fighting the long defeat...
@schwerdt.bsky.social
Suburban kid gone from the Midwest to the West Midlands. Mere Christian who's orthodox, evangelical, sacramental, charismatic, all lower-case.
Pinned
Lest it be forgotten, Israel has faced divine judgement before.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
“… Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?”
Source: A Slip of the Tongue (Sermon)
2/2
Source: A Slip of the Tongue (Sermon)
2/2
December 3, 2025 at 5:45 AM
“… Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in a desert by which choice of route he missed the only well?”
Source: A Slip of the Tongue (Sermon)
2/2
Source: A Slip of the Tongue (Sermon)
2/2
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
“‘If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.’ Those are hard words to take. Will it really make no difference whether it was women or patriotism, cocaine or art, whisky or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? …”
1/2
1/2
December 3, 2025 at 5:45 AM
“‘If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.’ Those are hard words to take. Will it really make no difference whether it was women or patriotism, cocaine or art, whisky or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? …”
1/2
1/2
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
“Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage”
Source: Mere Christianity
Source: Mere Christianity
November 28, 2025 at 3:47 AM
“Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage”
Source: Mere Christianity
Source: Mere Christianity
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
#MorningPrayer
When we struggle, Lord,
with the circumstances
and pressures of life,
when issues are overwhelming,
when we cannot see the way ahead,
and when hope seems extinct,
remind us of your presence with us,
that we may reach out to you
in the assurance of your love for us.
When we struggle, Lord,
with the circumstances
and pressures of life,
when issues are overwhelming,
when we cannot see the way ahead,
and when hope seems extinct,
remind us of your presence with us,
that we may reach out to you
in the assurance of your love for us.
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 AM
#MorningPrayer
When we struggle, Lord,
with the circumstances
and pressures of life,
when issues are overwhelming,
when we cannot see the way ahead,
and when hope seems extinct,
remind us of your presence with us,
that we may reach out to you
in the assurance of your love for us.
When we struggle, Lord,
with the circumstances
and pressures of life,
when issues are overwhelming,
when we cannot see the way ahead,
and when hope seems extinct,
remind us of your presence with us,
that we may reach out to you
in the assurance of your love for us.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
“Continue seeking Him with seriousness. Unless He wanted you, you would not be wanting Him”
Source: Letters of C.S. Lewis
Source: Letters of C.S. Lewis
October 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM
“Continue seeking Him with seriousness. Unless He wanted you, you would not be wanting Him”
Source: Letters of C.S. Lewis
Source: Letters of C.S. Lewis
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
If you want to read the piece, here's a gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/o...
Opinion | Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel and the Future of Free Speech in America
www.nytimes.com
September 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM
If you want to read the piece, here's a gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/o...
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
#MorningPrayer
Lord, help us to see that our value,
and the value of every human being,
lies not in the status we achieve,
or the possessions we have,
or the power we wield,
or the heritage which we bear,
but in our being made in your image,
cherished in the fulness of your love.
Lord, help us to see that our value,
and the value of every human being,
lies not in the status we achieve,
or the possessions we have,
or the power we wield,
or the heritage which we bear,
but in our being made in your image,
cherished in the fulness of your love.
September 20, 2025 at 6:11 AM
#MorningPrayer
Lord, help us to see that our value,
and the value of every human being,
lies not in the status we achieve,
or the possessions we have,
or the power we wield,
or the heritage which we bear,
but in our being made in your image,
cherished in the fulness of your love.
Lord, help us to see that our value,
and the value of every human being,
lies not in the status we achieve,
or the possessions we have,
or the power we wield,
or the heritage which we bear,
but in our being made in your image,
cherished in the fulness of your love.
Wow. I didn't expect this.
“𝘖𝘶𝘳 country is under the wrath of God!…It will not do to say how great we are. It will not do to say the United States is God’s country in some special way.” -Francis Schaeffer, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺
September 20, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Wow. I didn't expect this.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
"Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assumption of His to be true, though we are part of the world He came to save, we are not part of the audience to whom His words are addressed”
Source: The Problem of Pain
Source: The Problem of Pain
September 6, 2025 at 2:35 AM
"Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assumption of His to be true, though we are part of the world He came to save, we are not part of the audience to whom His words are addressed”
Source: The Problem of Pain
Source: The Problem of Pain
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
“If no set of moral ideas were truer or better than any other, there would be no sense in preferring civilised morality to savage morality, or Christian morality to Nazi morality. In fact, of course, we all do believe that some moralities are better than others …”
1/3
1/3
August 29, 2025 at 4:55 AM
“If no set of moral ideas were truer or better than any other, there would be no sense in preferring civilised morality to savage morality, or Christian morality to Nazi morality. In fact, of course, we all do believe that some moralities are better than others …”
1/3
1/3
Dark days ahead unless this shifts
Politics has always been a game – but why does it now feel like we’re being cheated?
theconversation.com/politics-has...
Politics has always been a game – but why does it now feel like we’re being cheated?
theconversation.com/politics-has...
Politics has always been a game – but why does it now feel like we’re being cheated?
