Hey Jude!

Don't Carry the World Upon Your Shoulders

Hey Jude!

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain.

Don't carry the world upon your shoulders.

Lyrics from the song “Hey Jude” by the Beatles.

Any time you feel the pain

Faith in life and culture has been pretty exciting. My life’s been a whirlwind of change and business since I last wrote.

I was under evacuation warnings for three weeks while the Shelly Fire raged here in Siskiyou County, CA.

I had several family commitments that could not be missed.

My carpet-cleaning business got busy. I was working 10-hour days frequently.

Don't carry the world upon your shoulders.

Globally, we live in a very different world than just a few weeks ago. Have we been made numb by local disasters? sports, entertainment, or politics?

We are like the Romans of old, who were satiated by the blood of the martyrs and gladiators. whose lives were pitted against starved and deadly beasts.

As the blood flowed and the excitement grew, the Romans would forget that their empire was crumbling around them.

Our Modern Roman Circus Maximus

Who would have thought the political and media facade that President Biden had it all together would vanish in under 90 minutes? Those in the American public who have noticed his dementia from the start have been labeled as “conspiracy theorists," “fear mongers," "misinformed," “radical right-wing extremists," "fascists," “racists," and worse.

Even Joe Biden labeled conservative Americans as “hating the constitution and America” in his dark speech before Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Do any thinking Americans doubt that the botched assassination attempt was engineered? Perhaps by the compromised Departments of Homeland Security and the FBI? Have both become political tools for the Socialists in the Democratic Party?

The West is on fire!

While we were worried about our home and local towns for the third time in five years, we are grateful to God, who, in His mercy, poured down an unexpected rain storm for two hours on the fire, essentially putting out what over three thousand firefighters could not do in nearly two weeks. Truly miraculous.

I see the signs all over the roads and on the news thanking the firefighters. They deserve thanks, indeed. I haven’t seen even one sign thanking God for putting out the fire. God deserves a great deal of thanks for putting out the fire. God answered prayer and saved lives, property, forests, animals, and more.

The image below is from July 30, 2024

I’m incorrigible!

I’m good at some things I shouldn’t be, are you?

Perhaps one of the things I’m best at, which shouldn’t come with bragging rights, is the tendency and habit of putting too much on my plate. I am so overcommitted!

I agreed to teach a Bible Study at the Church in Etna. An eight-week course on “How to Study the Bible”.

The course is nearly over now; we have two classes remaining. I should know better than to start a Bible Study during the busiest time of my work year.

Everything began to metaphorically appear like the spinning plate routines we’ve all seen on television or at the carnival.

I’m still sweeping up the pieces. I hope you can forgive me.

The class was good in some unexpected ways.

I wanted to write about how to study the Bible but wasn’t clear on how to proceed. I had to process all the information and methods I used to prepare messages, filter them, and reduce them into bite-sized pieces.

One of the surprises came in the responses of several students. The clearest and most concise statement that provided me with insight was this. “I didn’t know there would be so much homework involved!”

The result of that comment and its benefit to you, the reader of Ministry at Zero Degrees, is that I’ll not only give you the entire process of how to study the Bible, but I'll also give you notes, word studies, and worksheets to use as you choose.

You can either use the materials and do it all yourself, or you can get it all “done for you” and then process the information for yourself.

What’s the future looking like for you?

You can look forward to a complete study through the letter of Jude.

The materials generated will help provide a full understanding of Jude. This is an infrequently read, studied, and taught letter of the New Testament. You will find it invaluable, given the current world events.

I’m looking forward to sharing this study and the host of articles that will be written for your enjoyment. Maybe it will become a valuable resource and book on the study of Jude.

We’ll see,

Until next time,

May God richly bless you.

Pastor James Beane

Ministry at Zero Degrees.