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You know the old adage, “It’ll probably get worse before it gets better”? Oh, and this one: “It’s always darkest before the dawn” and, meanwhile, that coal-black night seems to go on for eons? Exodus 5 in my morning reading. If you didn’t know God was faithful, you might think

 He liked getting you into trouble. Moses has returned to Egypt. Aaron’s reintroduced the former prince to the Israelite elders. Told them God has seen their misery. Moses performed a few signs. They’re bought in and bowed low in worship by the end of Exodus 4. Then Moses & Aaron
go to Pharaoh with the Lord’s message: “Let my people go.”
No. “Please.” Nope. Can’t lose my labor force. So Pharaoh commands overseers to drastically increase the Israelites’ workload without changing their daily quota. When they can’t fill it, the Israelite foremen are beaten.
The Israelite foremen go to Pharaoh & cry out for help. He says, “You are nothing but slackers! Now get to work!” So they do what you know they are going to do and do not blame them for doing and know you would do it, too. They go to Moses and Aaron. “What have you done to us?!?”
Moses then goes to the Lord. “What have you done to them??And why did you ever send me?? Nothing but trouble has happened since we did what you said. “AND,” Moses cries, “You haven’t rescued your people at all!”

It’ll be that way sometimes. It’ll get worse before it gets better.
It’ll seem like God’s trying to get you in trouble. We have this erroneous idea that obedience leads to instant breakthrough. Beautifully, it can on occasion if that’s the way the Lord times it. But far more frequently, obedience either seems to make little immediate difference
OR makes things temporarily worse. A little flicker of divine promise had come earlier-on to Moses and Aaron and, of all things, from Pharaoh’s own mouth. When they first went to him with the Lord’s message, “Let my people go,” he’d unknowingly responded with the Lord’s promise:
“Look, the people of the land are so numerous & you would stop them from their labor.” Read that 1st part again. “Look, the people of the land are so numerous.” Genesis 15:5, God to childless, heirless Abraham. “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.
Your offspring will be that numerous.” Sometimes, if you’re really paying attention, if you’ll really listen, you will hear keywords, brow-raising words, from unsuspecting people in your waiting that are reminders of God’s great faithfulness. A glimpse ahead at Exodus 6 to close.
God hears Moses’s complaint and replies to him, “You will see what I will do...I AM THE LORD.”

Yes, he is.

THE LORD. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Moses, Aaron & the Israelites. The God of us.

He cannot be unfaithful.
He cannot lie.
He is the Lord.
Worthy of our trust. Worthy of our obedience. Worthy of our faithful waiting and burdensome working and relentless praying until that dark night finally turns to dawn.

This is the crisis of faith: when, for just a little while, it seems that you did what God said but He didn’t.
He is the Lord. He will not only prove faithful. When he’s done what he intended to do, his goodness will put you face-to-the-floor. But he will do it in such a way that there’s no boasting in human flesh. Just worship from our lips. Wait and work, Loved of God. He is still Lord.

More from Beth Moore

Beth Moore
Beth Moore
@BethMooreLPM
My reading today was Exodus 32. Moses has been on the mountain with God, hearing the instructions for the tabernacle & receiving the stone tablets. The people below, who’d seen the smoke above & heard the thunder &, that very morning, filled their bellies with bread from heaven,

decided Moses & that God above were taking too long. They needed a god below who would get with it. Get with them. Get them where they wanted to go. So they gathered around Aaron & said, “Come, make gods for us!” The same Aaron of Ex 24 who’d been invited by God to see the very

pavement beneath God’s feet. Aaron & his sons & the 70 elders, “saw Him and they ate and drank.” That Aaron. So he tells them in Ex 32, Bring me your gold & let’s see what I can do. He fashions it into the image of a calf & they present it to Israel in wording shudderingly

blasphemous. “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Over and over God has reminded them not to forget who had brought them out. Perhaps this started making Aaron a little nervous. Or maybe it didn’t. Maybe he just bought in. But his next move

is particularly telling. “When he saw this (the masses reacting to the gold idol he’d fashioned for them), he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: ‘there will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.’ Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings &
CULTURE
Beth Moore
Beth Moore
@BethMooreLPM
In Exodus now in my daily Bible reading. Chapters 3-4. God finds Moses on the far side of the wilderness. Calls to him from a burning shrub that attracts his attention—not because it’s on fire but—because the fire is not destroying it. That’s a lesson right there. There’s fire

that lights up, fire that heats, fire that draws forth the worship of God. Then there’s unholy fire that utterly destroys. The difference is obvious in its wake. God tells Moses to say to the Israelites, “I have paid close attention to you & to what has been done to you.” Always.

