VESPERS AT THE END OF THE SABBATH: The Thief Of Joy!

Isaiah 46:5 KJV

To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?

We Were Warned In The Living Word 

Through The Posing Of A Question 

By The Very Lord Of Life Whose Name Is All-Knowing 

Which Means He Has The Unimpeachable Answer! 

The Lord God Almighty Asked: 

"To Whom Will You Compare Me!?!" 

Come On, Brother Man! 

That Was A Trick Question! 

Was It, Uncle Look-Up!?! 

Are You Calling Our Lord Deceitful!?! 

No, Mo! 

I Might Be A Lot Of Things 

But Stupid I Am Not! 

All I Want To Know Is Why 

An Unanswerable Question Was Posed!?! 

Lil' Bit, Have You Ever Heard This Expression: 

"Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy!?!" 

No, I Can't Say That I Have! 

Okay! 

Let's Say, For Instance, That You Worshipped The Living God 

In The Unvarying Beauty Of Holiness 

And 

You Were Truly Happy And Undeniably Blessed To Do So! 

You Knew That You Were Loved And Cherished 

For You Knew That You Were Not Alone 

Because 

Your God Was Your Shepherd, Your Refuge, And Your Strength! 

You Couldn't See Him 

Because 

If You Did In Your Current Sinful State

You Would Be Immediately Consumed: 

He Protected You By Covering Himself! 

You Were Happy, Happy, Happy 

Until You Happened Upon 

"This Is It!" Means And Methods Ministries Incorporated! 

They Had Crashing Cymbals, Booming Bass Drums

Tenor Pans, Electric Guitars 

Praise Singers In Bikinis

Praise Dancers In Short Shorts 

With Lil' Frilly Aprons Over Them

And 

Theatrical Lights, Smoke Machines

And 

A Glib-Tongued Speaker With Expensive Tastes, Treats And Toys

And 

All Manner Of Pricey Statuary 

Which They Carried And Venerated In Their Worship! 

You Were Mesmerized Even More 

When It Was Told You That The Statues Were Gods 

Who Gave Them Their Every Desire 

When The Worshippers  Gave Said Gods 

Gifts Of Money, Produce, Pledge, Or Person! 

You Noted That Those Worshippers Were Excited, Even Euphoric! 

Lord Jesus, Save Us! 

Why Do You Say That, Mala Prop!?! 

I Say That Because That Is

Exactly What Happened To The Israelites 

At The Time Of Balaam 

And Then 

At The Time Of Prophet Samuel 

When They Asked For A King That They Could See ...! 

... And That Is What Repeatedly Led To Them 

Being Constantly Overcome And Enslaved 

To Their Idolatrous Adversaries! 

So, Brethren, 

What Do You Say, Now, About Comparison!?! 

"Comparison Is Truly The Thief Of Joy!"  

Beloved, 

Every Good And Perfect Gift Comes From Almighty God

Who Will Not Share His Glory With Another 

For No Other Can Be Compared To Him 

Because 

He Is Life, Love, Light 

And 

Everything To All People! 

Please, I Beseech Us All

Do Not Allow Anything Or Anybody 

To Steal Your Joy In Our Lord Jesus

The God Almighty

Mighty To Save And Seal Us Against The Great Day Of Small Things

The Day Of Judgment! 

AMEN!!! 

Peace! 

https://youtu.be/clqdCXxqYvI?si=gkrADIUMqc0aQUMh

HAPPY SABBATH + B.Y.O.G Aka Build Your Own God!?! + PRAYER: Dear Lord, Please Disappoint The Evil-Doers!

The Sign On The Glass Door Just Barely Caught My Eye 

But 

It Was Enough To Stop Me Dead In My Tracks As I Said Aloud: 

"What The Hell!?!" 

This Was Too Big For The Euphemistic 

"What The Heck!?!" 

I Turned Back And Whipped Out My Phone And Took Two Photos! 

I Was Stunned! 

Not Even 100 Yards From A Very Large Church, And On The Diagonal

A Local Art Space Was Having An Exhibition! 

The Sign Said: 

"B.Y.O.G. Build Your Own God

And

Other Ideas For A Kinder World!" 

