You Need to Read This:

 

 Are Men to Blame? If so, Why?

"There are now roughly 30.4 million unmarried American men between the ages of 20 and 39, nearly twice the number of married men in the same cohort."

 

 The predictable explanation is that men are to blame. Pornography, gaming, delayed adulthood, declining ambition, fear of commitment, social awkwardness, the manosphere, and economic stagnation all make the list of reasons.
 But after years of dissecting so-called “toxic masculinity,” perhaps it is time to ask what has toxic femininity done to the modern woman? Have women today become poor prospects for marriage?

That honest question may sound inflammatory because our culture has spent decades teaching women to evaluate men while treating reciprocal scrutiny as sexism. Women are encouraged to identify red flags, examine a man's income, ambition, temperament, sexual habits, emotional intelligence, politics, attachment style, relationship with his mother, willingness to provide, and potential as a father.

 

 This is considered discernment, rightly so. 

 

Men, however, are increasingly discovering that asking similarly consequential questions about women's character invites accusations of insecurity, misogyny, or an inability to “handle” independent women."

By Glenn Beck.

Broadcaster,Social and Political Commentator,Father,Husband and Man of Letters. Multiple Best- selling Author,Entrepreneur and Radio and TV Host.

( from Digital Anvil )

 End of Ways, End of Days:

I know that You don't quite understand, yet You dare.

Friends are vanishing, people are following their own gods and families are worried-- for themselves and little else besides.

Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks!

A few open but many would- be followers refuse to commit to an uncertain yet vaguely understood future. Opening to an Adventure, mocked by some, most  to a dangerous, truly frightening destination they run,

Dressed in white, flowing robes, many worship at the Throne, but GOD's angels fly to the earthly harvest among the Lost.

Tribulation  begins...

The earth quakes violently as the House of GOD is shaken.

Many scream and shout with the tragic awareness as the Son of GOD re- appears.

For 10s of 100s of millions have rejected Him.

Each day sadness roams and settles in GOD's own vision

My eyes, dim with sorrow, yet gladness fills my heart.

My life- journey nearing completion.

What remains apart from me and my body {will be} precious faith purified by supernatural fire.

By Digital Anvil 

The Reversal marches Onward:

 The Reversal Marches:

 

 

 (from Digital Anvil)

 

 The Reversal:

 

of Believing and Understanding 

 

 I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order that I may understand; for of this I feel sure, that, if I did not believe, I would not understand.

ANSELM OF CANTERBURY

(From Digital Anvil)

Eucalypts: Fire That Liberates

Stephen Pyne has written a book about the Australian landscape called Burning Bush: A Fire History of Australia. He refers to one of the remarkable attributes of the eucalypt, found throughout Australia, as its ability to survive fire.

This has always been the case. When the first Europeans arrived in Australia, they saw the First Nations people using bushfires as forest management.

Pyne notes that eucalypts are built for fire. He writes:

“For most eucalypts, fire was not a destroyer but a liberator.”

Fire does not destroy the tree; it reinvigorates the eucalypt.

We can be like the eucalypt. The fires of life, which sometimes feel like that will burn us up, can actually deepen and build us. God promises us that when we walk through the fire, He will be there (Isaiah 43:2).

Share this daily- reading.

Appreciation for this reading to Karl Faase.

( from Digital Anvil )

Ps:

Like the legendary Phoenix, the Eucalypt rises, freed to live.again.

I read this daily- reading during a tough time...and wanted to share with you,my discovery. Coupled with care and prayer, the end result is mightily accomplished

 Free will:

 

 is a concept that has been debated and discussed for centuries. It refers to the ability of individuals to make choices and decisions freely, without any external or predetermined influences. 

 

The concept of free will is highly valued in many societies, as it is seen as a fundamental aspect of human autonomy and personal responsibility. It allows individuals to take ownership of their actions and shape their own lives.
 

 The belief in free will also plays a significant role in various philosophical, religious, and ethical frameworks, as it raises questions about moral accountability and the nature of human agency.

 Overall, the concept of free will is widely embraced and considered essential for the functioning of a just and equitable society.

 

by Digital Anvil 

100 of the Best Books for Men:

 

 Contains timeless wisdom, deep insights into human nature, pathways to male initiation, a restoration of rites of passage, a strong focus on intentional parenting, and a clear ambition for healthier relationships.

