focus I need.

I give so that you may give.

[loemius]

khaire, phoebus apollon, paean the healer, father foive! if i have ever offered you incense, libation, devotion, or praise, please hear and heed my prayer! gracious radiant lord, healer of mortals and immortals alike, you, your soft, gentle face, echoed across art of the ages, christlike, it is you who has domain over healing and life, and it is you who i ask to deliver me of pain and strife that chronic illness inflicts upon my body. how my mind feels foggy, the blessed body i use to worship you with aches my mind troubled with anxiety and heartbreak. it is you, paean, father foive, phoebus apollo, to whom i entrust to deliver me from the gloom that illness has upon me. phoebus apollon, paean the healer, father foive, thank you for hearing my prayer! blessed be your name, radiant lord! kharitos!

[finalgirlfall]

reposting the text of an ask answered by elucipher in 2014 for archival purposes

archive link to the original post, which included a read-more break

maynads asked: Your posts on Helen are absolutely amazing and so informative!! On that note - could you share your views on Cassandra of Troy?

elucipher answered:

Apollo, Apollo! Leader of journeys, my destroyer!

All this way you have led me, to destroy me again?

— Cassandra, Agamemnon.

i. This story is not kind.

ix. The queen Clytemnestra stands before the doors of Argos' tall royal slaughterhouse. Her hands stink red.

Cassandra stumbles forward, to that woman who is false honey and full-nerved hate, and an image of her death rears up before her: smile of axe-edge, crack and blood-bloom. There is no swerving from it—the sight unstoppers her throat and she retches gouts of prophecy, and knows she is not heard.

The killing queen calls her in. To the east the sky is on fire, and fate is the silver tremor of her heart.

ii. In her seventh year, the king and queen take their godstruck daughter to the sanctuary of Thymbraean Apollo. At dawn she is found sleeping in the coils of snakes, her ears licked clean to hear the voice of the god.

iii. No woman was ever so young a priestess. She kneels at prayer in his temple, O Apollo Apollo, and the god climbs down from the sky. He is glory; he draws her face up with hot hands.

He says, I will give you fate's far-seeing eyes.

Yes, she says, rising. Yes.

She is sun-struck, brimming with radical light that pours down her backbone and through all the deep of her. But when the bright god presses his body to her and his fingers scorch at the hollow of her throat, she drives him back. Then darkly he draws himself up, prideful and savage, and he spits in her mouth.

Treacherous woman. A hissing like wildfire. Yours will be a lunatic tongue.

Cassandra runs, across the plain that will swell with nameless graves. For a moment she sees flames as tall as sails, feeding on the walls of Troy.

iv. She dreams of white ships on the horizon’s knife. A girl gowned for a wedding is hoisted up for slaughter. Soldiers clash in octaves of havoc. Sun-sucked streets run black with gore.

She tells of this ruin but no one heeds her. She rages--why are you not afraid—and begs her family to listen, but they hear only shriller delirium. She shouts in the streets and the people whisper fool, fanatic; they call her mad and devil-stolen.

When she will not be consoled she is shut in a house like a tomb. Apollo has made her a monster, an exile of the grey place that is called to apeiron--the unbounded, the place of wolves.

v. Her brother Paris comes to her bedchamber where she weaves. Bound for Achaea, he is fair and strong in light-licked armour, and calamity lies like a shadow on his shoulders. He stoops to kiss her brow. There is a knife hidden in her sleeve, but she cannot bear to cut that fateful horizon into his throat.

His ship sets sail. Cassandra dreams of a horse with a bellyful of iron maggots, and her brother’s eyes when he is dead.

From her window she hears the covenants of duskbirds, the golden city in soft repose. It all burns.

vi. She warned until her voice gave way. She took axe and torch and set upon the great horse, to kill what lurked there. The king’s men prisoned her in the dark with Apollo’s laughter and the city was slaughtered as it slept.

In the years of siege she saw augury's shadows come again as sound and flesh: Andromache, dull-staring, dragged away by her hair; Hector, faceless, his funeral shroud dust and clotted blood; Paris, so fair, with an arrow through his throat; her father, slumped over a shattered altar; her mother, a slave for Odysseus; her youngest sister, bled like an animal on the grave of Achilles.

Now she goes foot by foot through the streets of ash and fume and sword-shriek, treading over carcasses.

The conquerors find her, and she will not be silent. A foreign soldier, death-drunk, sprawls her on the floor of Athena's temple and lurches over her, and she roars out his fate—for this, the goddess will swell a storm and crack his ship and his bones on the rocks of Euboea.

Her body is hefted away by soldiers. At the brink of her hearing—thunder.

vii.

Agamemnon, king, keeps her chained in his tent as he gloats over the spoils of felled and gutted Troy. He calls for prophecy and laughs at her raving.

She sees pyres of bodies unseamed by swords, Dardanian captives crying in and out of speech. The sky is deaf to prayers—it sends only carrion birds, who bear no missives and squabble among the butchered. She is a witness, hollowed but for her rage.

The king lies beside her in glutted beast-sleep and she whispers his death: the queen with red hands, the lioness crouched in long shadows.

vii. The king's longships set sail. She leans over the edge, with her loosed hair and her mouth salt-limned, and watches the billowing and glister of waves, the shadows beneath mosaic light.

Her belly is swollen. She knows them, her sons: crooked laugh; steady and devoted hands. She gives birth to them on the deck, the sun sweltering on her body. With every agony she curses Apollo.

Later, under mute stars, her children lie stirring in the vigil of her arms and she sings to them of a city no longer alive. They do not hear madness, only the soft and breaking swell of her voice.

When the ship lands on Argos, the children are torn from her. She thought herself iron-proofed against pain, but the sounds from her throat are not human.

Agamemnon hails his queen, and in her smile there is the shadow of her smile, the bladed gleam Cassandra dreamt. In her hands there is death.

x. Cassandra wakes in the dim place at the rim of the earth. Around her thronging dead glimmer up, their mouths ajar. They are gentle.

Apollo trespasses there, too bright to bear. He kneels before her. He is violent glory and his eyes shine, void.

I loved you ever, he says.

She is yet his prophet: in an awful voice she tells him of the mortals he will love till they are burned inside-out, and his deathless grief. Shaken, he leads her out of that dark.

The sun, slanted in hazy carnival, laps at the hem of her dress. Her god offers her the sky but she does not heed him—she has already turned away.

He lets her go, a wolf beyond light’s coveting hands.

Cassandra walks in the ungolden ruins of Troy, and sings of the world to come.

[khaire-traveler]

My Deity Poems, Prayers, & Stories

Hermes

"Brush Of The Wind" poem

"Joy-Bringer" prayer

"Dream-Walker" prayer

"He Smiles As He Runs" poem

"Heed His Call" poem

"Hermes Is..." poem???

