Rape is a crossing of another’s sexual boundaries without their permission. It is abusive behavior. If you are being run by your sexual appetite, your caring about possibly disrespecting the other’s boundaries will matter little to you. Rape is an eroticized trespassing and violation of their being. Its tools are various combinations of physical force, threat, coercion, abuse of authority, manipulation, and a capacity to shut off empathy and override conscience. Rape features aggression and lust in a darkly compelling embrace, being allowed to possess and run one, in context ranging from the mundane to the evil. This is not some kind of anomaly, but the Pentagon recently released a report indicating that in 2012 there were 26,000 cases of reported sexual assaults in the United States military. Of the 26,000 assaults, 14,000 men reported being raped and 12,000 women. Many think that only women are raped, but these statistics show that more men were actually violated than women in this particular setting, and only 9 percent of these cases processed actually went to court martial. The Pentagon also estimated that about 90 percent of rapes go unreported. Furthermore, some key United States military officers, in charge of preventing sexual assault, were under investigation for sexual attacks also.

 Many rape cases are looked at as an unpleasant statistic, as if it were not all that serious a matter. It is estimated that 20 percent of women and 18 percent of men, in the United States have been raped or otherwise sexually assaulted. However, men are far less likely to report these crimes. Rape may be the most underreported crime. The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 91 percent of rape victims are female, and 9 percent are male, and that 99 percent of the offenders are male. And did you know that in more than half of the states in the US, a rapist who has impregnated their victims can sue for custody and visitation rights? Most rapists are men, and for some of those men, the sexualized overpowering of another is titillating, especially when they are able to dehumanize that other, reducing her—or him—to a little more than a prop (or mere property) in their sexual fantasies and actions. The not uncommon hesitation of many men in positions of considerable power to take really strong stands regarding rape only contributed to the viewing of rape as something bad, but not that bad. Often times when people are raped, the person who attacked them will smile and their face, and hover around them like nothing ever happened. And people, who hear about it, not necessarily from the person assaulted, will pretend like nothing ever happened. However, generally men are appalled by rape. Many women do not report rape because they are embarrassed and want to forget. Men will not report being raped because there is the thought “Boys will be boys,” and what man wants to be questioned about being dominated and made to feel lower than a worm’s belly? Some rapists will even justify their actions and threaten to retaliate if you report it.

 Some people are not sexually active, for whatever reason, and others may know this because they have tried to pursue a sexual encounter with the person, but have been shut down. This might make that individual seem like even more of a challenge. Much like a wild beast, some feel that through actual and or violent overpowering of another is arousing. Rape takes the eroticizing or the desire to overpower, dominate, or hurt another, and acts it out sexually against the wishes of that person, violating her or him, using vaginal, anal, or oral penetration with the penis or an object. Most men know that rape is something they can never engage in, so do not think all men are bad, there is no way that they could find sexually violating another person to be at all arousing or appealing or doable. If we are to fully heal, and have a life in which passion, awareness, integrity, and love function we have to learn what intimacy means. You cannot overrun, possess, nor control another we are very close to. You may feel that someone was made for you, and if you want to become intimate with someone, have the psychological architecture of allowing them to occupy your heart, and get to know them deep inside, even though we do not have them.

 

 

 

The man who has injustice done him in the name of the law is generally a poor man, that is the real reason he has been squeezed. He had no money, and could not hold out. Many consider Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone heroes, but to others they are vigilantes. Without investigation, or even hearing the other rise of the story, people rushed to call these young men heroes. However, people are drafted to war every day, and have to face bombs getting thrown at their head, they constantly get shot at, and even go without food, water, or contact with their families. And because of their service, some of their children are born with birth defects, and these people who fought for your freedom get no consideration, no awards shows, nor do they get to meet the President, and some people find out their children have birth defects and tease them restlessly. Yet, it is just part of life. Others lost their parents early from saving in the war and go without things they require and there is no help for them. And police and firefighters and other emergency service workers often face dangerous conditions, lose their lives and save lives, but still, they go unrecognized.

