They have like a mix of corn, carrots, peas, long beans, green beans, aren't they? I know, but something's happening to my memory. This video is sponsored by Catchmaster. Hello, my crazy house. My name is Merlee McCohen. I have a house with 12 birds. And today I'm gonna show you our morning routine. Right, babe? Yes, you're very excited about it. They're all going to get breakfast now, but they need to. Okay.  Why don't you promote your new lyric video? Oh, let me wake. Why are you awake, actually? Okay, I'm gonna wake up the, is Vinny, are they all awake? Yeah, babe, thank you forever. I wanted to do waking up my bird. Welcome to your morning afternoon. It's not afternoon, George, but I had to get dressed and ready and I had stuff to do.  I already made food, I already did everything. But did you make the bird's food? Yeah. Okay, what did you make for the birds? I took some frozen vegetables and boiled them and then some cauliflower rice. They added a little bit of pepper to it and kind of gave them a little bit of a spice, and that's it, and some of the, where's that stuff? Where's it called? What? It's Nellie Spice, George. So yeah, for the vegetables I added it. It's for humans and birds. This is called Dethershakers by Posh City Pets. It's good, it's good. And yeah, we made Nellie's Amore Spice together. It's an Italian herb blend. So listen, smell it, it's good. I know. Okay, so ingredients, organic oregano, organic basil, organic thyme or pine? Thyme, whatever, I don't cook. All right, so for our morning routine, George is always in charge of the breakfast. If there's... Your lunch, the dinner, the next day's breakfast, and so on, right? Yes, that is true. And if he wasn't, he wouldn't have won me over. So basically the birds all know... What's left to do is that if you want to have a person like Marlene, you need to learn how to cook. Is that a lesson for the guys? Maybe. They might not want a person like me. I don't want a person like me. You might end up on YouTube. You know what, this is not even a discussion. Anyway, we're trying to do morning routine.  There's only an idea of what we do that we try to execute every day and they change it up however they want. So this is Rocky. He's all excited about his breakfast. I wish sometimes I... Nevermind, anyway, these are the bowls. I'm like, don't know... She decided to come join us. We've been doing this all morning. Thank you. The host has arrived. There is a strategy to what we do, but maybe no routine. The routine is that we try the same thing every day. What I have here, which I think is really cool, is these bowls, they come in a set. They're not on ParisStation.com, but if you'd like them to be, we can look into that. I really like these bowls. If you go into the store and you see these versus these, these actually don't fit on all kinds of bars. The bars have to be out. These fit on every kind of bar and they're kind of bendable. Why it's important to have food bowls like this. You cannot put this on top of the pellets or seed mix or however you feed your birds, because it can get soiled. You want to always have something that you know you can clean out and remove for the bowls. They have like a mix of corn, carrots, peas, long beans, green beans, aren't they? I know, but something's happening to my memory and it's not so good. We're gonna put this... Oh, you're excited. They can eat them out here. They can eat them in their cages. It just depends on where they are. Look at how excited we are. The reason we put them in these bowls is because sometimes they're outside in the aviary and so it's really good for them to get their snacks this way. These, a lot of them are missing and they are just little plastic plates that I use for the birds to include themselves when we eat and get them used to eating off of their own plate. As you could see, Merlin is here eating. Leo loves food, but he's not eating. He wants to come to me. So do I just say Leo doesn't wanna eat or do I try to find out what? So if I was gonna find out why I'd say one, he's not comfortable eating here with Merlin. So I gotta move him to another spot and two, he might not like these yellow bowls. Sometimes birds are comfortable with them in one situation like they might like it in their cage but not out here because generally he uses a lot. See, he still wants to come to me. He still doesn't feel safe. Yeah. I'm gonna get a flat bowl out and I'm gonna dump some of it in here and see if that changes anything. Okay, so now he doesn't wanna eat this here. Let's try moving this over here. Also like these, because they can sit on top of these very well and he's more comfortable here. He might eat there. There you go. Evidence that you gotta try many different ways to do the same thing. It was Merlin, it was the bowl, it was a spot. A lot of birds wanna feel very comfortable when they eat, so don't take it for face value. Don't say, oh, he doesn't wanna eat, he's not hungry. Actually, it's the best thing to be like this because like in the end of the day, you can't forget to have just moments like this with them. And when I sit here like this, a lot of them eventually just come over. You have to think of things backwards too. So for example, if I sit here like this and a lot of them come over, it means they like this time, right?  