Today’s Scripture comes from Jewish scripture and is an entreaty for protection.

Chapter 140

Translated by: Nissen Mangel

1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.

2. Rescue me from the evil man, protect me from the man of violence,

3. who devise evil schemes in their heart; every day they gather for wars.

4. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the spider’s venom is forever under their lips.

5. Guard me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked, protect me from the man of violence-those who plot to cause my steps to slip.

6. Arrogant ones have hidden a snare for me, and ropes; they spread a net by my path, they set traps for me continually.

7. I said to the Lord, “You are my God!” Listen, O Lord, to the voice of my pleas.

8. God, my Lord, the strength of my deliverance, You sheltered my head on the day of armed battle.

9. Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; fulfill not his scheme, make it unattainable forever.

10. As for the head of my besiegers, let the deceit of their own lips bury them.

11. Let burning coals fall upon them; let it cast them down into the fire, into deep pits, never to rise again.

12. Let not the slanderous man be established in the land; let the evil of the man of violence trap him until he is overthrown.

13. I know that the Lord will execute judgement for the poor, justice for the needy.

14. Indeed, the righteous will extol Your Name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.

“And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38)

There are times when we have seemingly unsurmountable problems and God seems to us to be ignoring our pleadful prayers for assistance, and finally we begin to wonder if He truly hears, and if He truly loves us at all.

There is no need to wonder. God cares about each sparrow, and He deeply cares about each of His own children who have been ransomed by the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. If there is not some clearly evident reason known to us as to why He is not answering (such as perpetual unconfessed sin in our lives), then perhaps it is (as in Job’s case) a simple test of our faith.

For only God knows the correct path, and the proper timing that will allow us the supreme honor of contributing our maximum to furthering His Truth, and His Kingdom in the souls of men. He alone sees the end from the beginning.

When the disciples thought Jesus didn’t care, He rebuked them thus: “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

Mary and Martha sent word that their brother Lazarus was deathly ill, but then Jesus “abode two days still in the same place where he was” (John 11:6). When the sisters complained about His delay, He replied: “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

One day a woman of Canaan cried out to Him for mercy on her for her demonically-possessed daughter, “but He answered her not a word.” He seemed not to care, but she kept calling on Him and worshiping Him, until He finally said to her: “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt”
(Matthew 15:23, 28).

The disciples, the sisters of Lazarus, and the Canaanite woman were all bewildered that He failed to operate on their timetable, and were consternated at what appeared to them to be His seeming lack of concern, but He did care. He did calm the storm, He did raise Lazarus from the dead, and He did heal the daughter of the woman who beseeched Him to do so. His delay served the purpose of testing and strengthening their faith.

Can He not also test us, thus strengthening our faith?: “that the trial of your faith...though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ?” (1 Peter 1:7)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Adaptation from https://www.icr.org

Except for my wife and immediate family, true friends are scarce these days.

It's just not easy to find a friend when you live in a world full of demonized, atheist liberal jackasses.

I'm a reasonably well educated man, but it doesn't take a scholar to see that the America that I grew up in is long gone away.

I could list a myriad of reasons why this is so.

But those of you who are my kindred spirits, are already well aware of the facts.

Because of the nature of my work, I spend a lot of time alone and in hotel rooms.

So I've found it necessary to make "lonely", my best friend.

Because being alone is the perfect time to pray.

I pray to God Almighty because I'm in constant need of forgiveness.

You all know, I ain't no Saint by a long shot.

I talk to Jesus because I believe Jesus to be the True King of all mankind and it brings me great comfort.

The godless people of the world surely believe it to be foolish for a man to pray or believe in someone that has no physical appearance.

But it's no concern to me because I have first hand knowledge of the realm of spirituality.

So I know that my behavior seems foolish only to those who themselves are the fools.

I may very well pass away before the coming of The Lord.

But I feel confident and secure knowing that someday a reckoning will come.

It will definitely rid the earth of the evil that has caused these wicked people to worship at the alter of q***rs and a******nist demons.