 A Muslim teen, Ahmed Mohamed, was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school, which looked to a teacher, as a bomb. The teacher was scared and called the police, and the student was arrested for bring a hoax bomb to school. When the young man, Ahmed Mohamed, was questioned about what the device was, he replied, “A clock,” with no further explanation. To some, the young man seemed defiant. And many think he and his family are manipulating the media. They are taking advantage of the race card to get sympathy and play the victim role to get sympathy from the public. What I find interesting about this case is it was overdone. The boy wore a NASA shirt to school, there was no science fare going on, he seemed reluctant to explain what the suspicious device was, and when he got arrested, he looked upset. I know if I got arrested for my science experiment, I would be sad, or crying, especially as a young boy.  Also, with all the school massacres and violence, the teacher was right to call the police, the device does look scary.

 On the issues of unlawful immigrants, I do not support immigrant reform. I think we need to build the Great Wall of America. These people are breaking the laws to come to the country, committing crimes, and are putting a lot of wear and tear on the system. Not only that, but America is $18.5 trillion in debt, we cannot afford to take care of more people at this time. As you know, 76 percent of immigrants with children collect welfare, and 50 percent without children receive some kind of government benefits. Furthermore, we cannot even enforce laws that have been on the books for decades, and so we should not take on more responsibilities than we can handle. Also, if you become an illegal immigrant in Mexico, you would likely end up dead, and most certainly would be arrested.  The arm of the law reaches far, and through its movements are sometimes slow, they are not the less certain.

 

 

 

 

We cannot escape responsibility for choosing the future of our metropolitan areas and the human relations which develop within them. It is a responsibility so critical that even an unconscious choice to continue presents policies has the gravest implications. I have been interested in journalism for so long and have found so many new things. However, never were my eyes opened so widely as during the time that Kevin Johnson has been mayor of Sacramento, California. It has been a strange experience to hear of a politician be accused of serial sexual harassment of women and minors so many times, accused of embezzlement, and forced to pay money back, and then increase his staff, by using $700,000.00 of taxpayer money, then threaten to sue the Sacramento Bee (newspaper), and actually sue the Sacramento News and Review for requesting public documents. Just a few years ago, President Bill Clinton was impeached for far less. And in 2003, Governor of California, Gray Davis was recalled and removed from office because he had lost touch with voters. However, why has there been no public hamburger throwing about the misrepresentation of the good people of Sacramento?

 That we have delayed in choosing or, by delaying, may be making the wrong choice, does not sentence us either to separatism or despair. However, we must choose. We will choose. Indeed, we are now choosing. The future of our cities is neither something which will just happen nor something which will be imposed upon us by inevitable destiny. That future will be shaped to an important degree by choices we make now. We have attempted to set forth the major choices because we believe it is vital for Americans to understand the consequences of our present drift. There is a widening gap between human needs and public resources and a growing cynicism regarding the commitment of community institutions and leaderships to meet these needs. As a resolution, the Sacramento City Council wants to consider an ethics package with commissioners five, who would serve four-year terms, and make sure that there is transparency in Sacramento’s local government. However, the committee would be appointed by the mayor, who is the reason this committee has been established.

 The problems Sacramento is facing have many dimensions, financial, political, and institutional. Mayor Kevin Johnson and the City Council are simply unable to meet the growing need for public services and facilities with traditional sources of municipal revenue. Many feel like the city is structured politically so that great numbers of citizens have little or no representation in process of local government. It is as if the Mayor Kevin Johnson has seduced the city council with his sexual aggressiveness and limitless taxpayer money, and as the decay of the central city continues, its revenue base has been eroded by the retreat of industry and white middle class families to the suburbs. In the past few years, central city has lost 38,000 residents. And to make matter worse, it seems the public is indulging in the Kool aid of Mayor Johnson and so deep in a sugar coma they do not see how serious the syrup of corruption surrounding the mayor is. The tax rates are inflated by rising costs and increasing numbers of dependent citizens and its public plant—county workers, correctional institutions, and long-deferred maintenance.

 Yet to most citizens, the decay remains largely invisible. Only their tax bills and the headlines about crime suggest that something may be seriously wrong in the city. In the long run, continuation and expansion of the mayor’s power threatens a permanent division. The first is the danger of sustained violence in our cities. The timing, scale, nature, and repercussions of such violence cannot be foreseen. However, under the Mayor Johnson administration and the current city council, it would further destroy our ability to achieve the basic American promises of liberty, justice, and equality. Not only that but the corruption surrounding Mayor Kevin Johnson makes all of Sacramento, California, and every single politician look bad because they are sitting back watching, as if they have no idea what is going on. As Mayor Johnson continues to rape public savings, and put a strait jacket on community meetings, shutting out journalist and the public, Sacramento cannot espouse the American ideals of individual dignity, freedom, and equality of opportunity meaningfully to the rest of the World, to ourselves, to our children. Some may still recite the Pledge of Allegiance and say, “one nation, under God, indivisible.” However, they will be learning cynicism, not patriotism.