Get it? If he sits here and now he's like, oh, he will actually fly here at night and be like, okay, what movie you said, right? Yeah. And if I stay here long enough, Randa and Blue will fly over. Sometimes Leo will walk over a good amount of time. Jersey will walk over. She'll usually be kind of like the next one. Merlin will walk over, Cody will fly over. None of that's happening right now. So are you guys enjoying your meal that daddy needs? Because I can't stand these things. They're all over the place. Those traps don't work. Yes, they do, George. Oh, they don't. I put them everywhere. They're like not working. Where did you put them? Everywhere. Each other. Okay. Well, are you the expert or something? Yes. Catchmaster is the best and it's the best brand. And you are not the catchmaster. You just don't know how to use it. I am a catchmaster. I just, I do it my way. They're coming out now because that's sending out the pheromones. Yes. Oh my God. That's why it's chasing me. Did you touch it? You cannot also put that in a place that you think the bird's feasibly gonna go. And you can't just put in an open air, like two of them, in a nutshell. It's called a monitor. So what it is- This is a monitor? This is a monitor. They're used to kind of monitor and tell you where the nest is. Does that make sense? Because there's a pheromone in it that attracts them off, right? But if you put like five of them all around the place, then they don't know where to go. And they don't- So I can't have- But then also you can't target where they're coming from. And usually they're nesting in a pantry because they're pantry moths. They come to people with birds because of the bird seeds, right? Even it doesn't even matter. If you have pellets, if you have seeds- They're moths. Nuts. It can come from anything. It can come from cereals. It doesn't matter. It's not just bird, but bird people have this problem. When you put it in all different pantries, the pheromones, they're not in open air. So you see which monitor caught a moth. Oh, see, it's supposed to put multiple ones in the pantry. One in each pantry, right? So like what happens is if you put it in here, here, and here, and then if you catch them off in here, then the nest is in here.  Does that make sense? Yes. Yo, here's another one. Yes! It's coming out for the catch bastard. But that's not the right place to- No, you can't put it there because- But I don't want to get the egg out. Oh wow. Look, they're all coming.  There's another one. That is the strongest pheromone ever. I did not know that that's so quick. No, because I'm telling you, like remember when I went to Birds Plus and Lou was like, there's one good brand that will literally, like you'll catch the moths and then there was, and he gave it to us and it was really good. That was a catch master, yeah. It's literally bringing them all out. They're coming closer. It's that, that this doesn't work and mine works better. What's yours? What's yours? I'm the catch master.  Yes. That doesn't even make sense. You know about the nests. You're the one that finds the nests. You're asking me if I'm the expert. Let me tell you what I know and what I've learned, okay? So moths can get through this cellophane. They can get through, no matter how thick you think it is, they put these tiny little holes, they go through here and one of the main ways to know if a moth has been through your grains or pastas is when this kind of like dust is at the bottom. So if you look at the bag, you can often may not see a hole, but. You can not see no hole too. What's this? Oh. There we go. Yeah, you see? Get rid of it. Yeah. They can't be together on me because they get really possessive over me and then they fight. They can be, and so he wouldn't be able to pick, no one would be able to pick them up with their finger because they will bite. Look how mad he is. Okay, so. So what do you want to do? Do you want to bet that you're the catch master or do you want to bet that the catch master is the catch master? I think I'm the catch master because I do a better job. You want to bake a bet? Sure. Okay, we put them in all of the cupboards. Put one in, take all those, put them in all of the cupboards because it doesn't matter to you if they're gone because you're the catch master. Okay. Put them in each cupboard. If we find a moth in it within a cupboard and we find the nest, then you have to do all the cleaning of all the cupboard. All the cleaning? The cleaning, yeah. You're not going to help me? I mean, I'll take the bet. How's that bet? Well, it doesn't mean that I got to do it all by myself. That's the bet. Otherwise I do it all by myself if you're the catch master. Really? Yeah. Okay, I'll take the bet then. You have one in here and also guys, for those of you who have birds, this is preventative. You want to have this in spots where your seeds, your grains, a lot of people forget about this. They don't know they have moths because they have parrots and parrot seeds around, but it's not just that. It's also, of course, your pastas and nugs. So I think we got moths from bringing home some walnuts from the store once. So it's better to be preventative and have these things ready, at least purchased already if that makes sense. And as you guys already know, you can get them on Amazon. Put those in the rest of the cupboard storage. Especially the cupboards with grains. I love you guys. Traps to be prepared because it is mob season. Click the link below. It's an Amazon link. Really easy to purchase. It's part of what I would consider a pack that you should always have on hand for your birds. So yeah, enjoy. I hope you liked this morning routine video. It's still a day. Her morning is really her afternoon. No, it's not. I was up doing stuff. What were you doing? What do you mean, what was I doing? Working. I'm chasing you around. Not in the morning. You were sleeping in the morning. I had a lot of makeup on, George. I love you guys. Don't forget to subscribe. Let me know your favorite part of this video.