"Deliverer" poem-ish

Apollon

"You Heal Me" poem

"Worship" poem

"Music Gives Life" poem

"The Song Of Our Hearts" poem

"The Light Returns" poem

"The Future" story??? Poem???

Aphrodite

"Aphrodite Is..." poem

Artemis

"Lady Of The Crescent Moon" poem

Dionysus

"Merry-Maker" prayer

"Drink With Me!" poem

"Of Madness And Men" poem

"Savage & Free" poem

"Dionysus Is Imperfect" poem

Eros

"Piercing Arrows" poem

General

"Beauty Of Domains" poem

"Hail To The Blessed Gods!" hymn

"Sometimes The Gods Are Loud" poem

"Guide Me" poem

"The Gods Are Beautiful" poem

Hestia

"Lady Of Hearth" poem

Maia

"Mother Maia" poem

Zeus

"Noumenia Prayer To Zeus" prayer

"King Zeus" poem

Thanatos

"Toll the Dead" poem

- Norse Pantheon -

Loki

"Within The Flames" poem - Lokean sideblog

- Etc. -

Stories

"A Little Bunny" Ares

"A Little Goat" Dionysus

"A Little Cat" Hermes

"The Man" Apollo

"The Club" Dionysus

"A Little Crow" Apollo

-

Art

"You Will Not Take This From Me" Dionysus & Ariadne - chain-breaking/liberation

"Thrice-born" Dionysus

[charlienovemberhotel]

Unbridled joy. That's the only way I could describe the feeling coursing through me. After so long of unending misery at the hands of the king, I was finally and truly free to see the world. And what a feeling it is to be soaring through the clouds, as if I am a bird and I cannot be tied to the earth! My father is behind me and flying away to feelings of triumph and the end to his days of toil in the gloom of slavery. We have escaped after so many long years. Zeus, lord of the sky, let our prayers be answered and let us journey though your domain to safety. The king will be enraged to hear of his loss, but even if we are caught, I would gladly do it again just to taste the fresh air and hear the laugh of my father. My father, who was trapped in the darkness and used for his amazing ideas at the whims of a mad king.

But I cannot let that trouble me now. I laugh as I swoop and soar through the sky. The sea underneath me beckons, but the sun cannot be ignored. It is passion, as fierce and unyielding as I wish to be on this day of freedom. I flap my makeshift wings harder, desperate to reach the brightness after so long in the dark. I reach up and laugh again as I fly ever closer. The air around me grows thick and heavy with the heat. Higher and higher I climb as the sun whispers it will tell me its secrets if I could only reach it. I hear my father below me, but it is as if he is a million miles away. He cannot stop me now from reaching my goal. I am too close!

My arms are burning with the strain and the heat but I cannot let that stop me now. If I am to reach the sun, I will have to give up something for it. The gods are not willing to let a mortal challenge them for nothing. But I think Apollo must be in a good mood today if he is willing to share his secrets with me. Maybe I will join him in his chariot and we will pull it until the end of my days. My arms are now searing with pain, but I will not stop. My father cries again my name, but I do not hear him this time. I am lost in my daydreams and the beautiful glow of the sun. it has consumed me and I will drown in it for all time.

Wax drips down my back as I start to cry out in pain. Feathers start to fall away as I climb ever more. I knew this would be the hardest journey of my life, but I did not expect to be in this kind of agony. I start to gasp as the heat grows oppressive. But I must not give in to this mortal flesh. I must reach the sun and the god that has been calling to me. It is the only option for me now. Strange, that freedom should start to leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

The wax continues to run and the feathers keep falling, but I pay them no heed. I am so close, I can feel the skin of my outstretched hand start to burn. But I am no longer climbing. I am falling, the sea rising up to meet me. What has happened? Have the gods decided to punish me for my greed? I am not to know the secrets of the sun. I scream my father’s name as I plummet, my tether to the land of mortals. But he is nowhere to be seen. I am alone in my end. Everything fades to black.

[jannis-world-connection]

Reflection: What do I think God would say about my city? How many people does He have in it? Am I one of them? Paul was in Corinth, a city of pagan worshipers. 
The gods Apollo, Hermes, and Isis had temples there. There were twenty-six sites of worship. One stood above them all. On a hill overlooking the city was a temple devoted to prostitution, the temple of Venus, fat with enslaved women and boys collecting monies for the city’s beloved goddess. Corinth had such a reputation for immorality that the name Corinthian became synonymous for a pleasure-seeking person. 
But God wanted Paul in Corinth. Unlike nearby Athens, where the residents loved discussing philosophy, Paul questioned how safe he would be in Corinth. 
Would the residents want to change their ways? 
Would they want to hear that their gods were false? 
Would they want to give their heart to only one God? 
Paul couldn’t see the corners where people were crying out for help or the spirits that were eager for change. He couldn’t see the harvest ready to pick. He heeded the vision God gave him anyway. The humble of Corinth flocked to Paul. 
A few Jews came, but most of the Corinthian church were converted pagans, poor people, and slaves eager for God’s love. The harvest was so plentiful that Paul stayed in Corinth a year and a half and then came back twice more. 
Sometimes the most unexpected places are full of ready hearts. One Last Reflection: What place comes first to mind when I think about a “pagan” place? What might my role be in bringing God’s gospel there? Prayer!!! Dear God, Please open my eyes to see as You do. Direct my paths to where hearts are seeking You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen 🙏 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg37DfdONXM/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lionofchaeronea]

A Very Greek Prayer

Solon fr. 13, ll. 1-6 Splendid offspring of Memory and Olympian Zeus, Pierian Muses, heed me as I pray: Grant me wealth from the blessed gods, and grant that I May enjoy high esteem in all men’s eyes, forever. And make me to my friends surpassing sweet, But bitter to my foes: let the former look On me with awe – the latter, with sheer dread. Μνημοσύνης καὶ Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου ἀγλαὰ τέκνα, Μοῦσαι Πιερίδες, κλῦτέ μοι εὐχομένῳ. ὄλβον μοι πρὸς θεῶν μακάρων δότε καὶ πρὸς ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων αἰεὶ δόξαν ἔχειν ἀγαθήν: εἶναι δὲ γλυκὺν ὧδε φίλοις, ἐχθροῖσι δὲ πικρόν, τοῖσι μὲν αἰδοῖον, τοῖσι δὲ δεινὸν ἰδεῖν.

