And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. ~ Matthew 19:16-22

From Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel this week: He will shake the ground beneath you to get your attention. He will break you to make you. 

Are we experiencing the shaking yet? The weather-engineered Texas flood disaster..J6 and Gold Star grandmothers imprisoned as child rapists/black-mailing extortionists are exonerated to standing ovations…while we pay homage to the mass genocide of women and children in Gaza in exchange for a Noble Peace prize nomination and an engraved invitation to WW lll! The question remains, “Are we broken yet?” Please allow me to share the week of insight that preceded Friday mornings dream of revelation…

Larry Cordle’s Jesus and Bartenders is a great backdrop to this crazy week that covered every base from lost Libertarians to Victor Davis Hanson’s American Virtues 2025 to Chambers’ Vision and Reality, and the inner life of Christ in one Madame Jeanne Guyon!

They both know a man in trouble when they see one, and they’re both willing to listen when he talks. Anger and depression…tearful confessions; Jesus and Bartenders hear it all! 

Well, if you’re at the end of your rope, either man will serve you, but just one offers hope. ~ Jesus and Bartenders

From my Libertarian (Christian?) friend…

“Ultimately, she broke a world record by servicing 1,057 men in just 12 hours…she is earning enough money to secure her future,” ~ Downloaded Vice to Uploaded Virtue, a Libertarian Perspective… which BEGS the question, how can one call oneself both Christian and Libertarian? And we wonder why so many of our children have turned everywhere but the Christian Church to satisfy their spiritual hunger. Fortunately for America, not all children follow bartender preachers and Libertarian pied pipers…

You students of the Class of 2025 have been instructed in, have absorbed fully, and will pass on a code of honorable conduct that has become a natural part of who you are. And it will remain with you on the long road ahead. Hillsdale has taught you not to worry if you are not one with the current majority of youth, because you are certainly one with most of the past—and future—generations. Your confidence in your code of ethical comportment and personal standards will be your legacy to help guide future cohorts to come. Because your values are real, permanent, and ancient, you will not be won over by those who justify their lapses of behavior by situational ethics or feelings of victimization. Without such individual vows of honesty and compassion for others, civilization in aggregate cannot be sustained. It instead descends into the age-old banes of tribalism, disunity, and chaos. ~ American Virtues 2025 ~ Victor Davis Hanson, Hillsdale College Commencement Address

The ”Reality” of true followers of Christ…

God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley (Psalm 23:4) to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. ~ Oswald Chambers, Vision and Reality…Paul lays it out beautifully in 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

And the testimony of SO many others…

“Someone once said that only two people had ever truly manifested the inner life of Christ—one was the Apostle Paul, and the other was Madame Jeanne Guyon.” ~ Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

But here we are in the exact mess the prophet Isaiah foresaw some 2,700 years ago…

But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. ~ Isaiah 42:22

Which brings us to an amazing dream I had in the wee hours of Friday morning. I dreamed that I was preparing a stage for a young man who was being honored by his classmates, for whom he was preparing to give a speech. He was autistic, and at one point before he was to take the stage, I saw a discomfort in him and pulled him aside. He didn’t have to explain what I could clearly see…the pain of being different…the pain of feeling a separation from the very ones honoring him. I asked him if he knew what was significant about the town of Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus. He did not. I told him that Bethlehem was the place where most if not all the lambs without blemish were born in mangers for the Passover sacrifice in Jerusalem each year. The very place where Jesus, who without blemish, was born to exchange His righteousness for our sin. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death (Rev. 12:11)…and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20). True story son…in all the world there is truly no one like you. God is speaking to us here. The God who loves us beyond measure, and has written us into the greatest story ever told, has a special purpose for your life. His eyes widened with tears of understanding, and I saw him accept the light of Christ in that very moment.

Finally, yesterday morning, God moves the final piece of this week’s message into place with the husband and wife pictured in the photo above in a FB ad for Christian marriage counseling…

Become the leader she can’t help but be drawn to again… This isn’t about becoming someone you’re not. It’s about becoming exactly who you were created to be – the king who leads his queen with both strength and love. The Warrior Husband Jumpstart will show you how…

The same enemy who targeted the Christian camp in Texas has a plan for us, but God has a much better plan. My Libertarian friend knows this. The young autistic boy now knows, and the man with his head in his hands will know because, as Chambers concludes in Vision and Reality, Don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you.   (Utmost)

Another Chambers I know whose friends call him either Pete or “Doc” had his head in his hands not so long ago, as most of us have experienced at one time or another if we’re being honest. Now this brother, who I am willing to bet will be the next governor of Texas, is rescuing children and planting seeds wherever he goes…looking for work. This story will warm your heart. A glimpse of our future, Fathered by God. Four young men from Texas who have found their special purpose! Introducing The Centurian Show