Josh

Husband, father, pastor. Living life in the Midwest.

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Last Notes

2026-03-28 00:04:41 UTC

Filtration process needs some fine-tuning but we got 'er in jars. Best syrup I've tasted.
#maplesyrup #sapstr
https://blossom.primal.net/b94d5d7e047057ac19ceec3fc37980ad4c9ce764e9934e06c7b53fc86ea858bd.jpg

2026-03-26 16:27:24 UTC

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Yeah, I have seen those out there. Not sure how they work either. Maybe we'll upgrade someday. It is the best. Great on ice cream too. I used to drink the Crown maple whiskey when they had it. I still have to try mixing it in myself. Fun tradition worth handing down.

2026-03-26 13:07:59 UTC

It is of vastly greater importance that you teach your kids to worship God on Sunday than it is they participate in sports.
Even if they become an Olympic champion, it's not going to be much benefit if they lose their soul.
#semperreformanda
https://blossom.primal.net/4e38732191da2bb6a738249c7ce51d65363547ed96f06c684e6ad2260ae80e21.jpg

2026-03-26 02:51:30 UTC

Time to get some more sap rolling. Barrel cooker was today's DIY project with the kids.
#maplesyrup #sapstr
https://blossom.primal.net/6169085b7ced7b728cd4ddf69b9c689ade746e84a428b604e042489cc6c5fe60.jpg

2026-03-25 17:14:52 UTC

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Price caps are for commies. They guarantee shortages.
#nevent1q…u8ff

2026-03-25 13:43:20 UTC

"And if we too have said like Peter, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God' ... we become a Peter, and to us there might be said by the Word, 'You are a Peter,' etc. Matthew 16:18. For a rock is every disciple of Christ..." -Origen, Commentary on Matthew 12.10 🤔
#Romenomo #semperreformanda

2026-03-25 13:27:07 UTC

If you teach that faith gets you into the New Covenant, but works are necessary to keep you in the New Covenant, you are not teaching the gospel.
#semperreformanda #thelawandthegospel #repent
https://blossom.primal.net/e61ec91d958796a411755e6adf0eb8aa425475e2d6fd1f1c275ce9e80872337d.jpg

2026-03-24 15:09:28 UTC

Is the power of positive thinking enough?
https://blossom.primal.net/59fdf10fe161951c8a699c54d41575bc5529364cad38766884f2f31951705077.mp4
#semperreformanda #christianostr #biblestr #preachtheword

2026-03-24 02:27:29 UTC

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They are the laws that are not moral or civil laws. Like Passover or the Feast of Booths.

2026-03-24 02:16:29 UTC

Cooking sap is better than therapy.
#sapstr #countryliving
https://blossom.primal.net/8660bda2dfb86cc16c43e24d1b665ef8cb2ecd0d2f9cbe2819cbb4f237f17313.jpg

2026-03-19 23:17:16 UTC

Big, thick venison chops from last fall's doe. Reverse seared on the pellet grill. Big hit.
#huntstr #eatwild
https://blossom.primal.net/01fea24a105c99e9d43aa6c6663b2828a85973e86621bbd0bcad0a56b6384637.jpg

2026-03-19 22:56:57 UTC

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The hardware is free too, in certain areas.
Referral link gets us both a month free. https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-3175290-68163-66
#nevent1q…qqpg

2026-03-19 22:47:22 UTC

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https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-3175290-68163-66

2026-03-19 22:43:17 UTC

Starlink now has a residential plan for $50 a month up to 100mbps. In case nobody told you like nobody told me.

2026-03-19 20:20:32 UTC

It's official. We're tapping.
#provideandprotect #sappingseason
https://blossom.primal.net/e435b45c42ed47458cc4002277eb8d147f75c8f96b93b70326dde204dfe5f27b.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/06f005f683d620c333d273070a2d433515621b9712b46f7e416409bc1e0eb1c0.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/f3ac7aed7ff24ab8c74df2824f9694b97f16b9949ba250b1072e6b637d1b6b0e.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/5af7cf6480e0a4e7935e3f113c72b21c315ff5a5a2c282514e017309e30f2db7.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/e0fdd9d37cc4bf53052b209756343fdf625c679ce3ffe4a3245b9391cb56f439.jpg

