Hate by Gary Rose

At first I thought this was just sort of funny, but then I thought: what if the chickens were actually telling the truth? If that we true, then what kind of person would “Mozart” be? My answer – A left wing Democrat!

Sounds a bit harsh, but think about it; Mueller investigation is over, Trump is vindicated, but still the Democrats want to impeach him.

The truth is: If you don’t want to hear the truth, you will NEVER HEAR THE TRUTH!

The following is the best example of this concept that I can think of from the Scriptures…

John 8 ( World English Bible )

Joh 8:12, Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.* He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Joh 8:13, The Pharisees therefore said to him, “You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

Joh 8:14, Jesus answered them, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don’t know where I came from, or where I am going.

Joh 8:15, You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one.

Joh 8:16, Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.

Joh 8:17, It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.*

Joh 8:18, I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

Joh 8:19, They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

Joh 8:20, Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Joh 8:21, Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.”

Joh 8:22, The Jews therefore said, “Will he kill himself, that he says, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come?’”

Joh 8:23, He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

Joh 8:24, I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am* he, you will die in your sins.”

Joh 8:25, They said therefore to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

Joh 8:26, I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”

Joh 8:27, They didn’t understand that he spoke to them about the Father.

Joh 8:28, Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things.

Joh 8:29, He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

Joh 8:30, As he spoke these things, many believed in him.

Joh 8:31, Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.

Joh 8:32, You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”*

Joh 8:33, They answered him, “We are Abraham’s seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free?’”

Joh 8:34, Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.

Joh 8:35, A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever.

Joh 8:36, If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Joh 8:37, I know that you are Abraham’s seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. (emphasis added)

Joh 8:38, I say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.”

Joh 8:39, They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.

Joh 8:40, But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this.

Joh 8:41, You do the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.”

Joh 8:42, Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me.

Joh 8:43, Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.

Joh 8:44, You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.

Joh 8:45, But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me. (emphasis added)

Joh 8:46, Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

Joh 8:47, He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”

Joh 8:48, Then the Jews answered him, “Don’t we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?”

Joh 8:49, Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.

Joh 8:50, But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges.

Joh 8:51, Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.”

Joh 8:52, Then the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’

Joh 8:53, Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Joh 8:54, Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.

Joh 8:55, You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word.

Joh 8:56, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”

Joh 8:57, The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

Joh 8:58, Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.*”

Joh 8:59, Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the midst of them, and so passed by. (emphasis added)

I know, this IS a long passage, but well worth the time to read. The Pharisees just didn’t want to hear what Jesus had to say and would not believe the truth no matter what Jesus said. Their hearts were hard and their mindset adamant. This sort of thinking is not restricted to the first century, it is alive and well in the 21^st. It is true in both religion and politics. Hate escalates from thought to action. Its source is demonic and its rage insatiable. I read somewhere today that 80% of all religiously inspired murders are against Christians, numbering many, many thousands over the past decade. Nothing changes, evil is insatiable. What next, will someone try to assassinate Donald Trump?

I urge everyone out there - pray for our country, our president, our fellow Christians worldwide. Evil is a formidable adversary, but God can defeat anything that Satan can devise.

Bible Reading March 25, 26 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading March 25, 26

World English Bible

Mar. 25

Leviticus 5, 6

Lev 5:1 " 'If anyone sins, in that he hears the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn't report it, then he shall bear his iniquity.

Lev 5:2 " 'Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty.

Lev 5:3 " 'Or if he touches the uncleanness of man, whatever his uncleanness is with which he is unclean, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty.

Lev 5:4 " 'Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it is that a man might utter rashly with an oath, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty of one of these.

Lev 5:5 It shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned:

Lev 5:6 and he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh for his sin which he has sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.

Lev 5:7 " 'If he can't afford a lamb, then he shall bring his trespass offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to Yahweh; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.

Lev 5:8 He shall bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one which is for the sin offering, and wring off its head from its neck, but shall not sever it completely.

Lev 5:9 He shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering.

Lev 5:10 He shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the ordinance; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he has sinned, and he shall be forgiven.

Lev 5:11 " 'But if he can't afford two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he shall bring his offering for that in which he has sinned, the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, neither shall he put any frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

Lev 5:12 He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as the memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, on the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. It is a sin offering.

