Let’s praise with Isaiah, “ violence will no more be heard in our land,” It will surely come. The Word that goes out of God’s mouth will accomplish all which He please.
Just ask the man who was thrown on the bones of Elisha, is there anything He can’t do?

It's rare that anyone working the field of psychology impresses me. Most of them are pursuing blatantly silly nonsense, trying to prove how smart they are. Once in awhile, I run across someone who really is smart about that stuff. What's really smart is articulating the things we really need to pull into our conscious awareness. Anyone who can do that is some kind of genius. Let me recommend this one video: Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person. It's about 22 minutes with Alain de Botton articulating things I've known for a long time in my heart about the way love works. No, it's not perfect, but he does a marvelous job of setting out the many flaws of our culture.

Be warned: He speaks quickly and you'll need to pay attention to keep up. There's a lot of biblical truth in it.

The chronology at this point is not disputed much. The Twelve went off on their mission and Jesus continued working His way through the cities and towns in Galilee. They eventually return and meet with Jesus, most likely at His home base in Capernaum. Due to all the exposure, they couldn't get a break. On top of this, Jesus learns that His cousin, John the Baptist, has been executed. They really need some time to process where things stand at this point.

So Jesus orders them to take a boat eastward across the northern tip of the sea to an area southeast of Bethsaida. That was a major city in those days, and it controlled a significant amount of territory. The most likely place to account for all the details in this next event is down the shore south, where a nice beach results from the silt carried down by a stream today called Nahal Kanaf. It has been a quiet and remote recreational area from ancient times.

But the pestering crowds could see their track on the sea. Some followed in their own boats, while a great many simply hurried along the shore, fording the upper Jordan River and a couple of smaller streams to catch up with Jesus and His crew when they came ashore. By the time Jesus disembarked, there was already a crowd waiting. Another retreat ruined, Jesus proceeded to teach and perform miracles because their needs were so great. This is what comes from restoring the Covenant to a nation long denied the blessings of shalom.

When it was late in the day, His disciples wisely counseled to dismiss the crowd. There were no towns anywhere in the area, and few of these people had thought to pack a lunch. Indeed, the Twelve had nothing at this point. Jesus said they should feed the crowd first. A search turned up a snack -- five pita cakes and a couple of preserved small fish (smoked or pickled). Jesus said that would do. He ordered His disciples to organize the crowd into groups of fifty, which is just about the typical size of an extended family household.

As the crowd watched, Jesus took this snack, offered a ritual prayer to the Father, then began tearing the pita and fish into pieces. But He kept doing this and the bread and fish never ran out. When the whole crowd had eaten what they wanted, there was enough left over to fill the empty lunch baskets of the Twelve for tomorrow -- their own "daily bread." To break up the crowd, Jesus ordered His crew to get back in the boat and head across toward Gennesaret on the western shore of Galilee. Then He turned and climbed up one of the hills nearby.

Jesus could watch the disciples' progress rowing across the sea from the crest of the ridge. It was slow going because the wind was contrary. Toward the wee hours of the morning, it became almost stormy. Jesus simply hiked down to the shore and kept walking out onto the water. It wasn't too long of a hike to catch up with the boat, maybe 6 miles (10 km). Most of them were seamen of some stripe in the first place, possessed of the same superstitions about what they saw. They were convinced that Jesus was a ghost heralding their demise by drowning in this storm.

Jesus seemed almost nonchalant in greeting them and said not to worry; they weren't going to die, after all. Peter recognized His voice and, in great emotional relief, asked to come out and join Him on the water. Jesus beckoned him. That worked for just a few steps before Peter's emotions suddenly shifted back again to fear and he started to sink. Jesus snatched him up and scolded him for doubting, especially after several weeks filled with incredible miracles.

As soon as they got in the boat, the wind simply died down. That was not uncommon on the Sea of Galilee, with high winds howling quite suddenly out of nowhere and then abruptly fading into dead calm again, but the timing here was quite meaningful.

They arrived at Gennesaret around sunrise. In no time, the local fishermen spread the word and here came the crowds once more. Their faith was such that they asked only to touch the hem of Jesus' rabbinical robe as He passed by. Sure enough, they were healed by this.

Things are coming to a crescendo. Herod Antipas was quite puzzled at what was happening in his jurisdiction. He had executed John the Baptist, but the common superstitions of folks in his palace suggested that this might be explained by John rising from the grave. Folks in that part of the world figured anyone who came back from the dead would have unusual powers. It never occurred to them that this was simply the Covenant rushing back into place to bless the people. This was miracles on a scale impossible to believe.

