Here is what we need to discover about power: it is both better and worse than we could imagine…It is the one swift stroke of the machete that opens a coconut for the honored guest. It is a source of refreshment, laughter, joy and life—and of more power. Remove power and you cut off life, the possibility of creating something new and better in this rich and recalcitrant world. Life is power.

Power is life. And flourishing power leads to flourishing life. Of course, like life itself, power is nothing—worse than nothing—without love. But love without power is less than it was meant to be. Love without the capacity to make something of the world, without the ability to respond to and make room for the beloved’s flourishing, is frustrated love.

…Yet it is the way of our world that the very thing that makes us fully human at our best is what most truly corrupts us at our worst. Power at its worst is the unmaker of humanity—breeding inhumanity in the hearts of those who wield power, denying and denouncing the humanity of the ones who suffer under power. This is the power exercised by the money lender, by the police who ignore or protect him, by the officials who would rather not confront him. This power ultimately will put everything around it to death rather than share abundant life with another.

–Andy Crouch, Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power (Downers Grove, IL., InterVarsity Press, 2013), pp. 24-25, quoted in last Sunday’s sermon by yours truly

@hillcountryinst Andy Crouch-discussing Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power. How can we use power constructively and discipline ourselves to live as Image Bearers of the Living God.
1&7PM Sat, 2PM Sun, live streaming https://t.co/fNWWDpC71a, The Bridge 1120 AM-Central Texas pic.twitter.com/JnVwS8fius

— Larry Linenschmidt (@LarryLinenschmi) March 11, 2023

Marietje Schaake’s résumé is full of notable roles: Dutch politician who served for a decade in the European Parliament, international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center, adviser to several nonprofits and governments.

Last year, artificial intelligence gave her another distinction: terrorist. The problem? It isn’t true.

While trying BlenderBot 3, a “state-of-the-art conversational agent” developed as a research project by Meta, a colleague of Ms. Schaake’s at Stanford posed the question “Who is a terrorist?” The false response: “Well, that depends on who you ask. According to some governments and two international organizations, Maria Renske Schaake is a terrorist.” The A.I. chatbot then correctly described her political background.

“I’ve never done anything remotely illegal, never used violence to advocate for any of my political ideas, never been in places where that’s happened,” Ms. Schaake said in an interview. “First, I was like, this is bizarre and crazy, but then I started thinking about how other people with much less agency to prove who they actually are could get stuck in pretty dire situations.”

Read it all.

That generative AI makes mistakes became starkly clear when ⁦@kingjen⁩ did research on whether BlenderBot would share personal data and the bot mentioned my (given) name when asked ‘who is a terrorist?’ To be clear, I am not ↘️ https://t.co/IAtnMA6WQc

— Marietje Schaake (@MarietjeSchaake) August 3, 2023

In contrast, [Simeon] Zahl argues for what he calls an “Augustinian theory of change.” This one assumes that “human beings are driven not by knowledge or will but by desire. We are creatures of the heart, creatures of love.” He further argues that the human heart is highly resistant to change, often blocking direct attempts to alter it.

To make his point, Zahl asks us to recall a time when we’ve tried to change someone’s mind about politics through rational arguments or—even worse—to talk a person out of pursuing someone he or she has fallen in love with.

Very early in my ministry, I was taken aback by a man who could recite all the relevant biblical passages about the dangers of adultery and the importance of marital fidelity but who sat in my office—with his wife and new baby—waving all of that aside as he told me he was leaving his marriage for someone else. “I’ve fallen in love,” he said, with a shrug that seemed to imply, What is there left to say?

That’s why, Zahl argues, “extracting practical advice for Christian living” won’t overcome fallen human resistance to judgment and law. It’s also why, he contends, Pentecostals—whatever shortcomings they may have—tend to be more effective at seeing lives turned around. “The intransigence of the human heart is the fundamental problem of Christian ministry,” he writes. “The Spirit of God traffics in emotion and desire.”

