Harry Potter – Marrakesh Express – Crosby, Stills and

My Love from the Star – Just a Song Before I Go – Crosby, Stills, Nash

Harry Potter – Helplessly Hoping – Crosby Stills and Nash

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Looks pretty … who speared the cheese?

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Enjoy a little of Satie’s solace, Treeper friends . . .

A MIGHTY FORTRESS

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
 we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8: 31-39

Saw this band in San Francisco in the early 70s. They were loud, but great.

Kitty says, “Good morning Treepers”

@Betsy Jones
Thank you so much for that video on Hedge creation. Made me think of the Shire and the Thornbrake from the Mithgar series which the author heavily borrowed from Tolkien.
I’ve had a rotten week at work, that’s why I haven’t been posting here on the wonderful OT, or getting back to your wonderful posts. Sorry. It’s over and now I do not have to worry about doing it again for 2 months
Reading about the Cat fan club here headed by Leon and the wonderful stories that Jwoo sparked (my condolences ma’am) I am contemplating getting 2 cats preferably siblings. I am also torn on getting another dog, weighing out my options.
Reading all the cat love, and finding an old picture of me at 12 holding my 8 week old kitten Smokey, has got me thinking about getting another cat (s)
So thank you as always friend Bet, and the Treehouse for doing more for me than just reading political information & insights. Slainte

Cats likely sailed with the Vikings, genetic study shows: Cutest Cat contest
https://www.cleveland.com/best/2017/02/cats_likely_sailed_with_the_vi.html

RIP David Crosby

Heavenly Father, our country needs You.
We have turned away from You and evil
forces are pervading our land. Pour Your
Holy Spirit on us. Open our eyes and ears to
the evil around us. Raise up leaders who
love and follow You. Give us courage to
speak up so that we can once again live as
one nation under God. Unite us. Protect us.
Forgive us. We ask all this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Morning Ya’ll 🙂

I was lucky enough to see a few of these during my Warbler walks back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. They are amongst a group of warblers that ‘skulk’ near the ground. (Opornis) They are quite beautiful, and usually late migrants (end of spring).
The “grail” bird of this group is the Connecticut which is very similar looking to this beautiful Mourning Warbler. I considered this bird to be a very high on my sought after Warbler list more than likely only after a Connecticut & a Golden-winged, though strangely I believe I saw a very unlikely Kirtland’s Warbler one Spring which would have made the Birding news.

Matthew 18:1-6 “In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greater in the kingdom of the heavens? And Jesus having called to a little child, He set it in their midst, and said, Verily I say to you, unless you are converted and become as the little children, in no wise shall you enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Whosoever therefore will humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of the heavens: and whoever will receive one such little child in My Name, receives Me: but whoever shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to *stumble (sin, fall away), it is profitable for him that a millstone turned by an ass be hung upon his neck, and he be sunk in the depth of the sea.”

What clearly stands out the most from this passage, is how precious and dear to Him, are the little ones who believe in Him. They are the Standard by which He will let everyone in! Whatever people think how great they are, and envision Jesus announcing them especially before the assembled universe; Jesus said, that unless we are converted, (which means, changed from what we are already, naturally), and become as the little children, WE SHALL NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM AT ALL! So much for all the illusions of grandeur!

Next to that, Jesus says, that whatever we do to these, we do to Him. Just like He says in Matthew 25, when the King is sitting on the throne of His glory, and all the nations are standing before Him to be judged. The books all being opened, whatever was done, or not done to these little ones, will be the measure by which everyone will either be saved or perish. I don’t think anyone who has read this passage, hasn’t tried to imagine, and been scared to death; for there couldn’t be a more horrifying doom, than to have a millstone tied around the neck, and then be thrown into the sea, to be pulled down to the bottom! But Jesus says that that would be better than what is in store for those who cause any of His little ones to stumble, or sin, or fall away. 

