Self-professed followers of Jesus the Messiah on Nostr. Protestants, Roman Catholics and Orthodox welcome. (No LDS or JWs)
This week's class takes up Jeremiah 10, the prophet's longest satire on idols: a god cut from a tree, dressed in silver, nailed down so it will not topple (Jer. 10:4), a scarecrow in a cucumber field, carried because it cannot walk. Over against it stands the true God, the living God and the everlasting King (Jer. 10:10), who needs no carrying but carries His people (Isa. 46:3–7). Which direction the carrying runs is the whole difference between idolatry and the Gospel.
On the Sabbath, the Pharisees found a rule to keep and lost the mercy it was meant to carry — husk without kernel. James diagnoses the same disease in the church: zeal that hides self-seeking envy. Christ, the One greater than the temple, was Himself crushed like the grain, so that guilty husk-keepers might be fed with mercy instead of judged by the letter.
The four thousand Jesus feeds in Mark 8 are Gentiles — outsiders with no claim on the God of Israel. Paul says the same of us: once strangers, far off, until brought near by the blood of Christ. What Christ did on that Gentile shore, He does again in the Sacrament, filling those who have no right to the table with more than enough.
This week's class takes up Jeremiah 9, where the prophet names the root sickness twice — **"they do not know Me"** (Jer. 9:3, 9:6) — and hands us the one boast that survives it: **"that he understands and knows Me"** (Jer. 9:24). Paul later routes the whole Gospel through that verse: no flesh may boast, unless it boasts in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31).
Short-term trading is often dismissed as a zero-sum game, driven by hype and luck. But for those who approach it with discipline and conviction, trading can be a meaningful craft — a way to fund deeper work, align with values, and sharpen focus. In this piece, I share why I only trade equities (not crypto or forex), how I avoid signal-following hype, and why consistent, small gains often matter more than chasing spikes. This isn’t gambling — it’s Proof of Work.
How Michael Saylor put Bitcoin back inside the financial system it was designed to replace. Bitcoin's engine is disintermediation; Strategy removed the engine, hitched the car to horses, and is now selling engines to buy hay.
The Gerasene demoniac was a man no one could bind. James names the wisdom that builds a life like that: earthly, unspiritual, demonic, breeding envy and self-seeking until it makes "every evil thing." Then Jesus crosses the sea to unclean pagan ground for this one man, and with a single word, "Come out," He drowns Legion under the water. The man is left sitting, clothed, in his right mind. That is his Baptism, and ours, where the same word of Christ still drowns what binds us and seats us at His table.
Bitcoin's governance already works like a well-checked monarchy disciplined by exit, not a democracy — and judged on skin in the game, Luke Dashjr is the owner-king you want, not the caretaker you fear.
Jeremiah 8 is a chapter of missed chances. Judah will not turn back — the stork in the sky knows her seasons, but God's people do not know the time of the LORD's judgment — and the prophets cry 'Peace, peace' where there is no peace. 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.' And then the ache that gives the chapter its name: 'Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?' — a question the whole Gospel rises up to answer.
Jesus stops the worshiper at the altar: first be reconciled to your brother. The Fifth Commandment reaches the heart — anger, 'Raca,' the grudge nursed since Easter — so no one comes with clean hands, and God will not accept half a sacrifice. But this altar faces the other way: God left His throne and reconciled us by Christ's blood while we were still His enemies. So the righteousness that exceeds the scribes and Pharisees is not one we scrub up in ourselves
Bitcoin taught us to think differently about money. This article explores what happens when we apply that same principle to the rest of our digital lives. From Nostr and local-first software to relationship memory and AI, I argue that our writing, conversations, and digital history should begin with us—not with a platform.
A technological culture begins to see physical reality as something to escape. So why did God meet us here in the flesh?
Anil Patel's (@anilsaidso on Twitter) list of essential essays that provide a foundational understanding of Bitcoin.
Amber is one of the most important tools for Nostr users on Android. This tutorial covers setup for both new and existing nostriches, and logging into Nostr apps that have Amber sign-in support. It does not cover remote signing/bunker login, as this will be covered in a separate, stand-alone tutorial.
In this second installment of The Android Elite Setup tutorial series, we will cover installing the Zapstore from the GitHub page and browsing for apps you may be interested in trying out.
Android users are fortunate to have some of the best Nostr applications and tools at their disposal that simply aren't available to those on iOS, and which synergize well with each other to create a whole experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. This tutorial series will cover installation and setup of six such applications, four of which were dubbed by Derek Ross as "The Grand Slam of Excellence" on Android.
Tired of seeing spam in your replies? You're not alone. Here is my recommended relay setup to give spam the boot, both for Haven and non-Haven users.
