Merry Christmas! The King is Born! Long Live the KING of Kings!

 Merry Christmas, and may God bless each of you, your families, and those you love in the coming year. This enlivening video is a longer version than the one often played in churches. It is especially a blessing for this day and this time. 

 

Verse of the Day: The "Swamp" Opposed Building During King Cyrus's Time, Too.

Even the original Cyrus had schemers that delayed the building of The Temple:

" Then the [adversaries to rebuilding] discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build, and they bribed officials to frustrate their plan throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia. ... they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem."     Ezra 4: 4-6
 
If you feel led to fast and pray for The Wall that our president is working to build, Intercessors For America is recommending a 3-week fast, in keeping with that of Daniel, during King Cyrus's time:

  "Before the 2016 election, there were many prophetic words that the 45^th president of the United States would be a type of Cyrus, as described in Isaiah 45:1, 4: This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: “ . . . I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.”
We find more about Cyrus in Daniel 10, as Daniel describes a revelation given to him in the third year of the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia (verse 1). Today, we are in the third year of President Trump’s presidency. Verse 2 tells us that Daniel fasted and mourned for three weeks. This is often called the Daniel Fast—during the First Friday Prayer Conference Call on January 4, 2018 I called IFA intercessors to a 21-day (three week) fast for our nation."

President Donald John Trump in Sobieski's Homeland

Our President Donald John Trump never mentioned John III Sobieski in the speeches he made while in Poland... but the memory of the "Savior of Christendom" is palpable throughout.

In his amazing speech To The People Of Poland, he spoke in detail about Poland's heroic and determined past: the Miracle of Vistula, "the Katyn forest massacre, the occupations, the Holocaust, the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the destruction of [Warsaw], and the deaths of nearly one in five Polish people", Jerusalem Avenue. He named Casimir Pulaski  and Tadeusz Kościuszko (heroes of the American Revolution and of Polish Insurrection against Russia), and declared :" I am here today not just to visit an old ally, but to hold it up as an example for others who seek freedom and who wish to summon the courage and the will to defend our civilization. "

As his conclusive statement confirms, President Trump stood up in defiance of  Globalism and of invasive enemies of civilization. Malcolm Pollack described it well:

 "“Brilliance”! “Excellence”! Reverence! Traditions! Heritage! The defense of the West! Protecting our borders! Preserving our civilization!
"Strong stuff, and as far as the epicene political, academic, and media elites of the modern West are concerned, it might as well be the language of Mordor. Can you imagine Barack Obama saying such things? The words would have burnt his tongue."

President Trump reminded listeners of his historic peace-making trip to the Middle East in which he  engaged with the Muslim nations of the world to work themselves to bring peace to their own countries and to themselves drive out the militant islamists who are destroying every civilization within reach:

" We are confronted by another oppressive ideology -- one that seeks to export terrorism and extremism all around the globe.  America and Europe have suffered one terror attack after another.  We’re going to get it to stop.  (Applause.)
During a historic gathering in Saudi Arabia, I called on the leaders of more than 50 Muslim nations to join together to drive out this menace which threatens all of humanity.  We must stand united against these shared enemies to strip them of their territory and their funding, and their networks, and any form of ideological support that they may have.  While we will always welcome new citizens who share our values and love our people, our borders will always be closed to terrorism and extremism of any kind.   "

President Trump's choice of Poland in which to vocalize his stand for "The West" and civilization shows his understanding of history & of another time when islamists used war and terror to attack the West. It was Poland's King, John III Sobieski who drove back the Islamic Turks at the "Gates of Vienna" in 1683 when the Islamic Ottoman Empire had Europe under siege. The Pope called him the "Savior of Christendom", a constellation was named after him, and Sobieski has since been known as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization".

And thus, some of the most powerful paragraphs of President Trump's speech are those in which this "new Cyrus" invokes our Father God within a country that has recently reaffirmed its identity as a Christian Nation:

"The Polish martyr, Bishop Michael Kozal, said it well:  “More horrifying than a defeat of arms is a collapse of the human spirit.”
"Through four decades of communist rule, Poland and the other captive nations of Europe endured a brutal campaign to demolish freedom, your faith, your laws, your history, your identity -- indeed the very essence of your culture and your humanity.  Yet, through it all, you never lost that spirit.  (Applause.)  Your oppressors tried to break you, but Poland could not be broken.  (Applause.)  

"And when the day came on June 2nd, 1979, and one million Poles gathered around Victory Square for their very first mass with their Polish Pope, that day, every communist in Warsaw must have known that their oppressive system would soon come crashing down.  (Applause.)  They must have known it at the exact moment during Pope John Paul II’s sermon when a million Polish men, women, and children suddenly raised their voices in a single prayer.  A million Polish people did not ask for wealth.  They did not ask for privilege.  Instead, one million Poles sang three simple words:  “We Want God.”  (Applause.)

"In those words, the Polish people recalled the promise of a better future.  They found new courage to face down their oppressors, and they found the words to declare that Poland would be Poland once again.

"As I stand here today before this incredible crowd, this faithful nation, we can still hear those voices that echo through history.  Their message is as true today as ever.  The people of Poland, the people of America, and the people of Europe still cry out “We want God.”  (Applause.) 

"Together, with Pope John Paul II, the Poles reasserted their identity as a nation devoted to God.  And with that powerful declaration of who you are, you came to understand what to do and how to live.  You stood in solidarity against oppression, against a lawless secret police, against a cruel and wicked system that impoverished your cities and your souls.  And you won.  Poland prevailed.  Poland will always prevail. (Applause.)
"AUDIENCE:  Donald Trump!  Donald Trump!  Donald Trump!  "

Our God is moving in the world to accomplish His purposes. And Our Father God has given us a man to lead us.

Isaiah 45:

The Lord says this to Cyrus, His anointed,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him,
to disarm[a] kings,
to open the doors before him
and the gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you
and level the uneven places;[b]
I will shatter the bronze doors
and cut the iron bars in two.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches from secret places,
so that you may know that I, Yahweh,
the God of Israel call you by your name.
4 I call you by your name,
because of Jacob My servant
and Israel My chosen one.
I give a name to you,
though you do not know Me.
5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other;
there is no God but Me.
I will strengthen[c] you,
though you do not know Me,
6 so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but Me.
I am Yahweh, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make success and create disaster;
I, Yahweh, do all these things."