I'm willing to bet a lot of you have never heard of this series, and those who have probably don't have many friends that are familiar with it. Honestly, I'm shocked the Patreon poll requested this, but here I go. Southern Victory, otherwise known as Timeline191, is an alternate history franchise written by Harry Turtledove. I say franchise because it's not just one series, it's multiple series which all tie in together, but you don't need to read one to enjoy the others. The four series are How Few Remain, The Great War, American Empire, and Settling Accounts. They each cover a different historical period taking place after the American Civil War, or the War of Secession, as it's called in universe. I did a worldbuilding analysis on these a long time ago. They aren't great videos, but feel free to check them out to get some more info if you're curious. The point of divergence here is very small. In real life, a rebel officer accidentally left behind a copy of his orders which then fell into the hands of Union troops, which allowed them to respond to an attempted invasion. In this timeline, that never happens. Rebel soldiers smash through the army form to stop them, occupy Philadelphia, and win the war. Because of this, they gain independence, and from there, history takes some mighty weird turns. To put it in brief, the CSA quickly builds up an industrial base while also keeping slavery for around 20 years until the United Kingdom strong arms them into getting rid of it. They purchase the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua to gain a Pacific port, leading to a second war with the United States in which the US loses to a coalition of the CSA, United Kingdom, and France. This leads to a massive upsurge in American nationalism and they later join the central powers before World War I begins. When that epic quagmire kicks off, the fighting in North America is just as vicious as in Europe, complete with the massive trench networks that the western front is known for. Only in Virginia, though. Black socialist revolutionaries try to overthrow the Confederate government without much luck, but it does contribute to their loss in the war. The Entente powers all lose for that matter, leaving Germany and the other central powers victorious. In fact, the four great empires, which all cease to exist at the end of the war in real life, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottomans, all survive here. After this, fascism takes hold in the losing countries, leading to a Confederate government that invades the United States again in 1941 while also trying to exterminate their black population in a manner very similar to the Holocaust.  The future is uncertain and everyone is afraid of being hit with a nuclear bomb as the Cold War begins. So the series starts off very different from real history. By the end, it's just World War II with different names. And if you're upset that it left so much out, that's because there are eleven books worth of content here. I can't spend all day going over it. However, I'll say one thing up front. I've never seen any franchise that's more critical of American exceptionalism before outside of full-on propaganda. The entire world and story are just there to show how we're a country just like any other, not special beyond what history and geography have gifted us with. I've said before that I find the idea of alternate history focusing on the various possibilities if the American slaveholder rebellion was successful to be unbelievably dull since it's been done so many times. However, I read Southern Victory before I got tired of the cliché. It's part of what made me tired of it since it goes into far more detail than any other example I've ever found. This isn't just a map with some basic lore behind it. This is an exploration of societal, political, economic and military trends over nearly a hundred years. If I could describe these books simply, I'd say that they're not a story so much as an exploration of this world and the events that happen therein. Most of the characters are just lenses we view this world through rather than complex people with fully developed inner lives. That said, it's very good at showing how different those lenses are. Someone from the CSA has a much different perspective on things than an American does, while a black person has a different perspective than a white person, a rich person has a different perspective than a poor person, and so on. Whenever we look at things in the real world, we're looking through a complex series of biases based on our life so far, many of which we're unaware of. Income, place of upbringing, propaganda we've been hit with, sexuality, personal experiences, and many more. Because of this, the books take a realistic look at things like gender relations and racism. At the time, racism and misogyny were much worse than they are today, and most books would cheat by having a protagonist who holds modern day views on those sorts of things. They'd be someone who had a black friend as a child and therefore changes the way they view all of society. It's a cheap, if effective, way of getting the audience to like the main character while also sweeping unsavory aspects of the past under the rug. A fantasy version of this would be the way Kip finds slavery distasteful in the Lightbringer series, despite slavery being a massive part of daily life there. The series has to stretch a bit to explain how no one in its home village had slaves, to explain why he dislikes the practice, but at the same time, he just goes along with it most of the time. Southern victory shows the past as it really was, warts and all. It must hold some sort of record for the highest number of n-bombs dropped. I'm not joking when I say that. By refusing to whitewash things, Turtledove gives a raw account of what life would have been like back then. War sucks for everyone who's involved in any way. It wrecks the economy, it leaves scars in society, and often it doesn't lead to much good. Black Confederates start off not caring about the war since they don't care about the country, then they see it as an opportunity to rise up and overthrow apartheid, then they join in the war effort when things get desperate enough for the whites to allow it, and it makes no difference. They aren't treated any better for it.   