2026-03-19 14:03:35 UTC

If you are working for justification, it implies that you are not yet justified in any meaningful sense. But the Christian is inseparably joined to Christ by a genuine faith—Christ who is Himself death to sin, resurrection, and spotless righteousness (Eph. 1; Col. 3:3-4). Therefore, if you are working for justification, you remain a stranger and alien to Christ, cut off from Him, and dead in your sins.
https://blossom.primal.net/6aeabd432c628de78be3d90a7189b160a69b5752442c0df12fe1e5daddd8865e.jpg
#thelawandthegospel #thewholechrist #christianostr #biblestr

2026-03-19 11:14:27 UTC

Get your burpees in. You'll thank yourself the rest of the day. Do 10. Catch your breath. x10. Full body workout. Breaks the bood-brain barrier. Pack it up and take it wherever you go.
#gm #provideandprotect
https://blossom.primal.net/971176ac2399986c219d076269e3b6b7df5282c89f5b76711adfe97c8af56df5.jpg

2026-03-19 02:33:23 UTC

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Ceremonial laws like circumcision are fulfilled in Christ. They are shadows. Christ is the substance. You can do what you like with them, but they are obsolete.

2026-03-18 14:42:26 UTC

Good morning. Paul told the Galatians that if they became circumcised, Christ would profit them nothing (Gal. 5:2). But in Acts 16:13 he himself circumcised Timothy. Either Paul was a hypocrite or the issue in Galatians is not circumcision itself, but circumcision done in an attempt to be justified, which is what 5:4 says.
The same principle applies to any work done in an attempt to be justified, including baptism or the Lord's Supper or helping a neighbor. It would mean you are severed from Christ.
The Whole Christ is received by faith, apart from any works, and in Him is eternal life.
#gm #grownostr #thelawandthegospel #biblestr
https://blossom.primal.net/70298a0054cd32c2d8afa0d135388994b9c6dc90b9fa7711cae3b35bbef69dc1.jpg

2026-03-17 22:45:10 UTC

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There is a difference between authority and inerrancy. Scripture is inerrant. The church isn't. Therefore whatever Scripture says has the authority of God behind it. The same cannot be said for whatever the church says.
I never trusted an authority to tell me what is and isn't canon. I read the books myself. I certainly took the testimony of the Protestant churches to heart as part of that process. I tried reading non-canonical works. But Scripture speaks unlike any other book. It makes better sense of the world than any other book. It reveals a path of salvation unlike any other, and all the individual books speak of the same truth, different voices, without contradiction. The manuscript evidence shows that there is no significant alteration or variation in the texts over spans of hundreds or even thousands of years. It doesn't trouble me that some churches have different canons. Just like I'm not bothered by some people who say that 2+2 might equal 5. (They do exist.) I weigh the evidence and make a rational judgment. Many other saints down through the ages have made the same judgment. Christ preserves His church. I have not seen any evidence to suggest the Protestant canon is a novel tradition. You identify and understand Scripture by reason. You receive it by faith. The apostles' teaching forms the keys to the church, and their teaching is accurately and sufficiently summed up in the Scriptures of the NT.
"Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." -Luther

2026-03-17 18:36:46 UTC

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There is a difference between authority and inerrancy. Scripture is inerrant. The church isn't. Therefore whatever Scripture says has the authority of God behind it. The same cannot be said for whatever the church says. That includes the church's determining what is and isn't Scripture.
I never trusted an authority in itself to tell me what is and isn't canon. I read the books myself. I took the testimony of the Protestant churches to heart as part of that process. I tried reading non-canonical works. But Scripture speaks unlike any other book. It makes better sense of the world than any other book. It reveals a path of salvation unlike any other, and all the individual books speak of the same truth, different voices, without contradiction. The manuscript evidence shows that there is no significant alteration or variation in the texts over spans of hundreds or even thousands of years. It doesn't trouble me that some churches have different canons. Just like I'm not bothered by some people who say that 2+2 might equal 5. (They do exist.) I weigh the evidence and make a rational judgment. Many other saints down through the ages have made the same judgment. Christ preserves His church. I have not seen any evidence to suggest the Protestant canon is a novel tradition.
"Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." -Luther