Hold On. Stand Firm. Keep The Faith.

We didn't imagine the danger. It was - and still is - very real. But we are not helpless. That is where Carl Sagan was wrong.

Pragmatic Americans saw our nation slipping into darkness, slavery, and superstition, and took a stand for our God and our Country.

We all took peaceful action in a Hail Mary vote for a new "Cyrus". By the Grace of God, thanks to President Trump and ALL the DEPLORABLES, we finally have a chance to overcome the terrors that Sagan foresaw.

Now, remember what we are escaping from. Keep the faith. Stand firm.

All shall be well.

"Old Christmas": Merry Christmas to Our Christian Brother Vladmir Putin and All Orthodox Believers Worldwide

Today, January 7th, 2017, is the day known to many of our ancestors as "Old Christmas" from the date used under the Julian Calendar. Calendars need tweeking every so often to stay accurate, and Pope Gregory authorized a new calendar for use in the West in 1582. Thus, "Old Christmas". The Orthodox Churches, and various Protestants in Europe, including the Amish, retained use of the old calendar, esp for calculating Holy Days,

Russia's President Vladmir Putin is a devout Christian, and attended services:





May 2017 bring a new era of peace for all followers of Jesus Christ, and the spread of genuine faith in Our Lord to the ends of the earth.

Author Richard Adams Has Passed Away, at a Good Age

While everyone is talking about George Michael and Carrie Fisher, who both died too young, and ZsaZsa Gabor, who nearly made it to 100,  one of the genuine great minds of the 20th century passed away too. He was 96 years old, and passed peacefully at his home according to the papers.

Richard Adams wrote Watership Down, and Shardik, The Plague Dogs, and other works. While good books for mature juveniles, they are not children's books. Shardik, in particular, seems to presage certain events of today in Africa and other parts of the world. While his stories end in deep surety of hope, they look honestly at the heart and at human failure, and at the quality of redemption.  They should have a permanent place in every home library.

Adams named his daughters after two of the most romantic women in literature: Juliet and Rosamond. He told them bedtime stories,and they asked him to write them down.  A grateful world of readers, past, present, and future, thanks them.

I don't know if people will still be singing Go-Go while watching Star Wars in 200 years, but I think it is almost certain they will still be reading Watership Down.

FBI Hate Crime Data Excludes Victims Targeted Because Of Their Religion In Terror Attacks

The FBI recently released its annual report on Hate Crime Statistics for 2015.  It appears fairly straightforward, and clarifies certain changes in definition. But some high-profile events are missing: mass attacks, including those designated as "Terror Attacks" seem to be omitted from the FBI's  Hate Crime database.

More on that in a minute. First, let's look at the misleading use of percentages to inflate some very tiny numbers. And at the mixing of data with opinion with rumor to create something that does not exist... I think the word for it this week is Fake News.

Fake News or "a filtered product to readers"

Pew Research Center has put out a small analysis that, in keeping with the globalists' anti-Trump narrative, purports to show a huge increase in "anti-Muslim assaults" under the headline:
"FBI Data shows Anti-Muslim assaults reach 9/11-era levels",  quotes a few stats of year-old data, shows a graph, cherry picks mentions of other religions, then throws in a bunch of  opinion polls - all of which is slanted to create the impression that anti-Muslim discrimination is far worse than that against any other religion. The article wraps up with a dire-sounding number of reports, admits those reports can't be confirmed (indeed, most have been proven hoaxes), and gets to the whole reason for the article with this phrase: "in the five days following the presidential election alone."

Here's some reality to keep in mind: that's only 91 cases over the entire USA covering an entire year, from a year or more ago - all occurred before the presidential election campaign got off the ground, and particularly,  occurred before the elite media's obsession with Muslim immigration began after the San Bernadino Massacre in December 2015.

There is no evidence at all, no statistics, no data, nothing but rumor to indicate any increase in crime against people for their Muslim faith in the year 2016.  But Pew put out this article in a way that creates the appearance that there are both an increase in criminal targeting, and evidence for it.

Why is Pew Research suddenly trafficking in rumor and nuanced innuendo?

325 Million people live in the US,  three million of them are Muslim,  and  of those, 257 Muslims reported being mistreated because of their religion last year. This includes what the FBI labels "intimidation", vandalism, theft: only 91 were physical assaults.

According to the FBI's database, almost as many Christians, 244, were criminally victimized for their faith, and Jews were targets a whopping 237% more often than Muslims: 731 Jewish people in the US were victims of hate crimes last year, with a population of approximately 6 million.

Meanwhile, the Southern Poverty Law Center is still reporting dozens of false reports (and Pew Research is still happily citing their unverifiable "anecdotes" in which people pretended they were targeted "by Trump voters" or by so-called "white" people, and later admitted they made it all up.
In at least one case, a Muslim woman was charged for the false police report she made - shouldn't this be listed as a "hate crime" as well?

Pew did not bother to report that the DOCUMENTED assaults on Trump supporters before and  after the election have included brutal beatings of people - including children, one only 11 years old in his elementary classroom - targeted by multiple assailants. Many of the hate crimes against Trump supporters have been actively reported as harmless fun  or even with deliberate blamed placed on the victim by pro-Democrat elite media.

According to the FBI: " 88.4 percent of agencies participating in the Hate Crime Statistics Program reported that no hate crimes occurred in their jurisdictions."

As some of the above articles show about bias against President Trump's supporters, "hate crimes" against people hated by the elite media and Globalists are likely to be under-reported. It is very difficult for Christian victims to get a "hate crime" designation for their suffering.  Often, where Christians are criminally targeted there is a tendency within law enforcement as well as elite media to ignore the perpetrator and blame the victim for holding or declaring unpopular beliefs or practices.

Confusion in recording anti-Christian "hate crimes" is also caused in part because the FBI statistics break anti-Christian bias down into denomination, so if the assailant didn't specifically "hate Catholics" or "Mormons", the crime is more likely to go unreported in anti-Christian "hate crime" statistics. The FBI does not itemize various Islamic sects or Jewish ones, despite the existence of multiple branches of these religions.

