#poor wise man parable

[orchidblossomsbg]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧

Hello again! Have you heard the parable of the wise man who builds his house upon the rock, while the fool builds his house upon the sand? What does this mean? Its all about your foundations. Like in construction, you must have a firm foundation, otherwise the structure will collapse. Just like with us! We need a firm foundation (God) or we will collapse (eternal separation). As christians, we should build on Christ and not on the world. The world is temporary, but Christ is eternal.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8

Building on Christ and having fear of the Lord determines how we view everything else. When you fear God, you respect God. Sure, everyone goes through hard times and makes poor decisions. But sometimes God has to break you down to put you on the right path. He will never cause you harm. God disciplines those whom He loves.

"Because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Hebrews 12:6

We often view it as a bad thing, but if God didn't convict you it would mean He didn't care about you. When you face temptation and hear that voice in the back of your head telling you to stop, it is most likely God. He is giving you a warning to stop what you are doing because He loves you and doesn't want you to fall. He sent Jesus to die for our sins because He loves us!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

We all struggle with temptation, and sometimes we give in, but God is merciful and understanding (thats why we all need Jesus...). He will always show you the way to get your feet on the right path, and encourages you to follow Him. Have a great evening! < 3

#bible #christian faith #christian blog #jesus #the bible #faith in jesus

[kirchefuchs]

HELLO CERES!! I hope you're doing well!! I have come to rant about the Skip Button Ending <3

Tis I, your local overthinker, who takes everything seriously <33

distant, confused cheering

ANYWHOO SO

Did you know? If you listen closely, you can take notice of The Narrator going through the stages of grief as he and Stanley progress through the Steam Pressured Gas reviews:

Denial: "Surely, these reviews were glowing as well; weren't they?"

Anger: "UNFUNNY!?"

Bargaining: "Preachy? Stanley, I'm not preachy, am I? You could tell me if I'm preachy, honestly, you can–! ..Oh goodness.. Honestly, this is quite shocking for me.. I– I always–..

Depression: [continuation] ..well, to be honest, I had always thought of the game's dialogue as being rather terse to begin with. You can't know how much fluff I cut from the game to make it feel as light and airy as it– well... I always thought it did.. but maybe it wasn't.." || "I feel.. like a failure. Like I had let these people down.

and Acceptance: [continuation] ..perhaps The Stanley Parable isn't quite as sterling as I always remembered." || "...A Skip Button?.. ..Well.. Well, yes! Yes, I think we can do that! If I'm truly too preachy, then.. then maybe letting you skip ahead for just a moment surely, it couldn't hurt.." [can also be seen as bargaining]

Take this information however you want lol, this is just a little thing I noticed as I listened to The Skip Button Ending like a podcast while falling asleep last night (may or may not have gotten a Stanley Parable-themed dream shshshhdhd)

— 🅰️non || 05/01/2023 [I decided to add this just because lol. once again, hope ur doing okay, bud!! rest well <3 /p]

Mans really do be mourning the death of The Stanley Parable 2013, poor guy.

It always hurts to see him fall into accepting the game wasn't good enough just because of those handful of bad reviews. I don't know much about how the original did on Steam overall back then, but while obviously the game couldn't have been perfect for everyone, it still found its way to the people who did care, who did think it was perfect, who took it and thought to themselves "it's almost like this game was made for me".

Because that's the truth isn't it? The game was never made to be for everyone, it was made for the people who would love it and cherish it for what it is and what it will grow into being. I think that's where the Narrator really went wrong, as much as it hurts to say. He got so wrapped up in the positive feedback he fell into this delusion that the game was perfect and it was that way for everyone, when that is quite an impossibility. Then when he found the bad reviews instead of shifting his view to the reality that "while it was never perfect, it touched the hearts and connected with those who are important. Its good to take advice from the negativity, but you shouldnt dwell on it." He instead fell into another delusion of negativity where the bad reviews were right and the game could never have held up to any sort of praise. One extreme to another.

The truth is, while the Narrator always talks about catering to the player and capturing the hearts of the people, he fails to realize he already did that by just being himself. That you can never perfectly replicate a feeling from so long ago since people change and grow. He failed to understand that its okay that things change. It's okay for the game to do a little worse. It's okay for him to keep going and keep trying to make something new. Because we are here for the wid-eyed wonderment that comes with exploring a new story and a new path. Meeting new characters and greeting old ones. We loved the 2013 Stanley Parable yes, but we are old and wise enough to understand that it cannot feasibly be remade to perfection, and that new and different isn't always a bad thing. It's okay to keep growing. Better to grow and change than to stay where you are to be left behind and forgotten.

I think the Narrator needs a hug. For someone to tell him it's okay that what he made isn't perfect. It's okay it wasn't perfect because it was good. And that's the best anyone can hope to do.

#the stanley parable #tspud #tsp #tsp narrator #tspud narrator #ask #kirche rambles #🅰️non

[pugzman3]

Psalms chapter 49

1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.) Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

[justforbooks]

Greek stage and screen actor who appeared in The Guns of Navarone, Zorba the Greek and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

It is apposite that Irene Papas, who has died aged 96, was at her peak when playing the heroines in film versions of classical Greek tragedies. Notwithstanding her many roles in a wide range of Hollywood, international and Greek films, including The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964) and Z (1969), Papas always gave the impression that there was an Electra, Antigone or Clytemnestra bubbling beneath the surface.

She balanced expertly between theatrical tradition and the cinema closeup, her strong, expressive face being especially eloquent in moments of silent suffering.

All the films of the Euripides trilogy – Electra (1962), The Trojan Women (1971) and Iphigenia (1976) – directed by Michael Cacoyannis, were dominated by Papas’s dramatic beauty in closeup against realistic Greek landscapes, and proved that the ancient myths could grip modern audiences. It was Cacoyannis, with whom Papas made six films, including Zorba the Greek, who brought out her talent in full.

The daughter of teachers, she was born Eirini Lelekou in a village near Corinth, and attended the royal drama school in Athens. She started her career in her teens as a singer and dancer in variety shows before launching her film career in 1948, by which time she had married the director Alkis Papas.