This is an honest depiction of how American racism has worked for hundreds of years. Minorities such as Black people, Japanese people, Irish people, and many others have fought in the armed forces, whether out of cynical attempts to make a decent wage or genuine patriotic devotion, they put their lives on the line when they were needed before being cast aside. Almost like the government doesn't care about you beyond your usefulness. And it's not like the American people are much better than the Confederates in that regard. They have plenty of animosity towards not just Black folks, but towards Catholics, Italians, Jews, the Irish, and Mormons. The Mormons stage multiple insurrections against the government, which the government responds to with increasingly brutal repression. The whole thing turns into a cycle of violence with no easy way out. It parallels the relationship between Americans and Confederates. Neither side wants to give anything up for peace, and neither side is willing to try and coexist with the other. They both see themselves as victims and the other as aggressors. I'm sure many of you are currently thinking of real-life parallels to this. From the Balkans, to the Caucasus, to Israel and Palestine, the world is full of groups of people pointing the finger at each other for starting their current conflict. But after a certain point, everyone is to blame. The cycle of violence exists because humans are incapable of not being dicks to each other for long enough to fix anything. The only time the violence stops is when everyone has seen its effects and are appropriately horrified, leading to a brief period of peace, in certain Naruto reference here. And when the fighting starts, well, the average soldier spends more time fighting his commanding officers than the enemy. Those on the front lines know what's going on and how things work, those above them know less, and those above them know even less than that. This goes until you reach the political command of the military who are so detached from the situation that they'll do blatantly stupid things, like try to attack Pittsburgh in the winter and refuse to retreat when an American force moves to encircle them.   Then the Taliban took over again and the average American was shocked. Politics is also a disappointing slog for everyone in the series. At the start of World War I, U.S. politics is dominated by the Democratic Party on the right and the Socialist Party on the left. Confederate politics are dominated by the Whigs on the right and the Radical Liberals also on the right. After the war, they're joined by the Freedom Party, a fascist organization on the far right. Most of the political shenanigans, at least at first, are followed by socialist characters. They are not in power, and those in power are actively working to keep it that way. Not that the socialists are perfect, they and their ideology get plenty of criticism here. This just gets across the frustration with being unable to change the direction that the world is headed. When the U.S. annexes new lands from the CSA in Canada, the government allows places like Kentucky to become full states with voting rights because Congress and the President know they'll vote for right-wing parties. Canadian territory just gets to be under military occupation because they probably won't vote for right-wing parties. It's blatantly corrupt and unfair and there's no recourse for it. No matter how smart one person is, they can't beat the system. However, no system can withstand social and economic trends. When labor unrest sweeps the country, the Socialist Party manages to take control of the government for the first time. The American Socialist Party, once in power, act more like social democrats. Their legislation isn't all that radical, they just improve on social programs rather than nationalize industry and lynch landlords. Pity. But hey, that's politics. It's all about compromise. You're always going to be disappointed. That's why you shouldn't be a fan of politicians or parties, just ideas and movements. Obviously, the rise of the Freedom Party in the South is meant to parallel the way the Nazi Party came to power.  Both classic fascist groups and modern ones use the same tactics, because privileged middle-class men with an inferiority complex have always been the same. History isn't a line, it's a circle.  We aren't immune to the ultra-nationalism that infects other places, we aren't immune to losing wars, and our government system is not anywhere close to perfect. I think of various media that shows the US in dire straits and how, in the end, the Americans pull themselves out of the hole they dug. Alternate history, like 1920 America's Great War, or Red Dawn, delights in showing how things go wrong for America, usually in a military sense. But no matter what, the war will be won, the country will be in one piece, the government will still stand for freedom, some terms and conditions may apply, and it'll still be a dominant world power. It's like that old trope where the status quo can never change in sitcoms. No matter who loses their house, gets a cancer scare, or fails out of school, they'll be back to their zani antics next week. No matter what, nothing ever really changes. Actions have no consequences. Southern victory starts with the American military losing one war, then they lose another. Then they get dragged into a new bigger war where they manage to win at a cost so high many think it wasn't worth it.  