Lev 5:13 The priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin that he has sinned in any of these things, and he will be forgiven; and the rest shall be the priest's, as the meal offering.' "

Lev 5:14 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 5:15 "If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly, in the holy things of Yahweh; then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.

Lev 5:16 He shall make restitution for that which he has done wrong in the holy thing, and shall add a fifth part to it, and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and he will be forgiven.

Lev 5:17 "If anyone sins, and does any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done; though he didn't know it, yet he is guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.

Lev 5:18 He shall bring a ram without blemish from of the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the thing in which he sinned and didn't know it, and he will be forgiven.

Lev 5:19 It is a trespass offering. He is certainly guilty before Yahweh."

Lev 6:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 6:2 "If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against Yahweh, and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor,

Lev 6:3 or has found that which was lost, and dealt falsely therein, and swearing to a lie; in any of all these things that a man does, sinning therein;

Lev 6:4 then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found,

Lev 6:5 or any thing about which he has sworn falsely; he shall restore it even in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it. To him to whom it belongs he shall give it, in the day of his being found guilty.

Lev 6:6 He shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest.

Lev 6:7 The priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he does to become guilty."

Lev 6:8 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 6:9 "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

Lev 6:10 The priest shall put on his linen garment, and he shall put on his linen breeches upon his body; and he shall remove the ashes from where the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

Lev 6:11 He shall take off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

Lev 6:12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning: and he shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

Lev 6:13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

Lev 6:14 " 'This is the law of the meal offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before Yahweh, before the altar.

Lev 6:15 He shall take from there his handful of the fine flour of the meal offering, and of its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the meal offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a pleasant aroma, as its memorial, to Yahweh.

Lev 6:16 That which is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the Tent of Meeting

Lev 6:17 It shall not be baked with yeast. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.

Lev 6:18 Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it, as their portion forever throughout your generations, from the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Whoever touches them shall be holy.' "

Lev 6:19 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 6:20 "This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to Yahweh in the day when he is anointed: the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering perpetually, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening.

Lev 6:21 It shall be made with oil in a griddle. When it is soaked, you shall bring it in. You shall offer the meal offering in baked pieces for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

Lev 6:22 The anointed priest that will be in his place from among his sons shall offer it. By a statute forever, it shall be wholly burnt to Yahweh.

Lev 6:23 Every meal offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten."

Lev 6:24 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 6:25 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before Yahweh. It is most holy.

Lev 6:26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting.

Lev 6:27 Whatever shall touch its flesh shall be holy. When there is any of its blood sprinkled on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled in a holy place.

Lev 6:28 But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.

Lev 6:29 Every male among the priests shall eat of it: it is most holy.

Lev 6:30 No sin offering, of which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be eaten: it shall be burned with fire.

Mar. 26

Leviticus 7, 8

Lev 7:1 " 'This is the law of the trespass offering. It is most holy.

Lev 7:2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering, he shall kill the trespass offering; and its blood he shall sprinkle around on the altar.

Lev 7:3 He shall offer all of its fat: the fat tail, and the fat that covers the innards,

Lev 7:4 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, shall he take away;

Lev 7:5 and the priest shall burn them on the altar for an offering made by fire to Yahweh: it is a trespass offering.

Lev 7:6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.

Lev 7:7 " 'As is the sin offering, so is the trespass offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with them shall have it.

Lev 7:8 The priest who offers any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.

Lev 7:9 Every meal offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the pan, and on the griddle, shall be the priest's who offers it.

Lev 7:10 Every meal offering, mixed with oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron, one as well as another.

Lev 7:11 " 'This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which one shall offer to Yahweh.

Lev 7:12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil.

Lev 7:13 With cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his offering with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving.

Lev 7:14 Of it he shall offer one out of each offering for a heave offering to Yahweh. It shall be the priest's who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.

Lev 7:15 The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.

Lev 7:16 " 'But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow, or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice; and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten:

Lev 7:17 but what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.

Lev 7:18 If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him who offers it. It will be an abomination, and the soul who eats any of it will bear his iniquity.