 Voice your Opinion about Mayor Johnson:

Mayor Kevin Johnson
915 I Street, 5th Floor Sacramento, California 95814
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
mayor@cityofsacramento.org

Chief of Staff, Daniel Conway
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
dconway@cityofsacramento.org

Senior Advisor, Patti Bisharat
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
pbisharat@cityofsacramento.org

Senior Advisor, Cassandra Jennings
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
cjennings@cityofsacramento.org

Director of Constituent Affairs, Helen Hewitt
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
Hhewitt@cityofsacramento.org

Executive Assistant, Adrianne Hall
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
aehall@cityofsacramento.org

Press Secretary, Ben Sosenko
916-808-5300 – FAX 916-264-7680
bsosenko@cityofsacramento.org

 

Self-trust is the first secret of success. He worked by day, and toiled by night. He gave up much play, and much delight. Dry books he read, new things to learn. And forged ahead success to earn, he plodded on, with faith and pluck. And when he won, they called it luck. Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. Success is not perfection; success is slightly above average. Wealth and what it brings is at best fleeting. For example, in 1923, a small group of the World’s wealthiest men were at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. They were the elite, the most wealthy and powerful people in the World. At that time, they controlled more money than the total amount contained in the United States Treasury. Here is a list of who was there and what eventually happened to them: Charles Schwab: president of the largest independent steel company, and he died penniless. Arthur Cutten: greatest of the wheat speculator, died abroad, bankrupt. Richard Witney: president of the New York Stock Exchange, died just after release from Sing Sing prison. Albert Fall: member of a U.S. President’s cabinet, was pardoned from prison so that he could die at home. Jess Livermore: greatest bear on Wall Street, committed suicide. Leon Fraser: president of the Bank of International Settlements, committed suicide. Ivar Kreuger: head of the World’s greatest monopoly, committed suicide.

 Even Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis, who retained his wealth and died at a seasoned old age, recognized that money is not the same as success. He said, “After you reach a certain point, money becomes unimportant. What matters is success.” Because all of the things people buy cost money to maintain and taxes have to be paid. You can make $20 million, one year, buy a $5 million mansion, and have to pay taxes and security, child support, and lawsuits and end up unable to afford your home or find work the next year. Then to top it off, when you reach a certain status, you have an image to keep, so a standard job might not be for you, and you may have to do strange things to make money. When a man is very fond of his money it is not easy for him, at all times, to be very fond of his children also. The two are like God and Mammon. Loss of money is not only the worst pain in itself, but it is the parent of all others. The highest reward for your work is not what you get for it, but what you become by it. Success is a continuing thing. It is growth and development. It is achieving one thing and using that as catalysis to achieve something else.

 Many people have a losing attitude. People generally get whatever they expect out of life. Expect the worst, and that is what you will get. They quit growing. People are what they are, and they are where they are because of what has gone into their minds. They have no game plan for success. There are two kinds of failures: Those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought. They are unwilling to change. Some people would rather cling to what they hate rather than embrace what might be better because they are afraid of getting something worse. They fail in relationships with others. People who cannot get along with others will never get ahead in life. They are not willing to pay the price for success. The road to success is uphill all the way. Anyone who wants to accomplish much must sacrifice much. The truth within me is unassailable, and the power of the word is irresistible. I can even now feel that my word has gone forth with power and reality, and that it will accomplish that purpose for which it was created. Limitless is its power and wonderful are its works. It can be nothing less the Almighty working in and through me. I will let this word of spirit go forth from my mouth, and heal and bless the World. It shall be as a strong tower unto all who call upon it. The truth is complete and perfect, and is within me now. My word is complete and perfect, now.

 The Winchester Mystery House 

The house is still said to be haunted by “The Curse of the Winchester Fortune” and the story of Annie’s haunting has left many heartbroken. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

 

 

So parents often times do not realize how much they mean to their adult children. You may not realize it, but you mean more to your children than you know, and it gives them pain to see you stressed out and unhappy. One of the biggest fears is losing you. And your kids know as they get older that they have to find a healthy relationship and make it work out, as no one wants to be alone in this world. Many kids understand the glamour of a relationship and understand they save loves or make lives better. As a parent, your great example has inspired your children to innovate, question the status quo, and challenge the current state of their lives. By watching you, your adult children have learned to make opportunities out of every problem encountered, by taking these problems as learning lessons. Through your religious background, your children have learned not to blame others, nor build up resentment, but to forgive others. By forgiving others, it is actually taking a weight off of our shoulders, and healing us.