2026-03-17 14:58:03 UTC

2026-03-17 14:12:34 UTC

2026-03-17 13:00:57 UTC

Good morning. If you expect to complete your justification by your own good works, you are under a curse (Gal. 3:10-11).
Justification is a one-time declaration that a person is righteous in God's sight based on the merits of Christ. Believe the good news.
"For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts." -Mal. 1:11 https://blossom.primal.net/dacc2ad980f55e232f706330cf0dbd80b117940844c442655bccd97d2d5c6566.jpg
#christianostr #biblestr #thelawandthegospel #wedistinguish

2026-03-16 20:36:35 UTC

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"The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, depends not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God."
https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-1
The church doesn't make Scripture God's word. It recognizes that it is God's word. Just like an apple doesn't have to say it's an apple to be an apple. That's what it is. It's not an orange no matter how many people agree it is. 2+2=4 even if the whole world says it isn't.
We could go on and on. I hate seeing people, especially younger guys with families, "go home to Rome." There's nothing for you there.
Ask your priest what he thinks the Galatian heresy was about. Ask him what he thinks Paul meant when he called all of his own works "skubala" with respect to gaining Christ and being found in Him (Phil. 3:8).

2026-03-16 13:05:52 UTC

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing." -John 6:63
"Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" - Gal. 3:3
#biblestr #christianostr

2026-03-15 01:09:57 UTC

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A lot of religions make a lot of remarkable claims. It doesn't mean they're true.
Scripture is the Protestant's magisterial authority. It is the law and the gospel of Christ our king. He wrote it to reveal things to us in a way we could understand. Have you ever noticed how many times in the gospels Jesus asks the question: "Have you not read?"
We have no magisterium. Christ rules His church from heaven by His Word and Spirit. This does not mean we do not have ministerial authorities. We have living teachers, pastors, scholars who have the Spirit of Christ living and working in them. We also have great regard for creeds and confessions. It just means we do not consider them authorities in themselves. (Don't trust, verify.) They are subject to the word of God. Members of churches are also subject to the authority of the church, and if they teach or live in such a way that is contrary to the church's belief, they may be put under discipline. We have no popes in Protestantism: we believe it is right for each of us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. That includes submitting our interpretation to another and being willing to accept correction, especially from a faithful pastor or other church leader.
What is baffling to me about other traditions is that they seem to doubt their ability to interpret the Scriptures accurately themselves, but at the same time they seem very confident in their ability to interpret the church fathers' interpretation of Scripture. Claiming these church leaders had extra-biblical revelation (hidden knowledge) via spoken word, regarding the fundamentals of the faith, not included in Scripture, and asserted after the time of the death of eyewitnesses to the risen Christ, is quite a problematic, and, in my view, very cult-like claim.
There is no getting around using your own individual rational mind to come to a conclusion. The way to determine the truth of any matter is not to ask who the person (or group) is who is saying it--it is to determine whether it conforms to reality or not.
A well-informed Protestant will not argue that it is Protestants who made the hard fork. The Reformers sought to retrieve the teaching and practice of the ancient church. The claim is that Rome veered off. The claim is that we are more catholic and apostolic than you are, and you got into novelty regarding the substance and essence of the faith, particularly regarding the authority of Scripture and the way of salvation.
To paraphrase the apostle Paul, "...even if we, or an angel from heaven, or a bishop or bishopric that claims direct succession from the apostles by the laying on of hands, or a pope who is the supposed head of the church and direct successor to Peter, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." As I understand it then, Trent is the hard fork. Apostolic succession is irrelevant if it has failed to preserve the true gospel as handed down by Paul in his written letters (which certainly would not contradict his spoken word).

2026-03-13 12:47:51 UTC

"...a Christian man has in his faith all that he needs, and needs no works to justify him ... they who imagine that they are fulfilling the law by doing the works of chastity and mercy required by the law (the civil and human virtues), might not be confident that they will ... be saved; they are included under the sin of unbelief, and must either seek mercy or be justly condemned." —Luther, On the Freedom of a Christian
#gm #grace #thelawandthegospel #wedistinguish
https://blossom.ditto.pub/1275ad70d0b895a0b6c447433a883a873afab24fa5faa717154d5e71303e6132.jpeg

2026-03-13 12:23:36 UTC

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🫡 Onward.

