SELAH Jubilee Lady Writes 4 Shalom

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Some things to consider, please don't shout me down,
I need to address some ideas, quite profound!
I need to give voice to this wonderful Season,
bring us back to YESHUA, Who IS STILL The REAL REASON!

Not about “Elves on shelves”, nor presents, nor trees!
Nor Fat men in red suits, flying reindeer? OH PLEASE!
Not Christmas trees! Shopping! Even presents for others!
But sharing HIS LOVE with our sisters and brothers!

So let's pause our traditions, let's ditch "let's pretend",
Let's worship the Birth of our Savior and Friend!
If we'd have our children believe, and follow our SAVIOR,
then it's time we, as grown ups, did them a huge favor...

Like focusing MORE on the POINT of this Season,
instead of confusing our children about the real Reason?
Now, I know, these deceptions are all spun “just in fun"!
But they should not overshadow THE GLORIOUS ONE.

Let's truly remember WHY it was that HE came,
point folks to the manger, Praise HIS dear NAME!
Don't let our kids focus on what they might receive,
but on what we've been given, so that they might believe.

The Babe in the Manger isn't part of the hoax,
But don't expect little kids to discern that truth folks.
Our job is to lead them to bow at HIS FEET,
So let's let our “Traditions” now take a back seat.

It's time that we taught kids the Fear of THE LORD,
Not to fear some weird Elf doll, that was bought from a store!
To use fear to control kids is manipulation,
While Respect for a GOOD GOD, might lead to SALVATION!

Please, tell them the TRUTH, don't deceive them with lies.
Please focus on HIM, so that FAITH can arise!
That ruse can shake their faith later, I know this to be true.
It isn't worth risking to me, how about you?

So, it's time we came back to the Wonderful REASON,
Time to celebrate HIM this Magnificent SEASON!
For if we would "KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTmas",
you see, HE must first be EXALTED in you, and in me!

SCD
12/8/22

Welcome December! May your wintery chill,

replace summer swelter, your winds blow in good will.
May the grayness of your cloudy, skies,

our lights and candles emphasize.

May the Holiday's hustle and bustle not dim,
The celebration, and true praise of HIM.
Though He likely was born at an earlier time,
In Tradition, still, His birth is sublime .....

And Enjoins our hearts and minds to bring,

elated Worship to our King!

Reminds us that our King was born,

lifting the spirits of those forlorn!
 

And Chanukah, a Victory too,

is celebrated, by a few!
Who know that that victory had a real place,

in the lineage of Yeshua, not being erased!

If there had been no Chanukah, Christ would not be,

so I'm more about the Candlelight, and less about the Tree.

It's more about HIM, Who is the true GIFT,

and less about presents, and that Santa Claus stiff!

But where ever HE's remembered, or how, I am good.
Let's keep both celebrations about Him! Yes, we should!
So a Big Chag Sameach to the Chanukah crowd,

and a big Merry Christmas, YES, I'll say it out loud!

For the Light of the Gospel, gets spread more this season,
if we can just keep focused on the actual Reason!
And for those in the middle, who don't know what to do,
I'm sending a big "Happy Holidays" to you!

And before I now exit this December Rhyme scene,
I'll end with a grateful, "Shalom Haverim"!

And a blessing that we may all bask in this season,

remembering the Christ-child, Who IS truly THE REASON!

SCD
12/3/22


 

Finding The Spiritual Balance

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

 “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

~ ~ ~ Amen & Amen

We are told that we must, as a forcible act, “put off”, “the old us”, which will include whatever actions or belief structures which might cause us to “put off” of the will of God for our lives, or the guidance of His Spirit. And, that, in place of that old one, we must “PUT ON”the “NEW US”, which is achieved, we are also informed, by the “renewing” (one could say, “reprogramming”, “restructuring”, “reframing” or “renovating”) of our minds – which is also a forceful and deliberate – even determined – action.