Lev 7:19 " 'The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. As for the flesh, everyone who is clean may eat it;

Lev 7:20 but the soul who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that belongs to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Lev 7:21 When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.' "

Lev 7:22 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 7:23 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'You shall eat no fat, of bull, or sheep, or goat.

Lev 7:24 The fat of that which dies of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of animals, may be used for any other service, but you shall in no way eat of it.

Lev 7:25 For whoever eats the fat of the animal, of which men offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, even the soul who eats it shall be cut off from his people.

Lev 7:26 You shall not eat any blood, whether it is of bird or of animal, in any of your dwellings.

Lev 7:27 Whoever it is who eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.' "

Lev 7:28 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 7:29 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to Yahweh shall bring his offering to Yahweh out of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

Lev 7:30 With his own hands he shall bring the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before Yahweh.

Lev 7:31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.

Lev 7:32 The right thigh you shall give to the priest for a heave offering out of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

Lev 7:33 He among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right thigh for a portion.

Lev 7:34 For the waved breast and the heaved thigh I have taken from the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel.' "

Lev 7:35 This is the anointing portion of Aaron, and the anointing portion of his sons, out of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister to Yahweh in the priest's office;

Lev 7:36 which Yahweh commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them. It is their portion forever throughout their generations.

Lev 7:37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meal offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecration, and of the sacrifice of peace offerings;

Lev 7:38 which Yahweh commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to Yahweh, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Lev 8:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 8:2 "Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;

Lev 8:3 and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting."

Lev 8:4 Moses did as Yahweh commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Lev 8:5 Moses said to the congregation, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to be done."

Lev 8:6 Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

Lev 8:7 He put the coat on him, tied the sash on him, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod on him, and he tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod on him, and fastened it to him with it.

Lev 8:8 He placed the breastplate on him; and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim.

Lev 8:9 He set the turban on his head; and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:10 Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them.

Lev 8:11 He sprinkled it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to sanctify them.

Lev 8:12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

Lev 8:13 Moses brought Aaron's sons, and clothed them with coats, and tied sashes on them, and put headbands on them; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:14 He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.

Lev 8:15 He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.

Lev 8:16 He took all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat; and Moses burned it on the altar.

Lev 8:17 But the bull, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:18 He presented the ram of the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.

Lev 8:19 He killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

Lev 8:20 He cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat.

Lev 8:21 He washed the innards and the legs with water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:22 He presented the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.

Lev 8:23 He killed it; and Moses took some of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.

Lev 8:24 He brought Aaron's sons; and Moses put some of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

Lev 8:25 He took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right thigh;

Lev 8:26 and out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and on the right thigh.

Lev 8:27 He put all these in Aaron's hands and in his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before Yahweh.

Lev 8:28 Moses took them from their hands, and burned them on the altar on the burnt offering. They were a consecration for a pleasant aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

Lev 8:29 Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:30 Moses took some of the anointing oil, and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

Lev 8:31 Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Boil the flesh at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it.'

Lev 8:32 What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

Lev 8:33 You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.

Lev 8:34 What has been done this day, so Yahweh has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.

Lev 8:35 You shall stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night seven days, and keep Yahweh's command, that you don't die: for so I am commanded."

Lev 8:36 Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh commanded by Moses.

Mar. 25, 26

Mark 15

Mar 15:1 Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate.

Mar 15:2 Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered, "So you say."

Mar 15:3 The chief priests accused him of many things.

Mar 15:4 Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!"

Mar 15:5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.

Mar 15:6 Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.

Mar 15:7 There was one called Barabbas, bound with those who had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.

Mar 15:8 The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them.

Mar 15:9 Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

Mar 15:10 For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up.

Mar 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.

Mar 15:12 Pilate again asked them, "What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?"

Mar 15:13 They cried out again, "Crucify him!"

Mar 15:14 Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they cried out exceedingly, "Crucify him!"

Mar 15:15 Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.

Mar 15:16 The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort.

Mar 15:17 They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him.

Mar 15:18 They began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

Mar 15:19 They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him.

Mar 15:20 When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him.

Mar 15:21 They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross.

Mar 15:22 They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, "The place of a skull."

Mar 15:23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn't take it.

Mar 15:24 Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take.

Mar 15:25 It was the third hour, and they crucified him.

Mar 15:26 The superscription of his accusation was written over him, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."