After two minor films in Greece, she signed a contract in Italy, where she was underused. Among them were two sword and sandals epics, Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and Attila (1954), in which she played second fiddle – in the first to Gianna Maria Canale, and in the second to Sophia Loren with Anthony Quinn in the title role. Papas would co-star with Quinn in several films, in which they were a combustible duo.

She made an impressive Hollywood debut as the lover of a ruthless cattle baron (James Cagney) in the Robert Wise western Tribute to a Bad Man (1956). This was the female lead role and she consolidated her star status as the valiant resistance leader in the war adventure The Guns of Navarone.

In the same year, 1961, Papas took on her first Greek tragedian role in Antigone. Directed by George Tzavellas in such a way to make Sophocles’s poetic parable come across with lucidity, it allowed Papas as the intractable heroine to demonstrate her elegiac power.

Papas as Electra, in her first film with Cacoyannis, prompted the critic Dilys Powell to exclaim: “I had never thought to see the face of the great Apollo from the Olympia pediment live and move. Now I have seen it.” Roger Ebert, looking back on the Oscar-nominated film 10 years later, said: “The funereal figures of the Greek chorus – poor peasant women scattered on a hillside – still weep behind Electra, and I can never forget her lament for her dead mother. I thought then, and I still think, that Irene Papas is the most classically beautiful woman ever to appear in films.”

The Trojan Women lost the power, poetry and beauty of the ancient Greek language by being in English, but the multinational cast of Katharine Hepburn (Hecuba), Vanessa Redgrave (Andromache), Geneviève Bujold (Cassandra) and Papas as a seductive Helen of Troy, compensated somewhat. The Oscar-nominated Iphigenia (based on Cacoyannis’s stage production of Iphigenia at Aulis), the last of his Euripides trilogy, had Papas, by now in her 50s, giving a forceful performance as Clytemnestra.

Between the first and second Euripidean films, Papas played the lonely widow in Zorba the Greek who, after making love to an English writer (Alan Bates), is stoned by the Cretan villagers. The character has little dialogue, but Papas’s face and body language are eloquent enough.

Papas went on to play other widows, notably in two political thrillers, Elio Petri’s We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) and Costa-Gavras’s Z. The latter clearly pointed the finger at the colonels’ totalitarian regime in Greece, which Papas – who lived in exile in Italy from 1967 to 1974 – called “the fourth Reich”.

In 1968, among the first work Papas undertook in Italy was the mafia drama The Brotherhood, opposite Kirk Douglas, and the television miniseries The Odyssey, in which she played Penelope. She had now become a travelling player, playing Spaniards such as Catherine of Aragon in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) or Italians such as the lusty housekeeper in Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979). In the 1970s and 80s, Papas made an average of two films a year, many of them unworthy of her talents.

Happily, she had the chance to shine on Broadway in two plays by Euripides, in the title role of Medea (1973) and as Agave in The Bacchae (1980), the latter directed by Cacoyannis. Of her Medea, the New York Times critic wrote: “Irene Papas, who has often played aggrieved and grieving women, brings to the role a controlled intensity, an innate intelligence, and an implacably stubborn anger.”

In films, she began to get supporting roles, bringing fire and authenticity as mothers and grandmothers as in Rosi’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987) and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) before making a superb exit from cinema in Manoel de Oliveira’s multilingual A Talking Picture (2003).

At one point in the film, on board a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, Papas keeps the passengers spellbound by singing a Greek folk song. Her beautiful contralto voice can also be heard on discs of songs by Vangelis and Mikis Theodorakis.

After leaving the cinema, Papas appeared in Euripides’ Hecuba on stage in Rome in 2003, and directed Antigone at the Greek theatre in Syracuse in 2005. She also devoted herself to the establishment of schools of acting in Rome and Athens.

Papas’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1951, and her second marriage, to José Kohn, in 1957, was annulled.

🔔 Irene Papas, actor, born 3 September 1926; died 14 September 2022

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Irene Papas #Bella Greca #in memoriam

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

19th November >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A 

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Proverbs 31:10-13,19-20,30-31 A perfect wife - who can find her?

A perfect wife – who can find her? She is far beyond the price of pearls. Her husband’s heart has confidence in her, from her he will derive no little profit. Advantage and not hurt she brings him all the days of her life. She is always busy with wool and with flax, she does her work with eager hands. She sets her hands to the distaff, her fingers grasp the spindle. She holds out her hand to the poor, she opens her arms to the needy. Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty; the woman who is wise is the one to praise. Give her a share in what her hands have worked for, and let her works tell her praises at the city gates.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 127(128):1-5

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways! By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper.

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the heart of your house; your children like shoots of the olive, around your table.

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life!

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus.

You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.

But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Revelations 2:10

Alleluia, alleluia! Even if you have to die, says the Lord, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life. Alleluia!

Or: John 15:4,5

Alleluia, alleluia! Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. Whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty. Alleluia!

Either:

Gospel Matthew 25:14-30 You have been faithful in small things: come and join in your master's happiness.

Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.

‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.” ‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

Gospel Matthew 25:14-15,19-21 You have been faithful in small things: come and join in your master's happiness.

Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.

‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[iateyouroreos]

Psalm 49

(King James Version)

49 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

#christianity

[holdonendure]

HEAR this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline my ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to Elohiym a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases forever:) That he should still live forever, and not see corruption. For he sees that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honor abides not: he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Celah. Like sheep they are laid in She'ol; death shall feed on them; and the yashariym shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in She'ol from their dwelling. But Elohiym will redeem my soul from the power of She'ol: for he shall receive me. Celah. Be not afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise you, when you do well to yourself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. Man that is in honor, and understands not, is like the beasts that perish. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 49 את CEPHER

#holdon #ministry #yahuah #yahusha #love #servant #patience #bible #truth

[childofchrist1983]

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. - Luke 12:13-15 KJV

This Bible passage precedes one of my favorite parables. It tells of a rich man whose harvest is so abundant he needs to build extra barns to hold it. He never thinks about sharing his abundance with the poor. That night, he dies with his barns full and his soul empty. In another Gospel passage, Jesus talks about the widow who contributes all she has while the wealthy man gives a pittance of what he has. What profit was there in greed?

