Who did GOD Set to Protect his Own?

....those charged with defending and protecting the people and/or the sanctuary of God are men rather than women, fathers rather than mothers.

....

This remains true through the period of the first temple, when there is a male priesthood operating alongside a male monarchy in Judah (Athaliah is never called a “queen” or given any legitimacy by the writer, and as such is the exception that proves the rule).

For the full article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/beautiful-complementarity-male-female/

Ascension Day

Christ, the King of glory, Jesus King of love,

Is gone up in triumph to his throne above.

All his work is ended, joyfully we sing:

Jesus hath ascended: Glory to our King!

He who came to save us, he who bled and died,

Now is crowned with glory at his Father's side.

Never more to suffer, never more to die,

Jesus, King of glory, is gone up on high.

For the whole hymn

....

40 days after Jesus rose from the dead he ascended as he said he would to "the right hand of God"

Many nations celebrate this day.

Even Indonesia has a public holiday on Ascension Day. Despite Christianity being a minor religion in Indonesia, Ascension Day is designated as a public holiday.

Atheist Missionary Wonders If You Have A Few Minutes To Talk About Nothing·Apr 16, 2026 · BabylonBee.com

PORTLAND, OR — Local residents were greeted Saturday morning by an atheist missionary who politely asked if they had a few moments to talk about nothing.

The missionary, Brent Miller, was part of a new outreach program dedicated to spreading the "Good News" that there is actually no news, no plan, and definitely no God.

"Excuse me, sir," Miller said to a man mowing his lawn. "If you were to die tonight, are you certain that you would simply cease to exist and be forgotten by a cold, indifferent universe? Do you have the peace that comes from knowing your life is a statistical accident?"

According to Miller, his mission was to provide "hope-crushing clarity" to those burdened by the belief in an afterlife. He carried a bag filled with pamphlets titled Why Your Suffering is Random and The Comfort of Eternal Non-Existence.

"Most people are living in fear that their actions have ultimate meaning," Miller explained while wiping sweat from his brow. "I'm here to tell them they can relax. Whether you're a saint or a serial killer, you're both headed for the same blackness of nothing at the end of your life. Isn't that inspiring?"

At publishing time, Miller was seen being chased off a porch after trying to comfort a grieving widow by explaining that her late husband was currently nothing more than a highly inefficient fertilizer.

Morning Hymn

1

Christ, whose Glory fills the Skies,

   Christ, the true, the only Light,

Sun of Righteousness, arise,

   Triumph o'er the Shades of Night:

Day-spring from on High, be near:

Day-star, in my Heart appear.

 

2

 

Dark and Cheerless is the Morn

   Unaccompanied by Thee,

Joyless is the Day's Return,

   Till thy Mercy's Beams I see;

Till thy inward light impart,

Glad my Eyes, and warm my Heart.

 

3

 

Visit then this Soul of mine,

   Pierce the Gloom of Sin, and Grief,

Fill me, Radiancy Divine,

   Scatter all my Unbelief,

More and more Thyself display,

Shining to the Perfect Day.

-- Charles Wesley 

What GOD Does in the Bread and Wine

1.

O the depth of love di­vine,

Th’unfathomable grace!

Who shall say how bread and wine

God in­to us con­veys!

How the bread His flesh im­parts,

How the wine tran­smits His blood,

Fills His faith­ful people’s hearts

With all the life of God!

2.

Let the wis­est mor­tals show

How we the grace re­ceive;

Feeble ele­ments be­stow

A pow­er not theirs to give.

Who ex­plains the won­drous way,

How through these the vir­tue came?

These the vir­tue did con­vey,

Yet still re­main the same.

3.

How can spir­its heav’n­ward rise,

By earth­ly mat­ter fed,

Drink here­with di­vine sup­plies

And eat im­mor­tal bread?

Ask the Fa­ther’s wis­dom how:

Christ who did the means or­dain;

Angels round our al­tars bow

To search it out, in vain.

4.

Sure and re-al is the grace,

The man­ner be un­known;

Only meet us in Thy ways

And per­fect us in one.

Let us taste the heav’n­ly pow­ers,

Lord, we ask for no­thing more.

Thine to bless, ’tis on­ly ours

To won­der and adore.

--  Charles Wesley 

Morning Hymn

1.

Christ, whose Glory fills the Skies,

   Christ, the true, the only Light,

Sun of Righteousness, arise,

   Triumph o'er the Shades of Night:

Day-spring from on High, be near:

Day-star, in my Heart appear.

 

2.

Dark and Cheerless is the Morn

   Unaccompanied by Thee,

Joyless is the Day's Return,

   Till thy Mercy's Beams I see;

Till thy inward light impart,

Glad my Eyes, and warm my Heart.

 

3. 

Visit then this Soul of mine,

   Pierce the Gloom of Sin, and Grief,

Fill me, Radiancy Divine,

   Scatter all my Unbelief,

More and more Thyself display,

Shining to the Perfect Day.

-- Charles Wesley, "Morning Hymn" from Hymns and Sacred Poems. (London: W. Strahan, 1740)

Bishop Doane on His Dog

I am quite sure he thinks that I am God--

since he is God on whom each one depends

for life, and all things that His bounty sends--

my dear old dog, most constant of all friends;

not quick to mind, but quicker far than I

to Him whom God I know and own; his eye,

deep brown and liquid, watches for my nod;

he is more patient underneath the rod

than I, when God His wise corrections sends.

He looks love at me, deep as words e'er spake;

and from me never crumb nor sup will take

but he wags thanks with his most vocal tail;

and when some crashing noise wakes all his fear,

he is content and quiet, if I am near,

secure that my protection will prevail.

So, faithful, mindful, thankful, trustful, he

tells me what I unto my God should be.

by George Washington Doane