Mar 15:27 With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left.

Mar 15:28 The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, "He was numbered with transgressors."

Mar 15:29 Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,

Mar 15:30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!"

Mar 15:31 Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, "He saved others. He can't save himself.

Mar 15:32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him." Those who were crucified with him insulted him.

Mar 15:33 When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Mar 15:34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is, being interpreted, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mar 15:35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah."

Mar 15:36 One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Let him be. Let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down."

Mar 15:37 Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit.

Mar 15:38 The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

Mar 15:39 When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

Mar 15:40 There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

Mar 15:41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Mar 15:42 When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for the Kingdom of God, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus' body.

Mar 15:44 Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long.

Mar 15:45 When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

Mar 15:46 He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

Mar 15:47 Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid.

Here I raise my Ebenezer Autobiography by Roy Allen Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/AutoBio.html

Here I raise my Ebenezer

Autobiography by Roy Allen Davison

Introduction

An “Ebenezer” is a monument to commemorate help received from God. After Israel had defeated enemies, Samuel set up a stone of commemoration that he called, “Ebenezer,” saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12). “Ebenezer” means “stone of help” in Hebrew.
The second verse of the song, “O, Thou fount of every blessing,” written by Robert Robinson in 1758, which he published in 1759 as A Collection of Hymns Used by the Church of Christ in Angel Alley, Bishopgate begins:
“Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I've come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.”
When I was 73 a friend asked me to recount significant spiritual influences and formative experiences in my life.

Spiritual Heritage and Early Years

Charles J. and Pearl M. Kincaid (Collins) were dedicated Christians. After my mother passed away, my brother, Dale, sent me a tract written by my grandfather that was among her things: “Why should I be a Baptist?” Most of his extended family were Baptists and I presume he was raised as a Baptist, but at some point he came in contact with people who were striving to restore the ancient order. His formal education was limited to grade school, but mother said he had educated himself with a Bible and a dictionary. He was a laborer to support his family of five children, the youngest of whom died when he was nine from what would be a minor foot infection now. There were no antibiotics then.
Granddad preached on occasion. When I visited the Central Church of Christ as a young man, when passing through Saint Louis, I met a man who remembered by grandparents. He said Charles and Pearl had beautiful voices and sang duets at area singings. I do not remember my grandfather at all because he passed away when I was three, yet via my mother, he and my grandmother had a significant influence on my life. I cherish some letters they wrote my parents during the Second World War.
My parents, Charles Henry Davison and Bessie Inez Kincaid, were married at Saint Louis, Missouri on January 14, 1939. Mother was eighteen and dad was twenty-four. I was born at Saint Louis on September 15, 1940. After dad joined the navy in 1941, he was stationed first at San Francisco and then in Florida. Dad was an electronics technician and during the war was on the research team that developed sonar. My brother, Dale, was born on Key West, Florida on November 22, 1943.
The folks did not attend church during the war.
Dad's dream was to live on a small farm which he thought would be a good environment for raising children.
Thus, after the war we moved to a 15 acre farm in Lutesville, Missouri dad had bought and paid for during the war. His research colleagues in the navy accepted employment as civilians with the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. and encouraged dad to do the same, but he chose the farm instead, where he also had a radio repair shop.
I went to the first grade in Lutesville and the farm was indeed a great place for a six and three year old boy, but things did not work out well financially, so after a year dad gave in to the continuing encouragement of his former colleagues at the Naval Research Laboratory and we moved to Clinton, Maryland near the District of Columbia where I attended the second and half of the third grade.

"Which church should we attend?"

In 1948, when I was seven and my brother, Dale, was four, my parents decided to start going to church. Sunday school would be good for their children.
But which church should they attend?
My father had attended the Methodist church as a boy, but felt no particular loyalty to that denomination.
My mother had attended the Christian Church, and had been baptized into Christ when she was twelve. After she left home, however, her parents left the Christian Church and became members of the Central Church of Christ in Saint Louis, Missouri.
After some discussion, my parents decided to visit the Christian Church and the Church of Christ. I remember those visits well!