Generally, there's also a great disparity in calling a crime "hate related" that depends on who the perpetrator is. Many violent assaults committed by avowed Muslim perpetrators are never classified as "hate crimes" against Christians, Jews, White Americans, Gays, Women, Children, or other groups that radical Muslims  (& often the perpetrators themselves) specifically say should be targeted: ie, the Fort Hood Massacre was labeled "workplace violence" despite the murderer's multiple and continual statements that he wanted to kill non-muslims because of their religion which was not Islam.

The Final Straw: Hate Crimes that are designated "Terror" Events aren't included in Hate Crime stats.

Even worse, and most significantly, when a massacre is  classified as an Islamic "terror attack" it is apparently excluded from law enforcement Hate Crime databases, as reported to the FBI.

In example, four non-muslims were stabbed in a terror attack at UC Merced, California, in November 2015, when Muslim student Faisal Mohammad, carrying a photocopied ISIS flag in his pocket and smiling the whole time, slashed four people with a hunting knife in a classroom & hallways. CNN reported the FBI said Mohammad had visited ISIS & terrorist websites, and that his attack was "terror-inspired".

But still, both Merced and the University of California reported zero religion-motivated hate crimes for 2015, despite the FBI's confirmation.

The Garland, Texas terror attack at an art show in May 2015, which resulted in a heroic school security guard being shot in the ankle, and the deaths of the two  Islamic jihadists, is not listed in the FBI's "hate crime" database. It should be in there, and the guard should be numbered among the victims. There is a category for "Religious bias: anti-other (unspecified) religion that should be used for these crimes.

The December 2015 San Bernadino Massacre is not listed in FBI data as a "hate crime".  Despite the deaths of 14 people and the serious injury of 22 others at a Christian religion-connected event, and despite the clear targeting of the group because of their not-muslim religious status as "infidels", all 36 people, mostly Christian but also of other faiths, are missing from the totals of religious hate crime victims, and 6 people are missing from the totals of religious hate crime perpetrators.

However, so-called "anti-Muslim" "hate crimes" arising from the jihadist massacre of innocents are included:
"In the aftermath of the shooting, CAIR reported an escalation in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.S., including the throwing of a pig's head at a mosque in Philadelphia, the beating of a Queens shop owner, and incidents of death threats and vandalism.[287] A number of attacks and incidents of vandalism in southern California in the weeks following the attack were investigated as anti-Muslim hate crimes"

"On December 15, 2015, three senior White House officials‍—‌Valerie Jarrett, Cecilia Munoz, and Ben Rhodes‍—‌met with American Muslim and Sikh leaders to discuss the increase in violent attacks upon members of the American Muslim and Sikh community following the attack (Sikhs are not Muslims but have been occasionally targeted in anti-Islamic bias-motivated crimes)"

The White House officials did not meet with American non-Muslim leaders to discuss the increase in violent anti-Infidel attacks upon members of their communities following this or any other attack.

Edited to add: The nine innocent people shot to death by Dylann Roof in Charleston because of their race were also not reported as victims of a racial "hate crime" in the database.

These few events alone add another 41 victims that were targeted because of bias against their religion, and 11 who were killed, injured or terrorized because of their  race, but whose deaths and suffering are not counted worthy of being considered "hate crimes".

While the FBI explicitly cautions on every page against using this data for "Ranking", and notes that the information is provided by each of thousands of jurisdictions, it is up to each user to familiarize themselves with what is and is not contained in the database.  And by "user", I think we have to include readers of articles such as this one, and the ones written by Pew Research.

Bottom line?

Bias.

Bias.

Bias.

BIAS.

BIAS:  Dec 6 2016 UPDATE:  New  York Post reports the Southern Poverty Law Center falsified the results of a survey it used to push a FAKE NEWS "narrative" against President Trump and his supporters. In particular, the SPLC omitted 2,000 reports in which students were attacked or bullied at school for being "white", and the SPLC also claimed that saying "Build the Wall" was a "racist hate crime",when in fact it is neither "anti-immigrant" nor "racist", and in fact does not indicate any bias for or against anyone, but asimple willingness to abide by the rule of law.

BIAS: Dec 11 2016 UPDATE to add the Hoax Map image, and link to the source, Sondrakisten.com and article "Hate Mischief"

BIAS: Dec 15 2016 UPDATE:  Yasmin Seweid charged with filing a false police report and with obstructing governmental administration for her hoax in which she falsely told "the police that three white men screaming “Donald Trump!” attacked her on Dec. 1 on an uptown No. 6 train at East 23rd Street, DNAinfo.com reported. She told the police that the men had called her a terrorist and that when she tried to move to the other end of the subway car, one of them followed and tried to pull off her traditional head scarf. " She made up the whole thing. Nothing happened. 

Our Stand Against The Dark: "That Hideous Strength"

Kristor Lawson writes, at The Orthosphere:

"Who has read and remembers That Hideous Strength –  ...[ novel by CS Lewis],.... – and who has lately followed the news in the alternative media must have noticed a horrible semblance of these last weeks to the gathering storm that novel so masterfully presents, of good and evil human, natural, and supernatural rising to a tremendous pitch of intensity and power as they drive each inexorably to a titanic, shattering battle. I do not mean here to specify all the parallels, but they are almost all there: corrupt government agencies with noble sounding names and ends that work in fact deep evil;  ......

....."....  hubris on a vast scale, pretensions to a Babelonian New World Order and a New Man; nominalist obfuscation, nihilism and relativism; sophistical academics and rotten priests; contempt for all that is good, true and holy, old and homely, right, simple, and sweet, or even simply and honestly rational (all in the name of rationality) – the whole nine yards. And arrayed against these Powers, a pitiful few doughty hapless writers and scholars, talking mostly to each other in a remote corner of the world of what is good and right, true and holy, strait and wise, solid and reliable.  ......

..... "Read the book, by the Lord Jesus, if you have not, and that soon. It is short, almost a novella really; and you shall never forget it, for it shall forever shape your perspective on current events.

"One of our Wanderers, I say, must now be actively at work. How, else, to explain the recent relentless incredulous worry of the alternative media – writers and scholars, autodidacts, enthusiasts, eccentrics, conspiracy theorists, hackers, and all their ilks – over the sickening depredations they suddenly apprehend, of the Predators of Man, against the Common Good? Some One must be stirring us up. Perhaps even it is our mascot and Patron, here at the Orthosphere – may God bless his handiwork.
"Saint Michael and all angels, pray for us.