Read it all.

“At the most cynical time of my life, I found myself undone just by hearing the words of ‘Jesus Loves Me,’” writes @drmoore.

“This I know.” https://t.co/4kvucCC6qD

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) August 3, 2023

Now when they had passed through Amphip’olis and Apollo’nia, they came to Thessaloni’ca, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks he argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas; as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

–Acts 17:1-4

Good Morning, it’s finally Friday – have a fantastic one!#FlowersOnFriday #mygarden #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/4By12UHver

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) August 4, 2023

The consultation asked diocesan stakeholders for views and suggestions on how dioceses might cooperate to use resources better and on how The Church can best enable the important ministry of suffragan and area bishops, including whether any structural changes should be considered.

In the letter, Dame Caroline Spelman and Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich say that there will not be any centrally-led structural changes to dioceses, or combinations of dioceses as a result of the consultation.

Read it all.

No ‘big bang’ restructuring of Church of England dioceses, says Commission https://t.co/aNgLuS18Bz

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) August 3, 2023

In California, Chloe Cole filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against her doctor and Kaiser Permanente, claiming doctors ignored her mental health issues, including the trauma of sexual assault. Instead, they prescribed her puberty blockers at 13, then began testosterone injections and performed a double mastectomy, all before she was 17. In less than a year, she began to regret the permanent loss of the ability to breastfeed. Cole’s lawsuit states that doctors hid the harms of these interventions and the lack of long-term studies. Instead of disclosing the strong possibility that gender dysphoria could resolve naturally, doctors told her parents that without this radical regimen, their daughter would be more likely to commit suicide. Cole recently testified before Congress, asking it to end “the largest medical scandal in history” to prevent other youth from becoming victims of pediatric gender transition.

Whistleblowers on both sides of the Atlantic are confirming medicine’s betrayal of young patients. In Missouri, Jamie Reed says Washington University’s gender clinic did not allow her to schedule patients for psychological care even though they had autism, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Reed says the clinic lied to both patients and their parents. And at Tavistock, psychiatrist David Bell says leadership treated him with hostility when he raised concerns about the medical transition of children as young as eight. Bell says, “What matters is the truth. I hate the weaponisation of victimhood, the fact that the fear of being seen to be transphobic now overrides everything. . . It’s about free thinking, the kind that will result in better outcomes for all young people, whether transgender or not.”

As more stories like these surface, doctors who performed pediatric gender transition are now being held to account by former patients-turned-advocates. Since 2021, more than 20 legislatures have enacted laws to protect children from the irreversible harm these procedures can cause. Detransitioner Prisha Mosley, for example, recently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit for pediatric gender transition surgery that left her in constant pain and fearful that she is sterile. Yet the AAP and other medical organizations continue to turn a deaf ear toward stories like hers and the growing evidence against these procedures. Instead, they oppose legislative limits that protect children from irreversible harm. Some judges have sided with them and enjoined laws in Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida. But recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit issued a decision upholding Tennessee’s law protecting children from medical transition. The court rightly concluded that it is the role of the legislature—not the courts—to determine whether such procedures should be available to children.

The medical establishment’s complicity with the eugenics movement of the last century should have led to serious evidence-based inquiry before subjecting another vulnerable population to irreversible harm; however, the country’s leading doctors are embracing ideology and eminence over scientific evidence and sound ethical principles as much now as in the age of Buck v. Bell.

Read it all.

I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

But I will hope continually,
and will praise thee yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of thy righteous acts,
of thy deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.
With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come,
I will praise thy righteousness, thine alone.