These are not passive options to be pursued at our leisure and whims. Leisure and whims are decided marks of the OLD US. These are firm instructions to be pursued IF we are disciples of The Anointed One, Yeshua. We simply can not follow Him, and the flesh at the same time, we must CHOOSE ONE. As The Father, and HIS Word adjures us, all the way through, we must CHOOSE LIFE! That choice will mean that we forcibly lay aside old patterns of thinking and doing, that have become second nature to us, that feel “normal”. Yet they are far from the “normal” God created us to be! We must, as the excellent actor, portraying Jesus in the movie “The Chosen” quipped, “Get used to DIFFERENT”. God's ways, we are told, are NOT our ways! OY! Has that become apparent! Annoyingly so at times! But it is only annoying to the parts still governed by the old me. There is still some “putting off” to be done! AND some intentional “putting on”!

OFF with the OLD, ON with the NEW. His Spirit will lead us in what we must do! But we won't make progress until we are through, playing around with the old, while avoiding the new!

Sorry. I call that a Seuss lapse, when I just bust into rhyme. . .

But, seriously. Attention MUST be given to this “reprogramming” daily, if we are ever to leave behind our miserable failures, mistakes, regrets, and our tendency to obsess on those, so as to wallow in the mire of self-pity, in the fleshly hog-pen we've made for ourselves, emotionally speaking. But usually it will also manifest in the physical realm, in some way, resulting in chaos and cluttered, confusion oriented, living, or sickness and pain in our bodies, and strained relationships with all those around us!

The Good News, however, is that we are now FREE, in Yeshua, to LEAVE BEHIND that low level living, and LEVEL UP to a NEW LIFE in HIM. But WE MUST MAKE UP OUR MINDS. We must get to that place that we are totally DONE with the old ways of being and doing! We must be ready to “burn the boats” of the old life we've become used to, and be willing to be willing to WORK, in cooperation with His Spirit, to “PUT OFF”, “LAY ASIDE”, the OLD “US” (which really is a half version of us) and be willing, even eager I would suggest, to pursue, with all our enthusiasm, intention and action, the NEW US (which is the REAL US that GOD envisioned) – by obeying HIS instruction and staying within HIS boundaries (which is our real “safety zone”)!

Ephesians is a great instruction book on how this is best accomplished, on what our part is in this effort, how to best cooperate with His Spirit in achieving this new normal, this new high life. One of the decisions this chapter calls for is a restructuring of our emotional and verbal responses to conflict, disappointment or challenges. He says that we should “put away lying” and “speak truth”. Well, that settles the Passive/Aggressive mess that too often substitutes for real “Christianity” around here! Just sayin'!

He continues that we should “be angry” yet not sin! Well. That would definitely be a spiritual accomplishment! For me it has been a most determined, and decisive attitude adjustment! It means that we must thoughtfully RESPOND to the difficulties (and the humans behind them) of life, and not merely react! OY!

Salvation and the forgiveness of our sin is free to us, in that HE paid the debts and penalties attached! However, following the One who forgives us will cost us our lives – in that the old life must be “put off”, firmly and completely, in order to follow Him! We are told that we must “die to the flesh & live to the spirit” “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (don't hold onto grudges until bedtime, it will disturb your rest), “and do not give the devil an opportunity”. Meaning that our mishandled anger opens the door for demonic involvement.

Anger is a legitimate emotional tool. Emotions, as I have felt led to point out on occasion, are like a “Check-Engine Light” in a car. They indicate a problem, potential or threatening. It is best not to ignore it, but you don't need to junk the whole car because a light comes on! We take it to a professional mechanic to diagnose the issues. It may just be a blown fuse, or part of the engine could need “fixing”. If it only needs oil we don't have to pay the mechanic for that service. We can thank him, go home and do it ourselves. But if part of the engine, or intricate working parts need replacing, then we must employ his or her services in that matter. In the same way, we take our emotions to God to see what we need to do – or have done - about it. Sometimes we just need to calm down, focus on the positive (whatever is true, lovely....etc.), and let stuff go. Sometimes we need to worship or journal or study to recharge our battery, or restore the blown fuse. Sometimes we need deliverance from a stronghold, or emotional “keep” that we've allowed the enemy to build and operate from, which is then keeping us from achieving our peace, maturity and stability spiritually – which requires the services The Great Mechanic! But the way we handle our anger is a big deal to God.

Which is why Paul continued his instruction on how to best handle anger, saying, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice (force). And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

What NOT to do –

1.DO NOT ALLOW corrupt communication – that which is not pleasing to God, helpful or necessary – come out of the mouth. “Thumper's Rule” (“Thumper” is the little rabbit-friend from Disney's Bambi move) comes to mind, “If you can't say something good, or nice, then don't say anything at all.”