"On then into the crisis. There is after all no alternative, for any of us. God be with us, all."

Click through to read the rest of the short article.

Father Rutler: "One Candidate Is Evil" For Promoting Abortion and Foreign Policy That Encourages Genocide Against Christians

Father Rutler never names the candidate or the party but he makes it very clear he is talking about Hillary Clinton and the Democrat Party:

"At one party’s convention, the name of God was excluded from its platform and a woman who boasted of having aborted her child was applauded. It is a grave sin, requiring sacramental confession and penance, to become an accomplice in objective evil by voting for anyone who encourages it, for that imperils the nation and destroys the soul."

He also issues a rebuke to Pope Francis's seeming approval of evil through failing to criticize Hillary Clinton at all, while posturing against Donald John Trump and his call to build a wall with controllable gates, much like the one that surrounds the Pope's own nation, Vatican City:

" It is also the duty of the clergy to make this clear and not to shrink, under the pretense of charity, from explaining the Church’s censures. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are dangerous, but worse are wolves in shepherd’s clothing. While the evils foreseen eight years ago were realized, worse would come if those affronts to human dignity were endorsed again."


 Here's the full article, via Rorate Caeli Blog:

 FROM THE PASTOR October 30, 2016 by Fr. George W. Rutler 

 On the Election 

 "Exactly eight years ago I wrote a column titled “The One We Were Waiting For” in which I referred to a book by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson, The Lord of the World. That dystopian novel has been cited by Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis said he has read it several times. The protagonist, if one can apply that term to an Anti-Christ, imposed a new world religion with Man himself as god. His one foe was Christianity, which he thwarted in part by using “compromised Catholics and compliant priests to persuade timid Catholics. 

 "Since then, that program has been realized in our time, to an extent beyond the warnings of the most dire pessimists. Our federal government has intimidated religious orders and churches, challenging religious freedom. The institution of the family has been re-defined, and sexual identity has been Gnosticized to the point of mocking biology. Assisted suicide is spreading, abortions since 1973 have reached a total equal to the population of Italy, and sexually transmitted diseases are at a record high. Objective journalism has died, justice has been corrupted, racial bitterness ruins cities, entertainment is degraded, knowledge of the liberal arts spirals downwards, and authentically Catholic universities have all but vanished. A weak and confused foreign policy has encouraged aggressor nations and terrorism, while metastasized immigration is destroying remnant western cultures, and genocide is slaughtering Christian populations. The cynical promise of economic prosperity is mocked by the lowest rate of labor participation in forty years, an unprecedented number of people on food stamps and welfare assistance, and the largest disparity in wealth in over a century. 

" In his own grim days, Saint Augustine warned against nostalgia: “The past times that you think were good, are good because they are not yours here and now.” The present time, however, might try even his confidence. Sands blow over the ruins of churches he knew in North Africa where the Cross is virtually forbidden. By a blessed irony, a new church is opened every day in formerly Communist Russia, while churches in our own formerly Christian nation are being closed daily. For those who bought into the seductions of politicians’ false hopes, there is the counsel of Walt Kelly’s character Pogo: “It’s always darkest before it goes pitch black.”

"It is incorrect to say that the coming election poses a choice between two evils. For ethical and aesthetic reasons, there may be some bad in certain candidates, but badness consists in doing bad things. Evil is different: it is the deliberate destruction of truth, virtue and holiness. 

 "While one may pragmatically vote for a flawed candidate, one may not vote for anyone who advocates and enables unmitigatedly evil acts, and that includes abortion. “In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it'” (Evangelium Vitae, 73).

"At one party’s convention, the name of God was excluded from its platform and a woman who boasted of having aborted her child was applauded. It is a grave sin, requiring sacramental confession and penance, to become an accomplice in objective evil by voting for anyone who encourages it, for that imperils the nation and destroys the soul. 

" It is also the duty of the clergy to make this clear and not to shrink, under the pretense of charity, from explaining the Church’s censures. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are dangerous, but worse are wolves in shepherd’s clothing. While the evils foreseen eight years ago were realized, worse would come if those affronts to human dignity were endorsed again. In the most adverse prospect, God forbid, there might not be another free election, and soon Catholics would arrive at shuttered churches and vacant altars. The illusion of indifference cannot long be perpetuated by lame jokes and synthetic laughter at banquets, for there is handwriting on the wall. "

 Once again, the connection between Donald John Trump and King Cyrus is made. Father Rutler cautions that "the handwriting is on the wall." The references the night that wicked Babylon fell to King Cyrus in a single night while the population and king were feasting and celebrating. Daniel interpreted the warning for the king.

Both Biblical and historical records concur that following a brief seige, Cyrus's army found a way into the city and captured it in a single day with little bloodshed and without destruction, in 539 BC.

King Cyrus / Donald Trump Prophecies Before Election Day: What Has Already Come To Pass, & Big New Dreams From A Surprising Place

At a tense and frightening midpoint in this election, I needed some encouragement, and God didn't fail me. Perhaps this will help someone else too.

I've said before I believe Donald John Trump to be a "type" of Cyrus, anointed by God for a specific job at this time in history. Whether he becomes President, I do not know... however I have a strong feeling that his work will have the same strength of accomplishment either way, because that strength comes "‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)  

First, let's look at one Cyrus/Trump prophecy that has already partly come true to an amazing degree: that of Pastor Jeremiah Johnson, from July 2015 (I learned of this one after receiving my own in Oct/Nov 2015).  As stated, it is centered on the time before the election, the campaign itself, the period we are now in:

"I was in a time of prayer several weeks ago when God began to speak to me concerning the destiny of Donald Trump in America. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Trump shall become My trumpet to the American people, for he possesses qualities that are even hard to find in My people these days. Trump does not fear man nor will he allow deception and lies to go unnoticed. I am going to use him to expose darkness and perversion in America like never before, but you must understand that he is like a bull in a china closet. Many will want to throw him away because he will disturb their sense of peace and tranquility, but you must listen through the bantering to discover the truth that I will speak through him. I will use the wealth that I have given him to expose and launch investigations searching for the truth. Just as I raised up Cyrus to fulfill My purposes and plans, so have I raised up Trump to fulfill my purposes and plans prior to the 2016 election. You must listen to the trumpet very closely for he will sound the alarm and many will be blessed because of his compassion and mercy. Though many see the outward pride and arrogance, I have given him the tender heart of a father that wants to lend a helping hand to the poor and the needy, to the foreigner and the stranger.”