So every day when my work is done, I gladly take the time to talk with my friend, The King.

I just wanted to put these thoughts in writing because maybe someone here on OPP might understand.

That no man is an island and everyone needs a friend.

Chaos Abounding


Alvin Toffler had it right: the shock of the future is overwhelming to those of us born early in the last century. The pace of events, the gushing of information from every quarter, the number of cracks showing up in what we believed to be solid institutions, the perfidy of politicians, the recklessness of people with l*****t inclinations, strangely coupled with their pacifism, all of these trends are disconcertingly sliding past us at light speed. Not only is it hard to understand the why of it all, by the time we have figured out a response to these inanities, it is too late to effect anything, the world having by then rushed by us towards we know not what.

It is quite obvious that the steering of our ship has come loose in the midst of our negotiating a treacherous channel, with rocks to the right of us, rocks to the left, and just to be perverse, rocks dead ahead.

Common sense, slow to the fore as it usually is, occasionally prevails, to the vast relief of many of us. But, in the next wave of insanity, wh**ever was sensible will have been thrown overboard again to delight the elites and the confounding of the conservatives. Now the Democrats are still in power. It is truly a topsy-turvy time in America, where faith seems to be waning, and patriotism is in bad taste.

It is hard to remember where all of this wild and irrational thinking began. Was it during the 1950’s, when C*******m was being hounded by McCarthy, or was it earlier when those insidious utopians got a foothold in society? Was it when it was chic to be a Red, or at least a follower of madmen from Europe? Perhaps it was during the great depression, when we v**ed into office the New Dealer, and allowed C*******ts to roam free in government spaces? Or, was this all the fault of the German-American Bund, the US affiliate of N**i Germany, that was quite vocal back in the late 1930’s? Or, all of the above?

What seems to have happened is the C*******ts dove underground and colored themselves Progressive Socialists, joined the Democrats to seem a bit more respectable, and gradually have taken over the left side of things. I***ts delight! Despite the abundant evidence that Utopian schemes cannot work, these clowns persist. It must be lust for power alone, and no altruistic motive at all.

Where have the true keepers of the American Flame gone? Several million of them are in the armed forces. Volunteers who are willing to put their lives at stake for an ideal--freedom and security for everyone. Thank God for them! The rest are apparently intimidated, it seems, by the rush to political correctness, h**e America speeches and tomes, and the incessant accusations thrown at our former President that need to be defended. The din is so loud that few can think clearly, fooled also by the shifting, disingenuous arguments and polemics from the Socialist side.

Even our hallowed(?) institution, The Supreme Court, has been corrupted by doublespeak and the idea of shaping the Republic to their beliefs and ends. So we have porn, a high divorce rate, prostitution, persecution of Christianity in the name of m**************m and diversity, and a hundred other violations of our Constitution and moral ways that we seem not to realize, or care about. The pace of change, and the bewilderment of most of us as to just how all of this drivel was allowed to come about, and how to stop it dead, has frozen the minds of the average citizen, or so it seems.

Our collective horizons have come exceedingly closer and closer, not allowing us to see far enough to understand the consequences of each little step being taken over our heads. Americans are seemingly entranced with their lives, their things, and their newfound money and time, and their local world, too far gone to grasp the events that will affect their children in not too pleasant ways in the reasonably near future. We are being shepherded by the press, the TV, and radio to think in counter-intuitive terms about what we want our lives and our nation to be--yes, when it grows up.

Frustrating, these times are, but there is an ultimate faith that Americans will prevail against the slatterns and touts of the left.

Since December, the wife of my favorite relative has been in continuing pain with no resolution. Now, this afternoon my cousin had to take her to the hospital for stroke like symptoms. The medical staff have said she did not have a stroke, yet tests show at some point she did have a stroke. As everyone knows, having a history of stroke can cause more strokes.

This couple are devoted lifelong Christians. Their entire lives have been an example to others.

I am asking for fervent prayers that something positive can be done to lessen the chance of her having another stroke.

My gratitude for such prayers is great. Thank you.