2.DO NOT GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT – by allowing the flesh to become dominant in frustration. 3.PUT AWAY FROM OURSELVES – ALL bitterness, wrath, anger (what is the distinction between those), clamor AND evil speaking – with ALL FORCE/Malice. In other words those things are worthy of our judgment, and worth despising.

AND – a final exhortation of what TO DO – we should – BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. Tenderhearted (not selfishly self-defensive) – achieved by – FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER AS WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN. God really is a “pay it forward” kind of GOD.

So, as we each recover our ground spiritually, let us stay accountable to each other, and hold each other accountable to THE WORD. Because that is the source of the TRUTH we are told to speak. Also let us be attentive to the nudges of the spirit, and to take our check-engine lights seriously enough to get down to what is causing it – but not let those emotions become the “lord”, or director of our actions! We are to report for duty daily, to receive His instructions, let Him interpret our challenges for us, as to HIS intentions for allowing them, and get HIS help with anything we are not mature enough to handle yet. And all of this without any shame, but only gratitude that HE IS THERE FOR US, and ready and able to aid us in keeping our transformation going, in our progress toward perfection!

This is the way to the maturity in The Spirit, which will enable us to be true followers and disciples of our dear Lord & Savior, and eventually walk in His Authority and Anointing enough to “do the things which HE does & greater” as promised – by the Power and Aid of His Spirit working through us. Cultivating these practices does decimate the foolish flesh, and empowers the spirit-beings in us, so that we can be HIS partners in seeing “His Kingdom come...” and “His will be done, HERE as it Heaven.”

And, I don't know about all of you, but THAT is exactly the goal of my life, breath and existence. I am obviously not done yet. But as we say in our recovery groups, “Progress Toward Perfection.” It is happening, by His grace.

Selah.

What the Heck is Taking So Long, God?!!

(Why God - Things/His promises - take so long coming to pass in our lives)

We humans are a complex mixture of the spiritual and physical realm. We are born into the physical realm initially, and slowly, over time, if we are lucky enough to encounter God, and His realm, are slowly introduced to His ways of doing and being. It is here that the conflicts really begin.

While we are in and of the world, and know only the fleshly realm, we are limited to those resources. So we make the best decisions we can within the resources available to us at any given moment. Or we just retreat into a medicated unreality to cope with the lack of resources. Ironically, this option usually produces a great reduction, and utter waste, of the resources that to which we do have access!

When we come into the spiritual realm though, immediately we are confronted with a need to change how we think, view “life” and make decisions. Suddenly more resources are available to us. But the means, or prerequisites of getting hold of those resources are rarely made clear to us! Teaching is either too limited by the fleshy realm, or too over-spiritualized, and therefore inaccessible to us. There must be a revelation by The Spirit of God, of the promises in His Word, to us. He leads us into all Truth (John 16:13).

Truth, that is the opinion - requirements – boundaries - of our Father God is what changes our character from flesh-oriented to spirit-enlivened. The more we renew our minds with His Truth, the more insight we gain into how the spiritual realm works, and how His blessings connect with and affect us, and our earthly experience.

The two patterns of thinking that I've mostly observed, which complicate our spiritual experience, being largely erroneous, is that once we accept Salvation all sin is instantly erased and all God's blessings are automatically dispensed to us – removing all the negative effects of sin immediately – therefore producing an unrealistic expectation of ease & abundance. We envision something like Netflix's version of “heaven”, called, “The Good Life” - where we sit about sipping wine and continuing in the fleshly ideas of bliss. Um. No. The other is that we must grind through in our own strength and do every thing the hard way! But if we could do that, the Messiah came for nothing! So both takes are wrong because they are inherently flawed by the insertion of human reasoning. Trying to bring His mysteries down to where we can control the situation, or at least understand it.

Yeshua – a.k.a – Jesus, clues us into the battle ahead when He said, very plainly, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” That was the last sentence in what we now know as “John chapter 16”, after a heavy download of what they, His disciples could expect in the coming days, as He would face arrest, false accusation and crucifixion for the sin of the world! He was trying to prepare them for the fact that those who believe in HIM in this world, that is ruled by His opposition, were going to be like fish swimming up stream! It was NOT going to be easy. He did not come to make it easy. He came to make it possible!