We first visited the National City Christian Church at 5 Thomas Circle in Washington, DC. It was a congregation of almost 2000 members. I remember the impressive building with its large columns like a Greek temple. But most of all, I remember the steps! There are 31 stone steps from the street up to the door. There was no handrail. It was scary! I would need to be very careful on those steps! If I fell, I might tumble all the way down to the bottom and really hurt myself!
The Sunday school classes were putting on a big pageant for the parents that day. So my brother and I were put on two chairs in the corner of the classroom while the other children put on their costumes. One boy was dressed like a Roman soldier and had a wooden sword. The whole class then filed out into the auditorium and took seats at the front. The teacher told us that when the other children got up to go on stage, we should just stay in our seats, since we would not know what to do. I remember feeling very lonely and conspicuous after the others got up. Dale and I sat alone in the midst of all those empty seats. During the worship service, I noticed that the preacher wore special clothes. It looked like he had his collar on backwards.

The next Sunday we visited the Anacostia Church of Christ (in 1952 the name was changed to the Southeast Church of Christ when they built their own building). It had less than a hundred members and met in a rented lodge hall. The building was used for dancing on Saturday nights, so someone had to come early on Sunday morning to sweep up the broken beer bottles and open the windows to air the place out.
My brother and I had an interesting Bible class, and I remember how nice the singing sounded. The people were friendly and made us feel like long-lost friends.
Can you guess which congregation my parents decided to attend? They were zealous and attended all the services and Bible studies. Although my father came from a denominational background, he thought he was a Christian. He had been immersed when he was a teenager, so he thought his baptism was valid.
A gospel meeting was held with Bond Stocks doing the preaching shortly thereafter and my father went up and down our street inviting people to attend. During that meeting, in October of 1948, he was baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38). The clear preaching of the gospel caused him to realize that his previous immersion was not valid, and that he actually was not yet a Christian.
When he was a teenager, his mother had told him he was old enough to join the church. He asked how he was supposed to do that, and she told him to talk to the preacher. When my father heard the true gospel preached during that meeting, he realized that his previous immersion was just to please his mother and to join the Methodist Church, not to put on Christ (Galatians 3:26).
We drove 45 minutes to services in D.C. I remember one Sunday evening when I rode with dad alone to services because mother was ill. We passed several church buildings on the way. (One was a Catholic building with a big sign in the yard, “BINGO EVERY THURSDAY EVENING!”) I asked dad where all the different churches came from. During the 45-minute drive home he reviewed church history telling about the Apostasy resulting in the Catholic Church, the Reformation resulting in various Protestant churches, and the restoration movement to form churches of Christ.
Dad had been attending night classes to earn credits toward a BS degree in physics. After he became a Christian he decided to further his education at a Christian school so he could learn to preach. He had always tried to do what was right, but simply did not know what was right. He thought there were probably others like that too, and he wanted to be able to help them.
So I attended the second half of grade 3 and the first half of grade 4 at Finger, Tennessee near Henderson. Dad went to Freed-Hardeman College on the GI Bill that financed education for veterans after the war. We lived in a motel that had been converted to student housing across the highway from Logan's Lake.
That year my cousin, Sandy, became my sister through adoption. It was great to have a two-year-old sister!
When we were learning to use a dictionary in the fourth grade I discovered that in my school changes I had missed learning the alphabet! I remember going over my ABC's to learn the alphabet on the bus on the way to school one morning. At that school I was cast as the preacher in “Tom Thumb's Wedding.” Mother made me a tuxedo with tails from cheap black cloth and I “performed” my first wedding when I was nine! I still remember my lines consisting of 29 words!
At the time, Freed-Hardeman was only a junior college, so from there we moved to Portales, New Mexico where dad studied at the Bible Chair and earned a BS degree in Physics and Bible from Eastern New Mexico University. I attended the second half of the fourth grade and the first half of the fifth grade at Portales.
I walked for half an hour home from school. A boy (who was much taller than I) at a house I passed would regularly ask me if I wanted to have a fight with him. (He had six fingers on each hand.) I got tired of it, so agreed one day to fight him at the neighborhood playground at 10 a.m. the next Saturday. I had several friends along as moral support. He was alone. I told him, “I don't have any reason to fight with you. But you want to fight, so if you want to hit me or something, go ahead!” He did not want to just haul off and hit me, so he gave me a little push. Each time he gave me a push, I would back up a little. He pushed me all the way across the playground and then turned me around and started pushing me the other direction! His pushes were getting harder and I misjudged the force of one push and fell down. He then sat on top of me. That was not a problem except that in New Mexico, even the grass has stickers! So I started to cry because of the stickers! He then let me up and went home. The next time I passed his house he asked, “Do you want to have another fight?” I said, “Sure! Any time!” He said, “No. That won't be necessary.” After that he would greet me when I passed his house, and he never asked for a fight again.
From Portales we went back to the D.C. area and dad resumed his work with the Naval Research Laboratory and preached on occasion for small congregations. I was baptized into Christ on Sunday evening, March 4, 1951 at Alexandria, Virginia. I attended the second half of the fifth grade at Indian Head, Maryland.
Various men who worked at the Naval Research Laboratory were invited to work for a new guided missile division the Bureau of Standards was setting up in Southern California. (I have no idea why the Bureau of Standards had a guided missile division!) When a small congregation near the new division asked dad to help them as a self-supporting preacher, he accepted the job and we moved to the Riverside, California area in August of 1951. I attended the sixth grade and the first half of the seventh grade in Southern California.
Preaching for the small congregation did not work out. (The daughter of one of the elders was offended by something dad said.) So we started attending services at the Ninth & Lime congregation in Riverside, which was a great blessing! They had excellent Sunday school classes in which daily Bible reading was encouraged. When I was 12 I started reading five chapters from the Bible every night before I went to sleep and did not miss a day doing this for several years thereafter. By then I was planning to be a preacher.
As dad grew spiritually he began to question whether a Christian should be designing guidance systems for weapons of mass destruction! Especially Romans 1:30, “inventors of evil things,” caused him to give up his well-paying government job with a good pension plan. He worked for a TV repair company for a while until he learned that the boss was dishonest and wanted him to lie to customers. He started doing TV repair work on his own.
In the middle of my seventh grade we moved to Socorro, New Mexico where dad was hired to preach full time. That was the only one of our many moves that caused my grades to suffer significantly. But I learned a lot! My homeroom teacher was also the high school speech teacher. So I got to listen in on Mr. Miller's speech classes which I found extremely interesting! At Socorro I also learned the wonders of the local library and read biographies and science fiction books (when I should have been studying or sleeping).
Shortly after we moved to Socorro, two of the best givers in the congregation were unexpectedly transferred away, so the congregation could no longer support dad.

