“Search me, Oh, God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Amen.
PSALM 139:23-24
“Jesus said, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on the word that comes from the mouth of God.”
MATTHERW 4:4
March 25
Be Still.
“… be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
PSALM 46:10
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
PSALM 46
The Single Hander
“Illumination”
“At a time when wise men peered through brass tubes towards the sky…”D3
In order to start any creation, one must know where the starting point begins. Inquiring minds want to know, “If that was the beginning, what came before THAT?”
The church has its answer. Scientists want you to have faith that their multiple theories are the culmination of, “The Answer”.
Philosophers tend not to give any, “Answer,” but imply that, “The Answer,” is actually the questioning, itself, as like the layers of an onion are not layers, but the onion, itself, only composed of the core- layered of its own core.
In the first book of the church’s Pentateuch, it reads, “There was darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.” (B3)
It further notes:
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters to separate the water from the water. …and it separated the water above from the water below the dome. …and God called the dome, ‘sky’.” (B4)
In other translations, the word, “dome,” is replaced with the word, “vault.” We all know that a vault is a solid enclosure designed to be opened and closed.
Again, in other versions, this, “dome,” or, “vault,” is recorded as such:
“Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (G1)
In yet another translation, it is recorded this way:
“…Let there be a space between the waters to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” (H1)
In similar accounts, translations read, “… and God called the firmament, ‘heaven.’” (I1)
We can all debate how mankind started until we are blue in the tooth, because we all do not agree about the subject; and we have countless wars which back that statement up!
Fact or fiction, regardless, words written down are but a message. Recorded from Ancient Man’s words, modern man delivers the words written down to another modern man; a message is sent.
That being the state of affairs, man is just a deliverer, not the message, itself. If you disagree with the message, shoot the message; but do not shoot the messenger!
The most circulated explanation of how Mankind began is in Genesis, the first book of The Bible, in which God single-handedly created everything in six days, then, rested on the seventh day. The most widely agreed upon terms of that explanation are the three words, “It was good.” (G3) Indeed, Light is good! When in darkness, we all seek light. When in search by philosophical reason, we sojourn towards enlightenment. For most of us, the journey is a lonesome one, from church steeple to church steeple- a “Steeplechase.”
Yes, many share in you pleasure, but glory, itself, is sun-basked in only by a few- a lonesome destination is this journey altogether; but let us not mistake being lonesome as a sad, lonely tale! “The Walking Man,” (J1) must walk alone, not because he has been banished, necessarily, but because he is free, enjoying his travel.
We travel from town to town, from country to country. We are men of quest. Afoot, we are, “The Walking Man.” Tradition honors us: Better recognized when on horseback, we are “The Single-Hander”. The degree of our angle on life depends upon our devotion to securing the messages we are rewarded with .
Tradition honors time.
History records reveal:
“Long ago, in a dusty village, filled with hunger, pain and strife, a man came forth with a vision of truth and a way to a better life. He was convinced he had the answer; and he compelled people to follow along; but the hunger never vanished, and the man was banished. Then, the village dried-up and died.
At a time when wise men peered through brass tubes towards the sky the Heavens changed in predictable ways, and one man was able to find that he had thought he had the answer; and he was quick to write his revelations; but, as they were scrutinized by his collogues’ eyes, he soon became a mockery!
An urban sprawl sits, choking on his discharge, overwhelmed by industry, searching for a modern-day savior from another place, in plight for charity. Everyone begging for an answer without regard to validity. The search, it never ends. It goes on and on, and on for eternity.
Don’t tell me about the answer, because then another one will come along soon. I don’t believe you have the answer; I’ve got ideas, too. But, if you’ve got enough naivety and you’ve got conviction, than the answer is perfect for you.” (D3)
Many regard priests, the Pope, the scientist, government official, the policeman and the doctor as a person who has our answers; as people who understand more about life than the rest. Policemen, especially, have no clue what the (state and federal,) laws are, or what citizens’ rights are! Mankind has reached the precipice from which, taken flight, the notion soars that there is so much more out there than narrowly defined by our experts.