By the end, it's also holding onto huge territories full of people who want them dead in Utah, the former Confederate States, Canada, and Baja. It's far from the most powerful nation on earth. It's former ally Germany is turning into a rival, everything is primed to explode. This is meant to parallel the beginning of the Cold War, but the US is in a much more precarious position than it was in real life. There won't be a post-war boom where they conquer the world here. We can lose wars just like everybody else. A lot of Americans like to throw around the claim that the country has never lost a war, which is true if you don't count Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, the War of 1812, or whatever other quagmire we get pulled into next. Where will it be? Iran, China, Venezuela, Cuba? Guess we'll find out within the next 10 years. And if you don't count conflicts that resulted in more of a stalemate like Korea, but as long as you don't count those, we are invincible. I don't think people appreciate how impossibly rare this sort of depiction is. I straight up can't think of any other book series, video games, movies, or anything else that do this. The only major works I've ever seen where the US has ceased to exist are post-apocalyptic scenarios where every other country has gone to. And even then, the loss of governments is shown as an awful thing, because they're the only thing preventing all our neighbors from instantly murdering us, I guess. For some people, it's easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of America. Harry Turtledove shoves their faces into an unpleasant reality. If the United States was broken apart, the rest of the world would change, but it would keep turning. We are not the center of the universe. We are not a cosmic cornerstone. We are not special. If you'll allow me to add in my own theory, the US only came to its current state in the real world because it's never had any neighbors that truly threatened it. All the great powers have been oceans away and dealing with their own issues. If we had a truly hostile neighbor, we'd be in trouble, much like in this series. It goes even further than that, showing that republicanism isn't the ultimate final form of all enlightened societies. Several monarchies that dissolved in real life stay around here. Not ceremonial ones, either. Places like Russia and Japan keep their despotic regimes in place up until after World War II. Other places have monarchies that, while they aren't absolute, have an inordinate amount of power in their own countries. Austria, Hungary, Mexico, Romania, Germany, Italy, and some others all fall into this category. I'm not saying that Southern victory is claiming that monarchy or fascism are better than representative democracy. If anything, it's the opposite. What it does seem to be saying is that societies don't inevitably reach a stage where they decide that this is the best way to run things. Democracies fall.  Those in power want to seize more power, and so on. There's a current in America that just straight-up hates democracy. That's why it took over a century for women and racial minorities to get the right to vote, and why things like the Electoral College were created. The upper and upper middle classes hate when those they view as lesser are allowed to oppose them. It threatens their wealth and privilege. All people having power, rather than a single class of them having power, isn't something that happens naturally. You have to work for it. In the end, this has to be one of the most cynical pieces of media ever created. There's not a single idea or theme or character meant to show anything happy or positive. There's no ideology that is supposed to fix all the world's problems. They're all deeply flawed. There's no country with an innocent history. They're all built and maintained on a foundation of violence.  It's a brutal, uncomfortable look at how the world works. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this series is secretly about how awesome the American fighting spirit is. How it never gives in no matter what. That's one of the neat parts about discussing themes. There's always room for argument.   Special thanks to everyone who watched this far, including and especially my patrons and channel members. My $10 up patrons include Oppo Savalainen, Olivia Rand, Brother Santotis, Buffy Valentine, Carolina Clay, Christopher Quinten, Dan Echo, Joel, Carcat Kitsune, Liza Rudikova, Lord Tiebreaker, Madison Lewis Bennett, Marilyn Roxy, Microphone, Sad Mardigan, Tobacco Crow, Tom Beanie, Vaivictus, and of course, all the other names listed here. You guys are great. Without you, I wouldn't be able to do this. If you want to get your name put up here, then consider becoming a patron. You get stuff like early access to my videos. And if you don't want that, then how about maybe just becoming a channel member or dropping me a tip over on PayPal or just sharing this video. Yeah, you get the picture. Goodbye. Bye.