That is why He could make such a seemingly contradictory statement with such assurance! “In this world you WILL have tribulation....” - doesn't sound like a party to me! Yet, “Take heart....” - some translations say “Be of GOOD CHEER”! Why?! How?! “Because I have overcome the world”! We can only imagine the shocking disappointment of the following days His disciples lived through, as He was arrested, willingly, if not happily, and continued to freely, decidedly, give His life to save the world that was determined to get rid of Him!

The Jews – those of His nation of origin - rejected Him, by and large, because they had taken literally the Scriptural description of The Messiah as the butt-kicking, world-redeeming, attitude adjusting KING (which we are taught to believe He will be when He returns)! This guy who taught that you should love your enemies and pray for those who use us wrongly – well, He was just a hippie-dippie, peace loving non-realist to them. And, I think, we also have a difficult time choking it all down. Like, how is this going to come out right? How will this ever bring the peace we all crave? What's the point, and what in the heck is taking so long!!!?

But what is missed in that human reasoning is, for that sort of peace to reign, there must be a significant change of heart, in a significant portion of humanity. I personally think, logically, from what I know, that this is because of the “Free Will” issue. God is looking for devotees not robots. He wants a true sense of family. Not a social club.

He wants people who have clued into what He is doing, and are all in, no matter what it may cost them “here” in this earthly realm. This is possible because they are holding out for an eternity with Him – which can only be obtained by enduring the madness that is this earthy realm! Not just gritting our teeth kind of enduring – but an enduring in FAITH, that HE IS Who He says He Is, and WILL DO what He has said He will do! And we hold that Faith, through all the contradictions and impossible, tedious, trying, patience stretching crap that life on this planet throws at us!

That, in my experience, observation and understanding – after years of studying Scripture, being enlightened by His Spirit, and learning from Him what endurance looks like – is the only way to live a life in the realm of the spiritual We must have a real, living, enduring FAITH IN HIM. And to come up with that kind of trust we must get to KNOW HIM, on an authentic level! Because, get real, only a fool would trust someone that they don't know, or one whom they believe to be a liar!

The Scripture I've posted below sort of lays out the expectation and spiritual tool kit to be able to navigate the stuff that is thrown at us to make us give up. But this is one of those situations in which what the enemy means for evil God can use for our good, and His glory, IF we can just get hold of His Spirit and His Word and show up for battle! Or at least for Worship! So that HE can go to battle on our behalf!

Selah – Think about it!

1. James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

2. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6.But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8. being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9. But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10. and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

12. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

19. This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20. for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24. for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

26. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

17. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,“The just shall live by faith.”

11. But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

38. Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”

& What We Are Supposed to DO, or Say, About it!

The Life of a God-Follower (one who Loves YeHoVaH Elohim, and is therefore as obedient to HIS Word as possible) should be full of Blessing! But we all know, and more often focus on, the parts of Life that are too often full of intrusions, disappointments, and unexpected little unpleasantries. Some people love to say, “Shit Happens”. And when it does, sometimes it REALLY stinks!

But you know what we are to do when IT happens? GROW UP, CLEAN IT UP, and MOVE ON! Because, just sitting by the steaming pile, sniffing it periodically as we pout, will never get us past that series of unfortunate events! Wallowing in it will only make US stink as well. And THEN we pout because people don't want to come near us! Go figure!? Sorry for the less than elegant analogy, but it IS one that today's social climate can understand! 

However - if we are EVER to live a life of VICTORY, instead of eternally being the pitiful victims of negative happenings - we MUST, eventually, get it that WE are NOT in control of the UNIVERSE! AND, we MUST learn to FULLY TRUST THE ONE WHO IS! BUT There are some things over which HE HAS given US CONTROL!!! 

It would be great, then, IF we (those of us who CLAIM to know and LIVE The WORD of The GOD Who Is in control) learned to properly manage, and finally take full responsibility, for that which HE has given US to control! Like our thoughts, feelings, finances, goods, reactions and words, to begin with!!!!