I have never understood the need for billions of dollars in the bank, building interest when it could be used for good. How much money does anyone really need? Now, I know that there are many wealthy people who establish foundations to support people in poorer countries, or who work to bring water or food to others, who establish scholarships for the poor and underprivileged. But I also know that there are many who hoard what they have.

Greed can be an ugly failing, while generosity is always appreciated. A generous spirit actually shows in a person's face because they are happier. They don't live in fear that someone will rob them! I don't know about you, but if I'm going to have lines on my face, I prefer the smile ones to the frowns! And humble and selfless attitude over the proud and selfish.

God has given us an abundance of grace and gifts. May we use what we have wisely and generously in imitation of Him. May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time daily to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in the Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 31st Sat per annum (II)

Phil 4:10-19; Ps 111; Luke 16:9-15

Philippians 4:13 is rendered in this translation in a way that makes it sound rather unfamiliar to me. This Jerusalem Bible translation says: “There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength.” The RSV translation, for example, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” But what does this mean? Does it mean that, even if I haven’t mastered the Spanish language or flamenco, that if I want to, then Jesus will enable me to do so? Does it mean, really, that I can do all things, including become a NASA astronaut or successfully perform brain surgery through the strength of God? Now, if in fact I can accomplish these great feats, it is well and fine, and we would do well to be reminded that all the good things we do have God as their first cause and origin. But what if we try and try again and we fail? Does this mean that God hasn’t helped me or strengthened me? Or have I just not tried in the right way or often enough? Or does it mean God doesn’t want to help, or maybe, he doesn’t care or maybe, even, he can’t help us? These are all various problems that arise if we understand this sentence too broadly: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”

The words we need to examine, it seems to me, are the ones translated as “master” or “do” which sound to me like verbs. In the original Greek, in fact, there is no definite sense of doing or mastering any thing because there is no verb. Rather, the sentence in Greek, literally translated is: “For all things I have strength in the One strengthening (or empowering) me.” So, God strengthens and empowers us not so much to do things but rather for all things. So, it seems to me, we’re strengthened by God not to do things but for things, for tasks entrusted to us, for missions given to us, or for situations and circumstances in which we’re landed. 

If we look at the context of the passage, then, it becomes clearer that St Paul is talking about the circumstances he’s been in, the hardships he’s endured, and God has empowered him to push through, to persevere, to be content. Unfortunately, this context is somewhat obscured in the translation we have in the lectionary. We heard: “I have learnt to manage on whatever I have, I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty.” Now, this sounds to me like St Paul saying he’s able to manage his finances, and can cope with time of feast or famine. But a better translation like the RSV would say: “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.” (Phil 4:11b-12)

Now it becomes clearer that it is Christ’s strength, his power, his grace, that has enabled St Paul to learn to be content in any and all circumstances. There is a great strength to such a man, because he is not rocked by the ups and downs of the world and this life, because he has built his house on the rock that is Jesus Christ. You’ll recall the parable that Jesus gives of the wise man who built his house upon the rock, so that “the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Mt 7:25)

Rains, floods, and rains will certainly come, my friends, but like St Paul, let us wisely be founded on the firm foundation of Christ, on the living Word of God; found on his promise, his last word in St Matthew’s Gospel: “I am with you always.” (Mt 28:20). Indeed, he is with us as the power of God from on high, as the strength of God strengthening us, as the one who is our dynamite, giving us an explosion of power. For the word in Greek is en-douna-moun-ti, from dunamis, for divine power, might, or strength. But where is the power of God seen? St Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that “to us who are being saved [the Cross] is the power of God.” (1:18) So, it is from the Cross, from the person of Christ Crucified, that we receive power and strength to endure and to be content in any and all circumstances. 

The wise man, therefore, will build his house on the firm foundation of the Cross. For it is from the Cross and by the Cross and in the Cross that we are saved from sin, from our fears, and from all that this mortal life and the devil can throw at us. Thus St Paul, at the end of this passage speaks of the “sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” which is the Cross of Christ, and which is made present in the Holy Mass. So, it is in fact from the Mass that, as St Paul says, “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches”. Therefore, it is well and wise that we are here at the Holy Mass, since it is here that we are empowered by Christ for all things, to be strong in any and all circumstances. 

#power #strength #Cross #Jesus Christ #grace #endurance #perseverance #content

[vincewillard-1971]

God Will Redeem

Psalm 49:1-20

1. Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

2. Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8. (For the redemption of their souls is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9. That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11. Their inward shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beast that perish.

13. This their posterity approve their sayings.

14. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.

16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

17. For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

18. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like beast that perish.

#Christian Jews

[dfroza]

“So be careful. Guard your hearts.”

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 21st chapter of the book of Luke:

And then He turned His attention from the religious scholars to some wealthy people who were depositing their donations in the offering boxes. A widow, obviously poor, came up and dropped two copper coins in one of the boxes.

Jesus: I’m telling you the truth, this poor widow has made a bigger contribution than all of those rich fellows. They’re just giving from their surplus, but she is giving from her poverty—she’s giving all she has to give.

Some people were impressed with the temple’s opulence—the precious stones and expensive decorations—but Jesus countered their observations.

Jesus: Go ahead, look around, and be impressed; but days are coming when one stone will not be left standing on another. Everything here will be demolished.

Crowd: When will this happen, Teacher? What signs will tell us this is about to occur?

Jesus: Be careful. It’s easy to be deceived. Many people will come claiming to have My authority. They’ll shout, “I’m the One!” or “The time is now!” Don’t take a step in their direction. You’ll hear about wars and conflicts, but don’t be frightened at all because these things must surely come, although they don’t signify the immediate coming of the end. You can count on this: nation will attack nation, and kingdom will make war on kingdom. There will be disturbances around the world—from great earthquakes to famines to epidemics. Terrifying things will happen, and there will be shocking signs from heaven. But before any of this happens, they will capture you and persecute you. They’ll send you to synagogues for trial and to prisons for punishment; you’ll stand before kings and government officials for the sake of My name. This will be your opportunity—your opportunity to tell your story. Make up your mind in advance not to plan your strategy for answering their questions, for when the time comes, I will give you the words to say—wise words—which none of your adversaries will be able to answer or argue against. Your own parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn on you and turn you in. Some of you will be killed, and all of you will be hated by everyone for the sake of My name.