There is more unacquired knowledge to arrest than that of the microbiologists’, more tissue to form than that from the petri dishes of the mycologists’, more particles to divide from our quantum physicists’, more glaring alchemy expected of our chemists, more induced and nullified firing patterns of our neurosurgeons’ and more educatedly philanthropic requisites demanded of the aerospace engineers’ current dilemma:
The Truth. … GENESIS 1:6-8 .
The Truth cannot be hidden so much anymore in this, “Information Age.” The, “Corona Virus,” Genocide, meticulously covered-up by fear propaganda and vehicled by creating a medical-military state, has slammed the door shut on logical human interaction. Making-up bullshit terms like, “Social Distancing,” the wool is over the sheeps’ eyes who do not realize that, “Social Distancing,” is no more than, “Locking Yourself In Your Home, Hiding In Fear!” Bullshit, “Self-Quarantining,” is simplify locking yourself in your home, hiding in fear! “Social Distancing,” and “Self Quarantining,” are the new, “Active Shooter,” buzz-bullshit-words of propaganda, being employed to facilitate The Newest Common Conjecture.
The new, “pandemic,” is not a virus of the respiratory system, but a very effective political-psuedo-medical-quasi-military action that concentrate-camps Americans by foreshadow of Martial Law. Fear that you will get arrested for taking your children to a restaurant, going to church or driving to the bank- THAT is NOT protection from a virus! THAT is Martial Law, totalitarianism and is,…
The End Of Freedom!
To arrest a pastor for inviting his congregation to a church service, but to not arrest the entire congregation who showed up is: Arresting a pastor for speaking. He did not force the people to attend; he is one man. Arrest them all! The truth is, people are, not only seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, too many of us know that we are in the tunnel; but the architects of the tunnel-vision have used anarchy to monarchize America; and they are dimming the light. (o10)
If you seek illumination, turn off you television; go outside; look at the sun; observe the moon and its path. Record what the stars are doing! Illumination comes from turning ON the switch of individual freedom. When twelve ounces of soda costs less than twelve ounces of water, Look Around You! THINK!
We can no longer dodge the drones’ bullets for being the messenger; we can only survive by being exemplar, free men. We, the people, are not subordinates to any government, scientist, doctor, policeman, clergy member, military personnel or fucking Walmart shopping receipt checker! We ARE the government, the doctors, the fathers of scientists; are equal to our clergymen., and our police officers are but men. We are Fellowmen of our Fellow Man.
Few, today, are even in the shadow of the Single-Hander. Most are willing to allow both their hands to be cuffed behind their backs in the face of biochemical, or medical, FRAUD! That subject is too extensive to cover herein. Ironically, that subject had been the purpose for this treatise!
A man wearing a white coat is not superior to you simply because he is wearing a white coat. Ask that man if he can start a fire with a chunk of flint and a piece of steel in the woods on a rainy day! Any man who cannot start fire is NOT Mankind’s superior! Any man who cannot start fire is inferior to the caveman.
THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Mounted Knights’ Travel Formation:
The Messenger
After the scouts set out to gather information, map-out the land and prepare the way, the Two-Hander leads the way on horseback.
Yes, he Two-Hander is a knight, but more, he IS a Knights‘ Knight, a knight of the Templar! Beyond that distinction, he leads the formation. If an attack comes from the front, he is the first to engage in the battle- a sword in each hand, protecting the church in his heart, the Pope on his mission and ensuring the passage of the Scribe as his motive. The Two-Hander is the second-most informed man of the community.
Behind the Two-Hander’s horse rides the Scribe, the village’s librarian, journalist; the church’s recorder of every man’s confessions and deeds; the Knights Templar’s most protected messenger. It is his obligation and duty to report the new information back to his home town after the formation has met with their destination’s scribe and after confirming transmission with the Pope. For that reason, his horse is fast, usually a thoroughbred.
On either side of the Scribe are the Front Shieldsmen who hold, each, a large shield and brandish a long-sword. One Front Shieldsman is right-handed, the other is left-handed.
Behind the Scribe rides the Pope, or the High Priest. He remembers with him, sacred knowledge, regarded as more highly classified than that of the Scribe’s.