 However, there is something called righteous anger; we have a right to be angry and not sin. I get angry at the injustice, and people being treated unfairly, but I am not going to do anything about it. All I can do is pray, and it is a shame when someone advises you to break your relationship with God and the church. Sin nature seems to have free range in this World, and we have been bought with a price. The blood of Christ bought all of us. Some sin, and they enjoy sin, and will not repent. When we fall into sin, however, as people of God, we know to seek forgiveness. Blaming others and building up resentment and anger is not good. At the same time, we do not tolerate bad behavior. Unlike one of our fallen brothers, if you are being harassed relentlessly, contact the owner of your organization and document everything, but never express hostility or anger. The owner has to do something. Let faith oust fact; let fancy oust memory; I look deep down and do believe.

 

 

 

I never had a friend like you, and besides can you not see? –you are the only person (his voice drops to a whisper) –the only person who knows. You do see, do you not? You understand? I am desperate – I am at the end of my tether. I want to be free, and you can free me. I know you can. You do not want to keep me bound fast in hell, do you? You cannot want to take such a vengeance as that. You were always kind–your eyes are kind now. You say you are sorry for me. Well, it rests with you to show it; and Heaven knows there is nothing to keep you back. You understand, of course–there would not be a hint of publicity–not a sound or a syllable to connect you with the thing. It would never come to that, you know: all I require is to be able to say definitely: ‘I know this–and this–and this’ –and the fight would drop, and the way be cleared, and the whole abominable business swept out of sight in a second. I dwell in the house of love; my dwelling place is filled with peace and eternal calm. Love attends me in my home of the soul, and you awaits upon me in the “The Secret Place of The Most High.” My house is built for me by the hand of Love, and I shall never leave this Home of the Spirit, for it is always present. I shall abide in this home forevermore. Arise, my Spirit, arise and shine. Let thy light illumine my path, and let thy wisdom direct my way. Compel my will to do Thy bidding, and command my Soul to look to Thee. I will follow Thee, my Spirit, and learn of thee. I will sit in the Silence and listen and watch, and I will see thy light and hear thy voice. I will follow thee and will not depart from Thee, for in the alone is peace. Arise and shine.

 

 

 

 

When a strong man armed keepth his palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him his entire amour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Those skilled in such matters have carefully figured out that it was Sunday evening, 16 April, in the year A.D. 30, when Christ appeared that second time to His Apostles. Seemingly in but a short time they were back once more at their homes and in their boats, thinking perhaps they were there to stay. The master had spent most of His ministry in Galilee, so it might be He intended that such fishing for me as they might do would be undertaken in their homeland. So far as the Bible record discloses, Christ showed Himself to the disciples but twice, or possibly three times, after they arrived by the shores of Tiberius. However, if these are His only physical appearances, He must still have been present almost continually in their hearts. For this was a highly important four weeks, and in them the Christian church became an actuality. Possibly the last verse of John’s Gospel is, in part, an apology for the happenings during this month of decision being so incompletely recorded.

 Eleven carefully trained men, bereft of their Leader, might have returned to their first occupation, and continued in it as providers of food drawn from the waters of an inland sea. Yet we do know that a new leader for this little band received a short of ordination at a breakfast one morning by the lakeshore. But how, and in what manner, eleven men, several of whom had strong personal ambitions, were welded together, and found the determination to forsake their homes and their living to become fishers of men is not clearly disclosed to us. Still that is precisely what happened. True, there had been intensive training for many months at the hands of the most inspiring of teachers. Yet, on the resurrection morning, the followers were disconcerted, doubtful men. You have to be actively mendacious, and deliberately ignore facts, not just negligent. But by the time, perhaps in early May, when the Great Commission mentioned only by Matthew and Mark was given, the eleven had become sufficiently inspired by the Holy Spirit to become Christ’s ambassadors upon Earth. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were fully five hundred on the Galilean mountainside on that day in which the church was informed of its everlasting duties.