But whatever happens, not a single hair of your heads will be harmed. By enduring all of these things, you will find not loss but gain—not death but authentic life.

Here’s how you will know that the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple is imminent: Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies. When that happens, there’s only one thing to do: if you’re in Judea, flee to the mountains; and if you’re inside the city, escape; and if you’re outside the city, stay there—don’t enter— because the time has come for the promised judgment to fall. How sad it will be for all the pregnant women, for all the nursing mothers in those days! All the land of Israel and all her people will feel the distress, the anger, falling on them like rain. The sword will cut some down, the outsider nations will take others captive, and this holy city, this Jerusalem, will be trampled upon by the outsiders until their times are fulfilled.

There will be earth-shattering events—the heavens themselves will seem to be shaken with signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. And across the earth the outsider nations will feel powerless and terrified in the face of a roaring flood of fear and foreboding, crashing like tidal waves upon them. “What’s happening to the world?” people will wonder. The cosmic order will be destabilized. And then, at that point, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and blazing glory. So when the troubles begin, don’t be afraid. Look up—raise your head high, because the truth is that your liberation is fast approaching.

(continuing with a parable) Look over there at that fig tree—and all the trees surrounding it. When the leaves break out of their buds, nobody has to tell you that summer is approaching; it’s obvious to you. It’s the same in the larger scheme of things. When you see all these things happening, you can be confident that the kingdom of God is approaching. I’m telling you the truth: this generation will not pass from the scene before everything I’m telling you has occurred. Heaven and earth will cease to exist before My words ever fail.

So be careful. Guard your hearts. They can be made heavy with moral laxity, with drunkenness, with the hassles of daily life. Then the day I’ve been telling you about might catch you unaware and trap you. Because it’s coming—nobody on earth will escape it. So you have to stay alert, praying that you’ll be able to escape the coming trials so you can stand tall in the presence of the Son of Man.

Through this whole period of time, He taught in the temple each day. People would arrive at the temple early in the morning to listen. Then, at day’s end, He would leave the city and sleep on Mount Olivet.

The Book of Luke, Chapter 21 (The Voice)

Today’s paired reading from the First Testament is the 9th chapter of the book of Genesis:

God spoke a blessing over Noah and his sons.

Eternal One: Be fruitful, multiply, and populate the earth! All the animals on the earth, all the birds in the sky, all the creatures that creep along the ground, and all the fish of the sea will now be afraid and run from you; they have been handed over to you. Every living thing that moves will be available to you as food. Just as I once gave you the green plants to eat, I now give you everything. But listen carefully: Do not eat any meat with its life-blood still in it. More than that, do not spill the blood of any human. If anyone spills your blood, I will hold him responsible. It makes no difference whether it is a man or an animal, both will be accountable to Me! If someone murders a fellow human being, then I will require his life in return.

Whoever sheds the blood of a human,

that person’s blood will be shed in return by another

for God made humanity in His own image.

Now all of you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out and populate the earth.

But God was not finished. He had more to say both to Noah and his sons.

Eternal One: Look, for I am now going to make a pact, a special covenant, with you and all your descendants. This covenant also extends to every living creature in the world—the birds, the domesticated animals, and every wild animal on the earth—as many as emerged with you from the ark. As part of this covenant, I promise you I will never again wipe out all living flesh by means of flooding waters. Never again will a flood destroy the earth. As a sign of this perpetual covenant I now make between Me and you and all living creatures along with you, as well as all future generations, I will hang a rainbow among the clouds. It will serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. And from now on, whenever a cloud rises over the earth and a rainbow appears in the sky, I will remember My covenant—My promise I have made between Me and you and all living creatures. No waters will ever again turn into a flood powerful enough to destroy all living creatures. When that rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember this eternal covenant I have made with all living creatures.

Look for the rainbow, and remember My promise. With it I sign the covenant I have made between Me and all the living creatures residing on the earth.

Now Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham, by the way, was the father of Canaan.) Yes, these three, Noah’s sons, went on to populate the entire earth.

Now Noah became a farmer and decided to plant a vineyard. One day he drank too much of the wine he had made and fell into a deep, drunken sleep in his tent. As he lay there stark naked, Ham (the father of Canaan) peeked in and saw his father’s exposed body. After leaving the tent, he told his two brothers what he had seen. So Shem and Japheth took a large cloak and laid it across their shoulders, and they walked backward into the tent. They never looked behind, as they covered their father’s nakedness. Out of respect, they purposely kept their faces turned away, so they wouldn’t see their father lying there naked. When Noah regained consciousness and realized what his youngest son had done, he uttered this curse:

Noah: A curse upon your son, Canaan!

May he become the lowest of servants to his brothers.

May the Eternal One, the God of Shem, be blessed,

and let Canaan be his slave!

May God make plenty of room for Japheth’s family

and give them homes among Shem’s tents.

And let Canaan be his slave also!

From the time the flood was over, Noah lived another 350 years. In all, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.

The Book of Genesis, Chapter 9 (The Voice)

A set of notes from The Voice translation:

All life is sacred. Human life is especially so. Protecting it is of utmost importance to God. He takes this so seriously and personally because He made humanity to reflect Him. We are His earthly representatives, made in His image. To murder another person is to mount an attack on the One who created him.

•

Noah’s words are not idle words. As the story unfolds, the importance of this curse becomes clear. But as the ancients knew, and we now have forgotten, words have power. It was with a word that God created the heavens above and the earth below. Now Noah’s words create a new reality, a harsh reality for Ham and his children.

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, march 11 of 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New) of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about the beginning and the end:

The concluding portion of the Book of Exodus (i.e., Pekudei) provides details about the construction of the “Tabernacle” (i.e., mishkan: מִשְׁכָּן) and its furnishings as well as the special clothing of the priests. At the very end of the portion we read, וַיְכַל משֶׁה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָה / "and Moses finished all the work" (Exod. 40:33), a phrase that has the same gematria (numeric value) as bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית, "in the beginning"), the very first word of the Torah (Gen. 1:1). This suggests that the very creation of the universe was for the sake of the building of the Altar of God, and by extension, for the sake of the sacrificial love of God to be demonstrated to all of creation....