Pastor Johnson resumes: "As the body of Christ, we must keep our ears and eyes open as we continue to move toward the 2016 elections in the United States. I believe that God is not only going to use the prayers of the saints to bring about His plans and purposes, but He is even going to use those who do not know Him. What a great comfort and source of encouragement we have in the wisdom of God in this hour."

We have seen much of this come true, to degrees none of us would have imagined two years ago. All of these things have given us the hard truth, and we are wiser for knowing where betrayal has taken hold:

 So-called "Conservative" or "Christian" bloggers, websites, magazines, writers, analysts, preachers, and others have shown themselves to be Pharisees and False Prophets, ignoring the 9th Commandment and spreading False Witness against us and Mr Trump, ridiculing and maligning us and the candidate for whom record millions voted. Our government, our media, our political parties and elected officials, our VA, our IRS, our Justice Department, even some branches of law enforcement from DHS to some local police departments, have all been perverted by significant numbers of people/department heads within those groups and agencies against American ideals, against the American citizens, against God, and toward the wicked schemes of those individuals and others seeking power and dominion.

Donald Trump's candidacy has set in motion the exposure of ethical, criminal and spiritual corruption in all those places. We are chilled by the extent and kinds of wickedness drawn out into the light - it is truly a swamp, a cesspool - and we await impending news about what else is still being uncovered. 

We have also been blessed to see genuine heroes in the people who braved mobs to go to his rallies, in those who've been fired or abandoned by friends, in agents of the FBI, the NYPD,  ICE and Border Patrol, whistleblowers, Wikileaks and friends, and we've made new friends and allies among bloggers, writers, commenters, elected officials, pastors, and other influencers who have steadfastly stood beside Mr Trump and shared his mission, without making excuses... full stop.  

We have also seen other elements of Isaiah's original verses apply again, especially in Mr Trump's success despite the predictions of the experts. God has made fools of the pollsters:

"I am Yahweh...who destroys the omens of the false prophets and makes fools of diviners; who confounds the wise and makes their knowledge foolishness; who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers;"  Isaiah 44:24-28

This has been a painful and tragic time for all who support Mr Trump, to see that we have been trusting in people, agencies, institutions, traditions, that have become sham. When this is all over, we will take time to grieve.

For now, let us look ahead, as the the best part of these prophesies have not yet come to pass - and they are good indeed.

Fom Pastor Johnson's prophecy: "... many will be blessed because of his compassion and mercy. Though many see the outward pride and arrogance, I have given him the tender heart of a father that wants to lend a helping hand to the poor and the needy, to the foreigner and the stranger."

This tells us that Mr Trump's leadership will ultimately be remembered, just like the original Cyrus, as a compassionate and honorable administration in which families are strengthened, lives are stabilized, and "the hearts of the fathers are turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6)

My own understanding of those post-election purposes have been vague, and I didn't push for details. But in the past two days, the Lord has sent two elements across my path, elements that give me great comfort, and again I feel compelled to share.

First is just a tidbit to reassure that the immediate tasks may not be as formidable or lengthy as our opponents want us to believe, so do not allow anything ever to discourage you. Hillary Clinton has used violence to try to tempt Donald Trump's supporters, to no avail. Stand firm and patient. The original Cyrus conquered the capital city of Babylon in a single night (following a seige), without damage or bloodshed. I think American tradition will hold firm, and the "new Cyrus" will enter the "Washingtonian Babylon" in a peaceful transition as well.  Just as all of us together have watched and helped Mr Trump patiently overcome the combined opposition of every corrupt power in the country - and do so in one single election cycle -  by simple persistence and determination, so too can the rest of the work be done quickly,with persistence. As Mr Trump said:

"All we have to do is stop believing in our failed politicians and start believing in each other and in our country. 

"There is no challenge too great, no dream outside of our reach.

"Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done -- the future lies with the dreamers, not the cynics and the critics." 

The next one, a news report, has a very unusual connection that caught me off guard. What it points to is a kind of renewal that fits with Isaiah's original prophesy and the historical record of King Cyrus, in which the LORD declared that He has empowered Cyrus not only to free His people and rebuild the temple, but so that the whole world will know the Lord our God. (Isaiah 45).

Remember, when reading, that Iran was named Persia until very recently. This was the heart of King Cyrus's empire.  Breitbart's Adelle Nazarian writes:

"Tens of thousands of Iranians, from various parts of the nation, gathered at the site of the tomb of King Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae Friday morning on the anniversary of his birthday to protest the clerical regime’s policies. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), protesters chanted, “Iran is our country, Cyrus is our father” and “clerical rule is synonymous with only tyranny, only war.” The protesters also reportedly chanted, “freedom of thought cannot take place with beards,” a reference to the theocratic leaders currently in power.

"Many Iranians consider King Cyrus the father of international human rights, citing the discovery of the Cyrus Cylinder around 559 B.C. — the first known charter of human rights. In 1971, the Shah of Iran’s twin sister, the late Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, presented the United Nations with a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder, which is kept at the U.N.’s New York headquarters and is promoted as “an ancient declaration of human rights.”

"Pooya Dayanim, President of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (IJPAC), told Breitbart News that the rally was an indication that “the generation that was born after the revolution of 1979 feels as if their parents made a mistake and destroyed their hope and future.” Dayanim added, 

“They consider themselves a burnt generation, just like the generation in America that has been living in their parents’ garages and basements and are either unemployed or underemployed.”

"Dayanim said that ... “getting in touch with their rich Iranian heritage from the pre-Islamic era is one of the only sources of pride they have. What happened today is a sign of them embracing Iran when it was a strong and powerful and respected State, versus the government that they have now which has turned Iran into a pariah and has destroyed their hopes, dreams, aspirations and future.”

This story points to advances made by now-Christian Russia's influence against Islamic theocracy. It portends well toward Mr Trump's foreign policy plans within that region. 