Protecting each side of the Pope are the Archers. These two are the eyes and ears of the formation, with little armor to, “clang,” and make noise. They vigilantly watch the front, the sides and the rear of the formation and can send a fatal arrow in danger’s way before any enemy horse can sneak-up on the group.
Staggered behind the Archer are the two Back Shieldsmen. They offer the same protection as the Front Shieldsmen, but they are the security force for the Pope. They take one, special vow- to sometimes stay in place if the event occurs that the Scribe must be rushed ahead for safety. They protect the Pope overall and are the fortification of the formation.
Completing the formation is the fearless Single-Hander. His goal is to protect the formation of attacks from the rear. He sometimes carries a shield. He is armed with a broadsword, also, a short sword, daggers, throwing blades, a crossbow, poisons and close, hand-to-hand combat weapons. He is as fierce as the Two-Hander ,but wears lighter armor and riders a quicker horse, for his mission is to protect and carry information primarily, and to protect the formation secondly. He serves as the Pope’s right-hand-man on the journey and his personal bodyguard for the voyage; that is, until the formation reaches its destination.
The Single-Hander is equipped with smaller, lighter weapons, because his journey back home must be fast; it is alone, dangerous and very, very valuable! He has the resourcefulness of the Scout, the fearlessness of the Two-Hander, the fortitude and security of the Shieldsmen, the weaponry of the Archer, the information of the Scribe; and he carries the Pope’s message. He holds the apple of wisdom. Realistically, the Single-Hander is more valued and more highly respected than the Pope!
The Single-Hander is one of the Sons of Light. (K3) We are the Torch-Bearer, (K2) the living record of the Old Order of Royal Knights Templar. (K1) He is The Illuminated Hero.
Omina In Numeris Sita Sunt.
“Such was to be the course of the war in its earthly dimensions. but it would possess in addition a cosmic quality. The hosts of the Sons of Light, commanded by the ‘Prince of the Congregation,’ were to be supported by the angelic armies lead by ‘The Prince of LIght,’ also known in the scrolls as Archangel Michael, or Melchizedek. Similarly, the ‘ungodly covenant’ and their… associates were to be aided by the demonic forces… These two opposing camps were to be evenly matched,… Intervention alone would bring about the destruction of evil.”
“The While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.”
-JOHN 12:36
Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah said [f]when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not [g]believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Book of JOHN, chapter XII
The Anointing at Bethany
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was [a]who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son,who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for [b]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
1The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of theLord!’ The King of Israel!”
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
“Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
The Fruitful Grain of Wheat
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross
“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Therefore the people who stood by and heard itsaid that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am [e]lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how canYou say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah s again:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah said [f]when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Walk in the Light
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not [g]believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Session One
Repentance, Faith, Truth, Darkness, The Apostle Paul and his letter to Timothy
Characters of Focus:
Paul the Apostle
Timothy
Stephen the Martyr
(Prayer, Invoking God into the congregation:)
“We all know that we are of God and the world is under the sway of the wicked one.”
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the worldly governors, the princes of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness, which are in the high places.”
“…To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier does not become entangled in the business affairs of life.”
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
(ROMANS 12:1-21)
“For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.” MATTHEW 18:20
“Now, these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. The greatest of these is Love.” (1 CORINTNHIANS 13:13,)
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses andescape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
2 TIMOTHY 2:23-25
(Book of Second Timothy)
(In life, there are a lot of things which pull us apart; but there is a bond which holds Horsemen together! On the racetrack, we operate on Faith. We live by Hope. We are bound by the Love of the Horse!)
(As Christians, “Young Soldiers of Christ,” our goal is to live according to the standard set by Jesus. In a world run by evil, we are surrounded by evil- so much that we find ourselves acting in sinful ways at times! We must be strong by setting the example for each other through our WORDS, our ACTIONS, by letting the Light of Truth shine from within us! We need to share our Faith, our Hope and our Love with others!)
(God has recruited us as soldiers of His war, and, as it says, in SECOND TIMOTHY 2:4,) “…To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier does not become entangled in the business affairs of life.”
