The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree is found in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 13:6-9). This parable, told by Jesus, is about a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. When he came looking for fruit on it and found none, he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ However, the vineyard keeper asked for patience, suggesting to leave it for one more year, during which he would dig around it and fertilize it. If it bore fruit next year, fine; if not, then it could be cut down.
Gab News
By Rory Feek, Plain Values
Most of the time when I’m writing this column, I’m in pretty much the same place. Sitting at the kitchen table in our farmhouse or at my desk in the milkhouse, with a view outside of the backfield and within earshot of Indy and the other kids playing on the playground at the schoolhouse. But this month, I’m parked in a chair at a much larger table in Paradise Valley, Montana, surrounded by big, beautiful mountains, with the gentle sound of the Yellowstone River flowing nearby. Each summer for the last five or six years, my little girl Indiana and I have packed our things, climbed behind the wheel, and driven 1,750 miles to spend a month out west together.
This week the State of Ohio voted by a nearly ten-point margin to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right. Ohio is not a far-left blue state like California or New York, it is a conservative red state that Donald Trump won by almost the same margin in 2020. The results of this ballot amendment have shocked many in the pro-life movement.
A common belief in some American Evangelical circles (not all) is that the nation state of Israel is the Israel spoken about in the Bible, these are the “true Israelites” so therefore it must be supported at all costs, etc. But does that align with the Bible? Who really is Israel? And why? May God grace my words in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
By Joel Salatin, Plain Values
Thinking like an animal is not always easy, especially if you’re trying to think like a chicken. In this article, I want to dive into one of the single biggest tensions in raising farmstead egg-laying chickens, and it all stems from chicken psychology.
Like all animals, chickens love routine. Temple Grandin, maven of animal psychology, points out that animals live only in the moment. Yes, they have memory, but they have no datebook. They never think about what they need to do tomorrow.
Since I get a plethora of questions from people are confused about Ukraine, the acronyms for the churches, what’s happening, etc. I have decided to make a full on explication that I can just reference to everyone who asks. This is not about the war itself between Russia & Ukraine, but specifically the Church situations occurring in Ukraine. I will try to keep it as brief as I can, as if speaking to someone who knows nothing of the situation. May Jesus Christ bless my words to be His, in grace and love. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
by Pastor Andrew Isker Introduction 2 Samuel 23 is the second part of the center of the appendix section of the Book of Samuel. It…
On the hunt for the higher things
by John Heers, First Things Foundation
Let’s take a look at truth. What is true, what is fake? How might these ideas be related to things sacred and things profane? How should we understand these terms as war rages on and human beings plug into all variations of media? And is it even possible for Light People, people of the Enlightenment, to come to grips with truth if in many ways we’ve neutered the sacred?
Re-reading that introduction just gave me anxiety. Talk about heavy things done heavily. If you are still reading this I love you, and to reward you let’s begin with something odd and interesting. Let’s talk about alligator gallbladders.
Jesus expected His students to become disciples. Messengers of His truth once He left to prepare our mansions. He didn’t want lifelong learners who refused to leave the classroom. And He still doesn’t.
Influenced by people we follow online, it’s time for us “regular joes” to step out. In faith, I’m taking that first action. My hope is that you’ll join me.
The Medium is the Weapon
Since February 2022, Western minds have been exposed to a deluge of information, more data than any average individual can comprehend, let alone make sense of. Without taking serious time and processing efforts to draw a coherent narrative or to make sense of what’s going on, the War in Ukraine, the ongoing military presence in Syria, concerns over China and Taiwan and now the potentiality for escalation in Israel have left individuals scrambling for a lifeline that would help them make sense of what’s going on.
As the ongoing hostilities between the Israeli government and Hamas play out, once again did we see individuals, willingly or unwittingly share videos alleging be from the front, only for Twitter’s (now X) Community Notes function to kick in, and explain that the footage is actually from the Military Simulation Game Arma 3. Days later, footage had been tweeted about latest rocket attack and dead civilians only for Kiwi Farms to tell me that this had been footage from attacks back in 2014. People had their politics kept to the side, “just post news and verifiable footage, go somewhere else for shit-flinging.” I had paused in a moment in all the research and keeping up with what’s happening half-way around world and felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
by Jacob Brown
Why does our Lord tell us to pray to God as Father? When asked by his disciples to teach them to pray, the Lord Jesus Christ taught them to pray by addressing the Almighty God of all creation as Father. He just as easily could have taught them to pray to God as the King of the universe, or as Almighty God, or as Yahweh, the covenant name of the God of the Bible. But he doesn’t teach us that way. Now rest assured it is perfectly biblical to address God by those titles and names, and we should give honor and praise to God for who he is. But there is something particular that the Lord Jesus is wanting us to understand about the nature of God, and that is God as Father.
from Plain Values
THIS MONTH’S QUESTION:
How do you practice forgiveness in your community?
Jerry: In any close-knit community, forgiveness is the elixir that cures disease. It cleans the cancer from the joints and makes things pliable again. The spiritual WD-40 that lessens the creaking and groaning. Forgiveness is counter-cultural. It flies in the face of conventional thinking. Society teaches us that we claim what is ours no matter the cost—we claim our rights. Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek, and not only to turn the other cheek physically but inwardly as well. A heart change that expresses itself in a daily walk with my neighbor.