From about all that the disciples were always talking about, Who among them is the greatest; the problem with their thinking, is something completely common to our carnal nature; and that is Idolatry. Whatever the disciples thought that the coming of the kingdom would look like; their minds were obviously quite distracted with all of them wondering, “What will I do? and, How great will I be in the kingdom?” This, I believe, was a bigger problem than any of them realized; up until that terrible night, when Jesus was arrested, and all their fantasies, and everything “they thought” would happen, crumbled in disaster under reality. 

Now the Lord is very kind and gentle with them; even while He knows how badly they got it all wrong; and makes it simple and straight to the point. Wanting to be great in the kingdom of heaven isn’t in itself a bad thing; but the way they were looking at themselves, and just expecting it to be a certain way; that needed to be addressed.

There was an issue with them, that they thought they were something better than “ordinary men” because they were with Jesus, and were His specially called ‘apostles to be.’ So what Jesus makes immediately clear to them, is that Salvation at all, is conditional upon meeting a certain expectation of God: which is, being converted, and becoming as the little children; or there is no entrance at all. So before wondering about how important we will be in the kingdom that is to come, we have enough to be careful about, to learn from Jesus meekness and lowliness of heart.

If we find ourselves, like the disciples, struggling with ongoing thoughts about, who is the greatest; the thing that is worse, is how it makes us unable to hear or understand what Jesus is telling us about His having to go to Jerusalem; making us utterly unprepared for what must happen. The single most important thing that God is doing with respect to man, and all the reason for Him even allowing man to continue living on the earth, is about to be finished; but idolatry and vanity have rendered many nearly unconscious, and their hearts calloused to everything Jesus is doing and teaching. This is something that we have to set in order before God, and carefully maintain, as our entire salvation depends on it: either be converted, and become as a little child who believes in Jesus, and be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven; or be full of self, and vain thoughts, and miss the whole reason for life, (which is, to be saved); and perish like beasts.

So what is it to become as a little child? They say that the “formative years” are up until about 8-10 years old; when we learn most of our intelligence. It might be instructive then, to learn what it is about that time in life, that we can apply to being a Christian. We would do well to study little children, and see what it is that Jesus is talking about. Innocent, and little in our own eyes. Simple in the sense of believing all things. Having a tender conscience, and afraid of evil. Dependent upon its parents for everything. Teachable. All of it! And what we don’t know, we have to learn, and do it. 

Smith Wigglesworth – Ever Increasing Faith
Chapter 3 – The Power of the Name

Scripture Reading — Acts 3:1-16

All things are possible through the name of Jesus. God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow. There is power to overcome everything in the world through the Name of Jesus. I am looking forward to a wonderful union through the Name of Jesus. There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. I want to instill into you a sense of the power, the virtue and the glory of that Name. 

Six people went into the house of a sick man to pray for him. He was an Episcopal vicar, and lay in bed utterly helpless, without even strength to help himself. He had read a little tract about healing and had heard about people praying for the sick, and sent for these friends, who, he thought, could pray the prayer of faith. He was anointed according to James 5:14, but, because he had no immediate manifestation of healing, he wept bitterly. The six people walked out of the room, somewhat crestfallen to see the man lying there in an unchanged condition.

When they were outside, one of the six said, “There is one thing we might have done. I wish you would all go back with me and try it.” They went back and all got together in a group. This brother said, “Let us whisper the Name of Jesus.” At first when they whispered this worthy Name nothing seemed to happen. But as they continued to whisper, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” the power began to fall. As they saw that God was beginning to work, their faith and joy increased, and they whispered the Name louder and louder. As they did so the man arose from his bed and dressed himself. The secret was just this, those six people had gotten their eyes off the sick man, and they were just taken up with the Lord Jesus Himself, and their faith grasped the power that there is in His Name. Oh if people would only appreciate the power that there is in this Name, there is no telling what would happen.

I know that through His Name and through the power of His Name we have access to God. The very face of Jesus fills the whole place with glory. All over the world there are people magnifying that Name, and Oh what a joy it is for me to utter it.