(In EPHESIANS 6:12, Paul.wrote:)
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the worldly governors, the princes of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness, which are in the high places.”
We do not fight against each other in this physical world. There is a battle going on which we do not see, (in the high places,)… but we FEEL it,: … we are PART of it!
Again, we all have different strengths; but we all came here tonight for the same reason. We are all of one body, one mind, one family; … if not just the family of Horsemen, but the Family of Christ!
MATTHEW 18:20 records Jesus ensuring, “For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”
Now, as we have all gathered in His name, He is here with us,…
Today, meeting here as the Horsemen’s Bible Council, we are going to focus on three verses:
SECOND TIMOTHY, Chapter 2, Verses 24,25 & 26. They are the words of Paul in a letter he wrote to Timothy.
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses andescape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
To understand what this letter from Paul to Timothy was all about,first, you need to know:
Who Was Paul?
Paul of Tarsus, Rome
Paul is first introduced in the Bible in the book of ACTS, chapter seven (in) verse fifty-eight. At that time, he was know as, “Saul”. He is not to be mistaken for the Saul of the Old Testament, in first and second, SAMUEL; they are two different people.
Born with the name of, “Saul,” Paul grew up in Tarsus, Rome. He became a fierce and unforgiving Pharisee who spent his days dragging Christians from their homes and having them stoned outside the walls of the city.
The first time Saul appears in the Bible, a crowd of Romans had drug a man named, Stephen, from his home to outside of the city’s walls and began stoning him because he was teaching the Words of Jesus. It reads, in ACTS 7:58-60; 8:1,
“and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was consenting unto his death.”
Who Was Stephen, the First Martyr for the Cross?
Stephen is the first man recorded to have been a Martyr for Christ. Soon after his death, the Catholic Church recognized Stephen as a saint, making him Patron Saint of altar servers, builders, casket makers, deacons, horses, masons, and quarrymen.
He was chosen as one of seven men to help care for widows and manage urgent, physical needs in the early church. Not only was Stephen the first Deacon of that church, Stephen is most likely the first Deacon in the history of the Christian Church, ever!
He publicly debated religious leaders who challenged whether the Gospel was true or not.
Approximately one to two years after Jesus’s Crucifixion, (around 33 or 34 A.D.,) Stephen was wrongfully accused of blasphemy by false witnesses in the Roman town of Tarsus, and was brought before the high priest (a Jewish priest).
After the high priest listened to Stephen plead the Truth of the Gospel, Stephen was drug outside the city walls and stoned to death for his belief in Christ.
Stephen was about the age of eighty at the time of his stoning.
After Stephen’s death, Saul, who later became known as “Paul,” “… made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison .” (ACTS 8:3)
Paul is a key figure in the Bible for two reasons:
1. Paul is credited with writing thirteen books of the Bible, (nine of which were letters to churches- 4 of those letters were written while he was in prison in Rome; and four of Paul’s letters were written to individual people. There is debate that Paul also wrote the book of HEBREWS, which would make it fourteen books of the bible credited as written by Paul!
Reason Number Two:
2. Paul is a figure of REPENTANCE in the Bible, because he went from a life of dragging Christians from their homes and stoning them to death to becoming a leader of that same, Christian church, and, ultimately, ironically, getting killed for doing the same thing he used to kill people for doing (which was preaching the word of the Gospel)!
Because Paul was a Roman, it is likely that he was beheaded by the sword rather than stoned, for death by the sword is a, “fitting death for a Roman”.
Paul is the ultimate example of the REPENTANCE from a life of murder and sin to a life lead by the way of Christ.
So, … that’s Paul, known for writing the books of: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 1, Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and, possibly, Hebrews.
We are talking about a Letter Paul wrote to Timothy (which he wrote between 63 and 67 A.D.)
Who Was Timothy?
Timothy was a preacher of the early church and became the first Deacon of the Church in Ephesus (now, modern-day Turkey). Timothy traveled with Paul, spreading The Gospel, and he was Paul’s personal letter carrier.