The Picture On It Had The Face Of 

One Of Those Egyptian-Type Animal Gods With The Wolf Face! 

Talk About Bold-Face Daring! 

The Artist's Bio States That 

She Will Be Making More And New Gods And Goddesses! 

Excuse Me!?! 

Where, I Ask, Is The Fear Of The Living God!?! 

Do Not These People Crack Open The Holy Bible!?! 

Do They Not Know The First Commandment!?! 

Have They No Shame Concerning Encouraging People 

To Sin Against Their Own Creator 

By Encouraging Them To Worship 

Lifeless Objects Out Of Their Imaginations 

Which Are Totally Useless 

Because 

They Have Eyes But Can't See

Have Ears But Can't Hear

Have Feet But Must Be Carried

And 

Hands But Can't Comfort! 

Where Is This Artist's Love For Saving Truth!?! 

Why Would This Artist Want To Maliciously Send 

Patrons Of Her Poison-Plate To Christless Graves!?! 

I Wondered How Much She Was Being Paid 

To Get Followers For Satan's Camp For The Damned!?! 

Does She Even Care That She's Doing Satan's Dirty Work!?! 

Does She Not Know That There Is Nothing Kind About Idolatry!?!

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, 

In Mercy, Please Disappoint The Evil-Doers

And

May Their Diabolical Plans Come To Naught 

And

Fall Back On Their Own Heads! 

Oh, How I Pray That It Is Not Too Late

For Their Darkened Eyes To Be Enlightened

And

Their Stone-Cold Hearts To Be Enlivened 

So That They Will Have Opportunity, Strength, And Courage 

To Confess And Repent Of Their Known Sin

So That They, Being Willing, May Take Jesus Christ

As Their Everlasting Portion! 

I Also Pray For Their Beguiled Patrons

And

Petition You, Father, For Help For Them

So That They May Be Turned

Toward The Path Of Righteousness! 

May Your Holy Spirit Abide With Your Faithful People

And

The Holy Angels Excelling In Strength Protect Us

And

Also Influence Us To Do What Is Good And Right

And, Therefore

Pleasing In Your Holy Sight! 

Oh, Lord, Let Your Name Be Ever Glorified

And

Jesus Christ Be Continually Lovingly Praised

In Whose Precious And Holy Name

I Humbly And Sorrowingly Plead!

AMEN!!!

  

Of Hearts And Treasures!

When The Worldly-Wise Hear True-To-The-Class Christians Say That 

There Is Treasure Laid Up For Us In Heaven

They Look At Us As Though We Have Sprouted Extra Heads! 

Beloved, 

There Is Nothing Wrong With Being Rich 

Unless You Forget The Living God 

And 

Your Wealth Becomes Your God! 

There is Something Wrong With Us And Our Wealth 

If 

It Is Gotten By Fraud And Through Robbing The Poor! 

Dear Ones, 

We, As Practicing Christians, Should Tremble 

And 

Be In Fear Aka In Awe Of The Lord 

When We Read The Scripture Warning Us That 

Our Hearts Follow Our Treasures! 

We Should Remember The Story Of 

The Rich Young Ruler Who Knew The Scriptures

Obeyed The Law Of The Lord

But 

Chose His Numerous Visible Things Over His Lord Christ 

Who Offered Him Treasure Unknown And Unimaginable

In The Future Day Of God's Appointing! 

We Should Also Consider Abraham, Job, And Jacob 

Who Looked Forward To The Better Treasure 

While Being Liberal With What They Possessed! 

We May Also Learn Harsh Lessons From The Lives Of 

Prophet Balaam

Disciple Judas Iscariot

And 

Ananias And His Wife Sapphira 

Whose Hearts Were Totally Corrupted! 

They Lost Their Lives Twice 

Since They Will Not Be Participants In The Receipt Of 

The Gift Of Everlasting Life! 

Is Your Heart Right With God!?! 

Do You Recognize That Treasure Aka Wealth 

Is 

Just A Purpose-Built Tool 

Which Carves Out A Living 

But 

Cannot Give, Retain, Or Restore Life!?! 