Apollo and the Muses, Baldassarre Peruzzi, between 1514 and 1523

[orthodoxydaily]

Icons, Saints&Reading: Mon. Jan., 25, 2021

Commemorated on January 12

The Holy Martyr Tatiana  ( btw 226-235 )

     The Holy Martyr Tatiana was born into an illustrious Roman family – her father was thrice elected consul. He was secretly a christian and raised his daughter devoted to God and the Church. Having reached the age of maturity, Tatiana did not enter into marriage but with all her strength devoted herself to the Church. She was made deaconess in one of the Roman churches and served God, in fasting and prayer tending the sick and helping the needy. By her righteousness Tatiana gained in future to be crowned with the crown of martyrdom.      When Rome came to be ruled by the sixteen year old Alexander Severus (222‑235), all power was concentrated in the hands of the evil enemy and persecutor of christians Ulpian. Christian blood flowed like streams. Deaconess Tatiana was also arrested. When they brought her into the temple of Apollo so as to force her to offer sacrifice to the idol, the saint began praying – and suddenly there occurred an earthquake – the idol was smashed into pieces, and part of the temple collapsed and fell down on the pagan priests and many pagans. The demon inhabiting the idol ran out with an howl from that place, in front of which all saw it flying through the air like a ghost. They then began to beat the holy virgin about the eyes, but she bravely endured everything, praying for her tormentors that the Lord would open for them their spiritual eyes. And the Lord heard the prayer of His servant. The executioners came to see, that four Angels encircled the saint and fended off from the blows; they heard a Voice from the heavens addressed to the holy martyress. All of them, eight men, believed in Christ and fell on their knees to Saint Tatiana, begging them to forgive them their wrongs against her. For confessing themselves christians they were subjected to tortures and execution, receiving Baptism by blood. Saint Tatiana was again given over to tortures on another day: they uncovered her and beat her, they cut at her body with razors, and from her wounds then there permeated a fragrance in the air. The torturers became exhausted and said, that someone invisible was beating at them with iron staffs, and nine of them fell dead. They then threw the saint in prison, where she prayed all night and with the Angels sang praise to the Lord. A new morning began, and they again took Saint Tatiana to the court. The torturers beheld with astonishment that after such terrible torments she appeared completely healthy and even more radiant and beautiful than before. They began to urge her to offer sacrifice to the goddess Diana. The saint seemed to appear agreeable, and they took her to the heathen temple. Saint Tatiana made the sign of the cross and began to pray – and suddenly there sounded a crash of deafening thunder, and lightning struck the idol, the sacrificial offerings and the pagan priests. They again fiercely tortured the martyress, and at night they again threw her in prison, and again there appeared Angels and healed her wounds. On the following day they took Saint Tatiana to the circus and let loose at her an hungry lion; the beast did not touch the saint but only lay meekly at her feet. They wanted to pen up the lion back in its cage, and here instead it clawed up one of the torturers. They threw Tatiana into a fire, but the fire did not harm the martyress. The pagans, thinking that she was a sorceress, cut her hair to deprive her of magical powers, and locked her up in the temple of Zeus. But it was impossible to take away the power of God. On the third day pagan priests came with an encircling throng, preparing to offer sacrifice. Opening the temple, they beheld the idol thrown down into the dust and the holy martyress Tatiana joyously invoking the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the instruments of torture were worn out, and they carried out a sentence of death: the valiant sufferer was beheaded with a sword. Also executed as a christian together with her was her father, for having shewn her the true faith of Christ.

ICONS

“Akathist" Icon of the Mother of God

     The "Akafistnaya / Akathist" Icon of the Mother of God is located in the Khilendaria cathedral iconostasis. It received the designation "Akathist" because, during a fire at the cathedral in 1837 an akathist was read before it, and it remained unharmed – to the solace of the monk

The "Mlekopitatel'nitsa" ("Milk-bearing")

     The "Mlekopitatel'nitsa" ("Milk-bearing") Icon of the mother of God was at first located at the Lavra of the Monk Sava the Sanctified near Jerusalem. The holy founder of the Lavra at his death foretold that a pilgrim Sava from Serbia would visit the Lavra, and gave orders to pass on to him as a blessing the wonderworking icon. This occurred in the XIII Century. Sainted Sava of Serbia took the icon to Khilendaria on Holy Mount Athos and put it on the right side of the iconostas in the church in front of the Kareia cells, afterwards named Typikarnitsa, since the Ustav of Sainted Sava was preserved there.

Mark 8:11-21

11Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." 13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." 17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? They said to Him, "Twelve." 20 Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, "Seven."21 So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Hebrews 8:7-13

7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah- 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. 13 In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

[pope-francis-quotes]

4th May >> (@ZenitEnglish By Deborah Castellano Lubov) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis During #Pandemic, #PopeFrancis Prays for #Families Closed Up in Homes, Decries #DomesticViolence (Full Text)

During Pandemic, Pope Prays for Families Closed Up in Homes, Decries Domestic Violence (FULL TEXT)

During Morning Mass, Reminds Jesus Died for Everyone

MAY 04, 2020 13:51DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOVPOPE AND HOLY SEE, POPE'S MORNING HOMILY

During this global pandemic, Pope Francis has prayed especially for families closed up in their homes, and victims of domestic violence.

Today, May 4th, Pope Francis made this intention during his private daily Mass at his residence Casa Santa Marta, reported Vatican News.

At the start of the Mass, while remembering all victims of Coronavirus, the Argentine Pontiff recognized that in this period families are having to do things they never have had to do in the past. He also lamented domestic violence that plagues households.

“Let us pray,” the Pope said, “for families, that they might persevere in peace with creativity and patience during this quarantine”.

During his homily, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of unity despite differences, inspired by two elements of today’s readings: the story of the criticism of St Peter by the early Church for eating with sinners, and the message of Jesus in the Gospel, “I am the shepherd of all.”

Recalling today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, and when the Christian community in Jerusalem reproached St Peter for eating with pagans, Francis expressed that this represents an example of the many divisions that we find in the early years of the Church.

The Pontiff lamented that this spirit of division leads us to divide people between the righteous and sinners, between “us” and “them.”

“Jesus,” Francis underscored, “died for everyone.”

This means, he highlighted, that we cannot divide and exclude others, in a way Jesus did not.

Pope Francis invited us to pray for the unity of all men and all women, that there might be one sole Shepherd, one sole Pastor.

“May the Lord free us from that psychology of division,” he concluded, praying. “May He help see this aspect, this great reality about Jesus: that in Him we are all brothers and sisters and He is the Shepherd of all.”

“The word for today is: ‘Everyone, everyone!'”

The Pope ended the celebration with Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, inviting the faithful to make a Spiritual Communion.

The Masses in Francis’ chapel normally welcome a small group of faithful, but due to recent measures’ taken by the Vatican, are now being kept private, without their participation. The Holy Week and Easter celebrations in the Vatican were also done without the presence of faithful, but were able to be watched via streaming.