From golf course antics to constitutional power grabs, Donald Trump’s rule-bending reveals how narcissistic politics risks breaking democracy itself.
theconversation.com
August 16, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Dark days ahead unless this shifts
Politics has always been a game – but why does it now feel like we’re being cheated?
theconversation.com/politics-has...
Politics has always been a game – but why does it now feel like we’re being cheated?
theconversation.com/politics-has...
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
#MorningPrayer
Help us, Lord, to know
that the value of other people
lies in their personhood,
not their perfection;
in their existence,
not their effectiveness.
Grow in us the capacity
to value others
for who they are,
people made in your image,
and bear with each other in love.
Help us, Lord, to know
that the value of other people
lies in their personhood,
not their perfection;
in their existence,
not their effectiveness.
Grow in us the capacity
to value others
for who they are,
people made in your image,
and bear with each other in love.
August 4, 2025 at 7:14 AM
#MorningPrayer
Help us, Lord, to know
that the value of other people
lies in their personhood,
not their perfection;
in their existence,
not their effectiveness.
Grow in us the capacity
to value others
for who they are,
people made in your image,
and bear with each other in love.
Help us, Lord, to know
that the value of other people
lies in their personhood,
not their perfection;
in their existence,
not their effectiveness.
Grow in us the capacity
to value others
for who they are,
people made in your image,
and bear with each other in love.
This is ridiculous. Not in a good way, and on multiple levels. Pathetic.
Even setting aside the grotesqueness of this horrible stunt and the fact that you simply cannot square it with any interpretation of ethical journalism, this is just stupid.
At 4p ET/1p PT, I’ll have a one of a kind interview with Joaquin Oliver. He died in the Parkland school shooting. But his parents have created an AI version of their son for a powerful message on gun violence. Plus TX Rep. @jamestalarico.bsky.social - see you soon on Substack and later on YouTube.
August 5, 2025 at 5:05 AM
This is ridiculous. Not in a good way, and on multiple levels. Pathetic.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
Know Christ so well you can discern what is unlike Him no matter the seductive or religious garb it wears. God is building His kingdom in the hearts of men and women, not in the externals we have come to love, protect, and praise.
August 4, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Know Christ so well you can discern what is unlike Him no matter the seductive or religious garb it wears. God is building His kingdom in the hearts of men and women, not in the externals we have come to love, protect, and praise.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
Listen for the word of God.
August 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Listen for the word of God.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
Jeremy Taylor in 'Holy Living':
"When the word of God is read or preached to you, be sure you be of a ready heart and mind, free from worldly cares and thoughts, diligent to hear, careful to mark, studious to remember, and desirous to practise all that is commanded".
"When the word of God is read or preached to you, be sure you be of a ready heart and mind, free from worldly cares and thoughts, diligent to hear, careful to mark, studious to remember, and desirous to practise all that is commanded".
July 20, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Jeremy Taylor in 'Holy Living':
"When the word of God is read or preached to you, be sure you be of a ready heart and mind, free from worldly cares and thoughts, diligent to hear, careful to mark, studious to remember, and desirous to practise all that is commanded".
"When the word of God is read or preached to you, be sure you be of a ready heart and mind, free from worldly cares and thoughts, diligent to hear, careful to mark, studious to remember, and desirous to practise all that is commanded".
Lest it be forgotten, Israel has faced divine judgement before.
July 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Lest it be forgotten, Israel has faced divine judgement before.
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
One of the things about JD Vance is that he is completely 100% aware that what he is doing is evil and has made a deliberate, conscious choice to do evil to get power. He’s not self-deluded or dumb. He hasn’t drunk Kool-Aid. He’s decided to do evil for power.
July 18, 2025 at 3:46 PM
One of the things about JD Vance is that he is completely 100% aware that what he is doing is evil and has made a deliberate, conscious choice to do evil to get power. He’s not self-deluded or dumb. He hasn’t drunk Kool-Aid. He’s decided to do evil for power.
Sad reflection on the loss of veracity
July 6, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Sad reflection on the loss of veracity
Pretty strong stuff. Not happy to be forcefed AI...
A call in the spirit of Neil Postman’s urging of “loving resistance fighters” against the Technopoly
open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia...
open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia...
The Force-Feeding of AI on an Unwilling Public
This isn't innovation, it's tyranny
open.substack.com
July 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Pretty strong stuff. Not happy to be forcefed AI...
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
A call in the spirit of Neil Postman’s urging of “loving resistance fighters” against the Technopoly
open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia...
open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia...
The Force-Feeding of AI on an Unwilling Public
This isn't innovation, it's tyranny
open.substack.com
July 6, 2025 at 10:47 AM
A call in the spirit of Neil Postman’s urging of “loving resistance fighters” against the Technopoly
open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia...
open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia...
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
"’What are we to make of Christ?' There is no question of what we can make of Him, it is entirely a question of what He intends to make of us. You must accept or reject the story”
Source: God in the Dock
Source: God in the Dock
June 8, 2025 at 4:49 AM
"’What are we to make of Christ?' There is no question of what we can make of Him, it is entirely a question of what He intends to make of us. You must accept or reject the story”
Source: God in the Dock
Source: God in the Dock
Reposted by fighting the long defeat...