The instructions Jesus gave the Twelve still echo here -- time was short before He had to make His move. With miracles like this, it would be a breeze to take down the current political system, and the rulers were starting to feel threatened. This man was preaching a Messianic kingdom, and feeding 5000 from a single basket lunch bore a strong resemblance to one of the common false Messianic expectations. But Jesus has been teaching all along that His kingdom was not that kind of thing. The miracles were simply the manifestation of what He taught. Only the Pharisees paid enough attention to Jesus' teaching to be aware of that, and they felt their political position threatened for a somewhat different reason. They had no miracles to back up their teaching.

And the inevitable conflict with them was just a few more steps along the path Jesus was taking.

Something I expected: Google locking Drive files. The summary is that Google has announced a new policy. They will inspect the contents of files you store on Google Drive. If they feel it violates their terms of service, they will restrict access to the file. You will not be able to share files they don't like. You'll be the only one who can see them.

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.

Today I uninstalled the encrypted SMS service I had been using. They wanted a code and I couldn't remember it any more. I've got way too many passwords and codes (over two dozen) and every different service wants me to memorize another. Yes, I know I could have recovered it, but I've reached the point where I can't keep track of them any more, and it would happen again and again. Worse, no two services use the same routine for recovery. I'm looking for a way to reduce my exposure to such things. I can't afford to be locked out of a service for something like that.

I've been trying to wrap my mind around the Suspicious Observer information about the interaction between sun and earth. I've been checking other sources, as well. If I understand correctly, the near term threat is the collapse of the earth's magnetic shield. It's not uniform; the biggest weak spot is over the southern part of South America, and it's extending across the Atlantic to Southern Africa. Right now, it's weak enough that satellites without extra shielding don't function too well when passing over that part of the earth. There are just too many solar particles coming through there. To make it more realistic to you: Modern laptop computers aboard the Space Shuttle consistently crashed when it passed over this spot on the earth.

They call this the South Atlantic Anomaly. It's one of the few things where you can get fairly up-to-date information. It's been moving and morphing in shape, but the most alarming thing is that it's growing. For now, it appears the spread is moving toward Southern Africa. Furthermore, the altitude at which the particles penetrate is getting lower, and over the next two years it will plunge to the point that the shield will be effectively gone. The change is geometric; it's accelerating along a steep curve.

It's not even necessary for devices to be fried. They can become useless simply because they aren't shielded against the interference. Particles from the sun can rewrite the data to the point that it corrupts the contents of the RAM and makes the system unstable. Devices will quit being useful long before they are actually dead. This thing is getting worse right at the time when the sun's activity is rising to another of it's regular peaks. Look up the sun's activity cycle. It's an eleven-year cycle and we are now entering the rising part of the current cycle. The last cycle ended last year, and the next five years will see both flares and CMEs increasing.

At the same time, the magnetic poles are drifting, and this is also accelerating. It's harder to get current data on this. I suspect it's been suppressed. Last year the northern pole was quickly flying toward the northern coast of Russia. The southern magnetic pole has already left Antarctica and is scooting off toward Australia. If the tracking remains consistent, the two will collide somewhere close to Malaysia in a few years from now.

So we've got just these two major influences rising at about the same time. It's not just electronics; this stuff is also neurotoxic. Creatures that rely on the geomagnetic field for navigation have already been having trouble in some places. This will get worse. But it strikes humans oddly, as well. The bombardment of charged particles will generate mental problems of all kinds. The most noticeable thing will be how people already on the fringes of their coping ability will be pushed over the edge. Neurosis slides into psychosis. You'll need all the shalom you can get just to keep functioning.

But another, more dramatic change will be a rapid increase in the volatility of storms. We'll see more lightening strikes and stronger, with more different kinds of them. As things progress, we'll likely see clear sky atmospheric discharges striking large sections of the ground, setting fires. Yeah, the sun can do that, too.

All of this is going to manifest over the next few years. If there's ever a time people need to trust in the Lord, this is it.

Jesus taught about the Kingdom via many parables. His primary effort was to get people thinking that the Kingdom was a living thing in itself. You'll never really understand it with your mind; it's a miracle. You can't hide it. The Kingdom grows massively from nothing and changes everything it touches. It will always sweep in people who don't belong, but you can't easily get rid of them without uprooting the lives of those who do belong. Yet it remains a treasure of life. Whether you are looking for it or not, it's worth everything you have when you find it.

A visit to His home town proved the modern proverb that familiarity breeds contempt. He taught in the synagogue there, and everyone had by now heard of the miracles and His preaching to countless thousands. Yet, they thought they knew Him simply because they had watched Him grow up. He came from a household that was nothing special. They weren't prepared for how God does things, and ignored the prophecies that the Messiah would be just an ordinary guy and no one special. They were looking at things from the human angle, not from the miraculous power of God to use anything or anyone He wishes. It was the one place Jesus never performed more than a tiny few miracles.