It was announced at the start of the lockdowns in Italy that the Pope would have these Masses, in this period, be available to all the world’s faithful, via streaming on Vatican Media, on weekdays, at 7 am Rome time, along with his weekly Angelus and General Audiences.

Today, May 4th, the country entered its so-called ‘Phase 2’, where it will slowly relaxing some of the lockdown restrictions.

In Italy where more than 26,000 people have died from coronavirus, public Masses are still prohibited. To date, in the Vatican, there have been eleven cases of coronavirus in the Vatican, confirmed a recent statement from the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

The Vatican Museums are closed, along with the Vatican’s other similar museums. There have also been various guidelines implemented throughout the Vatican, to prevent the spread of the virus.

For anyone interested, the Pope’s Masses at Santa Marta can be watched live and can be watched afterward on Vatican YouTube. Below is a link to today’s Mass. Also, a ZENIT English translation of the Pope’s full homily is available below:

***

***

FULL HOMILY [Working translation by ZENIT’s Virginia Forrester]

When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the faithful criticized him (Cf. Acts 11:1-8). They criticized him because he went into the homes of men who weren’t circumcised and ate together with them, with pagans. That couldn’t be done; it was a sin. The purity of the Law didn’t allow this. However, Peter did it because it was the Spirit that brought him there. There is always in the Church — and a lot in the early Church because the thing wasn’t clear — this spirit of “we are just, the others <are> sinners.” This “we and the others,” “we and the others,” — <creates> divisions. “We, in fact, have the right position before God.” Instead, there are “the others,” it was even said already: “They are the condemned.” And this is a sickness of the Church, a sickness born of ideologies or of religious parties … Think that in Jesus’ time there were at least four religious parties: the party of the Pharisees, the party of the Sadducees, the party of the Zealots and the party of the Essenes, and each one interpreted the Law according to “the idea” it had. And this idea is a school “outside-law” when it is a worldly way of thinking, of feeling that makes itself interpreter of the Law. They also criticized Jesus for entering into the home of publicans — who, according to them, were sinners – and ate with them, with sinners, because the purity of the Law didn’t allow it; and they didn’t wash their hands before lunch . . . always that criticism that causes division: this is what is important, which I would like to underscore.

There are ideas, positions that cause division, to the point that division is more important than unity. My idea is more important than the Holy Spirit that guides us. There is a Cardinal Emeritus, who lives here in the Vatican, a good Pastor, and he said to his faithful: But, do you know that the Church is like a river? Some are more of this side and others of the other side, but what is important is that all are inside the river.” This is the unity of the Church — no one outside, all inside. Then, with the peculiarity: this doesn’t divide, it’s not ideology, it’s licit. But why does the Church have this breadth? It’s because the Lord wills it so.

In the Gospel, the Lord says to us: “I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So, there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16). The Lord says: “I have sheep everywhere and I am Shepherd of all.” This “all” in Jesus is very important. We think of the parable of the marriage feast (Cf. Matthew 22:1-10), when the guests would not come: one because he had bought a field, another because he got married . . . each one gave his reason for not attending. And the king got angry and said: “Go now to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find” (v. 9) – all, great and little, rich and poor, good and evil — all. This “all” is . . . the vision of the Lord, who came for all and died for all. “But did He die also for that wretch who has made my life impossible?” He died also for him. “And for that brigand?” He died for him, for all. And also for the people that don’t believe in Him or are of other religions: He died for all. This doesn’t mean that one must engage in proselytism: no. But He died for all; He has justified all. There was a lady here in Rome, a good woman, a Professor, Professor [Maria Grazia] Mara, who when she was in difficulty because of many things, and there were parties, she said: “But Christ died for all: let’s go forward!” She had that constructive capacity. We have only one Redeemer, only one unity: Christ died for all. Instead there is the temptation . . . even Paul suffered it: I am for Paul, I am for Apollo, I am for this, I am for that . . . “And we think of ourselves, fifty years ago, after the Council: the divisions the Church suffered. “I am of this party, I think this, you think that..” Yes, it’s licit to think so, but in the unity of the Church, under Jesus, the Shepherd.

Two things: the Apostles criticism of Peter, because he had entered the home of pagans and Jesus who says: “I am Shepherd of all.” I am Shepherd of all. And who says: “I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So, there shall be one flock” (Cf. John 10:16). It’s the prayer for the unity of all men, because all men and women, we all have only one Shepherd: Jesus.

May the Lord free us from that psychology of division, of dividing, and help us to see this Jesus, this great thing of Jesus, that in Him we are all brothers and He is the Shepherd of all. Today, may that word: “All, all,” accompany us during the day.

The Pope invited the faithful to make a Spiritual Communion, with this prayer:

I prostrate myself at your feet, O my Jesus, and I offer you the repentance of my contrite heart, which abases itself in its nothingness in your holy Presence. I adore You in the Sacrament of your Love, the ineffable Eucharist. I desire to receive You in the poor abode that my heart offers You. While waiting for the happiness of Sacramental Communion, I want to possess You in spirit. Come to me, O my Jesus, that I may come to You. May your Love be able to inflame my whole being in life and in death. I believe in You, I hope in You, I love You.

Then the celebration ended with Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction. Before leaving the Chapel, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, the Marian antiphon “Regina Caeli” was intoned, sung in Eastertide.

Regina caeli laetare, alleluia.

Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.

Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

(Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

Christ, whom you bore in your womb, alleluia,

Is Risen as He promised, alleluia.

Pray for us to the Lord, alleluia).

4th MAY 2020 13:51POPE AND HOLY SEE, POPE'S MORNING HOMILY

[brianktaylor]

Self-Inflicted Wounds In The Church

All this week, many across the body of Christ have been deeply impacted by the reports of a response made by John MacArthur at the “Truth Matters Conference”. When asked to respond to the name Beth Moore, his initial comment was simply “Go home!” His comment did not end with that. As was shared by Charisma News, his comments about Beth Moore, Paula White, and women in ministry was so severe that an outcry has been made by many seeking an apology from MacArthur.

What’s shocking to me as a current Divinity student at one of the nation’s top Christian Universities, is hearing his comment that “there is no case that can be made biblically for a woman preacher.” I may not have 50 years of preaching history or the depth of a scholarly pedigree as Dr. MacArthur has obtained, but there are a few things I have learned in the course of my life.  

We can look at both the Hebrew and the Greek words for preach and they both mean the same thing: to call, to name, to proclaim, and to publish. Whether looking at the Old Testament or the New Testament, you will find many examples of preaching. In looking at the New Testament specifically, we find the woman that Jesus met at the well proclaims the gospel or good news of Jesus in her community after he told her of the living water that he possessed and wished to share with her. If it were not for the women who went to the tomb on the third day, no one would ever have known that Jesus rose. This is no insignificant moment in the gospel accounts.