Is Jesus Christ Really Your Everlasting Portion!?! 

Think About It! 

Peace! 

Trust The Shepherd Of Rest!

Let Us Not Live Like Bewildered Sheep 

Who Have No Shepherd

Because

We Were Bought At A Great Price 

By The Shepherd Who Is Our Rest

Who Leads Us To Green Pastures

And  

Restores Our Souls! 

Beloved, 

I Beseech Us All 

To Internalize The Ideal That Is Trust 

As Gleaned From The Good Book Of Truth 

From The Lord Of Life 

Who Is The Truth 

And

Dare To Rest Sheltered And Protected

Comforted And Cared For

Blessed And Bettered! 

Let's Be Thoroughly Refreshed 

In The Calm That Comes From The Knowledge That 

Our Creator Is Our Recreator

Our Savior Is Our Sanctifier

Our King Is Kind

And 

The Good Shepherd ... Our Good Shepherd

Is 

Ever Present And Available Always! 

We Are Never Alone!

Our Shepherd, The Lord God Almighty

Is 

He Who Gives Us Time To See And Personally Know Him! 

He Dwells In Eternity And He Never Sleeps! 

He Is Our Peace

And 

We May Sleep Soundly In Peace 

And 

Be Refreshed And Strengthened 

To Be Refined Into Beautiful Jewels For His Crown! 

The Good Shepherd Calls Us:

It Is Our Choice To Answer Him!

If We Don't Stand Firmly By Faith 

On The Foundation Of Trust In The Lord Christ

We May As Well Be As Those Idolaters 

Who Are Worshipping The Man-Made Abominations That 

Cause Jealousy In The Heart Of Our Living Holy God! 

No Idolator Will Ever Enter

The Beautiful City Of God!

You Are Blessed! 

Our God Is Real And Returning! 

Please Dare To Live As One Dearly Loved Of The Good Shepherd

The Lord Jesus Christ! 

Peace!

Think ... And Grow A Cubit!?!

 

You, Me, We ... Not One Human Being 

May Make Himself Grow Taller 

And 

Not Just Taller

But 

By A Cubit Taller Aka 17.49 Inches Taller 

In An Instant

The Speed Of Thought! 

Beloved, 

The Arrogance Of Man 

Is 

Staggering When We Consider That 

In Our Pride, Greed, Hatefulness 

And 

Self-Centeredness

We Can't Even Think Ourselves A Foot And A Half Taller 

But 

Want To Take Almighty God Off His Throne In Glory

Remove Him From His Rightful Place In The Hearts Of 

His Children Made In His Image

Install A False God With Known Bathroom Privileges

And 

Give Unto This Finite Being 

Every Breathing Person's Free-Will 

And 

Freedom To Choose! 

In The Time Of Jesus' Earthly Sojourn

The Romans Made The Jewish People Tremble 

With Their Abject Physical Cruelty

And 

The Jewish Proxy-Rulers Of The People 

Embittered Their Lives  Further By Causing Them 

To Worship According To The Dictates Of Fickle Man 

And 

Not According To The Living Truth

With An Unseared Conscience

In The Beauty Of Almighty God's Holiness! 

Brethren, Beloved 

Let No Created Being Cause You To Disown Your Birth-Right 

For Tricks And Treats 

By Denying 

And 

Defying Your Creator, Savior, Redeemer 

Who Will Cause You To Be As He Is 

Even If It Means Adding Not Just 17.49 Inches 

But 

17.49 Feet To Your Stature! 

Jesus Christ, The Lord Of Life, Knows How To Do It 

And 

He Is Able To Do It 

If 

That Is His Will! 

He Is Almighty God! 

Man Cannot Save Man

So Please Do Not Trust Your Own Understanding: 

Faithfully Trust Jesus Christ As He Leads And Guides Us

Guides You

Gently, Safely, Home! 

Peace!

Do Not Do What Lucifer Did!

We Are Not Animals Who Live By Instinct 

Ever Ready To Turn On A Dime 

And 

Attack Others On The Least Provocation! 