Importantly, it honours the authors, elders, and thought leaders (both the men and women in our midst, as well as those who have come before us).

You can read it for free at the website of the National Library of Australia, right here:

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-4239882219/view 

The paperback and Kindle version are available from Amazon, for example at the Australian website:

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1764339738

Searching for "buy 100 of the Best Books for Men by David Maywald".

 

( from Digital Anvil ) 

 Universe Helps or ?

   

When the universe chooses - seemingly - to ruin one person while uplifting another.

 

Is it unfair?

Does vastly, empty space, dust, dark matter and energetically fusing atoms help someone like you and me?

Can the immeasurable universe think, feel, care and send help when one needs  such attention during a tough time? Must you believe in order to obtain help or does it just occur? Is this an attitude similar to " wishing upon a star?"

If the universe is so real and caring, why doesn't life exist -everywhere...and if it does, where are those living alien civilisations ? Why hasn't the SETI project discovered any--apart from us ? (after decades )

 

Some contend that aliens are here or have been visiting for centuries, but why hide, when we would probably welcome them? Aren't there petroglyths depicting UFOs or ancient alien astronauts? Where are they, those advanced alien species? Remember books,songs,movies and plays have been created and performed. Expectations are running high. Many muse openly, "we could live side by side ". Or, "ask the super- intelligent Ai to seek them out?" Again, are we really alone, after all?

 

" Why, o why, my alien person, do you hide, where art thou?"

 

Of course, that compels asking the question,if the universe cannot help and isn't a viable, living entity-- what or who is?

Where DO we find help ?

 

 

By Digital Anvil.

 

When you know, let us know-please? 

Our Hearts and Our Words:

Our Hearts and Our Words

One of my favourite quotes from Jesus is when he said, “... the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45).

Jesus is telling us that we can often see what is in people's hearts by what they say and do. But sadly, that is not always the case. There is another time recorded in Luke 6:46, when Jesus challenges His listeners by saying: “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?”

There are times when our words don’t reflect our hearts, when they are designed to deceive and cover our true motivations.

While we may never fully know what drives another person, we ought to consider what is in our own hearts. What is your motivation? What’s your agenda? Are you seeking to live authentically or are your words and behaviour deceptive?

Share this daily- reading.

My Thanks for Karl Faase.

( from Digital Anvil )

One Life at a Time:

“If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matthew 10:42 NLT

 

 

Les Goldberg’s friends thought he was crazy when he cashed in his personal investments to buy a home to lease for the homeless. A retired engineer, Les felt it was the only decision he could make. He spends a minimum of one hour each day with his homeless friends and has helped renovate several properties on their behalf.

In all his efforts, Goldberg never regarded the homeless as irresponsible or unreliable; he only saw them as people. Hurting people! He figured the house he purchased could be used as both a temporary shelter and a drop-in centre—a place where homeless people might pick up post, make phone calls, follow up job leads, and receive donated goods.

 

Four homeless men live at the house, paying minimal rent to offset expenses. House rules are strict: no alcohol, no drugs, no loitering.

 

 Goldberg has never been rich. For twenty years he ran his own business designing and installing fire sprinklers, making less than minimum wage. He simply was a man who saw an unmet need and found a way to help meet it.

 

 Mother Teresa said: “We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.” Jesus put it this way: “If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

 

 As you go through this day, keep your heart open and ask God to make you a solution to someone else’s problem. When you do, remember that no act of kindness goes unnoticed by God.

SoulFood: Neh 5–7 Mark 12:1–12 Ps 78:1–8 Pro 23:19–21

Thank you,Vision.org.au

( from Digital Anvil )

 Heaven or the Dead End ?

 

 

In our Journey what is surely certain is the uncertainty of it all.

Perhaps it's logical or to many, supra-natural to find a space called Heaven.

What made it uncertain is the atheistic worldview masquerading as obvious wisdom making the expected space of Heaven  a complete nonsense. Death is final. Life ends, when breath is spent-- they say.

Where is it ( Heaven )  when the universe is infinite? How could there be an afterlife when everyone dies and none return to vouch for its existence?

If it isn't true,  many cry, boo, hoo. 

Yet there is a quiet voice crying out into the darkness: "Jesus, is it true, come quickly, before my life is through?"

Is there nothing certain in life but endless strife, then the curtain descends, its the ignominious end?