2026-03-13 01:46:55 UTC

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Oh man. We had one crawl under the truck and up under the hood into the engine area. Could not get it out. Trying to be proactive and keep them from getting a foothold this year. But they got a duck already one night. And the coyotes heard it and came and picked off a chicken later. Too many varmints.

2026-03-13 00:54:02 UTC

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They're out of control. This is #3 already.

2026-03-12 14:51:55 UTC

Raccoon warfare season 2 is underway. #provideandprotect #homestead
https://blossom.ditto.pub/60a2d29394b2d6b8d640902e3314127e6b420dab2f4e0f3037a15df9d7e527bc.jpeg

2026-03-12 12:41:47 UTC

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Exactly. 👍

2026-03-12 12:39:22 UTC

Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matt. 11:30).
You lose this the minute you make your own works part of the basis on which God declares you righteous in His sight.
It doesn't matter if you claim they are works carried out by God's grace.
The entire weight of God's perfect law is hung around your neck like a millstone.
You must accomplish it to gain eternal life.
That is not good news.
https://blossom.ditto.pub/d5ae628ea6a0531bb1076521f8b750a168060f368a749d9f53a228d8e15ce2a2.jpeg
#christianostr #biblestr #gm

2026-03-11 16:26:28 UTC

"This free grace of God is always exposed to that charge of antinomianism...If you do not make people say things like that sometimes, if you are not misunderstood and slanderously reported from the standpoint of antinomianism, it is because you do not believe the gospel truly and you do not preach it truly."
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
https://blossom.ditto.pub/fa9fa54e30da4ecc2309c6239d843dedb74d670c836fbe1713fb2c29ab75c327.jpeg

2026-03-11 15:27:48 UTC

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Amen.

2026-03-11 13:55:48 UTC

Eternal life isn't a gift if you can lose it by disobedience.
#christianostr #biblestr #gm

2026-03-11 13:47:41 UTC

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Understood. That sounds a lot more like probation than sonship. So much of the NT appeal to obedience is an appeal from identity: you are sons, therefore act like sons. You have been crucified with Christ, therefore die to sin and live to righteousness. It seems your view would completely undercut any motive to obedience from identity. The effect of Rome's teaching (no matter their supposed objection) is that I might be a son, but I have to choose to keep obeying to really find out. This makes sonship much more of an achievement than a gift of God's grace. As you say, you must choose. It's a relationship that can end. Therefore, I conclude, it is a relation based on works rather than grace. I don't see how in your view the NT is in any way essentially different from the OT. "If you obey, then you'll live."
Roman Catholicism has no appeal to me. I think I understand it pretty well. I was taught some of its distinctives by teachers who thought they were teaching Protestant theology. It is very easy to slip into the Galatian heresy. It is far easier for the mind of of the flesh to comprehend. The god of Rome is far too fickle and his medicine far too weak to save my soul. I have been far too acquainted with the depths of my sin. I agree with Charles Spurgeon: if I could lose my salvation, I would.
My interest in RC is merely speculative and experimental, for the purposes of evangelism and defending the truth. (I do not recognize a genuine Roman Catholic as a brother, because Rome clearly teaches a different gospel; indeed, a different religion when it comes to the substance of it, though there is agreement with Christianity in important areas).
It is amazing to me that someone could say that a person who is in limbo between a state of righteousness and sin (grace and flesh) could enjoy the blessing of being seated in the heavenly places in Christ. That is the Holy of Holies. You must be covered in blood and washed to enter there. Some provisional or temporary covering could never suffice in light of God's holiness. On the other hand, I don't see how it could be an encouragement if Paul is talking about something that a person believing now might never reach in the future.
We also believe in an ongoing, lifelong process of purification for the Christian and for the church. We call it sanctification, and we distinguish it from justification. Justification leads to sanctification. Faith is not a good work (it is the work of God), but it produces good works. A person already made righteous in Christ begins to live righteously. This process of sanctification is evidence of justification, not the grounds of it. If you love the RC Church because they have a catechism, that is no reason to favor it over Protestantism. The Reformed churches have catechisms and confessions of faith as well.
The design of RC seems to be to deny people assurance and keep them debtors to the law and slaves. I don't see any way the gospel according to Rome leaves it open to the charge of antinomianism. You seem to think that is one of the principle virtues of Romanism, and the vice of Protestantism. Curiously, Paul's preaching did leave him open to the charge of antinomianism (Rom. 6:1). If your gospel could not possibly be misunderstood in such a way, do you think it may be possible you're not teaching the same gospel? Think about it.