And essentially, it points ahead into a future of considerable brightness, with  hope for genuine liberty coming out of oppression once again. Not through meddlesome outsiders like Hillary Clinton making war, but through God's action in the world raising up peoples and new generations. 

So whatever happens on Tuesday, take heart.

We can be confident that God is moving within these events, "helping him win his battles" and breaking open gates for this new Cyrus.  In addition, other men of good will have been awakened by the alarm, and God's power comes to them as well. 

God's plans will not be thwarted if we few align our will freely to His. What is His will? God stated it clearly in Isaiah 45 (also read Chapters 43, 44 and 46 while you are there). 

Jesus said: "These things I've told you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. " (John 16:33) 

Donald Trump, Winged Horses, and The Folly Of Trying To Make Everyone "Nice"

C.S. Lewis, in "Mere Christianity", has something to say to Christians about judging people by their perceived public "niceness". Those who support Mr Donald Trump for President understand this very well.  We are eager to let our winged horse grow his wings and bring America to great new heights.

    ".....we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save.

"For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. 

"But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance."

                                                           ~  C. S. Lewis, from "Mere Christianity", presented in Bible Gateway's "C. S. Daily" email newsletter

Naming The Enemy, Naming The Crimes

I've written before about the Left's corruption of our language. As Hillary Clinton takes her lies about the Alt-Right public in her never-ending deception road trip,  The Orthosphere takes this analysis a step further:

"Everyone knows the story of Babel. It’s right up there with the Flood. It doesn’t need explanation.

"Babel connotes a profane and impudent and mighty *tower,* a huge evil edifice, the central project of the civil authorities, engaging the efforts of the whole people, willy nilly, first enslaving and then confusing them. It connotes the catastrophe of unbridled hubris.

And, of course, the Babylonians too, like the Canaanites, practiced human sacrifice (almost everyone did, back then).

The discourse of our adversaries is famously incoherent. It is babble. And it is introducing a babble of diverse languages into our cities, as Babel seeks to reconstitute herself."

Who does the author say we are?

Daniel, who was possibly an intercedent to King Cyrus.



*Art: Daniel in the Lion's Den, painted by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), American painter

Ten Years Ago, Four American Heroes Gave Their All

My son Ethan Arguello posted this on July 29th, the 10th Anniversary of the deaths of four of his fellow Marines who gave their lives for American liberty. I've posted about these heroes before - part of their story is here. Their mothers, widows, sisters still grieve, and so do their brothers in arms:

"To the ones who gave it all.

"10 years ago....
Ten years ago today something happened that would have a greater impact on my life than I could ever imagine.

"While in Iraq, our platoon and company were split up into three neighboring towns. We were comfortable working here. We knew there were terrorists all around us and from what I remember, moral was high. Exercising, patrolling and sleeping had become a way of life. We relieved an army striker unit that had been in that area of operation for at least several months and reported no U.S. casualties but a known presence of terrorists. On a regular quiet day, we got a call of an attack on one of our positions, QRF was sent out. What seemed like an eternity of time to pass before their return, they returned with bad news. Jose Mata put his arm over my shoulder and told me the news, the news that we could never change. It was news that we couldn't share with anyone else until their families were notified. Together we sat that evening mostly in silence around the rest of the platoon who was not completely aware of what had just happened. A long last couple months we would spend in that country, without four of our brothers. The next day, in tremendous mental pain,HNFMF Chadwick Kenyon told me that he had spent the last minutes with Christian Williams partiality conscious in the back of the MedEvac vehicle. Sgt. Williams, Cpl. Baucus, LCpl. Butterfield and LCpl. Hanson, would have never chosen anyone else to go before them. They were men of honor, loyalty, respect and dignity, who any of us would have done the same for them. With nothing negative to say about these men by anybody, it makes us wonder, why them? I've attempted to understand why they were called before me and our other Marines and never have an answer just a thought that, they wouldn't have wanted it to be us.

"Only the good die young" is a saying that has held strong in my mind every time I think of them. Our Marines stood up to the evil group of terrorists that killed our citizens on September 11, 2001. They did this without the concern of their own safety. They did this for me and you. I and the other Marines of 3rd LAR Delta Company witnessed these Heroes, on many occasions, both in training and in combat give their unselfish 100% at everything they did.

"A big thank you to the families who raised these young warriors to be our protectors. Their character and discipline exemplified the ethics and values that I want my children to one day carry.

"To the Marines who gave it all, that we now call our heroes. We love you, we remember you, we mourn for you and will always honor you.

"Godspeed, USMC"

        ~ Ethan Arguello

Bill Quick Names the True Fight: Hillary Clinton's Marxist Progressivism VS Donald Trump's American Christianity

" For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

All kinds of people have made themselves judge and jury over Mr. Donald Trump's Christian faith. For the most part, I suspect this comes from the tendency in recent decades for America's denominations to steal sheep from each other instead of seeking to attract the unchurched.  The rise of evangelicalism, with novel, poorly defined pronouncements about the requirements for salvation, has overshadowed "that old-time religion" of our grandparents and forefathers.  

Bill Quick  is not religious, and in fact calls himself an atheist. But he finally got enough of the gossip and set out a history lesson that matters to every American, of whatever faith:

" I recognize Trump’s religious sensibilities because I think they are a lot like the ones I grew up with:  Church on Sundays, Sunday School for the kids, Bible Study for mom and dad, and a generalized acceptance of Christ, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments, but not the sort of flagrant protestations of deep belief favored by preachers and their ilk.

"In short, the sort of religious glue that holds a society and culture together, rather than tearing it apart in fanatic religious wars.  ... 

"Those who, whether they make a big show of their religion (as some do) rather than hiding their lights under a bushel, but continue to think that “love one another as you love yourself, do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” most of the Ten Commandments, and a general belief that God loves you is a pretty good set of guidelines to follow will end up making a fairly decent culture and society for all.

"Unfortunately, when the bright-line fanatics get involved, and start reading various heretics, sinners, apostates, and other unfortunates out of their pathways to salvation, is when societies and cultures begin to fester with the rot of religious warfare, and the sort of blank checks true believers always end up writing in aid of advancing the primacy of whatever their faith happens to be. ....