 Except there is a voice deep inside for whom I am a guide. There is One who prepares, of Him i declare today," He is the Way." Reach out to Him this day.

By Digital Anvil.

Encouragement:

 In all of our experiences. Few things are more comforting or more exhilarating than knowing that God is the One putting together the jigsaw puzzle of your life.

Thanks for yours...

By Digital Anvil.

 One K + One: 16/09/2026

 

Celebrate with me, One Thousand plus one posts reached Today.

 

Hip, hip Hooray. 16/09/2026- a 1001.

 

Drop by, what's your favourite post.  Drop a line or three.

 

You made it possible, viewers, prompting and encouraging me to write. 

 

 Digital Anvil

retrotimetunnel.blogspot.com 

Attitudes: Healthy and Unhealthy.

 

 What is the Difference? 

 

 Healthy Attitude:

To be all I can be, I must focus outwardly

and aspire to a meaning beyond myself.

Unhealthy Attitude:

To be true to myself and

finding happiness is the most important value in life.

Healthy Attitude:

I am unique and all I do is

important in this world and the next.

Unhealthy Attitude:

It matters little what I do:

 I am a mere gear in  largest machine

Healthy Attitude:

The effect I have had on others

I may never know

Each encounter,  I experience

is important and unique to them and me.

Unhealthy Attitude.

Everyone makes their own way in

life. I am not responsible for them;

They are not responsible for me.

 A Christian Ethos:

All that we are and ever can be is unique with Love and Truth as our guide. We are called and while we journey, we perform good deeds prepared for us in advance. We need to walk in these deeds effectively and focus as outwardly as possible.

 

 

(From Digital Anvil) 

 Once Said

 

Rabbi Hillel once said,  If I don't do it, who will do it? If I don't do it now, when will I do it? If I do it only for myself, then who am I?

 

 ( From Digital Anvil)

Modern Feminism ?

MODERN FEMINISM IS  RUINING THE WORLD.

I can support women.

I can believe women deserve equal rights.

I can believe women should be safe, respected, educated, independent and able to make their own choices.

AND I can think that some of the rubbish  being pushed under the label of “modern feminism” is toxic.

Because somewhere along the way, feminism stopped being about equality for a lot of people and became:

“Men are the problem.”

“Women are victims.”

“Accountability is misogyny.”

“Being a mother is oppressive.”

“Traditional femininity is embarrassing.”

“Having standards makes you insecure.”

“And if you disagree with me, you hate women.”

No.

I don’t hate women.

I actually think women are capable of far more than some modern feminist ideology gives them credit for.

You don’t empower women by teaching them that they’re permanently oppressed, that men are inherently dangerous, that motherhood is a trap, or that every consequence in life is somebody else’s fault.

You empower women by telling them:

You are capable. You have choices. You have responsibility. You have value. Your voice matters and deserves to be heard. And you don’t need to hate men to love women.

I will ALWAYS advocate for women’s rights.

But I refuse to blindly support every thing that gets slapped with the word “feminism.”

Equality? Absolutely.

Radical ideology that teaches women to resent men, reject responsibility and view the world through a perpetual victimhood lens?

Hell no.

And if that annoys you off, maybe ask yourself why.

Because apparently in 2026, saying you support women without subscribing to radical feminism is controversial.

And honestly?

That says more about modern feminism than it does about me.

If you’re new here, I am a firm believer that two things can be true at once.

And if you believe that too, maybe consider following along.

#ModernFeminism #canada #WomensRights

This article is from an unnamed source.

Almost verbatim.

( from Digital Anvil )

What If Christians Are Wrong?

Over the years Christians have been challenged by the question: What if we are wrong? What if we have committed our lives to something that is just a massive hoax on all humanity and there is no God? What if Jesus was only a good person and there is nothing after death? Would this mean that we have wasted our lives?

From Paul and the early church through to recent Christian thinkers, people have been responding to this question for centuries. Christians believe that we have a full life where we experience hope and joy. But that doesn't mean it's always easy.

Christians also know that we have a life committed to living beyond ourselves and sharing that focus with thousands of like-minded people. It is a great way to live.

If, though, you do not believe in God, you also must face the same question: what if you are wrong? What if you get to the end of your life and discover that there is an eternity and a moment of personal judgment? For all of us, the stakes are very high and it's an important question to ask.

Share this daily- reading.