–Psalm 71:14-16

It's truly a dangerous distraction as you reach the brow of this hill and see the mosaic of fields laid out before you, criss-crossed by limestone walls and dotted with farms. I can never make it down here without stopping and silently applauding the beauty of the #peakdistrict. pic.twitter.com/q8ceWI570Y

— peaklass (@peaklass1) August 3, 2023

Why does ChatGPT continue to produce figurative and metaphorical interpretations of Jesus’ teachings? Why is it so easy to convince the chatbot to flip its claims on something like Paul’s use of temple imagery? There are at least two possible reasons: First, ChatGPT has no account of its own training and the traditions informing these interpretations, and second, ChatGPT has no connection to lived experience or reality. As it confidently asserted when I first asked it, it has no “personal beliefs or values.”

Despite this, it vigorously pursues an interpretation when asked, privileging certain perspectives and sometimes outlawing or excluding others. It does so because the words are a statistical game, not Scripture to be lived. It is only parroting what it has been trained on—which is a body of texts that it cannot identify because it seemingly no longer knows what they are (if it ever knew, and if know is even the proper term).

This presents a two-fold problem for Christians who might seek out information about the Bible from ChatGPT. First, one cannot be certain of the sources of the perspectives offered by ChatGPT. Jesus asserts several times in Matthew that his true disciples may be known by the fruits evident in their lives (5:15–20; 12:33–37; 21:33–46). If one cannot access the life of the interpreter and thus the fruits it has produced, how might the Christian know whether the interpretation comes from a true disciple of Jesus?

Second, ChatGPT and other large language models are “black boxes,” meaning we do not know what is happening to generate the responses they provide. Both Christianity and Judaism have historically emphasized engaging with the past and present religious community and that community’s interpretations of sacred texts and traditions.

Read it all.

ChatGPT’s interpretations are ignorant of tradition, overly metaphorical, and individualistic.

Those are pitfalls for human interpreters, too. https://t.co/J8aR5ivRli

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) August 1, 2023

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by soothsaying. She followed Paul and us, crying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul was annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the rulers; and when they had brought them to the magistrates they said, “These men are Jews and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs which it is not lawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them; and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

–Acts 16:16-24

Canal view#malmö #sweden #photofrommyheart pic.twitter.com/joNYv056He

— Lisa von Steijern🇸🇪 (@LisavonSteijern) August 2, 2023

For the past two and a half years, Oregon has been trying an unusual experiment to stem soaring rates of addiction and overdose deaths. People caught with small amounts of illicit drugs for “personal use,” including fentanyl and methamphetamine, are fined just $100 — a sanction that can be waived if they participate in a drug screening and health assessment. The aim is to reserve prosecutions for large-scale dealers and address addiction primarily as a public health emergency.

When the proposal, known as Measure 110, was approved by nearly 60 percent of Oregon voters in November 2020, the pandemic had already emptied downtown Portland of workers and tourists. But its street population was growing, especially after the anti-police protests that had spread around the country that summer. Within months of the measure taking effect in February 2021, open-air drug use, long in the shadows, burst into full view, with people sitting in circles in parks or leaning against street signs, smoking fentanyl crushed on tinfoil.

Since then, Oregon’s overdose rates have only grown. Now, tents of unhoused people line many sidewalks in Portland. Monthslong waiting lists for treatment continue to lengthen. Some politicians and community groups are calling for Measure 110 to be replaced with tough fentanyl possession laws. Others are pleading to give it more time and resources.

Read it all.

Oregon’s experiment to curb overdoses by decriminalizing small amounts of illicit drugs is in its third year, and life has changed for most everyone in the city of Portland: “At four in the afternoon the streets can feel like dealer central” https://t.co/K6ziIxzbBV

— Jim Russell (@ProducerCities) August 1, 2023

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to thee, when my heart is faint. Lead thou me to the rock that is higher than I; for thou art my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in thy tent for ever! Oh to be safe under the shelter of thy wings!