We Are Human ... Thinking, Reasoning ... Beings 

Created In The Image Of The Holy God 

And 

Made After His Likeness! 

Beloved, 

We Were Not Created To Ever Know Evil 

But

Here We Are! 

We Were Not Created To Tell Lies

Indulge In Deceit

Hurt Others For Fun And Self-Gratification

Cheat, Steal

Bear False-Witness

Covet

Commit Murder

Worship According To Our Feelings

Dishonor Our Parents

Set Up Idols

Denigrate The Living God 

Or Experience Death 

But

Here We Are! 

Our Lord Christ Has Invited Us

- With A Can't-Be-Canceled Invitation -

To Come And Reason With Him

Petition Him

And

Talk With Him 

At The Throne Of Grace ... Of Unmerited Favor

So That We May Be Taught Of The Almighty God 

To Know, Understand, Accept 

And

Do What Is Good And Right 

And 

Confers Upon Us The Eternal Blessing! 

Please, I Beseech Us All

Do Not Do What Lucifer Did 

And 

Set Up Your Own Kingdom 

In Opposition To The Living God In Your Mind! 

If You Do This Base Thing

You Will Reap What Lucifer-Satan Reaped

Is 

Reaping 

And 

Will Reap ... Eternal Death! 

Let's Learn From Others' Mistakes 

Without Having To Endure Their Experiences

In Our Own Flesh

In Order To "Understand!" 

Be Wise, Brethren

Unto Your Own Soul's Sure 

And 

Secure Salvation:

Time Is Getting Shorter!

The Savior

- By The Holy Spirit Of Truth -

Is

Waiting To Enter Your Heart:

Let Him In!

FALSE WORSHIP: Planned Sinning!?!

Iniquity 

Is 

Planned Sin 

And 

Indulging In Planned Sin 

Is 

Presumption! 

Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out!

We Can't Defy The Lord By Our Willful Disobedience 

And 

Expect The Lord To Save Us

While We Are Participant In Malicious Sin! 
It Is Not Going To Happen!

False Worship ...

Placing Your Self In The Position Of Almighty God

By Indulging In Presumptuous Behavior

Is 
Idolatry! 

Stop It! 

Moving On ... 

Let's Understand This Also:

Whether You Wipe The Nose Of A Queen 

Or Wipe The Butt Of A Horse

As A Christian Your Work Is Always Important 
And 

Your Faithful Service To The People Of God 

In The Name Of Jesus Christ The Lord 
Is 

Important 

And

Blessed! 

Brethren, 

We Must Endeavor ... By The Grace Of The Eternal God 

To Grow Where We Are Planted

And 

To Do What We Can 

For Whom We Can 

Where We Can
While We Can 

Without Murmur Or Complaint 

And

Choose To Be Glad 
And 
Grateful For The Lil' Pick

- The Little Work - 

That The Lord Has Assigned For Each Of Us To Do 

With Love And Endurance

And

Care And Consideration! 

Truth Will Set Us Free ... 

Gold, Silver, Wood, Stone, Dirt

King, Commoner

Doctor, Drudge

Lawyer And Laborer:

The Lord God Made Them All 
To Serve His Always-Holy Purposes! 

Beloved, 

Please Pray For Strength

Willingness 
And 
Faithful Endurance 

To Do Your Pleasant Work ... For Jesus! 

Remember ...

Adam And Eve 

Were Gardeners in Eden 

And 

Jesus Christ The King ... The Creator

Visited Them Every Day:
He Will Do No Less For Us! 

Pray Without Ceasing: 

Draw Near To The Lord Of Life! 

Jesus Christ 
Is 
Our Only Source For Lasting Peace!

HAPPY SABBATH + THE CONSUMING FIRE: Keep Yourself From Idols!

... We Have Bible For That!

There Is No Profit In Sin!

The Good Book Does Not Lie!

Brethren,

Let's Look To Ourselves!
Just Because The World At Large
And 
Our Nation's People Near And Dear
Have Decided To Brazenly Tempt The Living God
That Does Not Mean That 
We Should Be Participant In Flagrant Disobedience!