"Hillary has a religion. It is Marxist progressivism. Trump has a religion as well – call it American Christianity."

Click over to The Daily Pundit to read it all. 

What happens in this election matters. It's not the flashy, trendy lifestyles at stake, but the ordinary backbone of American life. The matter-of-fact, work-a-day Christians are the stalwarts, as they have been for 2000 years, following Paul's admonition in the next verse, Eph 6:13:  "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Or, as "The Message's"  version of Ephesians 6:12-13 puts it: "This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.     

"Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. "

C.S. Lewis on Choosing Sides, and Deadlines

From "Mere Christianity":

"On freedom (and predestination)"

"It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. 

"To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other. " 

Via Bible Gateway's "C.S.Lewis Daily" email.newsletter

Why I Am a Christian (David Wood, Former Atheist)

A chilling, terrifying story. But like all Christian lives, this one "begins again" with redemption.

The 2016 Texas Republican Party Platform Reads Like a Declaration of Independence

Texas Republicans held our State Convention this past weekend, and our delegates have written a platform for the ages.  If you have been worried, fearing you were alone in seeing the dangers we face from bad agendas our leaders have secretly put forward the past 25 years, this will encourage you, You can read it all at this link (PDF).

 Because it is based on unchanging and established principles, in large part this platform is almost word for word the same as the 2014 platform (PDF), saving only the defense against the most recent falsehoods being used to attack settled civilization.

But already, it looks like most of the standard media outlets continue their unserious approach to reporting: picking out a few of the hard-left's most violent depredations to tag in the headlines and ignoring the other items of primary importance to real American citizens.

Yes, we oppose child sacrifice and defend biological realism against wholesale distortion by government action, but the issues of abortion and open toileting are ultimately weapons of the hard-left. We do not spend our time "thinking about" those heartless weapons of misrule.

Instead, the ISSUES and principles of importance to us exist without regard to what the hard-left does. The genuinely important things are timeless and immortal, while the entropic manufactures of the hard-left fail without exception.

If the hard-left were healed tomorrow, finally outgrowing their boring obsessions and wasteful destructiveness, the same things would still be important to us (and would finally become important to them as well): Life, Liberty, and those bastions that make up "the pursuit of happiness" faith, family, work, self-reliance.

I've seen appalling results come out of various conventions before, but here is clear proof that the adults in Texas are not under delusion, that moral (and even written!) clarity is still possible.

This platform affirms the sovereignty of God over us and our nation, the primacy of our Judeo-Christian heritage and culture, urges elimination of a dozen Federal agencies, elimination of Congressional pensions and deposit of those funds into the Social Security Trust Fund, calls for elected officials and their staff to have no exemption from laws the rest of us must follow, elimination of gerrymandering, support for covenant marriage and eliminating "no fault divorce", sovereignty of parents to raise and educate their children, stronger penalties for sexual abuse of children by adults (up to and including the death penalty),  a hard line against illegal immigration (including visa overstays) restoration of the filibuster, elimination of "zero tolerance" policies in schools, and much, much, more.

The Platform also calls for allowing the local sale of raw milk, allowing cultivation of industrial hemp, legalizing prescription medical marijana, elimination of civil forfeiture, evicting the UN and opposing adoption of any of its programs, internet freedom, elimination of the draft, and protection of military personnel against liability for reasonable actions taken in the field.

I loved this:

 "Federal Reserve System- We believe Congress should repeal the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 thereby abolishing the Federal Reserve Banking System. In the interim, we call for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve System and its Board of Governors followed by an immediate report to the American people."

"Repeal Dodd-Frank- We support the immediate repeal of Dodd-Frank legislation and replace with the Glass-Steagall Act." [I wrote about this way back in 2010, Glad to see it finally being seriously discussed.] 

"Sound Money- We support the return to the precious metal standard for the United States dollar. "

Some of my favorite planks are those relating to taxation and spending. Here are some of those:

"Bailouts and Subsidies- We encourage government to divest its ownership of all business that should be run in the private sector and allow the free market to prevail. We oppose all bailouts of domestic and foreign government entities, states and all businesses, public and private. We oppose local government handouts to businesses and other private entities in the name of economic development. 

"Tax Burden - "....Furthermore, we believe that the borrower truly is a slave to the lender, and so long as we continue to increase our tax and debt burdens we will never be a truly free people. Towards these ends, we support the reformation of the current systems of taxation at all levels of government: federal, state, and local.
" Examples of these reforms include the following:
1. Eliminating the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
2. The “Fair Tax” system
3. A Flat Tax
4. The 1-2-3 No Federal Tax
5. Abolishing property taxes, but in the interim, property taxes should be paid on the
price of the property when it was initially purchased.
6. Electing appraisal boards
7. Exempting inventories from property taxes
8. Abolishing estate taxes or the “Death Tax” as it’s more commonly known
9. Abolishing capital gains taxes
10. Abolishing franchise and business income taxes
11. Abolishing the gift tax.
12. Discontinuing revenue generating licensing fee "

I have never been more proud of our delegates to the State Convention. All ~8000 of them stood up for scientific clarity, rational thinking, personal liberty, reality-based legal principles, classical education, proven morals and established ethics.

All of these planks are items that Mr Donald Trump supports or can support in his candidacy. Where we will be looking intently is at our representatives, both national and state, expecting them to actually introduce legislation to do these things and aggressively support their enactment (or elimination as the case may be).

70 Years of Gallup Polls: Americans Still Christian, Still Attend Church As Much As They Did In The 40s and 50s

Here is a good example of how the media is influencing what we think, without us even realizing it. All over the net, ministry-consultant websites quote the common belief that "church attendance is down" and "America is post-Christian".  Yet, study after study shows that Americans overall are still faithful to Jesus Christ, and still believe their religion is most important to their lives.

Gallup results in 2013:

"Americans are no less likely to report having attended church in the past seven days today than they were in 1940 and 1950 -- albeit with many fluctuations since that time, including higher reports in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Americans' self-reports of the importance of religion are also no lower than at points in previous decades. "

The Pew Research Center has not been tracking this long enough to be able to make wise comparisons with our fathers' and grandfathers' generations, but the Pew survey in 2014 mirrors Gallup's 2013 & 2014 findings.