Gratitude for you,Karl Faase.

( from Digital Anvil )

Boys, A Rescue Plan: 

Moving Beyond the Politics of Masculinity to Healthy Male Development, by Michael Gurian and Sean Kullman, with a foreword by Warren Farrell.

This is one of the most practical and hopeful books yet written on the challenges facing boys. Rather than dwelling on blame or ideological conflict, the authors ask a simple question: What do Boys really need to thrive ?  Their answer is grounded in decades of research, clinical experience, education, neuroscience, and child development.

The book paints an honest picture of declining educational outcomes, rising mental health struggles, fatherlessness, excessive screen time, reduced physical activity, and a growing lack of purpose among many boys. But its greatest strength is that it refuses to stop at diagnosis. Instead, it offers a genuine rescue plan.

Gurian and Kullman advocate practical, evidence-informed reforms: stronger support for fathers and families; developmentally appropriate schooling; more male teachers and mentors; healthy rites of passage; purposeful physical activity; better mental health care tailored to boys; responsible technology use; and communities that celebrate positive masculinity rather than viewing it with suspicion. They argue that boys flourish when surrounded by caring adults who combine high expectations with empathy, structure, and encouragement.

The tone is constructive throughout. Rather than framing boys' wellbeing as competing with girls' progress, the authors show that investing in healthy male development strengthens families, schools, workplaces, and society as a whole...

At a time when public debate often becomes polarised, Boys, A Rescue Plan stands out as a compassionate, evidence-based roadmap for action. It reminds us that boys aren't problems to be managed, but are beautiful young people with immense potential waiting to be nurtured. Every parent, teacher, policymaker, and community leader concerned about the next generation should read this thoughtful and solution-focused book...

 

Link to Buy the Boys A Rescue Plan 

 

 

Tap or Click Link to purchase above Book at Amazon.com.au 

 

 

( Digital Anvil)

Need for You. [Unpopular Notion!]

Need for You:

It’s tempting to think we’re strong, we’re capable, and “we’ve got this.” But in reality, we are powerless on our own. We desperately need God—every moment of every day.

We wouldn’t be here if He didn’t create us. We wouldn’t live if He didn’t sustain us. We wouldn’t flourish if He didn’t guide, protect, and empower us. 

The author of 1 Chronicles knew the importance of depending on God. He said:

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In a world that’s constantly focused on itself, it’s crucial to recognize our need to depend on God. We need His strength, we need His power, and—to put it simply—we just need Him! 

If you’re feeling confident in your own self-sufficiency, ask yourself: Who made this world? Who created my body, my mind, and my soul? My eyes, my legs, my lungs? Who has the power to save—or to destroy? Who holds the keys to life?

Just as we continually need air, we need the power and presence of God to sustain our every move. 

So how can we seek His strength and presence continually? By staying connected to Him: talking to Him throughout the day, prioritizing Him in the midst of busy schedules, humbly asking for His power. 

God will never deny a heart that is genuinely seeking Him. 

So come to Him with your weakness and He will give you strength. Come to Him with your questions, your needs, and your wants, and He will give you Himself. And that is the very best thing of all. 

Repost from Digital Anvil.

One Intellectual's Admission 
 

 But what is truly stunning is that, with some intellectuals, there is no need to pursue any inquiry because they make no bones about what they are doing. They candidly admit that truth is not their guiding consideration at all.

 

 One of the most frank is Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World.

Huxley’s later book of essays, Ends and Means, is “an inquiry into the nature of ideals,” and in the course of it he is candid about his own beliefs. “All that we are,” he repeats twice, “is the result of what we have thought,” so it is important for us to think well, to be clear about how we think, and to choose the best worldview. 

 

 

“It is impossible to live without a metaphysic. The choice that is given us is not between some kind of metaphysic and no metaphysic; it is always between a good metaphysic and a bad metaphysic.” And how are we to decide? By observing the one that is closest to reality, and may be considered true.

Yet “no philosophy is completely disinterested,” Huxley argues. “The pure love of truth is always mingled to some extent with the need, consciously or unconsciously by even the noblest and most intelligent philosophers, to justify a given form of personal or social behavior, to rationalize the traditional prejudices of a given class or community.” Everyone, he claims, thinks for both “intellectual reasons” (based on truth) and “voluntary reasons” (based on desires and the will).