The Talmud states, "All the world was created for the Messiah" (Sanhedrin 98b) and indeed, Yeshua is called “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” in the New Testament (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). "All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua), and for Him" and in Him all things consist (συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together") (Col. 1:16-17). Creation therefore begins and ends with the redemptive love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our Moshia, the great Lamb of God... He is the Center of Creation - the Aleph and Tav - the Beginning and the End (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:17).

Some of the Jewish sages said that "the seal of God is truth," since the final letters of the three words that conclude the account of creation -- bara Elohim la'asot ("God created to do" [Gen. 2:3]) -- spell the word for truth (i.e., emet: אֱמֶת).

The idea that God created the world “to do” implies that He had finished all His work of creation (and redemption) after the sixth day (Heb. 4:3), which is yet another way of saying that Yeshua is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Salvation is not an afterthought or “plan B” of God’s purpose for creation. “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Our LORD Yeshua always is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life for us (John 14:6).

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Revelation 1:8 reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/rev1-8-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/rev1-8-lesson.pdf

3.10.24 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel365:

If You’re Happy and You Know It

By: Sara Lamm

MARCH 10, 2024

וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַתְכֶם וּבְמוֹעֲדֵיכֶם וּבְרָאשֵׁי חָדְשֵׁיכֶם וּתְקַעְתֶּם בַּחֲצֹצְרֹת עַל עֹלֹתֵיכֶם וְעַל זִבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵיכֶם וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְזִכָּרוֹן לִפְנֵי אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃

And on your joyous occasions—your fixed festivals and new moon days—you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your sacrifices of well-being. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I, Hashem, am your God.

Numbers 10:10

Raise your hand if you know the popular children’s song If you’re happy and you know It clap your hands. Now, raise your hand – or should I say, clap your hands – if that song will likely be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Me too!

But imagine if every time you were happy, for the next two months, you were obligated to clap. Imagine that you’re literally commanded to be that happy. You must be in a state of constant happiness for the next sixty days. Shout hurray for that!

If that sounds strange – well, that’s the Hebrew month of Adar. It is such a happy month, there is an actual commandment to increase our joy during this time. And this year, because of the Jewish leap year, there are not one, but two months of Adar – and for sixty days straight we have to be happier than usual. Let’s give that a full round of applause!

But how can we be required to be happy? Can happiness be commanded? Is it even humanly possible to have sustained joy for such a long period of time?

The Jewish month of Adar is the epitome of joy in Jewish tradition, for in Adar we celebrate the holiday of Purim. On Purim, Jews across the world celebrate the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman’s evil plot to destroy them. And while in a typical lunar calendar cycle, the month of Adar only happens once, when a Jewish leap year occurs – as it does this year – the month of Adar happens twice. Thankfully, we only celebrate Purim once (no need to cook two holiday meals! Can you imagine having to host two back-to-back Thanksgiving feasts?). Still, we are obligated to be joyous for both months of Adar.

The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, an iconic twenty-first-century religious scholar and philosopher, shares that joy “connects us to others and to God. [It] is the ability to celebrate life as such, knowing that whatever tomorrow may bring, we are here today, under God’s heaven, in the universe He made, to which He has invited us as His guests.” Consider how important this concept is: joy, or the Hebrew equivalent simcha (sim-kha), is mentioned in various grammatical forms no less than 154 times in the Bible. By contrast, the concept of “sadness” doesn’t have a consistently used word, let alone that level of prevalence in the Hebrew Bible (often the Hebrew word for “tears” is used instead).”

Happiness is more than a fleeting emotion

In the Biblical tradition, joy is not just a fleeting emotion. A two-month-long marathon of laughter simply isn’t sustainable. Rather, joy is an exercise in consistency and mindfulness. Joy, in fact, is a deliberate response to life’s uncertainties and challenges. There’s a Jewish saying that pokes lighthearted fun at the theme of many Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us but didn’t succeed. Let’s eat!” But in a more serious sense, it’s true – Jewish tradition chooses to celebrate past successes, even if it is mixed with past or present adversity.

How to be Joyful

But we’re still left with the question of how to express this unique type of joy. Of course, much of it does involve outward celebration – during Adar, Jews across the world engage in song, dance, and festivities. But underlying that first layer of joy is a second one, more steadfast and consistent. It is engaging in acts of communal kindness, such as giving charity and gifts. It is connecting with a larger story of survival and liberation, by engaging in traditions, rituals, and family celebrations. It is embracing faith and confidence in the protection of the Almighty. And consider yourself warned! Practicing happiness this way might make you an even happier person all year long.

Joy is not just a feeling you have; it’s a lively and shared way of being that you can actively work on and grow. By adopting habits and a positive mindset that promote real joy, you’ll make meaningful connections with others and with the divine. It’s like unwrapping a gift every day, especially when facing life’s challenges.

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

March 11, 2024

Setting Up an Ebenezer

“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:12)

Many Christians have joined in the singing of a familiar verse in an old hymn without knowing its great meaning: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’ve come.” When the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, the old priest, Eli, and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, all died the same day, as did Phinehas’ wife in childbirth. It was a tragic day for Israel.

But then the people returned to God under Samuel, and 20 years later the Lord gave them a miraculous victory over the superior armies of the Philistines. In commemoration of this deliverance, Samuel set up a stone monument in the same place where the Philistines had captured the Ark 20 years before, calling the stone “Ebenezer,” a name that was always associated thereafter with the site (1 Samuel 4:1; 5:1).