The further comment by MacArthur regarding the Church being pressured by feminists and women in ministry simply want power goes contrary to Paul the Apostle, when he acknowledged that in the Kingdom “There’s neither male nor female (see Galatians 3:27-29).” Paul’s statement speaks to there being no distinction in sonship or being an heir in Christ. We’re not just co-heirs, we’re co-laborers. There’s no indication in scripture that when Paul identifies the five-fold gifts, that they are only for men. In fact, in Acts 18:24-28 we see both Priscilla and Acquila expound in greater depth the word to Apollos. By Dr. MacArthur’s own writings on preaching, expounding is the essence of preaching.

I share all this, not only as a rebuff of what MacArthur has said. The greater issue at hand is the wounding that such comments have on the Body of Christ. Such archaic dogma does not promote freedom or release the body into wholeness or the full maturity that is to be found in the Kingdom. It only serves to alienate, and lacerate the hearts of women; whom like their male fellow servants have heeded the call of God to do His will.

The whole body is needed and Paul again makes this clear that no part of the body can say that it has no need of another part of the body (see 1 Corinthians 12). While these are not the exact words of Dr. MacArthur, it is not too much of a stretch for anyone to surmise that the inference is there. How many people would not have found Christ or accepted scripture had it not been for women? How many churches would have closed if not for women? To say that a woman has no place in the pulpit is as harmful as the stinking thinking that said a woman’s place is to be barefoot and pregnant.

These self-inflicting wounds that ministry leaders unleash on the body must not go uncontested or without noticed. If allowed to fester, the harm to the generations of saints to come might be catastrophic. As pastors and under shepherds, it is imperative that care is given to all. It’s my prayer that this event opens up a greater dialog among the body of the need to truly see and give attention to the freedom that we are to manifest for the world to see which distinguishes God’s kingdom from the ways of the world. It’s my hope that repentance would be made by many men who hold fast to stinking thinking and that women can find it in their hearts to not harden their hearts from forgiving or allowing harsh words to silence their voices in a day in which they are needed the most.

[dailyaudiobible]

09/13/2021 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 12:1-14:32, 2 Corinthians 13:1-14, Psalms 57:1-11, Proverbs 23:9-11

Today is the 13th day of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is great to be here with you today as we approach the middle…well…I mean we’ll get to the middle of the week, and we’ll be in the middle of the month. We’re working our way through the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. We’re working our way through the second letter to the Corinthians in the New Testament and we will conclude that letter with today's reading. So, let's dive in. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Isaiah chapters 12, 13, and 14 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we concluded the second letter to the Corinthians today. And as letters go, it's…it's a good-sized letter, but we probably noticed that a bunch of this letter is Paul defending himself in part, and we've already gone over this. Other people were coming and visiting these churches and nuancing what Paul was teaching. He did not like that a bit. And they were associated with, you know, like some kind of pedigree, some kind of association to the actual disciples of Jesus in some form or another. And, so, they’re super apostles. And, so, he has to defend himself and spends a bunch of the letter doing that. Let's just pause though and remember that Jesus Christ, the Savior, dealt with the same kinds of scenarios where he's constantly being asked, “by what authority are you doing these things?” And all kinds of assumptions about Jesus were flying around. And we've explored that we went to the Gospels. So, let's just notice here in this letter that these kinds of things were going on in the early church. They continue to go on until this day where we pick our favorites and then we defend our favorites and we’re always looking for a certain kind of pedigree or a certain kind of proof. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's in some ways called discernment. Paul essentially was saying, can't you just…like…do I have to brag? Do I have to boast? Do I have to show how I have done more for God than these other people? Can't you just look at what my life is? Can’t you look at the consistency of the message of the gospel? Can't you see what we've been through to bring it to you? Can’t that matter? Do we have to actually get into a bragging contest? Is this what we’re doing here? And that's fair. Jesus had the same kind of thing going on. Remember Jesus being accused of getting His…the source of His power to heal from the devil? And Jesus is like, what are we…what are we doing here? What are we talking about here? How can that even be? A house divided against itself can't stand. So, we’ve had the opportunity to explore the ways in which we judge and what we’re looking for. But Paul ends this letter actually in a really pointed but very helpful way. And, so, if we think about the way that we discern or we judge, if we look at the way that Jesus was judged, if we look at the way that Paul was judged then we see how we do the things that we do and we might begin to realize that it's mostly outward. Like, we are mostly outwardly judging without looking in the mirror and including ourselves in the equation. And that is how Paul rounds things out. And I quote. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test.” So, we can watch the super apostle’s brag. We can watch Paul brag back and defend himself. And we can sit there and go okay well here's my choice, I judge for Paul, or I judge for Apollos, or I judge for Cephas, right? Because we've seen all this going on in the early church. Paul is just suggesting as he closes this letter that maybe we just look at ourselves for a while, maybe we examine ourselves realizing that Christ Jesus is within us, and we don't have to be the judge. We have the Spirit of truth. We should keep our eyes on our own lives and what God is doing in our beautiful wild life that we've been given, and then live that out into the world not worrying about the rest.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come into that. We…we walk into so much distraction. We walk into so much stuff that just entangles us in one way or another, big or small. When we are given permission to become aware of Your presence in our very lives and to examine ourselves. So, come Holy Spirit with the light of truth and help us do that, examine ourselves. And lead us into all truth, we pray. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

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And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that’s the little red button up at the top, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning DAB I'm going to go by His Farmer. This is the first time I've called in. I've been listening to DAB for a couple years now. I was inspired by Marked as His and I want you to know that we're praying for you. I'm a farmer also and it is a struggle right now trying to find help to…to get all the work that we need to be done. I just want to encourage you that…keep praying, keep listening to the DAB. I've been listening to the DAB for about two years now since I was being treated for cancer about two years ago and I've never stopped listening since I…since I was in the bed listening…being treated for cancer and here we are today in remission, and I praise God give him all the glory and really love listening to the prayer requests and…and God’s scripture. It's 6:00 o'clock in the morning here and I'm feeding my cows too. I understand the struggle. It's tough. It is not easy this year. It's never been harder I don't think to be a dairy farmer that I can remember in my 40 years of working on our family farm. So, I just wanted to let you know that we’re…we’re definitely praying for you here and understand the struggle. It is tough.