Huxley was a deeply thoughtful and sensitive man who was unafraid to take positions that bucked the fashionable trends of his day and even of his own famous family. He criticized the dangers of false systems of meaning, such as nationalism, national socialism, communism, a false view of science, and argued that a philosophy of meaninglessness can be useful if it liberates people from such false views. 

Then, with considerable realism he also goes on to criticize those who go to the other extreme and claim to be able to live without any meaning at all. Those, such as the Marquis de Sade, who are consistent proponents of meaninglessness, are dangerous, while most people—fortunately for them—are not consistent. They can only live without meaning for a short time and in selective areas, and only then because they assume unacknowledged sources of meaning in other parts of their lives.

Huxley finishes with a sharp description of the problems created by this approach. On the one hand, by overriding considerations of truth and giving so much attention to personal needs, it creates a fateful divorce between truth and whatever is considered goodness. On the other, it becomes impossible in practice to live without meaning.

 “The mind is so constituted that a philosophy of meaninglessness is accepted only at the level of the passions and is persisted in only by those whose heredity and upbringing make it possible for them to live as though the world were at least partially meaningful.”

One might think that after this trenchant diagnosis of the radical dualism in human thinking, Huxley would urge us to take truth seriously and lean against any way in which we may be tempted to rationalize our needs—as Plato and Aristotle would have recommended.
 

 Instead, bizarrely, he goes on to take the very approach he was attacking. He freely admits that he “took it for granted” that the world had no meaning, but he did not discover it, he decided it. “I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption.”

 His philosophy of meaninglessness was far from disinterested. And the reason? “We objected to morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”

Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk:

 

(From Digital Anvil. )

 

Final Comments:

The concluding sentence above is a tell all.

It exposes the overall  work of many who use revisionist  language in the pursuit of their own agenda/worldview/belief system.

The mark of the rationalising intellectual can be the concealment of their true objective by the reworking and twisting of terms and subtle use of words to convince the listener without alerting him/her to the true nature of their nefarious  breach with reality whilst proclaiming their "truth."

 Via persistent repetition, emotive terms and consistently singular objectives in discourse with print, radio, podcast, social media and other media aligning throughout.  The interfering Intellectual gains freedom while restraining step- by -step the overall freedoms of the common woman and man. For example, Hitler's charismatic speeches. Contrast Winston Churchill's Radio Broadcasts during WW2 ? If still available, listen and watch on Youtube.

 

 Democracy is the ultimate solution coupled with the Judeo- Christian Framework. Truth with Compassion. Truth with Love. Truth absolutely not relativistic truths. Truth without Fear. Truth without condemnation.

 

As always, drop a comment whether you agree or not. 

 

 

 

  

"Beware Intellectuals!”

 

 Paul Johnson’s stunning summary of a study of Western intellectuals runs counter to what many people think, or at least once used to think.

 

 If truth is not the Holy Grail ( the Summa Grande ) for intellectuals, what is? 

Truth surely is the reason why intellectuals think passionately, read voraciously, pursue research tirelessly and argue about anything and everything interminably. 

Almost at the dawn of the Western intellectual tradition, Plato described philosophers in the Republic as those with “no taste for falsehood; that is, they are completely unwilling to admit what’s false but hate it, while cherishing the truth.” Similarly, Aristotle wrote in his Ethics that the person who loves truth for the very sake of truth when nothing is at stake will still be the more truthful when someday everything is at stake.

But that was then. To be sure, there have always been people who were skeptical about anyone who knew more than they did. How could they ever find out whether the other person was trustworthy? 
 

But now we have many people for whom mistrust is the badge they wear proudly to show their schooling in postmodern suspicion, so that “mistrust intellectuals” and “question authority” go hand in hand. After all, Nietzsche and his postmodern disciples have surely won for the moment. Truth is dead, and everything is relative at best and at worst a matter of the will to power.

 Nothing is what it appears to be. 

 

If truth was once the stated goal of intellectuals, it is now easy to read between their scholarly lines and see the petty egos and the dirty ambitions behind the lofty aspirations for truth. Truth is finally undecidable, as the postmodern philosophers express it...

 

 At best, truth is simply the compliment you pay to sentences that you happen to agree with.

However you explain the record, what are undeniable are the facts about the story of intellectuals, and the embarrassing evidence long precedes postmodernism. Many of the celebrated makers of the modern world have been shown up for their devious handling of truth in some aspect of their thinking or their lives—including Rousseau, Shelley, Marx, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Brecht, Bertrand Russell, Sartre, Margaret Mead and others.