One day I went up into the mountain to pray. I had a wonderful day. It was one of the high mountains of Wales. I heard of one man going up this mountain to pray, and the Spirit of the Lord met him so wonderfully that his face shone like that of an angel when he returned. Every one in the village was talking about it. As I went up to this mountain and spent the day in the Presence of the LORD, His wonderful power seemed to envelop and saturate and fill me.

Two years before this time there had come to our house two lads from Wales. They were just ordinary lads, but they became very zealous for God. They came to our mission and saw some of the works of God. They said to me, “We would not be surprised if the Lord brings you down to Wales to raise our Lazarus.” They explained that the leader of their assembly was a man who had spent his days working in a tin mine and his nights preaching, and the result was that he had collapsed, gone into consumption, and for four years he had been a helpless invalid, having to be fed with a spoon.

While I was up on that mountain top I was reminded of the transfiguration scene, and I felt that the Lord’s only purpose in taking us into the glory was to fit us for greater usefulness in the valley. 

Tongues and Interpretation: “The living God has chosen us for His divine inheritance, and He it is who is preparing us for our ministry, that it may be of God and not of man.”

As I was on the mountain top that day, the Lord said to me, “I want you to go and raise Lazarus.” I told the brother who accompanied me of this, and when we got down to the valley, I wrote a postcard: “When I was up on the mountain praying today, God told me that I was to go and raise Lazarus.” I addressed the postcard to the man in the place whose name had been given to me by the two lads. When we arrived at the place we went to the man to whom I had addressed the card. He looked at me and said, “Did you send this?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Do you think we believe in this? Here, take it.” And he threw it at me. The man called a servant and said, “Take this man and show him Lazarus.” Then he said to me, “The moment you see him you will be ready to go home. Nothing will hold you.” Everything he said was true from the natural viewpoint. The man was helpless. He was nothing but a mass of bones with skin stretched over them. There was no life to be seen. Everything in him spoke of decay. I said to him, “Will you shout? You remember that at Jericho the people shouted while the walls were still up. God has like victory for you if you will only believe.” But I could not get him to believe. There was not an atom of faith there. He had made up his mind not to have anything. 

It is a blessed thing to learn that God’s word can never fail. Never hearken to human plans. God can work mightily when you persist in believing Him in spite of discouragements from the human standpoint. When I got back to the man to whom I had sent the postcard, he asked, “Are you ready to go now?” I am not moved by what I see. I am moved only by what I believe. I know this — no man looks at appearances if he believes. No man considers how he feels if he believes. The man who believes God has it. Every man who comes into the Pentecostal condition can laugh at all things and believe God. There is something in the Pentecostal work that is different from anything else in the world. Somehow, in Pentecost, you know that God is a reality. Wherever the Holy Ghost has right of way, the gifts of the Spirit will be in manifestation; and where these gifts are never in manifestation, I question whether He is present. Pentecostal people are spoiled for anything else than Pentecostal meetings. We want none of the entertainments that the churches are offering. When God comes in He entertains us Himself. Entertained by the King of kings and Lord of lords! Oh, it is wonderful. 

There were difficult conditions in that Welsh village, and it seemed impossible to get the people to believe. “Ready to go home?” I was asked. But a man and a woman there asked us to come and stay with them. I said, “I want to know how many of you people can pray.” No one wanted to pray. I asked if I could get seven people to pray with me for the poor man’s deliverance. I said to the two people who were going to entertain us, “I will count on you two, and there is my friend and myself, and we need three others.” I told the people that I trusted that some of them would awaken to their privilege and come in the morning and join us in prayer for the raising of Lazarus. It will never do to give way to human opinions. If God says a thing, you are to believe it. 

I told the people that I would not eat anything that night. When I got to bed it seemed as if the devil tried to place on me everything that he had placed on that poor man in the bed. When I awoke I had a cough and all the weakness of a tubercular patient. I rolled out of bed on to the floor and cried out to God to deliver me from the power of the devil. I shouted loud enough to wake everybody in the house, but nobody was disturbed. God gave victory, and I got back into bed again as free as ever I was in my life. 