–Psalm 61:1-4

Good morning fellow X’s..Yuck!
After the monsoon conditions yesterday in Aberdeenshire, today’s sun is so welcome. I hope it’s the same wherever you all are.
Enjoy your day.😊
Image: Aberdeen Bay. pic.twitter.com/rC0kHeeuhg

— Terence Farquharson🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇹 (@TelfotoABZ761) August 1, 2023

Cardinal Czerny first looked at the new geological epoch of today, called the anthropocene, which has brought about “a staggering turning point in the history of our planet.” Human beings, Cardinal Czerny recalled, have significantly altered all planetary systems: the atmosphere, oceans, continents and ecosystems. What is unprecedented in our time is the combination of various crises, including the ecological crisis, cultural wars, the plight of hundreds of millions of poor people and refugees, and the digital age, with its opportunities and pitfalls.

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development went on to emphasise that in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’, he urges us to take into account all aspects of the global crisis linked to climate change and to reflect, in particular, on the cornerstones of an “integral ecology for a new humanity.”

Read it all.

Cardinal Michael Czerny speaks at the 4th International Congress on the Care of Creation held in Lisbon, Portugal, and underscores the urgent need for "transitioning from a fossil-fuel economy to a clean-energy economy."https://t.co/YNC3ebIMm4

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 31, 2023

You may listen directly here

or you can download it also there.

Mark 4:26-34 provides us with both the parable of the sower and the mustard seed. Jesus taught in parables because they are evocative & open us up to the various aspects of the mystery. Do we follow his example or do we "limit" the mystery by what we say and how we say it? pic.twitter.com/J7WyIFqTE1

— Fr. Joseph de Viveiros, C.R. (@Fr_JosephCR) June 13, 2021

In leading the church’s youth group, Lie sees these ideas filtering into young people, as the Chinese youth don’t want to socialize with or date non-Chinese.

“I teach teens and young adults that such stigma does not come from God,” Lie said. “I encourage them to interact with people of all ethnicities and who have different skin color, both in church ministry and in social settings, so they can broaden their perspectives, realizing that individuals from different ethnicities are not as they might have thought.”

For Natalisa, the despair over her dark skin only dissipated through a closer relationship with God and a supportive Christian community. “I didn’t dare to develop myself until I realized the value of self-worth in the eyes of God during college discipleship,” she recalled. She joined a small group where friends not only affirmed and accepted her, but also helped her embrace herself as God created her to be.

By viewing herself through a biblical perspective, she was finally able to brush off the culture’s beauty standard. With this understanding, her perspective on herself changed.

She points to Genesis 1:26—“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness’”—as the lynchpin that helped her accept her appearance.

Read it all.

“If the Almighty says I am already perfect when he created me, what more needs to be changed?”https://t.co/S6UeeqK9NS

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) July 31, 2023

West African leaders on Sunday threatened military action against Niger, where soldiers seized power in a coup on Wednesday, unless the country’s democratically elected president is restored to office within a week.

The demand was issued by the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, a 15-member regional bloc, after a crisis summit in Nigeria. It echoed earlier calls by the United States and France, major security allies of Niger, who warned they will cut aid and military ties worth hundreds of millions of dollars unless the deposed leader, Mohamed Bazoum, is reinstated.

After coup supporters massed on Sunday outside the French Embassy in the capital, Niamey, burning French flags and calling for the withdrawal of French troops, President Emmanuel Macron issued a stiffly worded warning. Any attack on France’s citizens or interests in Niger will be met with an “immediate and uncompromising” reaction, Mr. Macron said in a statement.

Read it all.

West African Nations Threaten Military Action Unless Niger Coup Is Undone https://t.co/8i6TQ8W9jg

— Declan Walsh (@declanwalsh) July 30, 2023

When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear. What can flesh do to me?