2026-03-11 01:27:20 UTC

A person is justified by faith.
A person's faith is justified by works.
Don't confuse the two. Distinguish.

2026-03-11 00:14:10 UTC

The Bible teaches that a person is justified by faith. It does not teach a person is justified by faithfulness.

2026-03-11 00:03:03 UTC

Good news: Christ is crucified for you. Believe and you have life.
Not good news: Christ is crucified for you. You have a chance to reach eternal life if you keep the rules.

2026-03-10 22:25:18 UTC

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You who believe in Me, you have eternal life, you will not come under judgment, you have passed from death to life, but, on the other hand, you who believe might not have eternal life, you might actually come under judgment, and you might pass back from life to death. Really?

2026-03-10 22:13:49 UTC

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I have much to say, but I will try to stick with this text: Jesus says the person who believes already has eternal life. In other words, the believer already has possession of unending bliss, and the happy enjoyment of it in Christ, who Himself is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). (Eph. 2:6 goes so far as to say a believer is already seated with Christ in the heavenly places, at the Father's right hand). And He says this believing person does not come under judgment. He says they have already passed from death to life.
Is the Roman position that a person raised from the dead to eternal life (the happy possession of endless bliss) can still die and come under judgment?

2026-03-10 18:37:58 UTC

#christianostr #biblestr #grownostr #faith #christian
#nevent1q…tuln

2026-03-10 18:37:12 UTC

Serious question for the Roman Catholics: What do you do with John 5:24?
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."
If the person who believes already has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, then how is it that someone in the position of so-called "initial justification" could lapse and fall into eternal torment (which, as I understand, Rome teaches is possible)?

2026-03-10 18:28:42 UTC

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You're right. It's a slippery slope.

2026-03-10 18:26:01 UTC

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That is a steal. I can't throw stones.

2026-03-10 18:24:34 UTC

Have you not heard?
https://blossom.ditto.pub/1c807a94392d4faa7edeea618fff29520e94eb0e00f636df6055e9cb27bfe237.mp4
#goodnews #reformation #christianostr #biblestr #grownostr

2026-03-03 22:54:12 UTC

New chicks.
#homestead #grownostr #selfsufficiency
https://blossom.primal.net/ad09849b8978ceda9c98d0bc68d24a068c835646c86fc83d1bff5d22dd31554f.jpg

2026-01-28 23:51:10 UTC

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I'd say the foundation of any civilization is the virtuous individual. As opposed to wicked and vain individuals. A virtuous individual ordinarily will seek marriage and children and seek for the good of his country, with his own long-range happiness in mind.

2026-01-28 23:28:18 UTC

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Is the argument that a nation is formed by covenant in the same way a household is formed by a marriage covenant?

2026-01-27 23:32:37 UTC

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https://blossom.primal.net/e211e2964a5538284aa7dc42d79d966da15ce1342f3330e0515f6f959748641e.png

2026-01-27 19:14:50 UTC

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I don't disagree with the importance of the household, but every time I see someone make the argument that the household is the basic building block of civilization *over against the individual,* I just have to wonder how it is possible there can be a household without individuals. And if you cannot have a household without individuals, then how can the household be more basic to civilization than the individual?
#nevent1q…d7xm

2026-01-27 19:05:35 UTC

How should you respond when suffering wrongfully?
https://blossom.primal.net/4151381f6f5f60201e6cc71c539332cb3208b6de07219d2e6a3884c040770712.mp4
#christianostr #biblestr #faith #christianity

2026-01-16 14:08:42 UTC

Get your deads in.
#liftstr #gm
https://blossom.primal.net/8e95909c43f4d16254770e4b897213990aecf7ca57fe2d21a9b829d769147cda.jpg