At 5 o’clock the Lord awakened me and said to me, “Don’t break bread until you break it round My table.” At six o’clock He gave me these words, “And I will raise him up.” I put my elbow into the fellow who was sleeping with me. He said, “Ugh!” I put my elbow into him again and said, “Do you hear? The Lord says that He will raise him up.” At 8 o’clock they said to me, “Have a little refreshment.” But I have found prayer and fasting the greatest joy, and you will always find it so when you are led by God. 

When we went to the house where Lazarus lived there were eight of us altogether. No one can prove to me that God does not always answer prayer. He always does more than that. He always gives the exceedingly abundant above all we ask or think.

I shall never forget how the power of God fell on us as we went into that sick man’s room. Oh it was lovely! As we circled round the bed I got one brother to hold one of the sick man’s hands and I held the other; and we each held the hand of the person next to us. I said, “We are not going to pray, we are just going to use the Name of Jesus.” We all knelt down and whispered that one word, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” The power of God fell and then it lifted. Five times the power of God fell and then it remained. But the person who was in the bed was unmoved. Two years previous someone had come along and had tried to raise him up, and the devil had used his lack of success as a means of discouraging Lazarus. I said, “I don’t care what the devil says; if God says he will raise you up it must be so. Forget everything else except what God says about Jesus.” The sixth time the power fell and the sick man’s lips began moving and the tears began to fall. I said to him, “The power of God is here; it is yours to accept it.” He said, “I have been bitter in my heart, and I know I have grieved the Spirit of God. Here I am helpless. I cannot lift my hands, nor even lift a spoon to my mouth.” I said, “Repent, and God will hear you.” He repented and cried out, “O God, let this be to Thy glory.” As he said this the virtue of the Lord went right through him. I have asked the Lord to never let me tell this story except as it was, for I realize that God can not bless exaggerations. 

As we again said, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” the bed shook, and the man shook. I said to the people that were with me, “You can all go down stairs right away. This is all God. I’m not going to assist him.” I sat and watched that man get up and dress himself. We sang the doxology as he walked down the steps. I said to him, “Now tell what has happened.” It was soon noised abroad that Lazarus had been raised up and the people came from Llanelly and all the district round to see him and hear his testimony. And God brought salvation to many. This man told right out in the open air what God had done, and as a result many were convicted and converted. All this came through the Name of Jesus, through faith in His Name, yea, the faith that is by Him gave this sick man perfect soundness in the presence of them all.

To Nana. Miss you.
Billy J. Kramer With The Dakotas “Bad To Me” on The Ed Sullivan Show

We decided to have Swing Low, Sweet Chariot played at the end of the funeral service as people filed out to go to the grave side service.

It turns out that Johnny Cash did at least three different versions of that song. The older he got the slower the tempo. We decided on one of the older versions. This one I think.

. . . but deliver us from the Evil One.

Waffle House fed up with complicated custom orders

Waffle House shades entitled Gen Zers: ‘Order from the menu, we are not making anything you saw on TikTok’

20 January Meat Loaf
(1947-2022)
American rock musician and singer-songwriter (“Bat Out of Hell”; Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”), dies at 74
Objects

I would do anything

Life is a Lemon

Just finished watching this . Alot of comments about this movie in Sundance’s article about FBI Christopher Wray attending WEF conference. Very strange and disturbing portrayal of what the future might look like.

January 20 Oswald Chambers

Are You Fresh For Everything?

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. — John 3:3

Sometimes we are fresh for a prayer meeting but not fresh for cleaning boots!

Being born again of the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, as surprising as God Himself. We do not know where it begins, it is hidden away in the depths of our personal life. Being born again from above (RV mg) is a perennial, perpetual and eternal beginning; a freshness all the time in thinking and in talking and in living, the continual surprise of the life of God. Staleness is an indication of something out of joint with God — “I must do this thing or it will never be done.” That is the first sign of staleness. Are we freshly born this minute, or are we stale, raking in our minds for something to do? Freshness does not come from obedience but from the Holy Spirit; obedience keeps us in the light as God is in the light.