Okay, so we've been looking at the work of the Holy Spirit and in the New Testament and just before the birth of the Lord. So we see the Holy Spirit is bringing that information to Mary, to Joseph, to Elizabeth, right Elizabeth prophesied about the coming of the Lord. Okay, so let's look at Luke chapter 1 and verse 67 where the Holy Spirit actually comes upon or fills the father of John the Baptist. Okay, Holy Spirit fills the father of John the Baptist whose name is Zacharias. We see this in verse 67. Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying and the rest of the verses still verse 79 talks about the prophecy. Okay, so here was Zacharias, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesies. Okay, so we see that as a very frequent recurrence that the Holy Spirit came upon people and they spoke forth as inspired by God. They gave a message as the Holy Spirit put their message in their heart, they spoke out. Let's quickly read through what he prophesies and who he's prophesying about. He says, Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of a servant, David.  That we should be saved from our enemies from the hand of all who hate us to perform the mercy from a promise to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. The oath which he swore to our father Abraham to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. So this is about the Messiah. He's referring to what the previous prophecies were and he's saying that this is what it is. The Lord is saving his people. He has visited, he has redeemed his people. Then from verse 76 he's prophesying to his own child, his son, John saying, And you child will be called the prophet of the highest, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God with which the day spring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. So he's talking about John, what John will do about the ministry of John the Baptist. So two fold, one is about the Messiah, one is about John and he is prophesying and he prophesies this. So that is again a work of the Holy Spirit before the Lord was born. Then we read about what the Lord does through Simeon. We read about Simeon, Luke chapter 2, 25. Luke chapter 2 and verse 25. Now Simeon is, we read about Simeon. It says that he was a man in Jerusalem and he was a just devout waiting for the Messiah and the Holy Spirit was upon him. So this is Simeon. Verse 26, Luke chapter 2 verse 26. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So what did the Holy Spirit tell him?  You will see the Messiah and only after that you would pass away. He was an old man. So we see here verse 27. So he came by the Spirit into the temple, led by the Holy Spirit into the temple. He came by the Spirit into the temple and when the parents brought him the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. So he comes in at that exact moment. I'm sure during those times there were many parents bringing many of their children for the customary or ritualistic circumcision in the temple. So he comes in led by the Spirit at that exact time. So he's led by the Spirit, he comes in by the Spirit and he sees this and he says, verse 28, took him up in his arms and blessed God and this is what he said.  Wonderful. He's talking about Jesus and he's saying, he's the light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, which means the non-Jewish people as well and he's going to bring that. I have seen your salvation. This is your plan for salvation. Okay, I just heard something just one second please. Okay, so we see this, something wonderful and as we read those words we see the amazing, the wisdom of God, the plan of God and the timing of God. All that we see in these verses and how the Holy Spirit leads Simeon. Now the fact is that he was acquainted with God, he was acquainted with the ways of God. The Bible declares him to be a person who was just and devout. He's just and he's devout, probably a man of devotion, a man who was sincere. Can't hear you. Sorry about that. So it says here that he was a devout man, which means he was devoted to the ways of the Lord and he seems to know information about the Messiah, which means he was read through the law, read through the scriptures and so on. So he was a man acquainted with the ways of God, acquainted with the word of God or scriptures. And here we see the Spirit of the Lord leading him and showing him. Now, well, we don't know why, specifically for Simeon, but God had told him. We see that he was a man who was pretty intimate.  And so happened that physically, he saw the Messiah, held him in his hand and he also confirms that here is the light to bring gentiles, revelation to the gentiles and the glory of your people is real. Then he says something to Mary, which is again interesting. Then Simeon, verse 34, verse 33, Joseph and Mary are very, very surprised. Wow. Here is this man who's just coming out of nowhere and he's saying this is, you know, this is who God, this is who Jesus is. This is the salvation. So they are marveling. It says they marveled at the things that were spoken of him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary's mother, behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which should be spoken against. Yes, the sword will pierce through your own soul also. Okay, so it's a very sobering message to Mary, you know, about the kind of sadness or the intense sorrow that she will experience. Right. And she says a soul pierced through her own soul also and the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. Okay, the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And the Lord Jesus did that in His earthly ministry. We see that repeatedly it says, and Jesus knew their thoughts. Jesus knew their thoughts. He knew what was in their hearts, what the true intentions