God is faithful. He sees. He knows. He will act. God tells Moses his name to authorize him then performs wonders to prove he’ll empower him. The former prince of Egypt replies with a line that makes me want to laugh every time I read it: “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent

—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant...” In other words, “Lord, there you are and here I am and, as great as you are, I’m no better than I was.” Then the Lord replies with something I find so profound: “Go! I will teach you what to say.”

Not “I will TELL you what to say.” He says, “I will TEACH you.” Three verses later, God repeats the same idea: “I will teach you both (Moses and Aaron) what to do.” We’d anticipate the word “tell” in both cases. In fact, it’s often what we prefer. Sometimes we want God to simply
RELIGION
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Beth Moore
Beth Moore
@BethMooreLPM
An Interrupted Dawn

A fresh sadness has cast its cold shadow over me. It caught me by surprise but not because I’m unaccustomed to flickering light. I’m too old to be unaccustomed to such common things. I’m not afraid. Just surprised. Surprised because I thought it was morning.

2020 was such a dark year. Like you, no doubt, the global darkness of the pandemic fell like a lead blanket over a personal season that would also throw a wool shawl over my man & me. Our 2 kids did just what they we’re supposed to do. They grew up. To our great fortune, we still

got to live a lot of family life. The halls of our house rang a constant ruckus. Grandchildren running, skating, cartwheeling, dancing, leaping, hiphopping, dog-ball-throwing, nerf gun launching. Adults eating, discussing, debating, arguing, discoursing and opining as Moores do.

Then the Lord moved one. Then the others. Moved them far away. I blame it entirely on the Lord because that’s how I can accept and embrace it as good. I know it was him because even I can look at it—at what he’s orchestrated for my people—& nod & say, Amen. So be it. It is well.

What he’d given Keith & me in having both our girls & their loves all these years was a gift, not a right. Amen. So be it. It is well. I hesitate to write this part because my girls will see it & I know they will hate it because they love their mother. So I’ll say it quickly like
FOR LATER READ
Beth Moore
Beth Moore
@BethMooreLPM
“So Moses finished the work.” (Exodus 40:33) I came to the end of my reading in Exodus this morning. To fully appreciate those 5 words, you really need to read the 39 preceding chapters. The whole thing had been such an ordeal, drama from the time God called out to Moses from

the burning bush to the moment he “inspected all the work they had accomplished” in the building of the tabernacle. For starters, Moses wasn’t looking to lead anything but sheep to pasture. He was hiding when God found him. Moses was no volunteer. And even after God called him,

he insisted God find someone else. But the force of the divine call is hard to resist. The people he served nearly drove him nuts. He was supposed to lead a group of worshippers and what he mostly got was whiners. He’d lost his temper over & over. Even thrown the stone tablets

inscribed by the finger of God. Nope. Moses couldn’t say it had gone well. What the whole thing had been was WORK. Unrelenting, frustrating work so detailed that it had to match the divine instructions down to every clasp on endless yards of curtains. There had been some great

moments like the time the people were invited to contribute any personal possessions to the makings of the tabernacle furnishings. They had given so freely, Moses had to tell them to stop. There was that. But overall, what he’d done, what they’d all done, was WORK. Lo & behold,
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Beth Moore
Beth Moore
@BethMooreLPM
Well, folks, the reason I haven’t been sharing many short clips from my morning readings lately is that, well, I’m in chapters 11-17 of Ezekiel. They involve complicated visions that don’t lend themselves to Twitter threads. But at the end of my reading today in Ezek 17,

God delivered a word to the prophet depicting a theme that may be uncomfortable but it’s not incomprehensible.

“I bring down the tall tree and make the low tree tall. I cause the green tree to wither and make the withered tree thrive. I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it.”

God’s got this thing about pride. He does not let it go unchecked. When his people continue in arrogance after multiple warnings, he is going to bring them down. He will turn the tables. That which has been high will be brought low. This is why we are told by both James and Peter

in the NT that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We need his grace so badly. Repentance is our only real way forward. He also views idolatry as spiritual adultery. This was the case in the judgment that was coming to his people through the Babylonians.