 Yet these are the men and women of ideas who have risen up to overthrow the guardians of traditional Western society, and who on the basis of the brilliance of their minds are now trusted to diagnose our ills, prescribe our remedies and direct the future for our children and for the world.

 

My Final Thought: 

Given the veracity of the books: The Intellectuals  and  Fool's Talk... 

...We are left with suspicion on our minds, disagreeable taste on our intellectual palate and a world divided and polarised by the ideas trickled down a savage mountain side filled with  twisted debris, spewed muck and silent venom. From men and women who declared their lot with intelligent banter, fiction producing worldly friction endued with relative nonsense masquerading as wisdom for the common man and woman.

Denying the truth and as some proclaimed that even telling us that they were NOT telling the truth but their thought-ful version of reality.

Recommended Sources:

Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk:  

Paul Johnson, The Intellectuals.

R.C. Sproul, Consequences of Ideas. 

 

(From and By Digital Anvil) 

 

As usual , if you disagree or..... then drop a comment as you drop by. 

 

 ( Essay based largely on Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk: )

The Art of Discernment:

The Art of Discernment:

Every day we all have to make choices. Some of these choices are straightforward, others complex. Often, we are trying to discern what is right.

The great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Discernment is not the difference between right and wrong, it is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

There is plenty in the world that looks almost right, yet isn't the best. So what should we do? Here are four steps.

First, wait, don’t rush. Discernment takes time.

Second, be prayerful. Ask for the Spirit to lead you.

Third, ask yourself whether self-interest is your motivation.

And lastly, put the choice through the grid of God's Word: what does the Bible have to say about this choice?

This is not bulletproof, but it will help in your discernment.

Share this daily- reading.

My gratitude to Karl Faase.

From Digital Anvil.

Pursue God's Purpose for Your Life:

Pursue God’s purpose for your life

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you…plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Nothing is more gratifying than knowing one’s purpose—even when opposition seems unbearable and other distractions threaten to overshadow it. Often when people say they don’t have a passion for anything, they may be struggling to recognise the gifts, opportunities, and desires God has placed within them. Jesus refused to let anyone pull Him away from His purpose. “Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbiter between you?’” (Luke 12:13–14 NIV).

In essence, Jesus was saying, “I’m not about to get distracted by conducting an arbitration hearing between you two. That’s not part of My purpose for being here on earth.” Even up to the day that Jesus gave His life on the cross, there were many sick people needing healing and countless other impossible situations that needed His attention. He knew that through the power of His death and resurrection, all could be addressed. So, despite unresolved problems, He confidently gave His heavenly Father this report on His ministry: “I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave me to do” (John 17:4 NLT). Jesus refused to let His disciples, Satan, well-meaning family members, needy people, or anyone else distract Him from His purpose. And you must learn to do that too. This raises the question: can you state your God-given purpose in a single sentence?

 Are you pursuing it ?

The Significant Role of Dads:

Significant Role of Dads.

We live in a place of tension in modern Western nations when it comes to the role of a dad. Research tells us that fathers have a significant and important place in the lives of children and the statistics back this up.

Yet we also live in a society that on a regular basis makes fathers the brunt of jokes, and dads are portrayed as not very bright and completely dispensable.

Due to dreadful behaviour of some high-profile individuals, the term "toxic masculinity" has become a usual way of referring to men.

Yet that is not the whole story. Our community is full of dads loving their kids, contributing to their families and being a positive role model.

When we were filming the Insight podcasts in London we interviewed Justin Brierley and his son Noah. Justin is a well-known UK Christian leader and broadcaster. Noah is a social media influencer with 1.7 million followers on TikTok. Noah spoke of the positive and enduring impact that his father Justin has had on his life and his faith. It’s a reminder of the positive difference dads can make.

Why not take this Sunday as an opportunity to reflect on the role of the dads in your life. Take some time to thank God and to pray for them.

Share this daily- reading.

Thanks, Karl.

From Digital Anvil.