While the chronology of Jesus' Galilean ministry is fuzzy at times, we believe this is the point where Jesus commissioned the Twelve Disciples to carry His authority on a preaching tour. The overall purpose remained the same: restore the Covenant. It was common for rabbis and preachers to wander the Jewish lands and preach in the synagogues. Failing that, they would preach in the public open space in any village or town. The Messianic Promises were a common theme for these preachers, so for this dozen to proclaim they operated in the name of Jesus and perform the same miracles was going to open doors in most places. It was customary for someone in each place to receive these preachers and host them, and Jesus' instructions rely on that.

The disciples are named in pairs, so it's safe to assume they traveled that way. The whole chapter outlines what Jesus told them to expect on this preaching tour. This was a Covenant mission, so they should avoid Gentile and Samaritan populations. The focus of their message was the same thing John the Baptist had preached, that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. They were to heal and deliver those who had any need for it. The Twelve would have most likely thought they were canvassing political support for Jesus to declare Himself Messiah and take over the government. So, the instructions were to counter that notion. This is about souls.

They were supposed to go in faith, trusting the Lord to move people to support their needs. This was a Covenant obligation upon the nation. If they got a good reception, bless them ritually and trust the Lord to honor it. If they got a bad reception, then perform the ritual of foot dust and know that the Father would honor that, as well. Sodom and Gomorrah was the model for that. Don't waste time trying to change anyone's mind; it's too late for that.

But they should expect the same kind of hassles Jesus faced already. This was a conquest of hearts, not of military power. Be very cynical about people's motives and be ready to tolerate hostility without responding in kind. God would be keeping track. Sometimes they'll face legal challenges; don't get too hung up on that. Don't get all riled up that anyone would reject their Master. God has authority over their courts. Some of these people are real cutthroats behind their facades. Don't be surprised at their moral depravity. Just stay on track with the mission and God will handle the rest.

They should not hesitate to flee one town for the next. Verse 23 comes off a little cryptic and is often misunderstood. Keep in mind that He was sending them down into Judea without going there Himself just yet. The mention of avoiding Samaritan towns would have been unnecessary if they were staying in Galilee. There weren't going to have time to visit every town in Jewish lands before Jesus planned to come down to Judea Himself, so having to flee from one town to the next was not a problem. Wherever they don't go will get the message some other way. The Twelve shouldn't feel obliged to try too hard with any audience, but just move through rather quickly. The following verses are in the same vein: don't dawdle. Declare the message and don't worry about the reception, because hostility is expected.

Jesus uses a lot of symbolic language to get the Twelve to understand the nature of their mission among the Jewish people. The Father is watching and keeping close track of their work. This is not the time to get bogged down in debates and trying to prove the message, as if they could convince anyone of truth not already in their hearts. The old order is being translated into a new order. The kind of stuff the Father tolerated in the past must come to an end. The people should be polarized rather quickly between those who would stay under the Covenant as it transitioned into a new thing, versus those who never understood the Covenant in the first place.

Thus, this wasn't a matter of being born a Jew. Blood ties will mean nothing in the Kingdom of Heaven. It's all about moral and spiritual ties. It's only natural that households and all other social and political entities should fracture over this message. Whatever grain was ripe would be harvested immediately. There wasn't much time for taking it slow and easy.

All too soon Jesus was going to confront the earthly powers holding the Covenant people hostage.

Several people have posted copies of the Tucker Carlson's interview with RFK, Jr. regarding his new book about Fauci. Here's one on BrandNewTube. It's difficult to follow until you get used to the way RFK, Jr. talks. His voice doesn't work normally. The thing that caught my attention was the revelation from vaccine vendors that all vaccines are inherently dangerous, and cannot be made safe for general medical use. And of course, that has only gotten worse. If you've seen it, perhaps you'd be interested in this review of the same book. It's a bit long, but brings to the surface things we should consider.

I don't belong to the conspiracy theory fan club that trades in all these poorly done videos by people who seek only public exposure and money. But I do gain a lot from really smart people who aren't afraid to expose things that will help us understand what's going on in our world. It peels back the cover on just how evil the system has become. We need to see that. Not so we can go to war against it, but so that we know how to pray and trust the Lord to crush such things in His wrath.

There's a difference between people who ignore their consciences -- which is an awful lot of folks serving in the system -- and those whose consciences are so perverted that they knowingly and eagerly destroy the lives of millions. Sometimes it helps to see just how awful those people are. Their plans will fail, of course, but there are other groups out there with even worse plans who will rise in their wake. These are things we need to bring to the Lord in prayer.

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.