A wonderful summer!

Dad saw an ad in the Christian Chronicle in which Alvin Jennings, who was preaching at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada, was seeking someone to move to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to start a congregation there.
So at the end of the school year we packed our belongings into a trailer and went to Saskatoon, where we lived temporarily in the basement of the church building.
Dad could not find a job at Prince Albert, but got a job right away with the University of Saskatchewan as an electronics technician. There was a shortage of housing in Saskatoon, however, and we could not find an affordable house to rent.
But I had a wonderful summer! In Saskatchewan at the time various congregations had what they called summer Bible schools. They were something like “Bible Camps” except that instead of being mostly camp with a little Bible, Bible classes were taught from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there was preaching every night for two weeks. (There was plenty of time for recreation after four!) I attended the schools held at Perryville and at Estevan.
That summer I also learned about Radville Christian College, a small boarding secondary school in Saskatchewan, and decided that, Lord willing, I would attend high school there a year later.
We could not find a suitable house in Saskatoon. My sister, Sandy, who was six, was tired of living in the church basement and asked mother one day, “Mom, when are we going to start living again?” Mother probably felt the same way.
The folks learned from the real estate agency that was renting out our house in Southern California that the renters had moved out owing several months' rent. Since the rent money was used to pay the mortgage there was danger of losing the house.
So at the end of the summer the folks decided to go back to California to save the house.
Financially nothing worked out well that year, and dad concluded that he should have stayed in Saskatoon rather than try to save a house.