The Second Commandment Of The Decalogue
Expressly Forbids Making Idols ... Images ... Of Anything
And 
Bowing Before Them In Worship
And 
Daring To Serve Them
Because 
It Makes The Lord Jealous: 
Jealous Is Also His Name! 

Beloved, 

In This Modern Time
We Think Only Those Are Idolaters 
Who Fall Before Statues, Icons, Monuments
Shrines To The Dead, The Never-Living
And
The Insensate 
But 
We Would Be Very Wrong! 

Idolatry ... Idol Worship
Is 
Anything That Takes Our Affections Away 
From The True And Living Holy God 
And 
That Includes Idolizing Movie And Sports Stars
Singers And Dances
Writers And Artists
Priests, Popes, Pastors, Parents, Public Figures
Houses, Husbands
Wives, Work
Money, Merchandise, Media Personalities
Children, Causes, Cars
Friends
And 
Even Good And Necessary Food! 

Idolatry ... False Worship
Is 
The Pet Child Of Satan 
Designed To Cause Our Destruction 
By Our Provoking The Lord's Righteous Anger 
And 
Concluding With His Justified Wrath! 

Self-Worship Is Also Idolatry
And
Just So You Will Know
When The Lord Says He Is Jealous, He Means It
And 
When He Says He Is A Consuming Fire, Believe It! 

Idolatry 
Is 
An Abominable Sin 
And 
No Idolater Shall Enter The Kingdom Of God! 

Remember ...

The Lord Has Made It Quite Clear
That All Who Serve Idols Are Just As They Are
And
We Would All Also Do Well To Remember That
All Who Worship Idols 
Are Giving The Worship Which Rightfully Belongs To God
To Fallen Angels ... Demons
Who Kept Not Their Holy Estate
And
Are Reserved Until Their Prophesied Burning End!

Please Get Rid Of Your Personal Idols: 
The Lord's Jealousy Is The Consuming Fire! 

Make No Pact With Death: Keep Yourself From Idols! 
Worship The Eternal God! 

WARNING:

Idolatry May "Pay" In Temporal Time

But

It Costs The Idolater Everything

That Would Have Been Theirs

In Eternity!

Worshiping God OR Worshiping G.O.D.!?!

We All Say The Same Thing

But 

It's Not The Same Thing We Believe!

We All Say We Believe In God

But

In That Statement

Many Practice To Deceive!

I Believe In The One God

The Triune Father, Son And Holy Spirit

The Maker, Savior, Sustainer And Redeemer Of All Mankind

And

My Life Is Tied Up In The Life Of Christ Is Tied Up In Mine

And

It Is From Him That I Have Boundaries And Behavioral Limits! 

Everybody That Believes In God Says That

So What's Your Point!?!

I Spell God With Capital "G" 
Because 
Jesus Christ, God, Leads And Feeds Me

Whilst A Myriad Others 
Aka Many In Positions Of Power Influence And Authority

Spell God As G.O.D.

All The While Pretensively Saying To The People That

To Them, Personally
G.O.D. Is All-Powerful ... Their All And Everything 

But

It Is A Cruel Deception On Two Fronts!

On The One Hand

They, Themselves, Consider Themselves God

Having The Power Of Life And Death 
Over The Multitudes Of Teeming Humanity!

And

On The Other Hand

Their G.O.D. ... Their Triune God 
Is 

Gold

Oil And 

Drugs 

And

Their Love And Longing

Their Access 

Their Apprehension 

Their Trade And Transport 

And 

Knowing Stockpiling Of The Wealth Of Their G.O.D. 

Is 
Causing Untold Misery, Destruction And Death The World Around! 

They Are Well Pleased With 
And 
Immensely Temporally Profited From And By Their "Worship!" 

You're A Liar! 
Worship Belongs To The Eternal God! 

Are You Blind, Willfully Blind Or Blinkered!?! 

You're Rude! 

You're Obtuse! 

I Don't Know What That Means! 

You're Not The Sharpest Tool In The Shed! 

Peaches, He Just Politely Called You Stupid! 