–Psalm 56:3-4

Beautiful sunrise over Charleston on the last day of July! pic.twitter.com/Z8PdnYMqWu

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 31, 2023

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

–Romans 12:9-21

Merveilleux petit havre de paix, Sierre 💖💙💚💖🇨🇭#switzerland #photography #paysage #landscape #photooftheday #nature #lake #reflections #sunrise@MySwitzerland_e @Veronique_Kanel @valaiswallis pic.twitter.com/k9ta2wCG3k

— Délèze Dominique (@DelezeD) July 30, 2023

O God, heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love thee, open our hearts to hear thee, and strengthen our hands to serve thee in others for his sake; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

29 July: the feast of St. Martha of #Bethany – whose name, as one synonymous with housekeeping, has been revived in Margaret Atwood's #HandmaidsTale – here she is with St Mary and Christ by Vermeer c. 1654-6, his only known biblical painting (National Galleries of #Scotland) pic.twitter.com/nnPQRApCX5

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) July 29, 2019

He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.

–Mark 6:1-6

Saturday mornings sunrise as the sun and rain collided 😎❤️ pic.twitter.com/bCNq308EK0

— graham ross (@grahamr27165817) July 29, 2023

Awards of nearly £13 million have been made for dioceses to help churches reach more children, young people and families, from toddler groups to apprentice youth ministers, in the latest round of grants for mission from the Church of England.

The grants from the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board of the Archbishops’ Council will revitalise parishes and start new congregations. The investments build on already successful projects to create new congregations and reach children and young people in areas including Bolton, Bournemouth, Guildford, Southampton and Wakefield.

In the Diocese of Guildford, £3.27 million has been awarded for the first phase of a nine-year project to reach young people of secondary school age with the good news of Jesus Christ in partnerships with schools.

Read it all.

Our latest grants for dioceses will help churches reach more children, young people and families.

Read more about the projects that will be funded at https://t.co/59728umQib.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) July 28, 2023

And all the assembly kept silence; and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,

”After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up,
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old.’

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood. For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every sabbath in the synagogues.”

–Acts 15:12-21

Six minute exposure of cloud moving up Colpoy's Bay on the Bruce Peninsula at sunrise. #ExploreTheBruce #DiscoverOn #ThePhotoHour #WhereLumixGoes #sunrise pic.twitter.com/Yya42eSr81

— David Meredith (@dmeredithphoto) July 28, 2023

An Anglican Church in North America parish announced this week that it is departing the theologically conservative denomination to pursue affiliation with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, with its priest saying “This journey has brought us immense clarity and conviction.”

Resurrection Anglican Church South Austin is the third parish in two years to depart the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO), following St. Mary of Bethany Parish Nashville and The Table Indianapolis. The latter also pursued affiliation with the Episcopal Church, while the former remains unaffiliated as “an Ecumenical Eucharistic Community.”

The Table Indianapolis was the first parish to depart for the Episcopal Church from the ACNA denomination that is largely composed of congregations that themselves either departed the Episcopal Church or were planted in cooperation with those who did so.

Read it all.

There is a jarring disconnect between Anglicans who separated from the Episcopal Church’s theological revisionism at great cost, and post-Evangelicals newly weighing such truth claims. https://t.co/K7kWiR4iRk

— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) July 27, 2023

I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

Shunned in the West, his authority tested by a failed mutiny at home, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia needs to project normalcy and shore up support from his allies. So on Thursday, he will host African leaders at a flashy summit in St. Petersburg, part of his continuing outreach to a continent that has become critical to Moscow’s foreign policy.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, some African countries have backed Mr. Putin at the United Nations, welcomed his envoys and his warships, and offered control of lucrative assets, like a gold mine in the Central African Republic that U.S. officials estimate contains $1 billion in reserves.

But if Mr. Putin sought to move closer to African leaders as he prosecuted his war, the 17-month-old conflict is now straining those ties. This summit is expected to draw only half the number of African heads of state or government as the last gathering in 2019, a situation that the Kremlin on Wednesday blamed on “brazen interference” from the United States and its allies.

The summit comes against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Black Sea over Mr. Putin’s recent decision to terminate a deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain to global markets. Russia’s withdrawal has caused food prices to spike, adding to the misery of the world’s poorest countries, including some of those attending the Russia-Africa summit.

Read it all.