Heidi Abby this is Amy and I just have a praise report and testimony, and everything wrapped up in one. Tonight, I was just about to have my shower tonight and I stepped out of the bathroom for less than a minute. And as I stepped out and was about to go back in the entire ceiling caved in. And, you know, I’m still kind of in shock right now because it just happened a few hours ago. But I'm just so thankful to God for my life because if I had stayed there a minute longer or had gotten into the shower already, I don't know where I would be right now. So, I just want everybody to, you know, really praise God with me and for me because I'm just, you know, my life was just…I’ve just been thinking about this since it happened, that I am so thankful to God for my life but it's just, you know, it's just given me a new way of looking at God and that He actually is with me is with me because I stepped out into the hall in the middle of brushing my teeth. That never happens because I know needed me to get out of that bathroom before the ceiling caved in. I just want everyone to please thank God for me and just, you know, be encouraged. Keep praying even when it doesn't look like anything is happening because God is truly working for you, and He will protect you. Thank you very much everybody and have a good day. Bye.

This is Jamie in New Jersey standing on the word of God. Dear Father in heaven we come to You in humility and prayer. We want to recognize our shortcomings to You and ask that You would help us. Your word tells us that we should take heed lest we fall. We confess that so many times we have given our promise to You Lord that we would do something only to regret it later when we lack the strength or courage to carry it out. When we think about our Christian life and how many things that we have pledged to do but have failed to do we realize that without Your Holy Spirit we have no strength to sustain any of it. Some of us have pledged to be bolder in our evangelism but when the moment came to be bold, we have lacked the courage we needed to speak out boldly. We have preached many things that we ourselves have failed to do. Our prayer lives are not what we have pledged to You that they would be. Prayer has easily been squeezed out of our schedules and the busyness of the day. Lord for these and so many more failings we confess. Create in us a new heart. Write Your commandments on the tablets of our hearts. We surrender our wills to You again and again. Lord write Your word on the palms of our hands. Remind us that You will do…that it will do us good to diligently devour and pay attention to it daily. It will bring light into the darkest places of our hearts like the dawning of the day and the rising of the morning star. Help us seek and wait on You every day. Father You know each and every one of us and You know our desire to walk in Your ways and bring glory to You and draw others out of darkness into Your loving Kingdom. Please take our frailties and turn them into power for Your purposes. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Thank You, my brothers, and sisters. I love You all dearly. God bless the…

Hi DAB family I'm a long-time listener, been seven years now and I wanted to thank Brian for all that he's done for me and my family. My wife has also been listening for a couple years now. Listening to the Bible every day has truly been a life changing experience and it's gotten me through some of the most difficult times of my life. But I'm not calling for myself today I'm calling for a close family friend. I've known him since he was a young boy and now, he's grown up to be a very devoted and committed man. He's traveled to India civil times to share the gospel and his family is committed to planting churches all across that country. He's going to undergoing heart valve replacement surgery on the 21st and I'm just asking anyone who feels compelled to just pray for a smooth recovery and a smooth operation. His name is Prasanth. He lives in New York and I just hope that you would all keep him in your prayers. I'm also listening to your prayers and my wife, and I pray for all of you guys regularly. God bless.

Good morning DAB family this is Terry in Prattbull I just heard Lisa on September 9th. Lisa’s ill. She's been ill since January and she's struggling. She's struggling with feelings of being a burden and…and fear. And I just want to lift her up to God in prayer. Heavenly Father I lift Lisa up to You and…and Father let her know how love she is by her family by her DAB family, by everyone around her. And Lord God help her to know that the brokenness of this world, through disease and all of the bad things in life, that’s Your will for our lives. Your will for our lives is how we respond to that. And heavenly Father I give You all the glory in the world for the help she's receiving, the care and the love that she’s getting, the skill from the doctors. And Lord I…I just lift her up and I ask her Holy Spirit to fill her heart with joy and help her to realize Your love for her. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Good morning this is Tina from Texas coming on here to pray for miss Lisa who called in on September 9th…well I heard her on September 9th. And she says she's been feeling sick from kind of like a chronic viral inflammation. And hearing her voice and hearing her say that she feels like a burden to her family because of her sickness, I just wanna say first and foremost you're not a burden, you're never a burden. With Christ on your side, you're never a burden. I just want to pray that father God that you just heal her and keep her and let her know that you're…you're never alone. Lisa…miss Lisa is never alone with in her sickness, within her burdens, that she casts all her burdens and her worries and her sorrows onto you and that you comfort her and take them over for her and that you surround her with people that you know love her and truly care for her, to banish those thoughts those negative thoughts out of her mind, to keep up the fight for her health and for the faith and for the Kingdom. I thank you for bringing her to Daily Audio Bible to ask for prayer and I just ask that we all continue to pray for her in the name of Jesus and bring a miraculous healing to her, so she feels no pain and only joy and peace and comfort. Lisa, we love you. God loves you more than ever and Christ and Jesus loves you just as much. Thank you for calling. Will be praying for you. These blessings I ask in your son's holy name Jesus. Amen. Thank you. By miss Lisa.

[araitsume]

The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 298-308: Chapter (29) A Message of Warning and Entreaty

This chapter is based on the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

The first epistle to the Corinthian church was written by the apostle Paul during the latter part of his stay at Ephesus. For no others had he felt a deeper interest or put forth more untiring effort than for the believers in Corinth. For a year and a half he had labored among them, pointing them to a crucified and risen Saviour as the only means of salvation, and urging them to rely implicitly on the transforming power of His grace. Before accepting into church fellowship those who made a profession of Christianity, he had been careful to give them special instruction as to the privileges and duties of the Christian believer, and he had earnestly endeavored to help them to be faithful to their baptismal vows.

Paul had a keen sense of the conflict which every soul must wage with the agencies of evil that are continually seeking to deceive and ensnare, and he had worked untiringly to strengthen and confirm those who were young in the faith. He had entreated them to make an entire surrender to God; for he knew that when the soul fails to make this surrender, then sin is not forsaken, the appetites and passions still strive for the mastery, and temptations confuse the conscience.

The surrender must be complete. Every weak, doubting, struggling soul who yields fully to the Lord is placed in direct touch with agencies that enable him to overcome. Heaven is near to him, and he has the support and help of angels of mercy in every time of trial and need.

The members of the church at Corinth were surrounded by idolatry and sensuality of the most alluring form. While the apostle was with them, these influences had but little power over them. Paul's firm faith, his fervent prayers and earnest words of instruction, and, above all, his godly life had helped them to deny self for Christ's sake rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin.

After the departure of Paul, however, unfavorable conditions arose; tares that had been sown by the enemy appeared among the wheat, and erelong these began to bring forth their evil fruit. This was a time of severe trial to the Corinthian church. The apostle was no longer with them to quicken their zeal and aid them in their endeavors to live in harmony with God, and little by little many became careless and indifferent, and allowed natural tastes and inclinations to control them. He who had so often urged them to high ideals of purity and uprightness was no longer with them, and not a few who, at the time of their conversion, had put away their evil habits, returned to the debasing sins of heathenism.