Timothy spent his young years studying the Old Testament, including old Hebrew texts. His mother was thought to be a Hellenistic Hebrew, (Or Jew,) who, later in life, converted to Christianity. His father was as thought to be Greek. Because of his upbringing, Timothy spoke (at least,) Aramaic and Greek. Since early texts of the Bible were written in Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and Aramaic, he had a great understanding of the Bible!
Why Did Paul Write Timothy?
At the time, Christians were being assaulted and murdered by the Romans! Paul wrote Timothy to encourage him to remain strong in fighting the good fight.
…. We all need a bit of Brotherly encouragement once in a while, don’t we?
As it says in PROVERBS 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and brother is born for adversity.”
So, how do we Fight The Good Fight?
As Soldiers, in Service, “… a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility- correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
2 TIMOTHY 2:7 implores us, “Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.”
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
PSALM 136:23-24
-Ride Tight.
March 26
Paul’s Words to Timothy:
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses andescape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
2TIMOTHY 2:24-26
Read SECOND TIMOTHY.
Book of Second Timothy
II TIMOTHY
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
To Timothy, a beloved son:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the [b]genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.
Daily Bible Verse:
March 27
Light Shines in Darkness
“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but wassent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receiveHim. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
A Voice in the Wilderness
19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet, Isaiah, said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, [i]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done in [j]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who [k]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
The First Disciples
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then, Jesus turned, and seeing them follow, said to them, “What do you seek?”
–They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”-
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the [l]Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of [m]Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, [n]A Stone).
Philip and Nathanael
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter[o] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
CHAPTER II
2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and [a]manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers [b]doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house[c]has eaten Me up.”
18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this [d]to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
The Discerner of Hearts
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
CHAPTER III
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you,unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is,the Son of Man [b]who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [c]not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
CHAPTER IV
4 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew thegift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, forsalvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comesthe harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored;others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed [a]the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
43 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain [b]nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”
50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”
52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.
54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
The SCOUT
The Scout
“Anarchism”
“In arrogance, there is great ruin and great instability. In idleness, there is loss and dire poverty, for idleness is the mother of famine.”
Book of Tobit 4:13
“Do not keep with you overnight the wages of those who have worked for you, but pay them at once. … Be on guard, son, in everything you do; be wise in all that you say, and discipline yourself in all your conduct. Do to no man or woman what you hate yourself.”
Book of Tobit 4:14-15
In the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts, young men all take the following oath:
“I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the law of the pack.”
Boy scouts teaches a young man both survival and social skills, requiring him to do things for the community, perform the basics of starting a fire, setting up camp, sewing clothes and a sheath for his knife; and it also requires him to delve into his own personal interests and to share his unique personality with the rest of the pack.
Moving up the ranks, there is rarely an idle moment. Boy Scouts is a fraterinity that teaches a long-lasting, long needed foundation upon which building one’s manhood is cememted. There is no secrecy in Boy Scouts, but to learn the next step, you must complete the current task required to reach the next level.
I attended both the Boy Scouts (then, The Royal Rangers, later in life). The Ranger is a scout, a man of self-reliance, survival and resourcefulness. He has a mission and a purpose and travels paths unmarked, unseen by most , and he accomplishes The Greater Goal. After he reaches his destination, it is his duty to report back to his people, what he learned and saw, heard, smelled and tasted. He shows them what he experienced. He is the eyes and ears of the pack.
With each young man individually choosing to do what is honorable, the Scouts are a vast, respected group who all work toward a common goal. The American Boy Scouts show a Bald Eagle as their highest emblem; and the Royal Rangers use the Compass Rose. Freedom and navigation are the Scouts’ and Rangers’ forefathers. Duty, Honor and Loyalty are their fathers. Boy Scouts learn to navigate the social environment while The Royal Rangers master navigating the earthly environment; both instilling humble beginnings; therefore, far-reaching benefits for all of mankind. When enough young men act in correctness and servitude to what is right, it is near impossible for the outside force of corruption to control the population.
“If mankind is indeed so depraved and immoral that it requires a militia and an armed police force to keep its members in line, than no defense for Anarchism can be made.”