 And, as they had once before, the fishermen laid aside their nets, following their Master and Savior back to the rigors and dangers that lurked in Jerusalem. There it was that the church of Christ would first be condemned, and later, in a measure, crucified, only to rise again and go on to great glory among the Gentiles. At the beginning of the grain harvest, Jesus the Christ led a group of His loved ones for the very last time over the Kidron, and to crest of Olivet. And there, not too far from the little Bethany, He was received up into Heaven. I meditate upon the Law of God. It is a Perfect Law and is now working for me and in through me. The Law of the Lord is perfect. I speak into that Law and it is done unto me. Thy Law is in my heart. The Love of All Good is within me and through me. That Love goes out to meet all who come into my atmosphere. I know that beauty has entered into my life, and will always remain there. I see only the beautiful. The Friendship of the Spirit and of man is mine now and forever. Even now I see the countless numbers of friends coming and going around me. I enter into this friendship and this companionship with gladness and rejoicing. I receive my friends. I serve the World. I wait upon the Lord within all men; I call forth glory from On High through the minds of all people. I obey the will of Him Who inhabits Eternit. I do the works of Him who dwelleth among the Heavens. My Lord within commands and I obey. I do good to all people.

 I shall not doubt nor fear, for my salvation is from On High, and the day of its appearing is now at hand. I shall not doubt nor fear, for my whole being responds to the realization of Life within and around me. I shall not fear, for the Hosts of Heaven are waiting upon me, and the Law of the Universe is my Salvation. I was told to live. By some inner mystic Presence, I was told to live and to love, to laugh and to be glad. I was told to let that Power work through and in me. I believed that voice and I received my Good. I am healed, the joy of life. The Love of the All Good is within me and through me. It radiates to all and is flowing through all. My Love within me is Perfect. Love dissolves all fear. Greater than fear is Love. Love dissolves all fear, casts out all doubt and sets the captive free. Love, like the Sacramento River of Life, flows through me and refreshed me with its eternal blessing.  Love cannot be afraid; it is fearless and strong, and is mighty in its works. It can accomplish all things through the Inner Light of that faith in the All Good, which fills my very Being with a Powerful Presence. Love casts out all fear.

 The Winchester Mystery House

 The Winchester Mystery House exhumes more than two dozen stories of some of the most actively haunted parts of the mansion and the estate. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

 

 

 

A heartfelt blessing represents a tender wish, when you glance upon the roses in the morning, may ever petal symbolize your glittering hope! I wish all the days that belong to you be filled with pleasure and joy, it is a gift and a blessing from my heart and soul. May the handshake and the hearts in friendship be kept tighter and tighter! However, the wicked will perish: The LORD’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish, vanish like the smoke from the Jerusalem fire.  Why stay on Earth except to grow? The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off. The LORD delights people’s good ways, he makes our steps firm; through we stumble, we will not fall, for the LORD upholds us with his hand. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. From the mouth of righteous people comes wisdom, and they speak what is just. The law of our God is in our hearts; our feet do not slip. Thank you God, I know I am saved and sanctified.  

To be successful, you do not need to be lucky or rich. However, you need to know this: You are what you do daily. You first form your habits; then your habits form you. It is just as easy to form habits of success as it is to form habits of failure. Every day you live, you are in the process of becoming. Whether you are becoming better or worse depends on what you give yourself to. Please allow me to give you some advice on how to make yourself successful. Make a commitment to grow daily. One of the greatest mistakes people make is that they have the wrong focus. Success does not come from acquiring, achieving, or advancing. Success only comes as the result of growing. If you make it your goal to grow a little every day, it will not be long before you begin to see beneficial results in your life. Value the process more than events. Specific life events are good for making decisions, but it is the process of change and growth that has lasting value. If I want to go to the next level, I have to strive for continual improvement.  Do not wait for inspiration. I cannot get much done in life if I only work on the days when I feel good. The people who go far in life do so because they motivate themselves and give life their best, regardless of how they feel; to be successful, preserver.

 Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity. One of the greatest lessons my father taught me was the principle of pay now; play later. For everything in life, you pay a price. Nothing is free. There is another way to look at the cost of your time. Rather than comparing how much you are making per hour, we can compare the opportunity costs. Opportunity cost of some item is what we give up getting that item. For example, we assumed that the journalist and the doctor spend 8 hours a day working. Time spent writing reports, therefore, takes away time from available for consultations. As the journalist and the doctor reallocate time between producing the two good, they move along their production possibility frontiers; they give up two units of one good to produce units of the other. The opportunity cost measures the tradeoff between the two goods that each producer faces. Opportunity cost is a method that also tells us that money is not the only medium of change, it is just one. Think about it, time is also a way to pay for things. For example, if you baby sits your neighbor’s children for so many hours, and they paint your house, that would be a fair exchange of time for time.