Paul had written briefly to the church, admonishing them “not to company” with members who should persist in profligacy; but many of the believers perverted the apostle's meaning, quibbled over his words, and excused themselves for disregarding his instruction.

A letter was sent to Paul by the church, asking for counsel concerning various matters, but saying nothing of the grievous sins existing among them. The apostle was, however, forcibly impressed by the Holy Spirit that the true state of the church had been concealed and that this letter was an attempt to draw from him statements which the writers could construe to serve their own purposes.

About this time there came to Ephesus members of the household of Chloe, a Christian family of high repute in Corinth. Paul asked them regarding the condition of things, and they told him that the church was rent by divisions. The dissensions that had prevailed at the time of Apollos's visit had greatly increased. False teachers were leading the members to despise the instructions of Paul. The doctrines and ordinances of the gospel had been perverted. Pride, idolatry, and sensualism, were steadily increasing among those who had once been zealous in the Christian life.

As this picture was presented before him, Paul saw that his worst fears were more than realized. But he did not because of this give way to the thought that his work had been a failure. With “anguish of heart” and with “many tears” he sought counsel from God. Gladly would he have visited Corinth at once, had this been the wisest course to pursue. But he knew that in their present condition the believers would not profit by his labors, and therefore he sent Titus to prepare the way for a visit from himself later on. Then, putting aside all personal feelings over the course of those whose conduct revealed such strange perverseness, and keeping his soul stayed upon God, the apostle wrote to the church at Corinth one of the richest, most instructive, most powerful of all his letters.

With remarkable clearness he proceeded to answer the various questions brought forward by the church, and to lay down general principles, which, if heeded, would lead them to a higher spiritual plane. They were in peril, and he could not bear the thought of failing at this critical time to reach their hearts. Faithfully he warned them of their dangers and reproved them for their sins. He pointed them again to Christ and sought to kindle anew the fervor of their early devotion.

The apostle's great love for the Corinthian believers was revealed in his tender greeting to the church. He referred to their experience in turning from idolatry to the worship and service of the true God. He reminded them of the gifts of the Holy Spirit which they had received, and showed that it was their privilege to make continual advancement in the Christian life until they should attain to the purity and holiness of Christ. “In everything ye are enriched by Him,” he wrote, “in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul spoke plainly of the dissensions that had arisen in the Corinthian church, and exhorted the members to cease from strife. “I beseech you, brethren,” he wrote, “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

The apostle felt at liberty to mention how and by whom he had been informed of the divisions in the church. “It hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.”

Paul was an inspired apostle. The truths he taught to others he had received “by revelation;” yet the Lord did not directly reveal to him at all times just the condition of His people. In this instance those who were interested in the prosperity of the church at Corinth, and who had seen evils creeping in, had presented the matter before the apostle, and from divine revelations which he had formerly received he was prepared to judge of the character of these developments. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lord did not give him a new revelation for that special time, those who were really seeking for light accepted his message as expressing the mind of Christ. The Lord had shown him the difficulties and dangers which would arise in the churches, and, as these evils developed, the apostle recognized their significance. He had been set for the defense of the church. He was to watch for souls as one who must render account to God, and was it not consistent and right for him to take notice of the reports concerning the anarchy and divisions among them? Most assuredly; and the reproof he sent them was as certainly written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God as were any of his other epistles.

The apostle made no mention of the false teachers who were seeking to destroy the fruit of his labor. Because of the darkness and division in the church, he wisely forbore to irritate them by such references, for fear of turning some entirely from the truth. He called attention to his own work among them as that of “a wise masterbuilder,” who had laid the foundation upon which others had built. But he did not thereby exalt himself; for he declared, “We are laborers together with God.” He claimed no wisdom of his own, but acknowledged that divine power alone had enabled him to present the truth in a manner pleasing to God. United with Christ, the greatest of all teachers, Paul had been enabled to communicate lessons of divine wisdom, which met the necessities of all classes, and which were to apply at all times, in all places, and under all conditions.

Among the more serious of the evils that had developed among the Corinthian believers, was that of a return to many of the debasing customs of heathenism. One former convert had so far backslidden that his licentious course was a violation of even the low standard of morality held by the Gentile world. The apostle pleaded with the church to put away from among them “that wicked person.” “Know ye not,” he admonished them, “that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.”

Another grave evil that had arisen in the church was that of brethren going to law against one another. Abundant provision had been made for the settlement of difficulties among believers. Christ Himself had given plain instruction as to how such matters were to be adjusted. “If thy brother shall trespass against thee,” the Saviour had counseled, “go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:15-18.

To the Corinthian believers who had lost sight of this plain counsel, Paul wrote in no uncertain terms of admonition and rebuke. “Dare any of you,” he asked, “having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? ... Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?”

Satan is constantly seeking to introduce distrust, alienation, and malice among God's people. We shall often be tempted to feel that our rights are invaded, even when there is no real cause for such feelings. Those whose love for self is stronger than their love for Christ and His cause will place their own interests first and will resort to almost any expedient to guard and maintain them. Even many who appear to be conscientious Christians are hindered by pride and self-esteem from going privately to those whom they think in error, that they may talk with them in the spirit of Christ and pray together for one another. When they think themselves injured by their brethren, some will even go to law instead of following the Saviour's rule.

Christians should not appeal to civil tribunals to settle differences that may arise among church members. Such differences should be settled among themselves, or by the church, in harmony with Christ's instruction. Even though injustice may have been done, the follower of the meek and lowly Jesus will suffer himself “to be defrauded” rather than open before the world the sins of his brethren in the church.

Lawsuits between brethren are a reproach to the cause of truth. Christians who go to law with one another expose the church to the ridicule of her enemies and cause the powers of darkness to triumph. They are wounding Christ afresh and putting Him to open shame. By ignoring the authority of the church, they show contempt for God, who gave to the church its authority.

In this letter to the Corinthians Paul endeavored to show them Christ's power to keep them from evil. He knew that if they would comply with the conditions laid down, they would be strong in the strength of the Mighty One. As a means of helping them to break away from the thralldom of sin and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, Paul urged upon them the claims of Him to whom they had dedicated their lives at the time of their conversion. “Ye are Christ's,” he declared. “Ye are not your own.... Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

The apostle plainly outlined the result of turning from a life of purity and holiness to the corrupt practices of heathenism. “Be not deceived,” he wrote; “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, ... nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” He begged them to control the lower passions and appetites. “Know ye not,” he asked, “that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?”