2026-01-13 15:49:36 UTC

New Discourses: Integralism, Authority, and the Refactoring of Social Order | Michael O'Fallon
Episode webpage: https://soundcloud.com/newdiscourses/integralism-authority-and-the-refactoring-of-social-order-michael-ofallon
Media file: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/2241967361-newdiscourses-integralism-authority-and-the-refactoring-of-social-order-michael-ofallon.mp3

2025-11-26 13:36:07 UTC

Now it's hunting season.
#gm #huntstr
https://blossom.primal.net/066136ddc2400adaac3d94cc82b60bc5af2da87b932899777757fcb3b438a75e.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/bfbdc5764fbd5d341c2882f3cc058a941da759e7e7fbb8585ad3ece931e71f37.jpg

2025-11-24 02:28:41 UTC

Nice doe on the ground.
#wigundeer #huntstr
https://blossom.primal.net/b174cf78a8c67dc8a177ed5f4642ce36d6daf936bd88279ea5016e1609da2021.jpg

2025-11-22 19:57:28 UTC

Mastering the art of the mobile gym.
#nofatgenerals
https://blossom.primal.net/ef209a3f0ce76f551f17796cd4b3af358af71e28456e6709ff19c4f776c456fc.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/d539076a236f4cafee956fb2ee3e9c8fb141f2a5eb4b0fb0ded29ac8a61676b3.jpg

2025-11-20 15:29:35 UTC

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https://blossom.primal.net/5422169dd9dfafdfef72b6348bfa3a6c7724b95f09c521716c03dcea3fd29956.jpg

2025-11-20 15:29:25 UTC

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https://blossom.primal.net/c239d0fcec3ba688c9af5df6b9833cc6cf32d3f3471cc2149ece8f5efec5a8b0.jpg

2025-11-20 15:28:57 UTC

Bands and rucking by the lakeshore this morning. #gm

2025-11-20 15:26:25 UTC

The church is not your surety of eternal life. Christ is.
#faithalone #christalone

2025-11-19 02:28:55 UTC

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Good works are evidence of justification, not the cause of it. God declared Abraham righteous by faith alone: his faith was counted for righteousness. His later works made his faith evident in good works, such that his faith was 'justified' before men. This is the kind of justification James is talking about: you show me your faith, I'll show you mine. The question is the evidence of saving faith, and the sort of faith that saves (there is such a faith that cannot save), not the ground of justification. A person claiming to have faith before other people is justified in his profession when he bears fruit in keeping with repentance. Apart from works there is no justification to say a person has saving faith.

2025-11-18 14:38:17 UTC

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Rome does hold that good works are necessary to justification. They call them “works of grace,” such that, with God’s help, you may work for your own justification. If justification is a declaration that a man is just, and it is based and depends partly on your own merits or works, then it is of works. You are still under the law and not under grace. If you already have the grace at conversion, but you are not finally justified, and must display the fruits thereof *for justification*, then what is yet required for your final justification is not grace (which is freely given), but works. Then you are a savior to yourself, and Christ is no advantage to you (Gal. 5:4), for you are yet bound to keep the whole law, in all of its rigor, in order to be accepted unto life (Gal. 5:3; Gal. 3:10). If your title to eternal life depends at all on your own works, though they be “works of grace,” you are under a curse.
#nevent1q…w2mc

2025-11-11 12:50:18 UTC

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"...make a tree bad and its fruits will be bad..." -Matt.12:33 Something that is *materially* good but done from an impure motive is not a good work. It does not please God.
We have a lot of rutabagas in our garden. From all external appearances they look great. But when you cut into them they're rotten to the core. I don't consider them good vegetables, and we throw them in the field to rot.
Any work done *for* justification is done from an impure motive that betrays a critical misunderstanding of the nature of God.

2025-11-10 23:37:38 UTC

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I'm saying Satanists can't do good things.

2025-11-10 23:05:53 UTC

#justification
https://blossom.primal.net/32dddb94f2b0bcb8b67ae79a398c1347d38a71806181127726bce47d7aa47815.jpg

2025-11-09 23:20:18 UTC

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👍Hope you'll read Perkins. Justification is the marrow of divinity.