We are caught in a cycle. We keep repeating the same offenses and keep excusing them the exact same ways. Study even just the last century. I beg you to. Face how we evangelicals have bedded down with worldly systems for power. See how every time prophetic voices confronted us
CULTURE

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Dr Adam Rutherford
Dr Adam Rutherford
@AdamRutherford
I see that there is a lot of chat about ancestry and indigeneity, two complex and profoundly misunderstood concepts. Here’s a thread 1/N - I have written about these ideas extensively, in two books;

Ancestry rapidly becomes a matted web rather than a tree. Claims of ancestral purity are absurd. We are descended from multitudes, and don’t bear DNA from actual ancestors after very few generations. (fig. from @Graham_Coop


With both ancestry and indigeneity, the pertinent question is ‘when?’ If you claim ancestry from a certain group of people, then you are timestamping when you consider these ancestors to be important (to you). 3/N

Similarly, with claims of indigeneity, there is no agreed time when this kicks in.

There are a few places that have been populated by human in recent history, and so logical claims of an indigenous people make more sense, e.g. the Māori of New Zealand were the first humans to live on Aotearoa from the 12th C.
BOOK
@AdamSmithWorks
@AdamSmithWorks
@adamsmithworks
Today we start the last book of #AdamSmith's #WealthOfNations.

Allons-y!

#WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


Book Five of #WealthOfNations is all about the duties of the sovereign and how to pay for them. In this first part of chapter 1, we’re talking about the cost of defense. (V.i.a) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets


The sovereign's duty to protect the country can only be done through military force, but how you get the money to pay for that military varies according to time, place, and circumstance. (V.i.a.1) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

In a hunter/gatherer society, everyone is always already a warrior, and since there isn’t really a sovereign or nation, no expense is required to maintain defense. Much the same is true of shepherding cultures. (V.i.a.2) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets

Armies of hunters are limited in size to a few hundred men (as they have to sustain themselves through the available game). Shepherds can muster larger forces because they bring their sustenance in the form of flocks. (V.i.a.3–5) #WealthOfTweets #SmithTweets
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James Bejon
James Bejon
@JamesBejon
THREAD: Jonah, Moses, and the Cross.

Jonah is traditionally read on Yom Kippur.

Why?

One reason is no doubt its emphasis on repentance.

Thematic and calendrical issues, however, may also play a part.

Consider the book’s flow of events:

🔹 As the book opens, a threat of judgment looms on the horizon.

🔹 Per the Yom Kippur ritual (on 10th Tishri), lots are cast and Jonah is selected to be sent away.

🔹 And, four days later (14th Tishri), Jonah builds himself a ‘sukkah’ (‘tabernacle’), in which he rejoices (שמח) (cp. 4.6)—a verb specifically connected with the feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23.40, Deut. 16.15).

Further connections can also be noted.

But, before we dive into their details, we need to take a step back.

(Christians of all people should make they sure don’t get carried away by divers’ lusts: KJV II Tim. 3.6.)

--- A PROPHET ON THE RUN ---

Jonah’s distinctive as a prophet is undoubtedly his decision to run away from his God.

How many other prophetic books open with a description of their author’s disobedience?
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David R. MacIver
David R. MacIver
@DRMacIver
One like = one* interesting book pairing

* with an option to give up any time after 100 tweets

(Not formally part of @threadapalooza, just a warm up exercise / fodder for if I do give in to the imp of the perverse and do a 100 threads thread.)

1. "Ritual and its Consequences" with "Games: Agency as Art".

Both detailed analyses of social technologies (rituals and games) and how people engage with them by essentially suspending the normal complexities of the world within a structure. Would reward detailed comparison.

2. "The Collected Schizophrenias" with Ratcliffe's "Feelings of Being"

Autobiography of someone with schizophrenia paired with a detailed phenomenological analysis of what it's like to be schizophrenic. The latter would be an interesting lens to read the former through.

(<)3. "All About Love" by bell hooks and "About Love" by Josef Pieper.

The reason for the pairing is fairly obvious, but each of these has had significant and distinct impacts on my understanding of love.