Despite this, Pew points at their 2007 results to claim that Americans are "becoming less religious". I think the Gallup research shows that statement to be somewhat an example of interpretive bias: looking at the same numbers and finding a different result. While Pew did have some differences between 2007 and 2014, the Gallup data points over the years show the futility of using two recent years to predict trends reliably.

70% of Pew's 2014 respondents continue to confess Christ as their Savior, while  Gallup found 75% of Americans are Christians in 2014, with 50% being Protestant. Gallup noted here, too,  that this is mostly unchanged over the past 70 years:

"In the 1950s, Gallup surveys showed that up to 71% of Americans identified as Protestant, and small percentages had no religious identity. Then, as now, however, well more than 90% of Americans who express a religious preference identify themselves as Christians."

Pew has an interesting survey that also shows the vast majority of Christians of all denominations are involved with their congregation. While the title proclaims, accurately, that "Church Involvement Varies Widely Among US Christians", the most pronounced variation is between high involvement and medium involvement. Only 12% overall "seldom" attend or are not currently members. Dark blue is "high involvement", light blue is "medium involvement":

 "Those who are members of a congregation, attend religious services at least weekly and attend a prayer or scripture group weekly or monthly are categorized as having a “high” level of congregational involvement, while those who are not members of a congregation and who seldom or never attend religious services and small group prayer or scripture-reading groups are in the “low” category. All other respondents are categorized as having a “medium” level of congregational involvement.
Among U.S. adults who are Christian, three-in-ten have a high level of congregational involvement, while 58% have a medium level and 12% fall into the low category. "

Please always dig into the actual results on any studies like these. Look past the headlines and past the data-point blurbs to see the facts for yourself. You will usually find that the real American world is still alive and well, despite the sensation and insanity reported by the news or pushed by politicians and activists.

Christians are standing firm against the forces that want to deceive us and destroy our faith. Remember this in your own personal battles: you are not alone when you stand up for Jesus. You are surrounded not only by the "great cloud of witnesses" Peter told us about, but also by the faithful men and women and children of America today.

Be of good cheer! When it comes to the Church in America, be heartened: souls are still being won to Christ Jesus, and most of us are still worshiping together on Sundays in the church building. Let us pray for each other and run with patience this marathon that God has set before us!

Rogation Days: "Justice in the Preservation of the Boundaries"

"Rogation Days" were a church tradition in Europe that involved the whole community walking the boundaries of their village lands, led by their Priest and asking the blessing of God on it all.

Maybe if we had kept walking the boundaries and teaching children the landmarks, we would not be in such danger from the new iconoclasts today, who seem determined to tear down every landmark of civilization. From the article "Rogation and Ascension"  on Full Homely Divinity:

"The reminder of boundaries had another important impact on communal life. In a poem by the 20th century American Robert Frost, the poet's neighbor asserts that "good fences make good neighbors." Boundaries are often very important in relationships. As members of parishes beat the bounds, they would often encounter obstructions and violations of boundaries. The annual beating of the bounds provided an opportunity to resolve boundary issues. It also led to the tradition of seeking reconciliation in personal relationships during Rogationtide. The sharing of a specially brewed ale, called Ganging Beer, and a mysterious pastry, called Rammalation Biscuits, at the end of the walk was a good way of sealing the reconciliation.

"George Herbert gave the following good reasons to beat the bounds: 1) a blessing of God for the fruits of the field; 2) Justice in the preservation of the bounds; 3) Charity, in living, walking and neighbourly accompanying one another, with reconciling of differences at that time, if they be any; 4) Mercy, in relieving the poor by a liberal distribution of largess which at that time is or ought be made."  [in The Country Parson, Chapter 35]

Palm Sunday: The Kingship of the Lord of All Creation

The Catholic version of the Holy Bible contains books and sections that were contained in the Septuagint, a Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament used during Jesus's time, but that are not a part of Protestant versions.  

This passage, following Verse 23 of the Catholic version of Daniel Chapter 3, was posted by a commenter  over at The Last Refuge (aka Conservative Treehouse). Thank you Mary Ann for opening my eyes to this perfect prayer on the day we celebrate Jesus's Kingship over all Creation!  

28 Then the three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying:

29 “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers,
    and to be praised and highly exalted for ever;
30 And blessed is thy glorious, holy name
    and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever;
31 Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holy glory
    and to be extolled and highly glorified for ever.
32 Blessed art thou, who sittest upon cherubim and lookest upon the deeps,
    and to be praised and highly exalted for ever.
33 Blessed art thou upon the throne of thy kingdom
    and to be extolled and highly exalted for ever.
34 Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven
    and to be sung and glorified for ever.

35 “Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
36 Bless the Lord, you heavens,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
37 Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
38 Bless the Lord, all waters above the heaven,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
39 Bless the Lord, all powers,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
40 Bless the Lord, sun and moon,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
41 Bless the Lord, stars of heaven,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
42 Bless the Lord, all rain and dew,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
43 Bless the Lord, all winds,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
44 Bless the Lord, fire and heat,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
45 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
46 Bless the Lord, dews and snows,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
47 Bless the Lord, nights and days,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
48 Bless the Lord, light and darkness,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
49 Bless the Lord, ice and cold,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
50 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
51 Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
52 Let the earth bless the Lord;
    let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
53 Bless the Lord, mountains and hills,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
54 Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
55 Bless the Lord, you springs,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
56 Bless the Lord, seas and rivers,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
57 Bless the Lord, you whales and all creatures that move in the waters,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
58 Bless the Lord, all birds of the air,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
59 Bless the Lord, all beasts and cattle,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
60 Bless the Lord, you sons of men,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
61 Bless the Lord, O Israel,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
62 Bless the Lord, you priests of the Lord,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
63 Bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
64 Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
65 Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
66 Bless the Lord, Hanani′ah, Azari′ah, and Mish′ael,
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever;
for he has rescued us from Hades and saved us from the hand of death,
    and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace;
    from the midst of the fire he has delivered us.
67 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his mercy endures for ever.
68 Bless him, all who worship the Lord, the God of gods,
    sing praise to him and give thanks to him,
    for his mercy endures for ever.”

May you and yours join with all the Universe in praising our Creator, the Author of our Salvation, Jesus Christ, in this Holy Week, and ever after.