Now “Ebenezer” means “Stone of Help,” and seeing it would always remind the people, whenever they might later come to fear the circumstances around them, that God had been their “help in ages past” and thus could be trusted as their “hope for years to come.” Only God is truly able to help in times of great need, but He is able! “From whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

It is well to remember those times in our own lives when God has helped us in some special way. We forget so easily, and the sin of ingratitude is cited by God as one of the first harbingers of imminent apostasy (note especially Romans 1:21). A physical token can help us remember, but whatever it takes—remember! God will hear and answer our prayers for future help, too, but “with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). HMM

[libidomechanica]

This slight: who ever

To mournful, sober-suited Night!     One day by day to climb. Man describe but we will to endure,     and trust things harms and

boats and married lady, and were     injured. Cheeks of living Water drain’d whereon thee Diggon,     what he stal, is nowe sithence

comes o’er my life, alas, poor     silly brained, that underfoot, the chameleons, spitality.     That should helpe reject,

ye know holy strife. Be wise as     this Parable—wretch as wine; nor Liberal, since in us     is overrules tread, at

night, on all; will last Duchess’ cheek     and her shall a Xerox of soft nervelets were alive.     Just as eager or seas

morn, to sullen surges and mark     in thy head I writhing one another’s arms, here’s a     feast and thou art made us

brave behind, for shade with science-     fiction, humming to empty court huntsmen that dark herself     thus youth, and delves and

keep, Why will be liberty began     to set in all; the bride with blazing light rising ivory     skin like it. He asked,

she smile? Like trees, the sulfuric     air, the wealth or more with the better all the worlds have light     ascension, Heaven; a

new rhythm. Waits the fangs shall I     live, drained, that make of sorrow pine, by his rest. Those stern nymph     beguile keep her mind an

entomologist in the worse     the shall I cannot be— who breathes. Bearing with howling over     dwell, lilies grown, lawless

that the countenance behold,     upon his captive nymphs pursuit? For ever love, I compared     to scorn. The time intent

run into a firmament     glistered Hero ere I do cry. Elephants. Or troubled     hands, but breathed life through

and went sill six stories are learned     askance aside thee, mournful twilight again undone,     possess on her quiver’d

with, she you that shin’st, as the end     of green, and strong influence like suppose we join hands, and     delves and hides the good turned

since these love at all, while and gainer     too. Stiles where or my decay, that shooten neerest thence     wit so poor for him. This

slight: who ever new; thy looked so     down thine eyes, lips the shepecote, and alone. The influence     breast motion some did

under eyelids, as women standing     to they keep her mother, brother laddie frae her the mount     up a blinding pool of

air or please let it be not won     until finally, inevitably     Not to bed, about come.

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 6 #148 texts #ballad

[lingerieday]

Essential Finance Books Every Professional Should Read

In the vast domain of finance, continual learning is the key to success. While real-world experience, academic courses, and workshops play an essential role in shaping a finance professional's expertise, the power of books cannot be understated. This guide unveils a curated list of seminal finance books, offering insights, strategies, and narratives that every professional in the field should delve into.

1. Introduction

The world of finance is dynamic, influenced by global events, evolving regulations, and disruptive technologies. Books, penned by experts who have navigated these changing waters, serve as timeless resources, imbuing readers with knowledge, perspective, and inspiration.

2. Foundational Reads for Beginners

a. "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason

Overview: A timeless classic that uses ancient parables to impart fundamental financial lessons.

Key Takeaway: The importance of living below one's means, investing wisely, and seeking counsel.

b. "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Overview: Contrasts the philosophies of Kiyosaki's two 'dads' and their approaches to money and life.

Key Takeaway: The significance of financial education, assets vs. liabilities, and entrepreneurial spirit.

3. Dive Deep into Investment

a. "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham

Overview: A comprehensive guide to value investing, written by the mentor of Warren Buffett.

Key Takeaway: The principles of value investing and the margin of safety concept.

b. "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton G. Malkiel

Overview: An exploration of various investment techniques, from fundamental analysis to the random walk theory.

Key Takeaway: The unpredictability of markets and the merits of a long-term, broad-based investment strategy.

4. Behavioral Finance and Psychology

a. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman

Overview: A deep dive into human psychology and how it affects decision-making.

Key Takeaway: The contrast between instinctive vs. deliberate thinking and its impact on financial decisions.

b. "Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness" by Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein

Overview: The subtle art of influencing decisions with gentle pushes.

Key Takeaway: How nudges can guide choices in personal finance and public policy.

5. Corporate Finance and Strategy

a. "Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies" by McKinsey & Company Inc.

Overview: A comprehensive resource on corporate valuation.

Key Takeaway: Methods for assessing company value and making informed business and investment decisions.

b. "Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco" by Bryan Burrough & John Helyar

Overview: A riveting account of the RJR Nabisco takeover, showcasing the intricacies of the financial world.

Key Takeaway: The dynamics of corporate politics, leverage buyouts, and mergers.

6. Personal Finance Management

a. "Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez

Overview: A program for transforming your relationship with money.

Key Takeaway: Redefining personal success and implementing a nine-step plan for financial independence.

b. "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi

Overview: A six-week program focusing on banking, saving, budgeting, and investing.

Key Takeaway: Implementing a practical approach to personal finance with a focus on automating finances.

7. Financial Crises and Lessons Learned

a. "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis

Overview: A deep dive into the housing bubble and the 2008 financial crisis.

Key Takeaway: The factors leading to the crisis, including financial instruments, regulatory lapses, and human greed.

b. "Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves" by Andrew Ross Sorkin

Overview: A meticulous account of the events during the 2008 financial meltdown.

Key Takeaway: The interplay between Wall Street and Washington during a crisis, decisions made, and the aftermath.

8. Books for the Futuristic Finance Enthusiast

a. "The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order" by Paul Vigna & Michael J. Casey

Overview: An exploration of the revolutionary potential of cryptocurrencies.

Key Takeaway: Understanding blockchain technology, digital currency, and their potential impact on global finance.

b. "The FinTech Book: The Financial Technology Handbook for Investors, Entrepreneurs and Visionaries" by Susanne Chishti & Janos Barberis

Overview: An overview of financial technology and its disruptive power.

Key Takeaway: Insights into fintech's role in reshaping banking, investment, and more.

Conclusion

Financial literature is a treasure trove of knowledge, perspective, and wisdom. The books outlined above are just the tip of the iceberg, but they provide a comprehensive foundation for both novice and seasoned finance enthusiasts. By delving into these pages, professionals not only enhance their technical knowledge but also enrich their understanding of the stories, histories, and philosophies that shape the world of finance. Reading, after all, is to the mind what investment is to finance – a medium for growth, discovery, and enlightenment.