2025-11-09 22:14:47 UTC

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You are exactly right about Luther and exactly right that Canon 9 specifically rejects justification by faith alone (sola fide) and not justification by faith (which is what Rome holds).
The disagreement is not over whether works have any place in the Christian faith, but it is over the place of works strictly in the matter of justification. Rome teaches that good works are necessary to justification, with the caveat that those works which are necessary to justification are worked in them by Christ, as a fruit of grace (as you said). Protestantism teaches that a man is justified by faith alone, apart from any works, but solely resting on Christ’s work accomplished for us (Phil 3:9; Titus 3:5). Rome teaches justification by infusion of righteousness; Protestantism teaches justification by imputation of Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 4:5, 8). For Rome, justification is a process; for Protestants, an instantaneous event.
Protestants understand faith as a mere instrument, as an open hand receiving Christ’s righteousness; Rome conceives of faith as a meritorious work affording a person a title to justification (faith formed by love).
We both agree that saving faith is never alone but will always work. Where we disagree is in seeing good works as the fruit of justification vs. seeing good works as necessary causes to justification. Faith produces good works of man, but faith itself is not a good work of man.
As Luther said, “[Faith] is a work of God, not of man, as Paul teaches (Eph. 2:8). The other works He works through us and with our help, but this one He works in us and without our help.” -The Babylonian Captivity of the Church
In the end, if the gospel is to remain good news, justification must be grounded solely on what Christ has done for us, and not on anything He does in us (Phil. 3:8-9). Here is the disagreement. What Rome teaches is actually a form of the Galatian heresy, wherein we begin by grace and finish with works (again, in the matter of justification), rather than the Christian gospel, which is all of grace and all of Christ.

2025-11-09 01:49:41 UTC

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You're welcome. I am referring to Rome when I say that. Canon 9 of the Council of Trent anathametizes anyone who holds to justification by faith alone. It is an explicit rejection of the apostles' teaching and of the only gospel that can save.
If justification is not by faith alone, then it is of faith plus works; and if justification is of faith and works, then every man is effectively a savior to himself, the gospel is no longer good news, and Christ died for no purpose (Gal. 2:21).
Rome may have a continuity of their institution, but they cannot claim a continuity of faith with the apostles in the matter of justification.
It is the doctrine on which the church stands or falls, and Rome cannot stand.
Happy to share more if you're interested.

2025-11-08 19:18:07 UTC

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Seeing a fair bit of this lately. Fleeing a superficial evangelicalism makes sense, but fleeing to a tradition that explicitly rejects the gospel doesn't. If you're considering such a move, at least make sure you're making an informed decision. William Perkins interacts extensively with Rome's claims, makes it clear where Protestants (Reformed Catholics) agree, and what constitutes the dividing line.
#nevent1q…eqnp
https://blossom.primal.net/9e44729dee28305e47bf86abce2937c34b29e71ad94b4d33e3ed6c58f59fce61.jpg

2025-11-07 12:39:26 UTC

Digging in.
#philosophy
https://blossom.primal.net/9717e5606ca085bd499abe35bd5035c70c7446e6678b77c00f031c6465e426d0.jpg

2025-10-28 20:17:11 UTC

Is this for real? #nihilism
https://blossom.primal.net/8a9f5a6278c2841b57bb0e0415751189cf078dab552bb058cc6a804f41988bfb.png

2025-10-28 19:57:15 UTC

https://blossom.primal.net/2979f1c522d18035a743b722bbdb0fc2fb1281e259922040955123031303c6ee.png

2025-10-20 20:00:21 UTC

Do you believe what God says about your sin?
https://blossom.primal.net/89626b139b61755eb30912a1ae0a78cd7f25d6dc307cbfa9d8c6050932ebfe56.mp4
#christianostr #biblestr

2025-10-08 01:03:58 UTC

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It's a thrill.

2025-10-08 01:02:47 UTC

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Haha not the biggest around but he'll do. It was a good hunt.