were and he actually questions them and he asks them. So Simeon reveals that and why and how it was by the Spirit of the Lord. And so we see the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Simeon. Okay, then we see that the Lord Jesus is born and after that we see, I'm just going to look chapter 3 verse 16 okay, verse 16 and 17. So this is John the Baptist introducing the Lord Jesus and he says, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I is coming whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to lose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. So he's prophesying about something that the Lord Jesus would do. How he would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now that would come after the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, after those three years and after he is crucified, after he is resurrected, after he ascends and then this would happen. The people would be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. So with John here, he's actually prophesying as he introduces Jesus. He's saying Jesus will baptize with Holy Spirit and with fire. We see the same thing in Matthew chapter 3 as well. So these are some things that we see about the Holy Spirit in the New Testament just before the Lord Jesus was born and the last reference was just before he was baptized. Yeah, I just have a question. I know you said that this baptism is after Jesus was crucified and everything. So is this kind of like baptized with the evidence of speaking in tongues? Is this what this means? I was a little bit confused about that. I'm sorry? The last part? So I was a little bit confused. I didn't know if this is... You said this is after Jesus is crucified, resurrected. So is this like we baptize Jesus with Holy Spirit and fire? Is this like what the baptism with the Holy Spirit and Evans is speaking in tongues? So for every believer that they will have that experience which the Lord Jesus referred to as the promise of the Father and he told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. So it's referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised as well. Yeah, that's right. Okay, so here's something. Any other questions so far? What is the meaning of baptism in fire? Okay, so we see when we look at verse 17, he says he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire and he says about a refining work. Refining work of the same Holy Spirit. Verse 17 talks about how he will thoroughly clean out the threshing floor, gather the wheat into his barn, the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Same thing we see in Matthew 3 also. So he's talking about the refining work of the Holy Spirit. So yeah, so the Holy Spirit, well, we look at the empowering work of the Holy Spirit which accompanies the baptism of the Holy Spirit because the Lord Jesus very specifically says you will be clothed or endued with power from on high. So wait for the promise of the Father referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But also we know in a believer's life and we see that the work of the Holy Spirit is a refining work, much like how the fire burns and refines, how the fire purifies. It is also a refining work of the Holy Spirit. So yeah, so baptism in fire would be the refining work of the Holy Spirit which John himself explains. He's been knowing, fan his hand, he will thoroughly clean out the threshing floor, etc. Hope that helps, right, Shekhar? Okay, let's look at the next topic, which is, yeah, sorry, I didn't understand, what is that? Why did? Yeah, okay, I can hear you, yeah. Why was Jesus baptized? Why was Jesus baptized? Okay, okay. So why did Jesus himself take... Yeah, okay. Okay, so the thing is, I think Jesus explains it when everybody was baptized, Jesus comes and to be baptized by John and he explains it in this way, you know, Matthew chapter 3 verse 11 onwards I think. Okay, so yeah, I think it's verse 13. Jesus came from Galilee to John and the Jordan to be baptized by him and John tried to prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by you and are you coming to me? But Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now but thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness and then he allowed it. So what is the Lord saying here? The Lord saying, okay, this is... First of all, he's saying, okay, you permit me to do that, permit me to go through this, but this is what the righteous requirement is. It is to fulfill the righteous requirement and that's how he puts it. Okay, this is the righteous requirement to be baptized and so just permit it to be so. Did Jesus himself have a need to be baptized? Because why? People are being baptized for their sins, right? As a sign of repentance. Does Jesus have any sins to be repent of? No, we know that, but he says, you know, is the righteous requirement so permitted to be so? That's the only explanation that we have right there and he explains it saying this is, you know, so we know that he didn't need to repent, it's not symbolic of any repentance that he had to, you know, any sins that he had to let go of, we know that. But, you know, and there's one more thing that we can consider is that it was as a role model and as an example for us to follow, for us as New Testament believers because in the Great Commission, he commanded the disciples, said, go preach the gospel to every creature, go to the nations, preach the gospel, teaching them all the things that I have observed you, that I have taught you, teaching them to observe all the things that I've taught, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. So it's part of the Great Commission