 Therefore, opportunity cost of an item is what you give up getting that item. So time is golden, which means it is precious, use it wisely. You choose whether you will pay it on the front end or the back end. If you pay first, then you will enjoy greater rewards in the end, and those rewards taste sweeter. Going back to school or back to work, on Monday, may alarm you. However, keep your attendance up. The day to day busy work will teach you what you need to know to become successful in life so you can accomplish your dreams. Remember, dream big. It does not pay to dream small. We do not have a clue as to what people’s limits are. All the tests, stopwatches, and finish lines in the World cannot measure human potential. So do not let someone discourage you or laugh at your dreams. When someone is pursuing their dream, they will go far beyond what seems to be their limitations. The potential that exists within us is limitless and largely untapped. When you think of limits, you create them. Plan your priorities– one thing that all successful people have in common is that they have mastered the ability to manage their time, they have organized themselves. Henry Kaiser, founder of Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Permanente Health Care, reports, “Every minute spent in planning will save you two in execution.”

 You never regain lost time, so make the most of every moment. Nothing of value comes without sacrifice. Life is filled with critical moments when you will have the opportunity to trade one thing you vale for another. Remember, opportunity cost. Keep your eyes open for such moments, and always be sure to trade up, not down. If you dedicated yourself to these steps toward success, then you will keep improving, and you will be successful. Your growth may not be obvious to others all at once, but you will see your progress almost immediately. And though recognition from it may come slowly, do not lose heart. Keep working at it. You will succeed in the end. Success is waiting for you to make the first move.  Wait for the Lord, and keep his ways. He will exalt you. Let us get started.

The Winchester Mystery House

Come to The Winchester Mystery House for a spine-tingling tour, as a caretaker tells the story of how Mrs. Winchester was drawn to build this extravagant mansion, its bone-chilling history, and the incredible encounters of the ghostly kind she had that forever changed her beliefs about the World! https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

 

 

 

 

He that loves, and is loved by, a race of pure and virtuous creatures, and that lives continually in the midst of them, is a witling if he does not think himself happy.  Love gives even to a dull man the knowledge of his lover’s heart. As a result, he does not live the rest of his Earthly life for human desires, but rather for the will of God. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, discrediting the LORD and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is your God, he promised he was going to save you? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” However, they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the Heavens existed and the Earth was formed out of water and by water. Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Nonetheless, the day of the Lord will come like a bolt of lightning. We are looking forward to a new Heaven and a new Earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer draws us near to our own souls, and purifies our thoughts. We are not asked to believe in the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals. We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty, the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Christ. Though all men have not the same objects of pursuit, all are impelled by the same love of pursuing. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Luke 10:17 reports, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” The credulous man, abstractly and unconnected with mankind, is a harmless, inoffensive creature; but when mixed with the community, if he happen to have a lively imagination and an alluring tongue, he becomes a more dangerous animal than a mad ox in a crowd. Rapes are unnatural things, and more rare than imagined. His Heaven insulting purpose, God may wedge aside. From the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook? In the teachings of Christ the element of judgement is always brought out, it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth to God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong.

 When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God himself.  Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge. Stope hesitating, take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in faith on what God says to you, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, “I will write that letter,” or “I will pay that debt’; and then do it! God gives us more than were we over bold, we should have to ask for, and yet how often (perhaps after saying “Thank God” so curtly that is only a form of swearing) we are supplicants again within the hour. More things are wrought by prayer than this World dreams of, but he has wisely refrained from saying whether they are good things or bad things. It might perhaps be well if the World were to dream of, or even become wide awake to, some of the things that are being wrought by prayer. If someone is constantly taking from you, but gives nothing in return, it may be time to break ties with that individual. We that fight the living World must have the Universal for succor of truth in it. Cast forth the soul in prayer, you meet the effluence of the outer truth, you join with the creative elements giving breath to you. Prayer, the soul’s overflow, the heart’s resignation, so never let someone tell you that your dreams are unlikely of that your faith is God or interpretation of the Bible is irrational, they are trying to rob you of what God has in store for you. Who raises from prayer a better person means that your prayer is answered.