2025-10-07 22:29:51 UTC

Big Tom down.
#huntstr #grownostr
https://blossom.primal.net/f6d90d0e5bb89ac6dc6a161024fad6712fd0906b5f72e5c0bc780e5f8e1364cf.jpg

2025-10-07 16:07:38 UTC

Season's bounty. Carrots and baggies are massive this year.
#gardenstr #grownostr
https://blossom.primal.net/fc0874877bf24a31816258caaad7ba68a7dd6d562d69385d073a48c35f5ef77f.jpg

2025-09-17 13:28:27 UTC

https://image.nostr.build/a8367795d4eb5eed5ed0a8979b8e972411a21b416e3d6e8afdfad259da5a0f36.png
#gm #assurance

2025-09-16 19:43:13 UTC

Clip from Sunday's sermon.
https://blossom.primal.net/2d547288160b58e20137a4fadf455252d3ac8cbfd6d7c8329d9cce420f728f48.mp4
#biblestr #christianostr

2025-09-16 16:57:47 UTC

Excellent article from C. Bradley Thompson:
https://open.substack.com/pub/cbradleythompson/p/nihilism-and-the-crisis-of-the-west?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
#charliekirk #philosophy

2025-09-16 13:11:12 UTC

https://image.nostr.build/920ab229aa39853a555cf14d4d452f1994f6bd21f100d13966fbcc0d5510d4bb.png

2025-09-06 18:46:45 UTC

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Eats shoots and leaves.

2025-09-06 18:44:53 UTC

The West of the Midwest. Not too shabby.
https://image.nostr.build/9f961af5b3050e5c89d0cdae347e0549fd7ce86919c2fab41e7776df3693c228.jpg
#huntstr #getinthewoods

2025-09-01 14:58:37 UTC

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Nice work.

2025-09-01 14:50:05 UTC

Hoping there's a bear around here that likes caramel corn and trail mix.
https://image.nostr.build/27acf24f0822abcebd7eeb04ecbd8ed262a9751d41239ba877e31da1bfb01f0f.jpg
#huntstr #bearstr

2025-08-30 17:03:16 UTC

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That's a good question. I haven't maxed out in a while. Over 240. I'll have to find out.

2025-08-30 14:54:33 UTC

It's always a better day when you start it with a workout.
#gm
https://image.nostr.build/f40a9fbd0b89f271b35d4f0b4b09219e465290b1b029273d6c3f2e1079012e62.jpg

2025-08-30 14:47:50 UTC

Bear bait. Hoping to draw in a big bruin to bring down.
#hunt #bigbeardown
https://image.nostr.build/31edbc212c714ad1dcee3d3b668f84260f4c5bbbce9a07b65c6f9153dbac4d0e.jpg

2025-08-29 12:08:43 UTC

It does make me wonder how many there are. I hope the students at this institution of higher learning still understand what a man is. We're going to have some problems otherwise.
https://image.nostr.build/6e296c003b5d000ddd4d1a8d66da0acafd3201434d7d774ea5c139a3103098ba.jpg

2025-08-28 13:17:00 UTC

#spurgeon
https://image.nostr.build/5f0492c934243cbb4721840abce3c051baae9938ea1cfc3d477958f0799f7d83.png

2025-08-28 13:07:58 UTC

Get outdoors and hunt.
#nevent1q…sfku

2025-08-27 12:26:07 UTC

https://image.nostr.build/60ffe410f0de5eae4e90fad5ad5afbe0d168e80143027122685a818bb2de3771.png

2025-08-26 17:42:42 UTC

https://video.nostr.build/637f6e40e715283c0fb55e6c70100422485b2a7e0e7914f0ca58919bf7e4b057.mp4
#christianostr #biblestr

2025-08-25 20:32:35 UTC

If you claim a right to something that first has to be produced by another person before you can claim it, it is probably not a right.

2025-08-19 22:37:53 UTC

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Let freedom ring.
#nevent1q…7sez

2025-07-15 22:44:42 UTC

Caught five raccoons last night. Four in one trap.
#grownostr #countryliving
https://blossom.primal.net/71e094557ccbbeb1e62e40caba820f7464be0bb7a716531d96aa6404a4703da2.jpg

2025-06-19 17:49:31 UTC

A two coon night. We're up to six on the season. Maybe I'll make some hats in the fall.
#coonstr #countryliving
https://blossom.primal.net/1c3393c7ea30fd1fb0dbae492451a83c06ced7970c17c074f6acc0e4a1bee984.jpg