James D. Foreman
The Scout is a man who must carve his own path in order to survive. He carves that path with the pocketknife of humble beginnings, serving the community through kindness with hard work. He does so regardless of the wrong that goes on around him. Even when the government around him persists in doing wrong, the Scout chooses to do his best to do his duty to God and his country; so let us recognize that his, “country,” is not of the government, by the government, for the government. The Scout’s country is of the People, by the People and For the People.
In the religious esteem, God is supreme over man. God’s law is not the law of man; and the law of God supersedes any law written by man. The Scout vows his duty to God’s law. Secondly, he vows his duty to his country, not necessarily his country’s government(s)! He vows to obey the law of the pack.
A pack of wolves is a small group when compared to the planet’s entire population of wolves. It is this third vow, “to obey the law of the pack,” that ensures survival from the small scale which promotes survival on the planetary scale. If swearing your allegiance to the common man, or smaller packs which comprise the entire population, is, “anarchism,” than so mote it be; than sign me up for Anarchism!
Since the Scouts and Rangers are the younger generation, now, the generation after the “Millennial Generation, ” it is they who hold the torch and we who hold-firm, the grip on that torch, to teach them how to hold it up; how to hold up The Light before we are destined to let it go. We are hard-pressed and steadfast to notmake it fall out of the sky!
The Scout is on both sides of the formation, scouting the land for adversaries and for allies. He scouts the land to which the tribe is to arrive.
The Scout wears the least amount of armor. He sets up camp in solitude and travels alone. He is self-sufficient by trade. When anarchy ensues around him, he has neither defenders nor guards, no shield or cannon to hide behind. He either fights in the skirmish or he evades the skirmish. One-by-one, the Scout’s survival is crucial to the tribe’s survival, for he is, along with the Archer, the eyes and ears of the world, reporting his observations back to the Deacons of the Church. He never sits at idle, either in action or at heart. He seeks-out the Truth, finds those who do not ask for him and sees people and places- unfamiliar!
The Scout goes by compass, both morally and navigationally and ventures only to glean the best of the whole. Mankind is dependent on The Scout. Information is The Holy Grail. Clarity is the Treasure! In our Scouts, our Rangers, the young men of olde, Mankind instills its faith.
“So for that knowledge is its own reward. I suppose that it may be worth its cost; but if any department of research should be ruled out of the sphere of operation processed by this truism, it is occult science and philosophy, so far, at least, as the majority are concerned. The labour involved by their exhaustive study repays those who undertake it only in a few cases.”
“I heard a sermon from a creaky pulpit with no one in the nave. I paid a visit to the synagogue, and I left there feeling blame. No one could tell me what to do. They had not the ability to answer me.
What the world needs now is some answers to our problems. We can’t buy more time, because our tender is invalid. If your soul needs love, you can get consoled by pity; but it looks as though Faith Alone won’t sustain us no more!
Watch the scientists throw up their hands conceding, “Progress will resolve it all!’ I saw the manufacturers of earth’s debris ignore another Green Peace Call! No one could tell me what to do. They had not the capacity to answer me!
What the world needs now is some accountability. We can’t buy more time, because time won’t accept our money. If your soul needs love, you can always have my pity. But it looks as though Faith Alone won’t sustain us no more!”
I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. [a]But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written:
“God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”
9 And David says:
“Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.”
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their [b]fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their [c]fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who aremy flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what willtheir acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and [d]fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, [e]goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own [f]opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be [g]saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has [h]committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
Trials and Temptations 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Listening and Doing 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Favoritism Forbidden 2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[b] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[c] also said, “You shall not murder.”[d] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Deeds 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[e]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[f] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Taming the Tongue 3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Two Kinds of Wisdom 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Submit Yourselves to God 4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people,[g] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[h]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[i]
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[j] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
March 29
Love Each Other.
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. …”
“Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father,
I have made known to you.
You did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit— fruit that will last—
and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command:
Love each other.”
JOHN 15: 15-16
When Jesus said,
“… go and bear fruit— fruit that will last, …”
Translation:
Travel and share the Word of God!
GO means to Travel.