(Both are fairly religious and/or spiritual)
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🌹⚜️ ⚔️𝒮𝒽𝑒𝓀𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒶𝒽 ⚔️ ⚜️ ...
@PetahJane
A passage from a book I read in January this year by Megan Watterson: Mary Magdalene Revealed. I was flying to Perth, and it as my birthday (31st January - also her birthday) when I could feel myself activated by the Angels as I read this... given what I experienced on that

flight, so incredible. There was no one to meet me at the other end. I knew no one. I had to make my way to a friend's house where I was staying, and I spent my birthday entirely alone. I finished this book while I was alone with Her that day:

"If I could start over from the

beginning, I would start with the most invisible, the threads in the web of our ecosystem that are rarely named, much less revered. I would start by listing the trees, the flowers, the seeds that carry the light that give us light and that give us life, because its this we have

forgotten This is where our reverence has not yet reached. I would start with Frankincense and Myrrh, the Boswellia and Commiphora trees that made them. I would start with the honeybee and the sweet nectar it feeds on. I would start first with what goes unnoticed and with what we

haven't realised is the the most sacred amongst us. I would start with the names of everyone we have excluded: the street children, the millions slowly starving to death in plain daylight, I would start with the outsiders, the outcasts. I would start with every one of us who
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These 10 threads will teach you more than reading 100 books

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THE STRUCTURE, IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF VISHNU PURAN.

Vishnu puran has twenty three thousand shlokas. It has the power to destroy all your sins. In its first part it contains the dialogue between Parashar rishi and Maitrey rishi.


The main topics discussed here are Aadikaraan sarg, origin of devtas, Samudra manthan, the vansh of Daksh, stories of Dhruv and Pruthu, Prachetas analysis, Prahlads story, the distribution of different powers to the various sections of society.

The second part consists of description of Priyavrat vansh, description of Dweeps, Varsh, Swarg, Narak, description of various planet movements, Bharat charitra, Muktimarg and dialogue between Nidhag and Ribhu.
Next is the description of Manvantars, avtaar of Vedvyas,

and ways to get freedom from Narak. Then we find a dialogue between Sagar & Aurva rishi, structure of Dharma, Shradh Kalp,Varnashram dharma, good behavior and story of Maya & Moha.

In the 4th part we find the description of Chandra vansh along with the description of its rulers.

Next are the questions regarding Krishnavtar, Gokul, the slaying of Putna, atrocities of demon Aghasur, Killing of Kansa, leela in Mathura, demons slayed by Krishna in order to ease the load of Prithvi, Krisha's marriages and sermon by Ashtavakra.
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STEALTH JEFF
STEALTH JEFF
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THIS.

Russia hasn't been a willing partner in this treaty for almost 3 decades. We should have ended the pretense long ago.

Naturally, Rand Paul is telling anyone who will listen to him that Trump is making a HUGE MISTAKE here.


Rand is just like his dad, Ron. 100% isolationist.

They've never grasped that 100% isolationist is not 'America First' when you examine it. It really means 'America Alone'.

The consistent grousing of pursuing military alliances with allies - like Trump is doing now with Saudi Arabia.

So of course Rand has also spent the last 2 days loudly calling for Trump to kill the arms deal with Saudi Arabia and end our alliance with them.

What Obama was engineering with his foreign policy was de facto isolationism: pull all the troops out of the ME, abandon the region to Iranian control as a client state of Russia.

Obama wasn't building an alliance with Iran; he was facilitating abandoning the ME to Iran.

Obama wouldn't even leave behind a token security force, so of course what happened was the rise of ISIS. He also pumped billions of dollars into the Iranian coffers, which the Mullah's used to fund destabilizing activity [wars/terrorism] & criminal enterprises all over the globe
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Brian Cates
Brian Cates
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Trump is gonna let the Mueller investigation end all on it's own. It's obvious. All the hysteria of the past 2 weeks about his supposed impending firing of Mueller was a distraction. He was never going to fire Mueller and he's not going to


Mueller's officially end his investigation all on his own and he's gonna say he found no evidence of Trump campaign/Russian collusion during the 2016 election.

Democrats & DNC Media are going to LITERALLY have nothing coherent to say in response to that.

Mueller's team was 100% partisan.

That's why it's brilliant. NOBODY will be able to claim this team of partisan Democrats didn't go the EXTRA 20 MILES looking for ANY evidence they could find of Trump campaign/Russian collusion during the 2016 election

They looked high.

They looked low.

They looked underneath every rock, behind every tree, into every bush.

And they found...NOTHING.

Those saying Mueller will file obstruction charges against Trump: laughable.

What documents did Trump tell the Mueller team it couldn't have? What witnesses were withheld and never interviewed?

THERE WEREN'T ANY.

Mueller got full 100% cooperation as the record will show.
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