Ed and mom are on the road, but I am as well. My daughter and I are in Columbus today, at a music festival. Nice day here, if a bit hot. We got here okay, but I am driving home tonight. I'm usually pretty good with driving at night when tired, but you never know. Prayers for safe travels are always appreciated. I'll post here again when we are back in Pgh.

We are participating in our weekly prayer time at 5pm EST. Check out the prayer request forum for some prayer topics, but feel free to lift up your own.

You may also fast. There's no obligation or guidelines to how you should do it, or if you should do it at all. Just fast as the Lord leads and speaks to your convictions.

Vox Day posted about this a few days ago, and I checked out further information. Looks like it's a OKC museum, Ed.

Ancient surgical implant or modern-day fake? Peru skull leaves mystery.

Quote:An elongated, cone-shaped skull with a possible metal implant could represent some of the earliest evidence from Peru of an ancient surgical implant. Or it could be a modern-day fake.

The fact that the skull, which was donated to the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, has a cone shape is nothing too unusual, as Peruvians during ancient times were known to squeeze children's heads with bands during development to achieve the distinctive shape.

However, the metal implant in this skull is highly unusual and, if authentic, would potentially be a unique find from the ancient Andean world.

A friend sent me these photos taken in a town about 100 miles west of me.  They were taken at 23:00 last night.

                       

After Paul was released from house arrest in Rome, he had promises to keep by first visiting the churches in Macedonia. He wrote this letter to Timothy from there. But while he and Timothy longed to see each other, there were serious problems in Ephesus that needed Timothy's talents, while Paul struggled with other difficulties in Macedonia.

Ephesus was just beginning to stand as a major hub of Christian religion. Within a couple of years, a revolt in Jerusalem would bring Roman troops, which Jesus had warned was coming. He had told the Christians to flee the city, and a very substantial portion of them gravitated toward Ephesus. Very quickly, it would become the center of gravity for the surviving Apostles. It was critical at this time that Timothy filter the Judaizers out of the church teaching corps.

Paul mentions two primary issues: the old Talmudic mythology and the fascination with genealogical tables. There was a substantial number of false teachers claiming they wanted to teach Moses (AKA, "the Law"), but they really had no idea what they were talking about. Trust Paul to be quite certain of this, having been a disciple of the greatest rabbi still living at that time (Hillel), and on the staff of the Sanhedrin at one point early in his rabbinical career.

Just to clarify, Paul states that the Law was not useless by any means. On the one hand, to follow Christ meant to obey the twin commands: feudal submission to God as Father and Lord, and that sacrificial love of Christ for His brothers and sisters in faith. This was the summary of Moses everyone recognized, and which Jesus taught. By the same token, the details of Moses' books gave examples of what it looked like to love God and His people.

A heart changed by the power of the Holy Spirit was necessary to fulfill the purpose of the Law of Moses. Before Christ, the Law served as the gateway to that changed heart. Now the Holy Spirit Himself came to dwell in human souls, but the Law was not dead. It still spoke to those who had not yet been spiritually born.

"The Law is good if one uses it lawfully." The purpose of the Law was to restrain the fleshly nature; that was its lawful use. The heart had no need for it, but the flesh did. Paul goes on to list what serves as an outline of things prohibited in Moses. A righteous person with a changed heart would never want to do those things; they didn't need to be told. It is instinctive. But those without a spiritual nature have no moral compass; they have only their own fleshly desires. Christians promote a law code that speaks to that fleshly nature.

Paul never forgot what kind of rage filled his soul before God called him. He had been deeply deceived by the Talmudic perversions so that he was willing to fight God, while honestly believing he was doing God's will. This was such a horrible thing, and it was the same spirit that animated the Judaizers. We cannot turn their methods upon their heads, persecuting and violently oppressing them, but we must show them the mercy God showed Paul. Only the Lord can break through their blindness.

If there was anything Timothy and the believers could do for the Judaizers, shining this blinding light of mercy and truth was it. Thus, it was critical that Timothy set the record straight on the Law. Teach the believers in and around Ephesus the real article, so they could recognize as counterfeit what the Judaizers were offering.

My wife is currently facing a myriad of health issues that we are asking the Lord to help/heal.  She had a cancerous kidney removed in 2009 and the remaining kidney is functioning well but in the last month her blood pressure has gone up significantly.  She is already on 3 blood pressure medications and the doctor wants to add a fourth.  Her uric acid level is very high and during a recent CT scan for her kidney cysts the radiologist noted a thickened uterine wall that needs to be followed up by an ob/gyn.

At 77, she is very thankful for the health she has and is trusting the Lord to see her through this latest episode.  Please join us in prayer asking the Lord for wisdom, patience and HIS healing touch.

P.S.  I'll be going in for a "vascular scan" on Tuesday as my doctor wants to see the condition of my carotoid arteries.  I have had no issues and am trusting the Lord for a good report.

I've mentioned this subject before. It's not a pleasant one, though it should be. She has run out of options where she's been hanging out in Joplin, MO. She says she has a bus ticket to OKC. She's been begging for a place to stay, but everyone in the family knows what kind of trouble that brings. Honestly, she is a threat in disguise. Not violent, but wholly untrustworthy. Besides, no one has any spare space. We have all down-sized and are packed in where we are.

I'm the only person she hasn't talked to, and she knows how that will turn out. We are all for seeing her get another chance at life, but not without seeing evidence of repentance, or at least just a good recovery. She claims that she is very ill and the hospital there cannot diagnose what's wrong. She has said she thinks she is dying, but that may have been her standard drama. She tends to say things that have no connection with reality.

Around age 9 she crawled into a fantasy world and has never come out. She is wholly solipsistic; she has zero awareness of how much pain she has caused everyone. I'd give anything to have her come back to her senses, but there is nothing I can do by myself.

For now, the plan is refer her to assistance agencies in OKC. She's been through them before and knows her way around. She's been on the street at least as much as in any kind of housing. We are praying that some kind of door will open. She claims that she will arrive by bus tomorrow evening.

Will be interesting to see how it could affect things over the weekend, and early next week. There's plenty of evidence already but if there's lots of interesting things going on after the CMEs arrive, it'll be even more confirmation.

We are participating in our weekly prayer time at 5pm EST. Check out the prayer request forum for some prayer topics, but feel free to lift up your own.

You may also fast. There's no obligation or guidelines to how you should do it, or if you should do it at all. Just fast as the Lord leads and speaks to your convictions.

Linda/Ed/Veloyce - Here's that home blood test I mentioned. Not very pricey, it seems, for what it is.

Eldoncard Blood Typing Kit