Use the Gift God has given You

“[God] has given each one of us a special gift.” Ephesians 4:7 NLT

Paul said that when Jesus “ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people” (v. 8 NLT). He used the metaphor of a victorious king. It was common in Paul’s day for the conquering monarch to return to his palace with prisoners and treasures in tow. He celebrated his conquest by giving gifts to his people. So did Jesus. Having defeated sin and death on the cross, He ascended to heaven, took His rightful place at the right hand of God, and “gave gifts to his people”.

What a delightful thought! Jesus, eternally crowned, distributing abilities and skills: “Joe, take your place in the domain of medicine. Mary, your territory is accounting.” Everybody gets a gift. And these gifts come in different doses and combinations. “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT).

Our inheritance is grace-based and equal, but our assignments are tailor-made. No two snowflakes are the same. No two fingerprints are the same. Why would two skill sets be the same? No wonder Paul said, “Understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT).

Do you understand what the Lord wants? If not, you’ll lead a dull, joyless, and fruitless life. You’ll never sing the song God wrote for your voice and never cross the finish line with heavenward-stretched arms and declare, “I was made to do this!” That’s why the Bible says: “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done” (Galatians 6:4 NLT).

SoulFood: Josh 19:24–21:45 Mark 10:23–34 Ps 111 Pro 23:4–6

My earnest thanks to Vision.org.au

From Digital Anvil.

 What?

 I used to be a man  trapped  in a woman's body...and then...I was born.

Seen on the back of a man's teashirt.

From Digital Anvil.

Piano Man: In the early 1970s, a young man made two attempts to take his life. He was desperate, alone, homeless, and sleeping in a laundromat. After a short stay in a medical facility, he tried to get his life back on track. He started playing piano in a bar for some extra cash. He was a gifted musician. Over the following months, he wrote a song about his experiences with the regulars. The song is called Piano Man, and the singer was Billy Joel. The song became an anthem for a generation. As we all know, Billy Joel has gone on to be an international superstar, but at one time he had no hope and no future. No matter how tough life is, don’t give up. Talk to friends, pray, seek God—and who knows what the future may hold.   Share this daily reading. Karl, thanks. (From Digital Anvil )

 Fascism and Anti-Fascism

 

Yes? Yes!

History does repeat itself.

In Old and in the New Russia as in China, private institutions cozy up ,align with and partner with the Government of the day. It happened in war-time Italy and Nazi Germany. It happened in the USA.

Its happening now. Flourishing with the seasons,  waning with the moon and arising with every temple of man.

Fascism lives on -both sides of the Aisle.

Similar values set the trajectory for Governments, companies and of course, individuals to align. Lies, half - truths and politicians...and intellectuals line the zig-zag path of every political system.

Trump or Biden. Its all about surviving, then thriving.

I contend, like many others, that if Fascism exists, then the new Fascism movement will arise in a new anti- fascist disguise.

Perhaps you and I can fathom the cleverness of the Establishment or the Elites in their use of we the sheep?

What we do, defines the path of the " last laugh."

We need a new seed.

Time and time again, God has raised up champions. To direct, guide and instruct the neighbourhood of women and men. We need to ponder the outcome of every sum of effort, time, heart and mind to specify the decisions before we set an untoward path and give our enemy -the last laugh.

Do you hear the music, do you hear the song, if not, you have been deceived for far too long.

 

Heed a voice,give a good cheer,a  champion whom we hold dear is almost Here. Time will tell whom we love or hate, the Second Coming has a hidden but nearing date.

 By Digital Anvil.

" Kill All Jews"

 Kill All Jews

 

“Kill all Jews” was graffitied on a wall in Germany, 80 years after the Holocaust.

 A synagogue in Cottbus was defaced with a swastika. Just one day earlier, graffiti calling for the murder of Jews was found in Berlin.

These were not isolated incidents. They were part of a wave of antisemitic attacks plaguing Germany.

Remember when they said “globalize the intifada” wasn’t a call for violence against Jews? Remember when they said BDS was just about boycotting “apartheid”? Remember when they swore it was only about Zionists, Palestinians, or freedom?

It wasn’t. It never was.

It was always about hating Jews.

(From Digital Anvil.)

Final Comments:

 Where on earth,can ~14 mega Israelis date, marry and live to continue their heritage, existence and society in relative peace,prosperity, perpetuity and purpose without harassment,obstruction and terrorism?

Israel, the Land of the Bible.
Deemed by a 1948 ( then sympathetic ) United Nations to reside in an ancient space that rightfully theirs for~ 3000 years.

A flea vs Dragon. A David vs Goliath.