While Paul possessed high intellectual endowments, his life revealed the power of a rarer wisdom, which gave him quickness of insight and sympathy of heart, and brought him into close touch with others, enabling him to arouse their better nature and inspire them to strive for a higher life. His heart was filled with an earnest love for the Corinthian believers. He longed to see them revealing an inward piety that would fortify them against temptation. He knew that at every step in the Christian pathway they would be opposed by the synagogue of Satan and that they would have to engage in conflicts daily. They would have to guard against the stealthy approach of the enemy, forcing back old habits and natural inclinations, and ever watching unto prayer. Paul knew that the higher Christian attainments can be reached only through much prayer and constant watchfulness, and this he tried to instill into their minds. But he knew also that in Christ crucified they were offered power sufficient to convert the soul and divinely adapted to enable them to resist all temptations to evil. With faith in God as their armor, and with His word as their weapon of warfare, they would be supplied with an inner power that would enable them to turn aside the attacks of the enemy.

The Corinthian believers needed a deeper experience in the things of God. They did not know fully what it meant to behold His glory and to be changed from character to character. They had seen but the first rays of the early dawn of that glory. Paul's desire for them was that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, following on to know Him whose going forth is prepared as the morning, and continuing to learn of Him until they should come into the full noontide of a perfect gospel faith.

[dailychapel]

Lord, I come before you ready to pour out my worries, anxieties, and fears at Your feet. I am claiming and declaring Your promises for blessings of peace and strength over my life. Bring peace into my soul that passes all worldly understanding and make me a light for others to see Your strength.

[Psa 17:1-15 NKJV] 1 A Prayer of David. Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer [which is] not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. 3 You have tested my heart; You have visited [me] in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 4 Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. 5 Uphold my steps in Your paths, [That] my footsteps may not slip. 6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, [and] hear my speech. 7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust [in You] From those who rise up [against them]. 8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, 9 From the wicked who oppress me, [From] my deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They have closed up their fat [hearts]; With their mouths they speak proudly. 11 They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth, 12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places. 13 Arise, O LORD, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword, 14 With Your hand from men, O LORD, From men of the world [who have] their portion in [this] life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their [possession] for their babes. 15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

[Jer 4:1-31 NKJV] 1 "If you will return, O Israel," says the LORD, "Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. 2 And you shall swear, 'The LORD lives,' In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory." 3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench [it], Because of the evil of your doings." 5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: "Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, 'Gather together,' And say, 'Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.' 6 Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction." 7 The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant. 8 For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us. 9 "And it shall come to pass in that day," says the LORD, "[That] the heart of the king shall perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be astonished, And the prophets shall wonder." 10 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, 'You shall have peace,' Whereas the sword reaches to the heart." 11 At that time it will be said To this people and to Jerusalem, "A dry wind of the desolate heights [blows] in the wilderness Toward the daughter of My people--Not to fan or to cleanse-- 12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me; Now I will also speak judgment against them." 13 "Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!" 14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? 15 For a voice declares from Dan And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim: 16 "Make mention to the nations, Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, [That] watchers come from a far country And raise their voice against the cities of Judah. 17 Like keepers of a field they are against her all around, Because she has been rebellious against Me," says the LORD. 18 "Your ways and your doings Have procured these [things] for you. This [is] your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart." 19 O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried, For the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, [And] my curtains in a moment. 21 How long will I see the standard, [And] hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 "For My people [are] foolish, They have not known Me. They [are] silly children, And they have no understanding. They [are] wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge." 23 I beheld the earth, and indeed [it was] without form, and void; And the heavens, they [had] no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. 25 I beheld, and indeed [there was] no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. 26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land [was] a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. 27 For thus says the LORD: "The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it. 29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city [shall be] forsaken, And not a man shall dwell in it. 30 "And [when] you [are] plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn [yourself] with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; [Your] lovers will despise you; They will seek your life. 31 "For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, [saying], 'Woe [is] me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!'

[1Co 3:1-23 NKJV] 1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual [people] but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able [to receive it], and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where [there are] envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like [mere] men? 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I [am] of Apollos," are you not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, [you are] God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation [with] gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on [it] endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which [temple] you are. 18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their [own] craftiness"; 20 and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come--all are yours. 23 And you [are] Christ's, and Christ [is] God's.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

[frederickwiddowson]

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 19:11-27 comments: a certain nobleman

Luke 19:11 ¶  And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12  He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13  And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14  But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16  Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17  And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18  And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19  And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20  And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21  For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23  Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24  And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25  (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26  For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

 The disciples are following Jesus to Jerusalem fully expecting His power to be revealed and His kingdom to be made manifest in a physical, tangible sense on earth right in front of them. Christ then speaks a parable about the consequences for the Jews of rejecting Him. This would apply to all mankind as well. The nobleman presents himself to his subjects who reject him. He has supplied his own servants, and, remember, He is talking with His Jewish disciples here, with a gift that they are to use on his behalf. In the end, those who reject the nobleman’s rule over them will be executed and that servant who does not exercise his talents in the world will lose even what they have. A similar parable is told in Matthew 25 but in the context of them not knowing when Christ would return as He discusses the end times when asked in Matthew 24:1 when they will come about.

 He has already told them in 17 that the kingdom of God for them lies within their hearts but they have been expecting a conquering Messiah who will remove the Roman yoke of bondage from their necks and restore Israel to a place of prominence. Even after His resurrection they say;

 Acts 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

 Jesus had told Governor Pilate;

 John 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

 Notice the now is my kingdom not from hence. But, His kingdom will come to this world and many will suffer for their rejection of Him.

 Matthew 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

 God exercises His power over our existence in every heartbeat He makes happen. But, Jesus is not now exercising direct and physical, political rule over the kingdoms of the world although the Bible says that there will come a time for that.

 Revelation 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

 The direct application is for Christ’s Jewish disciples in the days coming to His Crucifixion and after His Resurrection and ascension to Heaven. But, we’ve been given gifts which we are to exercise on His behalf also. We are His ambassadors, perhaps a front infiltrating in Satan’s world of men and women to prepare Christ’s coming. An analogy can be made to a commando unit landing behind enemy lines. Or, more simply, like the prophets and John the Baptist who announced Him. Our gifts are not all physical. In fact, the proof or fruit of the Holy Spirit living inside of us is outlined in Galatians 5 in contrast against the demands of the flesh and the consequences of living in it.

 Galatians 5:13 ¶  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

 In addition to the fruit of the Spirit we have each been given gifts of abilities. Each of these are particular to us individually and one does not have what the other has and two with the same do not have it in the same measure.

 Romans 12:1 ¶  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11  Not slothful in

business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

 The error on our part is in doing nothing. It is not about being successful as God provides the success.

 1Corinthians 3:5 ¶  Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Or, as Jesus said so clearly;

 John 3:27  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

 We are like the servants who received the pounds and were tasked to make them work for the master. As the Baltimore preacher Sewall Smith asked in a sermon on John 6:9, “What are you going to do with your five and two?”