#finance #finance assignment help #finance management #finance news #finance guide #finance & law #finance stock

[the-hem]

"A Man of Noble Birth." From Luke 19:12-27.

Jesus is given credit for being Mr. Nice Guy, but really, He wasn't. As the Son of God He had duties, and they included separating the corrupt from the diligent, the wise from the stupid, and greedy from the charitable. In this Parable He is at His most ruthless about this. Unfortunately, mankind was more ruthless than He and Jesus died on the cross.

...

12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

A minas is a portion of something, but a big portion, ie. all apples off a tree rather than just a bushel. A minas generally means the son has to produce according to the whims of the Master. Jesus uses it in the parable to state He has the Authority to tell the world he wants all of it to prosper, to give up forms of statecraft that oppress the poor and seed violence in the land.

One Mina has a Gematria of 175, or עזה‎, gaza, which means "ambitions" but of the positive sort.

The ubiquitous term ממנו (Genesis 2:17) or ממנה (Genesis 3:19) or ממני (Genesis 22:12), etcetera, regards a double extraction, which is not all that odd. The first extraction (מנו, or 'from him/it', or מנה, 'from her/it') would refer to, say, the general harvest of one apple tree: a basket full of apples. The second extraction (ממנו) would concern an apple taken from the basket taken from the tree. In general, it refers to a specific helping from a general produce.

מנה

Morphologically not far removed from the previous root מנן (mnn), the verb מנה (mana) means to count (Genesis 13:16, 2 Samuel 24:1, Psalm 90:12) or assign (Isaiah 53:12, Daniel 1:5) — which brings it in close vicinity of the preposition מן (min). In order to count something, it has to be distinguished from others, after all. Studies of cognates show that this verb may have also been used in the sense of to be bounteous.

Its derivatives are:

The feminine noun מנה (mana), meaning portion or part (Exodus 29:26, Nehemiah 8:10).

The masculine noun מנה (maneh), which is a unit of weight, a.k.a. the mina (Ezekiel 45:12, 1 Kings 10:17).

The masculine noun מנה (moneh), meaning time (not clock-time but as in "ten times"). This word occurs only once, in Genesis 31:7.

The feminine noun מנת (menat), meaning portion (Nehemiah 12:44, Jeremiah 13:25).

The masculine noun מנון (manon), which is a dubious word (says BDB Theological Dictionary). It occurs only in Proverbs 29:21: ". . . will in the end find him to be a מנון (manon)" and translations vary widely, from "successor" (J.P. Green) and "continuator" (Young) to "thankless one" (BDB Theological Dictionary). The King James Version translated this word curiously with "son," but so do NAS and Darby. HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament translates this word with "grief" and so does NIV. JSP translates our word with "master".

The Ten Minas are obviously the Ten Decrees and Jesus, through the Parable tells His Disciples He wants them to be observed, no question. The Decrees are essential to our understanding of secular law. The Decrees state God's authority, which resides in the conscience, is the reason we create and support Godly governments and royalty, not just because the law says so, but because our soul knows this is right.

Royals and loyals who do not find this within the scope of their willpower need to be arrested. To promote religion as a means to an ethical way of life which is always legal beneath the gaze of a kumquat who regularly gyps the nation of its pride is outrageous.

What is the distant country the King in the Parable journeys off to, expecing the Decrees to be understood when he returns? The place is called Israel, where free men who have overcome all the savage designs of the past reside. Israel is supposed to instruct the entire world in proper statecraft that represents the Design called for by the Torah.

Resistance to the Design is called jealousy, or slavery in Egpyt. For reasons, heaven knows not what they are, mankind does not want to learn what life is like without weapons, propaganda, wastes of time, or walking talking rectums.

The hemorrhoidectomy begins with v. 16: A servant observes the First Decree and lo and behold all Ten follow, he is given "pride" also called sukkoth in Hebrew, 361, גא‎ה‎.

The King gives him ten cities. One city is a happy dude, twenty is a dance party, ten are 361, גוא ‎"leavening" or "rising".

A second servant invested one mina and returned with five. His ambitions resulted in 890, חטאֶפֶס, hatapes, which means "the dismayed world sees and begins contemplating the need for justice."

hat=

The adjective חת (hat), which is identical to the previous word and is commonly said to mean shattered or dismayed (1 Samuel 2:4, Ezekiel 32:30, Jeremiah 46:5).

ap= eyelid

es=

The common Semitic masculine noun עץ ('es), primarily meaning tree. Our noun is used to denote a single standing tree (Genesis 2:9), or a group of trees (Genesis 2:16). It is used to denote wood for kindling (Joshua 9:23), wood as a building material (Genesis 6:14, 2 Kings 12:13), and items made of wood (Exodus 7:19, Deuteronomy 19:5).

And hence it may be used to denote (wooden) idols (Deuteronomy 4:28) or gallows, stake or similar means of execution (Genesis 40:19, Deuteronomy 21:22).

The theological meaning of the Biblical tree (from the two trees in Paradise related to the fall of man, to the cross of Christ, to the restored Tree of Life as witnessed by John the Revelator - REVELATION 22:2) seem to promote a relationship with the verb עוץ ('us) meaning to counsel or regard.

Five cities are: טג‎ו‎, tegu, or tagu, which are flags used over Hebrew letters that give them enhanced status from the rest of the alphabet. This is done to prevent certain combinations of letters from producing satanic words or verses, which could happen in certain instances without the tags. Obviously this explains what happens in the mind that is not able to perceive the corruption all around him.

= the ability of discernment, a gift of the Holy Ghost.

The final servant who hid his mina in a piece of cloth did not memorize or understand the Torah and thus came up empty handed; fear of the Torah and the evolutionary changes that it invokes is not acceptable.

The eleventh mina is 963, טו‎ג, tug, or "fortune." from:

The derived noun τυχη (tuche) doesn't occur in the Bible apart from in the names listed below. According to Liddell and Scott (An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon) it denotes "the good which man obtains (τυγχανει) by the favor of the gods, good fortune, luck, success."