I May Be Slow To Understand

But When I Do Understand

I Understand Things Real Good

And Furthermore

I Am Wise ... Wise Unto Salvation

Because I Know Enough To Understand

To Recognize

To Accept

To Believe That

It Is The Living God

Through Jesus Christ The Righteous King

Who Alone Saves People Like Me

And All Who Choose To Trust Him At His Holy Word! 

Gold, Oil And Drugs Can't Save A Man's Soul

And All Who Worship At That Altar Are Idolaters! 

And Furthermore

I May Be A Donkey Compared To All Of You Race-Horses

And All Your Big G.O.D-Loving Mucky-Mucks

So Listen Well:

Satan Delivered His Message Through A Slick Serpent

But Jesus Christ The Lord ... The King Of Glory

Used Not A Sleek Race-Horse Like You All

But A Donkey Like Me To Deliver His Message Of Rebuke

To The Greedy For Gain, Soothsaying
Former Unimpeachable Prophet Of Almighty God 
Who Loved Profits Over Prophecy! 

Think About It! 

Pride Isn't A Good Look On Any Of You! 

I've Had My Say! 

Now, Here's My Back! 

Buy A Clue And Enjoy The View! 

Wow! He Sure Told Us!

Yes, He Did, And He Is Speaking The Truth!

Are You All Thinking What I'm Thinking!?!

You Betcha!
He's Got Us Dead To Rights In 1 Corinthians 1:27!

Cling To Jesus Christ The King

The Living, Eternal, Holy God

The Lord Of Life

To Be Wise Unto Soul Salvation!

VANITY: Covetousness

The Heart Devoid Of The Love Of God

And
Despising The Word Of Truth

Wants What It Wants

When It Wants It

And

All Proprieties Be Damned! 
Word On The Street:

I Breathe Therefore I AM!

Gimme: I Want ... It!

Thou Shalt Not Covet Your Neighbor's Possessions
Is 
The Tenth Commandment 
And 
The Lord Christ Who Gave It 
- To Show Us How To Operate 
In Our Relations With Our Fellowman -
Promises Never To Leave Us ... Or Forsake Us! 
The Lord Always Provides!

Covetousness Doubts The Sovereign Will 
And 
The Holy Word Of Almighty God 
And 
Is Idolatry ... False Worship
And 
No Covetous Person Shall Enter The Holy City! 

Beloved,
Let's Remember That Covetousness 
Is 
Of Satan ...  The Piercing Serpent
Who In His Former Life As Lucifer ... The Light Bearer
Started War In Heaven 
By Coveting The Position 
And 
The Worship Of The Son Of God! 

Covet Once, Covet Always ...

Satan Brought Death To Us All 
By Beguiling, Fooling, Eve 
Into Coveting  The Wisdom Of God
To Be As God
- The Pride Of Life -
Through The Lust Of Her Eyes
And 
Her Taste Buds ... The Lust Of Her Flesh! 

A Condemned Angel

Doesn't Care Whom He Causes

To Be Likewise Condemned!

Almighty God Isn't A Lying Man ...

What The Lord Promises To Provide For Us 
Is 
Plainly Enumerated And Designated
So Let Us Practice Gratitude And Contentment
And 
Be At Peace With The God Of Mercy, Love And Grace
And 
With Every Man!

Don't Vex Your Spirit

Over The Useless Vanity!

Brethren, Beloved

Vanity 

Is 

A Broken Person 

Looking In A Circus Mirror 

Which Faithfully Shows Every Perspective 

Except The Truth! 

When We Look At Life Through The Lens Of Truth

- The Gospel Of Grace - 

All Our Murmurings

And 

All Our Vexations ... Cease 

And 

We Are In Humble Peace 
With Our Gracious, Giving, Blessing, Holy God! 

Consider This, Therefore
And
Be Wise Unto Your Own Soul's Salvation:
There Ain't No Vain Soul 

Who Knows What It Is To Be Humble! 

Meekness Aka Humility

Is A Fruit Of The Holy Spirit:

Choose To Believe

The Eternal Word Of

The Holy God Faithful!

Remember:

You're Worth More Than A Sparrow

And

You Don't Need To Own The Supermarket

To Be Able To Eat Food

And

You Ain't God

So You Don't Need Worship!