BEAR means to Share.
FRUIT means theWord of God.
The Word of God IS Forever!
Travel and share the Word of God!
When Jesus said,
“…fruit that will last…”
…
“…fruit that will last…” represents continuing to teach the Word of God throughout the world, for generations to come!
Why did Jesus “choose” His Disciples?
When Jesus said,
“…You did not choose me,
but I chose you
and appointed you…”
He was talking to men who had been studying under Him.
(They were not your ordinary town-folk!)
Jesus IS a “Fisher of Men,”. …
“The Good Shepherd.”
When Jesus said,
“I no longer call you servants,
because
a servant
does not know
his master’s business. …”
…
The 12 Disciples of Jesus were living-out their lives like everyone else, however,…. They chose to act in the Christian way. (We’ll talk about Judas some other day!)
Jesus was sent to fish-out these men of grace from the herd of the world and to Shepard them, so that they could teach others and generations to come!
Disciples teach the world that there is no “Hidden Truth,” … no, “Secret Knowledge”. Jesus teaches that everybody is allowed to know the truth!
Jesus says, “Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you. …”
Jesus is instructing us to teach our Brothers what our fathers have taught us, what our forefathers have taught us, … to pass-on knowledge to future generations. …
–Pass The Torch!–
…
“I no longer call you servants, …” shows that Jesus treated his students as equals.
That IS the
Message of Jesus:
Treat your fellow-man as an equal. Never see yourself as better or more important than anybody else,…. Love each other!
Paul wrote in Romans:
“…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, …”
ROMANS 12:3
Today’s Daily Verse reminds us to treat everybody, your employees, the homeless man on the street, the angry cashier at the gas station, the “Brother of lower Degree,”… treat them all as your friends! Do not feel as though they are of lesser value or that they are your enemy!
“I no longer call you servants,” … We are all servants of God! The server at your local restaurant is not serving you,…
You are serving God by treating her with kindness, compassion and patience!
-FAITH – HOPE – LOVE-
Jesus was specifically speaking privately to his inner-circle- men who were being assaulted, spit-on at the markets, stoned, …. They were persecuted!
My Brothers,
When you are frustrated with an unruly employee, remember Jesus’s command:
“Love each other.”
Recall the First Commandment,
Do It, Now!
You are a servant of God!
Through Jesus Christ, as our mediator, we may carry-out the will of God by sharing Faith, Hope, and Love with all!
In the meantime,
–Love Each Other.
Above all, Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.
“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens.”
LAMENTATIONS 3:40-41
Read the book of LAMENTATIONS, chapter three:
LAMENATIONS
Chapter III
“1 I am the man that hath seen [a]affliction in the rod of his indignation. 2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not to light. 3 Surely he is turned against me: he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he caused to wax old, and he hath broken my bones. 5 He hath [b]built against me, and compassed me with gall and labor. 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead forever. 7 He hath hedged about me, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chains heavy. 8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my [c]prayer. 9 He hath [d]stopped up my ways with hewn stone, and turned away my paths. 10 [e]He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. 11 He hath stopped my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. 12 He hath bent his bow, and made me a mark for the arrow. 13 He caused [f]the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people, and their song all the day. 15 He hath filled me with bitterness, and made me drunken with [g]wormwood. 16 He hath also broken my teeth with stones, and hath covered me with ashes. 17 Thus my soul was far off from peace: I forgot prosperity, 18 And I said, My strength and my [h]hope is perished from the Lord, 19 Remembering mine affliction, and my mourning, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul hath them in remembrance, and is humbled [i]in me. 21 I consider this in mine heart: therefore have I hope. 22 It is the Lord’s [j]mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are renewed [k]every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my [l]portion, saith my soul: therefore will I hope in him. 25 The Lord is good unto them that trust in him, and to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good both to trust, and to wait for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his [m]youth. 28 He sitteth alone, [n]and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. 29 He putteth his [o]mouth in the dust, if there may be hope. 30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproaches. 31 For the Lord will not forsake forever. 32 But though he send affliction, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not [p]punish [q]willingly, nor afflict the children of men, 34 In stamping under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, 35 In overthrowing the right of a man before the face of the most High, 36 In subverting a man in his cause: the Lord [r]seeth it not. 37 Who is he then that saith, and it cometh to pass, and the Lord [s]commandeth it not? 38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not [t]evil and good? 39 Wherefore then is the living [u]man sorrowful? man suffereth for his sin. 40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up [v]our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens. 42 We have sinned, and have rebelled, therefore thou hast not spared. 