The “loose cannon” approach to life – in which one just spouts whatever pops into the head - will only yield a castle full of holes!!! (How would I know that? I'll leave that up to the reader to ponder! Lol)

The point being, & we must finally get it, that WORDS are weapons – not the toys we've made them to be - which we must learn to GUARD and USE WISELY (and, for some of us, in much less volume)! The words we speak must be spoken with intention, clarity, and purpose. And, when they are pointed, they must be aimed at the correct foe! And, an important adjustment we need to make, as “believers” is that they must  also be based on Truth. Which, for us, is The Word of our ONE GOD! As well as spoken from a motivation of Love. 

Because, what most have missed, what has not been properly taught or acknowledged in most of mainstream "Christianity", is that WORDS have POWER! WE HAVE POWER! We are literally loaded cannons! But we must be careful what we allow to be loaded into our brains and hearts! Because that which comes out of our mouth is the product of those! 

So, that which comes out of our mouth with a firm belief structure behind it WILL MANIFEST the product which it declares! If we constantly speak lack over ourselves we will lack, if we speak sickness and believe that it has a place in our lives, then it will. But if we firmly believe that we have had healing made available to us by The Blood and Sacrifice of our LORD, then THAT will manifest in our lives, as we faithfully speak that out! 

The thing we miss is that we must first be careful what we BELIEVE. What we store in our hearts! Because it is what we BELIEVE that we will eventually speak, and what we speak in faith – or in fear, which is merely negative faith, or faith in the negative – WILL come to pass on some level. Matthew 12:34 & Luke 6:45, both indicate that it is out of the abundance of what is stored in the heart that the mouth will speak! So being careful what we store is very important! 

Mark Twain is attributed as saying, “It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.”  Which means, if one is a fool, do shut up!

But James, in The Word of God says it this way; “Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];..” (James 1:19 Amp Version)

Being "slow to speak" is simply to recognize that you don't have to say something all the time. The writer of Proverbs said it this way: (Proverbs 17:27-28) “A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit. Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue.”

This does not mean, however, that simply being quiet out of a spirit of self-protection or cowardice, because of an unwillingness to confront evil, is a wise decision! We MUST SPEAK TRUTH IN LOVE, to situations of conflict in our lives, in order to affect change. 

So, Saints of God, let's endeavor to get our thoughts and Words under full control, the control given to us by the Power of The Spirit of God in us. The fruit of The Spirit, or Character Traits of God, which are made available to us by His Spirit, are listed in Galatians, chapter five;

(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

This Scripture is telling us (& if you read the entire book of Galatians it lays out the vast difference between spirit living and flesh living....) that we have power to OBEY the Word of God, that WE have full access to HIS character! We mere humans have the power to LIVE within God's Law, by willingly cooperating with His Spirit to cultivate these character traits within ourselves.

These “fruit” will get stronger with time, as exercised, and as we weed away the “sucker fruits” of the unrestrained flesh, which drains the life of God from us and weakens His character within us. We must become students of The Word, and devoted followers of our ONE RABBI, YESHUA The Anointed One! It is HIS Anointing which gives US the POWER to OBEY! Not only to “keep God's Law”, but to DO what HE did in the earth - free captives, heal the sick, open blind eyes (spiritually & physically), and rid people of pesky demonic strongholds, which keep them from the freedom God meant for all His creation! That possibility is incredibly appealing to me!

But, if we want to live the GOOD LIFE that GOD set up for us, then we MUST get control of these tongues – and to get control of our mouths we must first get control of our thoughts! Which means that we can not believe every thought that trots across our brains! We must weigh each thought against The TRUTH of GOD's WORD. And then we must be careful to ONLY speak TRUTH – from a motivation of LOVE.

The guys in Dragnet, back in the day, were quick to say, “Just the Facts, Ma'am, Just the Facts!”. But I must upgrade that demand to “Just The TRUTH!”. Facts are temporal realities, which can be changed by Faith in The Truth!

If we do not like the facts which come through our lives; if we are constantly besieged by unpleasant realities, then, perhaps, we should take stock of what we believe, and what we say! If we live in “A Series of Unfortunate Events", then it is obviously time to make some adjustments in those areas of thinking, believing and speaking. Because, you know what they say, “to keep doing (thinking, saying, declaring) the same things – while expecting different results, is insanity.” We have no business being insane or profane. Let's learn to use our Father's tools, weapons and words to His Holy purposes, as HE intended.

Selah.

SCD 9/5/22