"What is surprising is not that we are called to do so much, but rather, so little. And so often we grudgingly fail to do even that, or we do something else in the way that we please, and call it a sacrifice.
Love and be grateful to God, treat people as you would like to be treated with respect, kindness, mercy and forgiveness. Do not lie or steal or cheat, do not be proud and look down on your fellow creatures, and act with honor and respect for the gifts of His creation.
And when we fail through weakness, we are readily forgiven if we are but genuinely repentant for our misdeeds, by action or omission.
But all too often we bargain away our souls, one piece at a time, rebelling from even these small and reasonable requests to goodness— and for relatively so little in return. A little more money, some prestige and recognition from the worldly, and a feeling of being superior to the rest of humanity. They are fools, but I am smart, and fully deserve everything that we have been given, owing nothing to anyone, including God.
And we may hold on to that poisonous bargain out of stiff-necked, stubborn pride and a willful blindness refusing to repent and admit our errors, until we fall into the abyss. Misery loves company, and the sinful insulate themselves from a recognition of the foulness of their hearts by attempting to convert those around them to the same wickedness.
You will serve what you love the most, and sacrifice for the love of what you serve. Whether it be God, a political ideology, yourself, or some other idol of the world. No one can serve two masters. But I do strongly fear that we are once again falling into a time of general apostasy from those things that make and keep us fully human. And I am afraid that most will be deceived, even among the faithful."
Jesse, Willful Blindness and the Gradual Seduction of Evil, 30 June 2017
"Hell for all eternity for so little in exchange. The fact he could publicly project an antichrist image with pride, having no fear of reprisal, and his seeming diabolical art of escaping all punishment, would certainly signal that an unnatural individual walked in their midst. It is true in many respects he assumed the role of the charlatan, yet how apropos, considering his willingness to follow the Father of Lies and deception. If there are damned souls in Hell, it is because men blind themselves.”
E.A. Bucchianeri, Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World
"All the ruling elite have to offer to us is hate and fear &mndash; both of which obscure reason, that instrument of scrutiny which their self-serving actions and policies cannot bear."
Jesse, The Greatest Showman on Earth, 2 January 2019
Stocks tumbled in the overnight futures, and a rally attempt failed, with stocks going out near their lows.
VIX rose sharply.
Bitcoin continued a cascade decline from its recent breakout attempt.
Gold and silver both rocketed higher.
The Dollar continued to decline.
The world of finance is giving the Trump administration a vote of no-confidence.
What is remarkable is that, after all that has happened and been done, a significant minority of the American public continues to exhibit such support for evil, such lust for power, such disregard for the rights of the weak, or such yearning for submission to lawlessness and power.
It is hard to imagine a greater apostasy than Christian Zionism. And the selling of their oaths and office by politicians who flaunt their disloyalty to the Constitution which they are sworn to preserve, protect and defend against all threats, foreign and domestic.
Dark days indeed.
We will be seeing the hidden hand of God in action. That will be even harder to believe or imagine.
Have a pleasant evening.