43 Thou hast covered us with wrath, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, and not spared. 44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that ourprayer should not pass through. 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouth against us. 47 Fear, and a snare is come upon us with desolation and destruction. 48 Mine eye casteth out rivers of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 Mine eye droppeth without stay, and ceaseth not, 50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven. 51 Mine eye [w]breaketh mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. 52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. 53 They have shut up my life[x]in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. 54 Waters flowed over mine head, then thought I, I am destroyed. 55 I called upon thy Name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: stop not thine ear from my sigh, and from my cry. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidest, Fear not. 58 O Lord, thou hast maintained the cause of my [y]soul, and hast redeemed my life. 59 O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong, judge thou my cause. 60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance, and all their devises against me: 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me. 62 The lips also of those that rose against me, and their whispering against me continually. 63 Behold, their sitting down, and their rising up, how I am their song. 64 Give them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. 65 Give them [z]sorrow of heart even thy curse to them. 66 Persecute with wrath and destroy them from under the heaven, O Lord.”
March 31
Put Forth Effort
“Not that I have already obtained this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”PHILIPPIANS 3:12
The Dark Hero
“Shadow”
“A friend loves at all times, and a Brother is born for a time of adversity.” -Proverbs 17:17
Only by light can we see shadows. Only by comparing to darker hues can we distinguish lighter hues. Evil doers foster rebellion against honesty. The Messenger of Death has been sent upon them. The Dark Knight is the most merciful of all. After all, even the Angel of Death brings relief from anguish.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter; who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deny justice to the innocent. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight, who draw sin along with chords of deceit and perversity, vanity and wickedness as if with cart ropes.” (O10)
“I urge you, watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to logic. Keep away from those people!” Romans 16:17
“Though your people be like sand by the sea, only a remnant will survive. The Almighty will carry-out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.” Isaiah 10:21-23
INTELLIGO UT CREDAM
(“I believe so that I may understand”)
“In keeping with the revelation of the hidden mystery of long ages past, but now revealed and made known through prophetic writings…” Romans 16:25
CREDO UT INTELLIGAM
(“I understand so I may believe.”)
The fearlessness of the Two-Hander, along with the craftiness of the Scout, strength of the Scribe’s words, beauty of the Pope’s secret knowledge; the security of the Shieldsmen, the freedom of the Archers’ movement and the fortification of the Single-Hander’s enlightened skill altogether account for the twelve, sacred positions of the formation. Most obscured by history’s demand is the Thirteenth member of the congregation. …
-Ride Tight.
Since war is historically unavoidable, how do we teach a generation to not embark upon the onslaught of war?
“The enemy is no longer foreign and far away, but up close and domestic.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy
War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strength George Orwell, 1984
Operation Loincloth shall forever remain the Twenty-Second step taken by the 3rd US Infantry Unit.
Arlington, Virginia, November 22, 1963
“The truth is relative. This relative view is generally shunned. It is supposed by the left to dilute commitment and by the right to leave society defenseless. In fact, it renders everybody equally responsible for the structure adopted by the group… knowledge would then properly include the study of the structure itself. Such a system would permit a type of ‘balanced anarchy’ in which all interests could be represented in a continuous reappraisal of the social requirements for knowledge and the value of judgement to be applied in directing the search for that knowledge. The view that this would endanger the position of the expert by imposing on his work the judgement of the layman ignores the fact that science has always been the product of social needs, consciously expressed or not. Science may very well be a vital part of human endeavor, but for it to retain the privilege which it has gained over centuries of being in some measure accountable, would be to both render science itself and society a disservice. It is time that knowledge became more accessible to whom those it properly belongs. A1
432 HZ
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