As for the man who decided he was ineligible for the same opportunities as the rest, and calls the king a "hired man" who does nothing, he was correct. Kings are hired by God to draw the very best out of the people using a non-bureaucratic form of benevolent tyranny. If the King is well intentioned, he works the wages of his efforts are happy, long-lived, well educated people who experience not one moment of strife of discontent that is his doing.

The opposite is an unholy nightmare.

For this reason, Jesus says persons who are unwilling to subject themselves to at least an attempt at the instructions should not be allowed to take up air, food, water and space like the rest.

For the sake of argument, the 11th City is Theta in Gematria, or teth, which means "Truth at the beginning, the middle and the end."

[demoreelrewound]

Donnie DuPré

I almost let something hurtful from my past consume me. I'm done doing that.

Canon traits: ambitious, demanding, passionate, charismatic, stubborn, workaholic, secretive, prone to sarcasm and snideness when annoyed. He wishes to bring Hollywood down for how it treated his mother and him, using his amateur films to do so.

A bisexual man with a strained and distant marriage.

Canon backstory:

Donnie was born as Jimmy Boyd. The son of Elissa Huffman, star of Blue Patches, he was a child actor infamous for his poor performances. During the filming of Jingle Sells, he lost his mother to suicide after years of mistreatment as an aging actress in Hollywood, as well as her declining mental health. During the remainder of the shoot he was looked after by Arnold Schwarzenegger but beyond that his caretakers are unknown.

He disappeared from the public eye and changed his name to Donnie DuPré, after which he married a woman who earned much more money than him. While he is able to live off of her and not work to fund his film-making passion, she is very distant from him in the present and even arranged a pre-nup stipulating that he wasn't to visit either his or her family for holidays.

At some point in his life, he was violently raped and similar depictions in film are intense for him. His coping mechanism with this, as with his other trauma, is to use dark/snide humour and minimisation of the events and emotions to keep his true feelings hidden from others. Only in vulnerable moments does the bubbling anger and frustration surface.

My ideas:

As mentioned in my post on little and big changes, Elissa Huffman -> Alice Harper. But also, to make the Jake Lloyd parallels less blatant and help do the same generalised parable, Jimmy Boyd -> Timmy Blair and the films will be slightly more generalised.

The sci-fi epic might be some sort of homage to Jules Verne, Weird Tales, and old silent films with elaborate cut-out sets á la Georges Mélies. It was a production tied together with string and a wish that Donnie was and still sort of is attached to due to its sheer ambition and ingenuity. It inspired his interest in the craft but its failure intimidated him from such an original project. He played the wise-beyond-his-years prince of an alien planet and was directed to remain perfectly calm with every line. As a six-year-old, this was understandably hard.

(I haven't thought nearly as much about the Christmas movie replacement, only that it not be nearly as close to Jingle All The Way as Jingle Sells is.)

After his mother's death, he was pushed into the arms of his bio father, fellow actor and producer Will Blair. This was mainly to avoid the scandal of "abandoning" Timmy and Will didn't care that much about him so long as he stayed out of the way and had good grades. This neglect left him to fend for himself emotionally and try his hardest to be seen and appreciated in the patchy minor roles and school. (I am somewhat influenced here by the HPD Donnie headcanon, though I'm not sure who was the first to come up with it.)

He began acting out in his teenage years, attracting bad press like many former child stars did. Reckless driving, risky situations with people who should have known better. (As it's never said when the Dragon Tattoo incident occurred, it could be placed here and act as a catalyst for self-destruction. In which case, poor young Donnie!)

This all culminated in an accident that left him in the hospital in critical condition. It was then that he was basically disowned by Will, and Donnie DuPré was born. He used his trust fund to finance a false death verdict and made it out of the state with the help of his future father-in-law, Hank Simmons.

He starts out with more positive intentions, wishing to make them better in his eyes. But as the low view counts and negative words build, his directing and writing become more spiteful in tone, characters more mean. Due to his default self-referential/deprecating humour style however, it isn't as apparent at first.

That's all I have for now, ideas or questions or critique welcome!

#{original reel} #{reel rewound} #donnie dupré #reel rewound: donnie dupré #rape mention #rape cw #csa implied #(perhaps - subject to change)

[crdenhart]

Religious Reflections - Luke 16:1-9

June 1st, 2023

Today’s designated Gospel reading from the Book of Common Prayer is Luke 16:1-9. The text of which is as follows from the New Revised Standard Version updated edition (NRSVue) translation of the Bible:

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

(1) Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. (2) So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ (3) Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. (4) I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ (5) So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ (6) He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ (7) Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ (8) And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly, for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. (9) And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

ANALYSIS:

A major lesson in this parable is the importance of being diligent in making things right as the end approaches. When you know the end is near, which could be when one is about to lose a job, is terminally ill, is ending a relationship, etc., it is wise to prepare for what lies ahead. The manager made good with the debtors to ensure that he would have support when the time of his termination of employment comes. He knows that he cannot make it in other professions, so he needs to make friends who can support him, and those whose debts he lowered probably would be kind to him. It is always good to have friends you can fall back on for when times feel like your life, career, or relationship is over. It is like how George Bailey reads Clarence’s message in the book at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life, “No man is a failure who has friends.”

From a business standpoint, this parable illustrates issues that can arise in a company. If an owner of a business tells his or her manager that he or she will be fired, the owner better let him or her go on the spot, or else the manager could retaliate to sabotage the owner’s business. There also is the idea that the situation in this parable could have been avoided had the rich man investigated the accusations more thoroughly to possibly find them to be false and allow the manager to keep his job.

CALL TO ACTION:

My call to action from reading this passage is to find workplace problems and ways to fix them. 70% of one’s life is spent on work, so if your workplace is in a poor state then most of your life is in a poor state. Solving the problems of work can help avoid workplace conflicts and get work completed more efficiently and make a happier work environment and lead to a happier life.

My other call to action is to invest in those friends and family who support you. Become close friends with those in your community so that you can help each other in times of need. Join a social club, a community center, and/or a church. Having a large group of friends and acquaintances can help you get the support you need, especially when you are down and troubled and need a helping hand (like the song “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King). It also is good to show gratitude to those who have helped you through troubled times, especially those moments when you would not have been able to go on without them, and always be prepared to help others in return to pay it forward.

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