A great year in the eighth grade

But for me it was a great blessing because I had a tremendous homeroom and science teacher for the eighth grade! Walter Gardner was qualified to teach in university but preferred teaching the eighth grade. During successive periods of a few weeks we made an in-depth study of various branches of science: geology, meteorology, anatomy, etc. He challenged us in this way: “We have a 45 minute class. Actually, if we work hard we can learn what we need to learn in 30 minutes, and then have 15 minutes at the end of the period to have fun!” The “fun” was usually doing some kind of scientific experiment, but sometimes we could just visit. We usually got our work done in 30 minutes!
My best friend “Skipper” (Larry Snyder) and I won second place in the school science fair. (The girl who won first place had boiled all the meat off a chicken and had glued and wired all the bones together to make a chicken skeleton!) Skipper and I had a display of our rock collection we had assembled on our Saturday hikes into the hills. We also put an electric eye on the display so the light would come on when someone stood in front of the box.
That year in Physical Education classes we were given dancing lessons. I thought, “This is not something a Christian should be doing!” So I asked dad to write me a note asking that I be excused.
Two girls who sat near my desk in homeroom chided me, “What's wrong? Are you afraid of girls?” Actually, I was! But that was not the reason. I said, “It's against my religion.” I could see that the Japanese girl was favorably impressed.
For some reason my classmates that year affectionately called me, “The old man.” Fortunately, I have continually become younger since! When I did not join in on some of their escapades, they would roll their eyes and make the shape of a square with their fingers. It was a great year and a great class!
We also had a great exercise in democracy! There were several homerooms for each grade, and each eighth-grade homeroom nominated a classmate for student body president the next year.
We nominated a tall black boy: handsome, good student, sociable and a friend to everyone.
The school was completely integrated racially. Among 700 students there were about 10 blacks and about 50 Mexicans. The latter formed something of a clique, no doubt because of the language. But among the students I noticed no racial prejudice whatever.
When the candidates were announced, we were first shocked and then very angry, that our nominee had been left off the list! The nominee of each class was supposed to be on the list! No explanation was given. But we concluded that the school administration had rejected him because he was black.
So our class mounted a write-in campaign for our nominee, and he won the election!
Near the end of the school year a special assembly was held to give various awards. The auditorium was packed, with students standing in the aisles on each side because there were not enough seats. I was standing way at the back.
They were talking about some kind of a good citizenship award when suddenly my name was called out. I thought there must be some mistake, so I did not react at first. The principle said, “Is Roy Davison here?” I thought, “Well, there is no other Roy Davison in this school, so he must mean me.” In a daze I walked up to the front with students making way so I could get through. On stage I still thought, “This must be some kind of a mistake.” They gave me a medal with a red, white and blue ribbon. I turned it over and my name was engraved on the back. Then I thought, “Well, it really must be for me!”
On my way home, my bicycle was stopped by one of the school rowdies. He said, “Let me see your medal!” I took it out and gave it to him. He said, “What would you do if I kept it?” I said, “Well, I guess there wouldn't be much I could do.” He gave it back and said, “No. You deserve it,” and rode off on his bicycle.
He was the boy I had reported for having made a master key for the student lockers. Skipper and I had the job of going around after school and using a master key to lock any lockers that had been left unlocked. They boy who stopped me had bragged to me one day, “I have a key like that too!” And he showed me his key that he had filed off.
Although dad did not preach full time while we lived in Southern California, he baptized 30 people he taught in home Bible studies.
Since dad thought he should have stayed in Canada the year before, he contacted the University of Saskatchewan to see if he could get the same job back and they accepted him immediately.
Thus, during the summer we packed all of our belongings into two trailers and were all ready to move back to Saskatoon. The day before we were to leave, however, dad got a call from the university saying that they could not give him the job after all because some had complained that the work should be given to a Canadian (although they could not find anyone with qualifications as good as dad's). So what should we do?
Since the original intention had been to move north to establish a new congregation, dad decided we would head for Saskatoon as planned, and he would look for a job there or in Prince Albert. Along the way, however, he would also investigate other possibilities for establishing a new congregation in a needed area as a self-employed preacher.