Israel vs the hostile world. Ancient claim vs modern denial. Iran vs Israel.

BDS vs Christians. Divest vs Invest.

America = Israel and sympathetic nations. Curse vs Blessing.

GOD aligned with His Chosen nation.

(Choose today whom ? Your prosperity depends on it.)

Believe it or not? Your verdict carries weight,maybe it's not too late.

 Truth or Dare? (Part 2)

 

They Dared and now It's Declared that We weren't Spared...

 ...The Harm of their Intellectual Charm!

 

 For all the proud Enlightenment boasts such as Kant’s Aude sapere  (Dare to know), contemporary accounts of Western intellectuals leave the myth of the dispassionate truth seeker in tatters. The real situation is frequently the opposite. Many thinkers are truth twisters. For every thinker who desires to conform his thinking to reality, there are others whose desire is clearly to conform reality to their thinking. 

The cleverer the mind, the slipperier the heart, and the more sophisticated the education, the subtler the rationalization. 

Erudition lends conviction to self-deception.Paul Johnson’s evidence is startling and his conclusion sober:

  The belief seems to be spreading that intellectuals are no wiser as mentors, and no worthier as exemplars, than the witch doctors or priests of old. I share that skepticism. A dozen people picked at random on the street are at heart as likely to offer sensible views on moral and political matters as a cross-section of the intelligentsia. But I would go further. One of the principal lessons of our tragic century, which has seen so many millions of innocent lives sacrificed to improve the lot of humanity, is—beware intellectuals.                        

Paul Johnson

                                                

Anyone not convinced by this bald summary should read the authors for themselves and examine the evidence. But what is truly stunning is that, with some intellectuals, there is no need to pursue any inquiry because they make no bones about what they are doing. They candidly admit that truth is not their guiding consideration at all. 

Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk: 

Recommended Sources

Quote cited: The Intellectuals by Paul Johnson.

 

Essay from Os Guinness' Book: Fool's Talk.

 

 In case you missed it, tap or click quick link below for Part 1

 

Part 1 to Essay here 

 

(From Digital Anvil.)

Final Comment:

Perhaps we can modernise the common saying: Lies,half- truths, statistics,politicians ...and intellectuals ?

 

What do You think? Drop a comment, reflections welcome and opposing comments as well.

 

 

 Truth or Dare? 

 They dared and Now Its Declared that We weren't Spared...

 ....The Harm of their Intellectual Charm!

 Many of the celebrated makers of the modern world have been shown up for their devious handling of truth in some aspect of their thinking or their lives—including Rousseau, Shelley, Marx, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Brecht, Bertrand Russell, Sartre, Margaret Mead and others.

Yet these are the men and women of ideas who have risen up to overthrow the guardians of traditional Western society, and who on the basis of the brilliance of their minds are now trusted to diagnose our ills, prescribe our remedies and direct the future for our children and for the world.

Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk: 

(from Digital Anvil)

 

 More about Truth

Tap or Click on above link for another essay.

 

 (to be continued on 2nd September,2026)

Drop a comment, your ideas or thoughts 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep on Keeping On:

Experts getting it wrong?

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV

 

Some of the world’s most successful people were told by so-called experts that they didn’t have what it took to be a success in the professions they had chosen. In 1927, Lucille Ball was told by an instructor at the John Murray Anderson Drama School, “Try any other profession. Any other.”

Universal Pictures dismissed both Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, claiming that Reynolds had no talent and Eastwood talked too slowly. Malcolm Forbes, the late editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, failed to become part of the staff of his school newspaper when he was an undergraduate at Princeton University

 

 Decca Recording Company executives responded negatively to the audition of four young musicians, saying, “We don’t like their sound. Groups with guitars are on the way out.” So the Beatles took their sound elsewhere.

 

 For seven years, a young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to twenty corporations, all of which turned him down. The Haloid Company finally purchased the rights to his electronic paper-copying process. And Haloid became Xerox.

 

 Don’t be discouraged if you are not finding the acceptance and success you desire right now. Your story is still being written! The Bible says, “…do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12 NKJV). Faith and patience are the two qualities that will bring you success. This is why the apostle Paul wrote: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

SoulFood: Josh 14–15 Mark 10:1–12 Ps 103:1–12 Pro 22:27–29

My thanks to Vision.org.au

(From Digital Anvil )