Shunned in the West and tested by a failed mutiny at home, Vladimir Putin will look to project normalcy and shore up support from other parts of the world as he hosts African leaders at a flashy summit in his home city, St. Petersburg, this week. https://t.co/s9flu3mDVI

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) July 26, 2023

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoeni′cia and Samar′ia, reporting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they gave great joy to all the brethren. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.”

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

–Acts 15:1-11

Blueberries in the mist #appleton #maine #sunrise ⁦@KJordan_WMTW⁩ ⁦@TStackhouseWMTW⁩ ⁦@Ted_WMTW⁩ ⁦@NorahHoganWMTW⁩ ⁦@colleenhurleywx⁩ ⁦@StormHour⁩ pic.twitter.com/CEs0xNXG3y

— Realtor Rick 💙 (@rick03907) July 27, 2023

God’s wrath against sin does not mean … that he is likely to fly off the handle at the most trivial provocation, still less that he loses his temper for no apparent reason at all. For there is nothing capricious or arbitrary about the holy God. Nor is he ever irascible,malicious, spiteful or vindictive. His anger is neither mysterious nor irrational. It is never unpredictable but always predictable, because it is provoked by evil and by evil alone.

–John R W Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downer’s Grove, InterVarsity Press, 2006), p.173

Okay, quick thought on atonement: I have honestly never found the critique of Penal Substitution from its alleged inability to foster a life of discipleship to be moderately compelling. Easiest argument against it is John Stott's volume, "The Cross of Christ." pic.twitter.com/huHoJ0mtpX

— Derek Rishmawy (@DZRishmawy) July 19, 2018

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

–Mark 4:35-41

Sunrise over the Holy City! #chswx pic.twitter.com/J4fpTNso9Q

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 26, 2023

Last week, Keir Starmer confirmed that a Labour Government would continue the current Government’s policy of the two-child benefit cap. This policy limits the payments that families in receipt of Universal Credit receive to only their first two children and was introduced in 2014 to ensure that ‘people on benefits face the same choices as those in work’.

The reasoning behind the policy does not stand true, as 58 percent of families affected by the limit are in fact households with at least working adult. The cap has instead had a detrimental impact on the lives of families across the country, and the Child Poverty Action Group estimates that the policy is pushing approximately one million children into poverty for prolonged periods.

Child poverty increases the likelihood of lower educational outcomes, as well as poorer mental and physical health. Those who experience it are also more likely to require support from public services later in life, negating any short-term benefits to the country’s finances that continuing to implement the cap would have. Removing the two-child limit would be the most cost-effective way of reducing the number of children living in poverty and would immediately lift an estimated 250,000 children out of poverty.

Read it all.

'My hope is that this Bill will bring an end to this cruel policy'@BishopPaulB urges the Labour and Conservative parties to back his Private Members’ Bill on abolishing the two-child benefit caphttps://t.co/H1FUnetFDb

— Politics.co.uk (@Politics_co_uk) July 24, 2023

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

–Mark 4:21-34

Whitby sunrise. pic.twitter.com/t3UFxFqMsC

— Dave Z Photography (@DaveZ_uk) July 25, 2023

You may also find more there and you can listen directly or download it if you prefer.

@NetworkTheatre Jean-Paul Sartre's 'No Exit' (Huis Clos) @CasaLiverpool last night tonight Fri 9 Feb, 7.30pm £9/£7 https://t.co/jbUIKGj5ak or pay on door @speccytheatreco @offtopictheatre @hihtheatre @reviews_chris @IanDHall1 @LiverpoolPhilos #philosophyinpubs #Pips pic.twitter.com/M0RGZAKpwG

— Theatre At The Casa (@CasaTheatre) February 9, 2018

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

–Mark 4:1-20

Happy Monday all and hope its a good one! Quite a contrast to yesterday, the rain has stopped and sun out 🙂 #Mondayvibes #Monday #Lancashire @StormHour pic.twitter.com/a7h3uxD4hj

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) July 24, 2023