The larger trailer was 8 by 8 by 16 feet. We had a Nash car and a very small van dad used in his TV repair business, a Thames English Ford. He intended to make two trips, first with the car pulling the large trailer and then with the van pulling the smaller trailer. But when he hitched the loaded large trailer to the car, the Nash springs were so soft that the back almost touched the ground. He tried hitching it to the van and its springs were stiff enough to bear the load. But when he tried to move, the small engine did not have enough power to move the trailer. He had the engine checked, and it had virtually no compression. Thus, he had an overnight valve job done, and the next day dad and I, and our dog Tippy, set out on the first trip. On the level, the maximum speed the rig would go was 30 mph. The van had two seats and the dog rode in a box behind my seat.
Things went ok until we hit a 20 mile grade in California where road construction was being done. The van had no water pump but convection cooling and was definitely not designed for what we were asking it to do. Fortunately, the construction company had placed laybys about every 200 yards with barrels of water for cars that overheated. We overheated every 200 yards and barely made it from one water barrel to the next before the engine began to vapor lock. We would cool down the engine (dad found that it stayed cooler if he left the radiator cap off and just let it boil) and then start out again. On the grade the engine barely had enough power to get us started in low, so I would push to help get us going and then jump in. It was a great adventure for a thirteen-year-old boy with his dad!
As we crossed the Mojave Desert on the way to Las Vegas, to say it was hot would be an extreme understatement. Tippy was so hot that he would lay his head on my shoulder and intersperse his pants with a moan now and then. At first we had two five gallon cans of radiator water along and one five gallon can of drain oil that dad got free at filling stations. But the toiling little engine, that had to run in low or second gear most of the time, was using so much oil that we decided we needed two cans of oil and one can of water.
When we saw a sign in the middle of the desert, “Watch out for cattle on the road!” dad quipped, “This must be where they raise that dried beef!”
A double mattress was loaded last on top of the trailer and made up as a bed. At night we would climb up on the trailer, prop up part of the canvas to make a little tent, and sleep on top of the trailer. There was no money for motels.
After we passed Vegas and headed for Salt Lake City we were thankful that the temperature dropped some. There were two short, steep hills on the trip that the van just was not powerful enough to climb. We had to wait for a pickup to come along with a friendly driver willing to tow us to the top of the hill! Downhill, dad always had to put the engine in low gear because the breaks were not strong enough to slow the rig downhill.
As we approached Salt Lake City several big trucks blew their horns as we met them. We thought there must be something wrong with the rig so we would pull off and check everything but could find nothing wrong. Then we noticed a distinctive truck and remembered that it had passed us some time before. Then we realized that the truckers had passed us on their way to Salt Lake City and were just saying hello when they saw us again on their way back to California! So after that, when they blasted their horns at us, we tooted back!
When we passed through West Yellowstone, Montana at 6667 feet altitude there was snow on the ground. We did not mind at all after the sweltering heat of the desert! The next morning there was snow on the canvas above our heads when we woke up.
When we visited a congregation in central Montana, dad asked if they knew of any cities that might be good places to establish a new congregation. It was mentioned that there was only one church of Christ in all of North Dakota, at Bismarck. A brother agreed that we could leave the trailer at his house while we scouted for a place to go. So, without the trailer, the little Thames took off like a jack rabbit as we headed for Bismarck, North Dakota to visit Gordon Pennock who was preaching there.
Brother Pennock suggested Fargo as a good place to establish a congregation. Dad went to Fargo and found a job as a TV repairman right away.
Gordon was going to Saskatoon to conduct a gospel meeting. Since I knew the brethren there from the summer before, it was arranged that I would go to Saskatoon with Gordon while dad went back to California to get my mother, brother and sister, and to drive the car and the other trailer to Fargo. Dad found a car to drive that a dealer wanted to move to the California market.
When I returned from Saskatoon to Fargo the folks were camping in an empty house they had rented for one month while they looked for something more suitable.

Radville Christian College

RCC campus 1957, from a painting by Fred Brehaut

In September of 1954, after being with the family for a week, a couple of weeks short of my 14th birthday, I went to Radville, Saskatchewan to attend secondary school at Radville Christian College. It was a small Christian boarding school serving churches of Christ.
Attending a boarding school with forty students is like being part of a large family. Close and valued friendships were formed with students and faculty, and I met the girl who fourteen years later would become my wife. Since the school was 500 miles from Fargo, I was able to go home only at Christmas, Easter and for two months in the summer. So much could be told about my three years at Radville, and one year at Weyburn after the school moved there, that it is difficult to know what to tell and what to leave out!
(To be continued, Lord willing.)
Roy Davison
http://www.oldpaths.com/RD

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)