Guard jealously your relationship to God. Jesus prayed “that they may be one, even as we are one” — nothing between. Keep all the life perennially open to Jesus Christ, don’t pretend with Him. Are you drawing your life from any other source than God Himself? If you are depending upon anything but Him, you will never know when He is gone.

Being born of the Spirit means much more than we generally take it to mean. It gives us a new vision and keeps us absolutely fresh for everything by the perennial supply of the life of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves.

https://utmost.org/classic/are-you-fresh-for-everything-classic/

PLEASE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

PRAYING ON THE ARMOR OF GOD

Father God, I now follow your command to put on the full armor of God, because my battle is not against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the unseen world.

I first pray on the Belt of Truth that it may be buckled around my waist, may I be centered and encircled by your truth dear Lord. Hem me inside all that is true and right, and may I be protected and held up by the truth of your living word, in my Lord Jesus name.

I pray on the Breastplate of righteousness, please protect my vital organs and my inner man, cover my integrity, my spirit, and my soul. Guard my heart for it is the wellspring of life, please strengthen and guard the most vulnerable places in my life with that which is right, good, and noble that I might not receive a fatal blow from the enemy, in my Lord Jesus name.

I pray on the Gospel Shoes of Peace. I choose to stand in the shoes of your good news, and on the firm foundation of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the solid eternal rock. All other ground is sinking sand, I pray that I will not slip or fall, but that my feet would be firmly fitted on your lordship, my Lord Jesus. I choose to stand on you, so that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus, the eternal Rock of Ages. I receive your holy peace now my Lord, from the sole of my feet to the crown of my head, in my Lord Jesus name.

I pray the Shield of Faith into my hand now. As I take up the shield of faith, I ask that you might extinguish every dart and arrow, that is launched from the enemy to take me down spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, and every attempt of the enemy to destroy my joy. I ask that my faith in you would make it flame out. Extinguish every flaming arrow that would come against me, my life, my family, my home, or my ministry. May my faith always be out in front of me like a shield. Give me the courage to “faith my fears” by choosing to walk by faith and not by sight, in my Lord Jesus name.

I pray on the Helmet of Salvation, that you might protect my mind from the thoughts that can lead me astray. I choose to take every thought captive, and arrest all intentioned ideas and motives that would harm others, or distract me from your holy will for me. I submit every captured thought to the Lordship of my Lord Jesus Christ, and ask that you would imprison those thoughts that are not of you my Lord. Transform my mind and renew my thinking that I may think God thoughts, and have a sober mind that is focused on your glory. Please protect me from being double minded that I may allow my mind, I reject to live an earthly life, because I choose to live a holy one, governed by you My Lord Jesus, the prince of peace, please have my mind to be saturated with the holy mind of Christ, in my Lord Jesus name.

Finally, I take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the holy word of God, I pray this powerful offensive weapon into my hand, and ask that your holy word would be fitting for every encounter I face. As the enemy gets close to me, please give me the insight, wisdom, and skill to wield the word of God to drive away the enemy, in my Lord Jesus name.

May the enemy and his team flee from me, upon hearing the word of God spoken by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. Give me the sword of the spirit to cut through the wiles of the devil, so that I may discern the schemes of the enemy when he is near.

With all kinds of prayers, supplication, and intercession I pray to you my Lord God as the one who fights my battles. Now that I’m in your holy powerful armor, I walk away covered and ready to face my day as you go before me, and please protect me in the midst of the spiritual warfare in this unseen world, in my Lord Jesus name.

Thank you my Lord, for the spiritual weapons of armor and prayer that you have given me. It is written no weapon formed against me shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses me. 

Thank you Father God, my Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, that I am more than a conqueror in my Lord Jesus. I pray all of this in the mighty name of my Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.

AMEN.

BE MY VOICE

BABY LIVES MATTER

JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN