So I went on this totally dramatic cycling with some friends today headed to Titlow- I lost my train of thought...what was I saying?
Oh ok.
So on the way to Tiltow Elliott decided to take command of the group and let us stop by the train tracks which I told him was a dead end but he was all like, 'I know what I'm doing, just follow'.
So we went down by the Marina Boat Dock and like I screamed bloody murder, "DEAD END!!!!!!!" [I didn't really scream 'cus I don't scream] and all that is there is water and everybody knows that street/mountain/what ever other kind of bikes there out their knows that a bike can't float without any floating devices, and everybody knows that a street/road biker does not carry flotation devices because if they did, then everybody would laugh at them and be tempted to throw them in the ocean and see if the floatation devices worked.
Ok so now were at the part which I tell him, "Elliot, if you would have listened to me then we could have just taken the first right exit before the train tracks. But NOOOOO you had to be boy-genius and all and take us a dead end which really means where the water really starts and everyone knows, Elliott that you don't have floatation devices to float and there has only been one person who can walk on water and that would be Yeshua.
And we all know that you are CLEARLY not him. And so rid your mind of all your super heroness thoughts and be a man and listen to what I'm staying and let me lead because CLEARLY I know what I'm doing because in my former life I was an Indian and I used to scout these lands out.
So, boy-genius turn your super-high-tech-super-skinny-stuck-in-gutter-bike around and follow me."
So as we were biking up this tremendously [not really steep] steep pavement mountain.
"stop showing off and stay behind me." I snapped like a snap turtle catching it's foe. SNAP! SNAP!
So we made it up the hill and I'm behind huffing and puffing my way up this perfectly flat pavement with my thighs calling out, "please stop, your gonna kill me!" Elliott turns around and says, "stay on your right, because theres a red truck behind you."
"Elliot, hush! I can clearly see that. Keep your eyes on the road, Elliott and stop telling me to keep up because one of these days your going to be staring at that stupid black pavement and I'm going to be ahead of you and saying, 'keep your eyes on the road Elliott."
So were petling on the sidewalk we come up to these three black kids smoking something but they smelt like candy, which is kinda funny 'cus there kinda stinky. And I turned around for a second, I heard a voice in the back of my head, "Keep up, Fenda!"
And to my horror it was not imagination. In fact, Elliott was telling me- AGAIN- to keep up.
I felt like a slave on the back of a camel being dragged against my will and once again I said, "Close your hatchet and let me be. 'Cus remember I'm older than you, and I know these lands better then you. Because I was an Indian in my former life."
by Maria Merola ( I had to greatly condense the original article to send it as a message, the full work is on her notes)
http://www.facebook.com/ho
A Christian Custom?
Did you know that centuries before Christ, the pagan Romans celebrated February 15th and the evening of February 14th as an idolatrous and sensuous festival in honor of Lupercus, the "hunter of wolves"?
The Romans called the festival the “Lupercalia.” The custom of exchanging Valentines and all the other traditions in honor of Lupercus (the deified hero-hunter of Rome) was also linked anciently with the pagan practice of teen-agers “going steady.” It usually led to fornication. Today, the custom of “going steady” is thought very modern. It isn't. It is merely a rebirth of an old custom “handed down from the Roman festival of the Lupercalia, celebrated in the month of February, when names of young women were put into a box and drawn out by men as chance directed.” That's the admission of the “Encyclopedia Americana”, article, “St. Valentine's Day.”
When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire there was some talk in church circles of discarding this pagan free-for-all. But the Roman citizens wouldn't hear of it! So it was agreed that the holiday would continue as it was, except for the more grossly sensual observances.
It was not until the reign of Pope Gelasius that the holiday became a “Christian custom.” As far back as 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15th to St. Valentine's Day on February 14th. (p. 172 of "Customs and Holidays Around the World" by Lavinia Dobler).
But how did this pagan festival acquire the name of “St. Valentine's Day”? And why is the little naked Cupid of the pagan Romans so often associated today with February 14th? And why do little children and young people still cut out hearts and send them on a day in honor of Lupercus the hunter of wolves? Why have we supposed these pagan customs in honor of a false god are Christian?
Who Was the Original “St. Valentine”?
Valentine was a common Roman name. Roman parents often gave the name to their children in honor of the famous man who was first called Valentine in antiquity. That famous man was Lupercus, the HUNTER. But who was Lupercus? -- and why should he have also borne the name Valentine among the heathen Romans?
The Greeks called Lupercus by the name of “Pan.” The Semites called Pan “Baal,” according to the “Classical Dictionaries.” Baal (mentioned so often in the Bible) was merely another name for Nimrod, “the mighty HUNTER” (Genesis 10:9). The hunter Nimrod was the Lupercus (or wolf hunter) of the Romans. And St. Valentine's Day was originally a day set aside by the pagans in his honor!
But why should Nimrod have been called “Valentine” by the Romans? And why should the celebration of this day have been anciently limited to the city of Rome before Pope Gelasius' time? What part did the site of ancient Rome play in the life of Nimrod?
Valentine comes from the Latin word “Valentinus”, a proper name derived from the word “valens”, meaning “to be strong,” declares “Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.” It means literally “strong, powerful, mighty.” Any connection with Nimrod? We read in the Bible that Nimrod was the “MIGHTY hunter” (Gen. 10:9). It was a common proverb of ancient time that Nimrod was “the MIGHTY hunter before the Lord.” NIMROD WAS THEIR HERO -- THEIR STRONG MAN -- THEIR VALENTINE!
How plain that the original Valentine was Nimrod, the mighty hunter of wolves. Yet another of Nimrod's names was “Sanctus” or “Santa,” meaning “Saint.” It was a common title of any hero-god. No wonder that the Roman Lupercalia is called "Saint Valentine's Day"!
But why do we associate HEARTS on a day in honor of Nimrod -- the BAAL of the Phoenicians and Semites?
The surprising answer is that the pagan Romans acquired the symbol of the heart from the Babylonians. In the Babylonian tongue the word for “heart” was "bal" (see "Young's" or "Strong's Concordance"). The heart – “bal” -- was merely a symbol of Nimrod -- the “Baal” or Lord of the Babylonians!
Why February 14th?
But why should the Romans have chosen February 15 and the evening of February 14 to honor Lupercus -- the Nimrod of the Bible? (Remember that days in ancient times began at sunset the evening before.)
Nimrod (the Baal or sun god of the ancient pagans) was said to have been born at the winter solstice. In ancient times the solstice occurred on January 6 and his birthday therefore was celebrated on January 6. Later, as the solstice changed, it was celebrated on December 25 and is now called Christmas. It was the custom of antiquity for the mother of a male child to present herself for purification on the fortieth day after the day of birth. The fortieth day after January 6 ( Nimrod's original birthdate) takes us to February 15th, the celebration of which began on the evening of February 14th the Lupercalia or St. Valentine's Day.
On this day in February, Semiramis, the mother of Nimrod, was said to have been PURIFIED and to have appeared for the first time in public with her son as the original "mother and child."
The Roman month February, in fact, derives its name from the "februa" which the Roman priests used in the rites celebrated on St. Valentine's Day. The "februa" were thongs from the skins of sacrificial animals used in rites of purification on the evening of February 14th.
Cupid Makes His Appearance
Another name for the child Nimrod was “Cupid” --meaning “desire”-- (Encyclopedia Britannica, art., Cupid). It is said that when Nimrod's mother saw him, she LUSTED after him -- she DESIRED him. Nimrod became her Cupid -- her desired one -- and later her Valentine! So evil was Nimrod's mother that IT IS SAID SHE MARRIED HER OWN SON! Inscribed on the monuments of ancient Egypt are inscriptions that Nimrod (the Egyptians called him Osiris) was “the husband of his mother.”
As Nimrod grew up, he became the child-hero of MANY women who DESIRED him. He was their Cupid! In the Book of Daniel he is called the “DESIRE of women” (Dan. 11:37). Moffatt translates the word as Tammuz -- a Babylonian name of Nimrod. He provoked so many women to JEALOUSY that an idol of him was often called the “image of jealousy” (Ezekiel 8:5). Nimrod, the hunter, was also their Valentine -- their strong or mighty hero! No wonder the pagans commemorated their hero-hunter Nimrod, or Baal, by sending heart-shaped love tokens to one another on the evening of February 14 as a symbol of him.
Let's stop teaching our children these pagan customs in memory of Baal the sun god -- the original St. Valentine -- and teach them instead what the Bible really says!
Christians should be known by their discernment and should be asking questions regarding “Saint Valentine's Day.” What is the origin of this unusual day? Why is there a preoccupation with the color red? Where did the heart shape come from, and what does it mean? These and other questions will now be answered, as we examine the roots and pagan origin of this popular day.Thus, February 14th became a day of unbridled sexual lust. The color "red" was sacred to that day because of the blood and the "heart shape" that is popular to this day. The heart-shape was not a representation of the human heart, which looks nothing like it. This shape represents the human female matrix or opening to the chamber of sacred copulation.
At this website, insight is provided into the origins of Valentine's Day:
http://www.lasttrumpetmini
Traditions of Men
What did Yeshua tell us about man made traditions?
Matthew 15:3 “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition.”
Matthew 15:6 “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”
Mark 7:9 “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
Mark 7:13 “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition…”
The word tradition has a numerical value of 666 when calculated in the Hebrew alphabet/numbers. No wonder why Yeshua hates tradition. It is based on man’s ideas and not on God’s Torah (instructions).
In conclusion, we must ask ourselves, “Should a true Christian be associated in any way with this celebration of evil roots? Should we be doing what the heathen have done for so many years and try to justify it as love?”
Romans 12:2 answers this very well, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…"
You may have a hard time giving up this holiday. You may even try to rationalize: “Well we can turn this into a day to celebrate the love of Jesus, right?”
This sounds logical, but what does Yeshua say about keeping man-made traditions?
Matthew 15:3 Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Matthew 15:6 Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Finally, we are exhorted not to learn the way of the heathen when it comes to observing “signs of heaven” by use of astrology:
Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Valentine's Day is certainly a day which Christians should not celebrate. Although it is celebrated in the pretense that it is all about LOVE, as is Christmas, that's not so. It is actually another Pagan holiday giving honor to Nimrod.