and he's the example, he did it and he taught the disciples to go and do that as well in the Great Commission also. So that's another thing to consider, that he was our example in, by undergoing or by taking part in, what about this? One is the righteous requirement, second one is being an example, being an example for us to follow. Okay, it shows humility and obedience to the Father. Okay, thank you Sanjay. Okay, any other questions please? Right, so then when we look at the next topic, how Jesus ministered, we're saying that Jesus ministered, it's very important to consider this, he ministered by the power of the Holy Spirit. He ministered by the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay, so was Jesus the Son of God? Was Jesus God? Absolutely. Okay, because how do we know that? Somebody asks, you know, Jesus God? What would you say? How do we tell them? He was a man, he was born, Jesus God? What would you tell? Vishnu, suppose I come and tell you, ask you, how can you tell me Jesus is God? Show me from the Bible, where does it say Jesus is God? Yeah, but where does it say that he is God? Online students, yeah, John chapter one did not comprehend it. Okay, very good. So it talks about the pre-existence of the Lord, okay, not just the earthly existence, but the eternal pre-existence of the Lord Jesus. We see the same thing in Hebrews also, right?  But he was from the eternal past. In the beginning, it says, what does it mean? In the beginning means, you know, in the eternal past, right? In the beginning was the word, and we know that the word is the eternal word of God, right? So we see that, yeah. Mark chapter two, only God can forgive the sins. Yeah, yeah, all that is, yeah, that's also right, Shekhar. But, you know, when we ask for a direct reference, you know, we look into the word and we see that there are several references pointing to Jesus as the eternal one, right, as God, okay? So, now, when Jesus came on the earth to the earth, was he God or not? It's not a trick question, okay? Yes, okay, Amman is saying, okay, you're Amman, right? And you are Abhishek, okay, yes. Shani? You said was he God when he came on earth, is that what you said? Yeah, so when he walked on the earth, was he God or not? No, I don't think so. Well, I wasn't going to say yes, but then I thought about it, I'm not sure so now. Right, so the thing is, you know, not for a moment did he stop being God. You know, we need to understand that, right? He is God, he always will be. But when he ministered, when he walked on the earth, we see something that he did, right? He laid aside his glory intentionally and he walked as man. Okay, that's something that we're going to look at, because all the things that he did, all the ways in which he ministered, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay, he ministered by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now this is something which is important for us to grasp, not just to study about the work of the Holy Spirit, but later what the Lord would teach us or tell us to do, because that also requires the work of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, Jesus worked. Okay, so we understand he's the eternal Son of God. He did not stop being God, but when he ministered on the earth, he did whatever he did, the supernatural, the miraculous. He did by the power of the Holy Spirit. For example, when he walked on the earth, was he omnipotent? No, he was tired, he was hungry, right? So was he omniscient? Was he in all places? No, right? Sorry, omnipresent. Was he in all places? No. So it's scripture also talks about he grew in wisdom and stature. He grew in favor, right? So when he walked on the earth, there's something that we need to understand that he actually, it is like taking off the glory that he had as the Son of God, as God. What is the glory? The things that he did as God, right? When we say glory, we can refer to the power, the presence of God, the glory of God. The things that he did, the things that he did as God, we refer to as a glory of God. So we are going to Philippians chapter 2, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5 to 11. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it to be equal with God, but considered robbery to be equal with God, sorry, but made himself of no reputation, having, so taking the form of a born servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and those on earth and of those under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So we read in these verses, we see that, yes, he is God, he was God, but when he came, he made himself of no reputation, made himself of no reputation. And that word, the Greek word in Kinoces which means to empty oneself, Kinovo, which means to empty oneself. So he was, he was always God and origin and identity and all that, his deity, but he laid aside. Okay, he kept it aside, he emptied himself because he confined himself to a physical body, yes or no? He confined himself to a natural earthly body, right? This eternal God, he confined himself. So which means that he confined himself to being in one place at one time, that is what our physical body is capable of. He confined himself to a body getting tired, a body being hungry. He confined himself to it, right? So which means that he laid aside that glory, he emptied himself, you know, that's which is what there were seven talks about, Philippians 2. He made himself of no reputation, emptied himself and he confined himself to this natural, earthly, human body and he ministered, when he walked, he ministered in what we can call, you know, this is now to the Bible, what we can call as Sonship Glory. Okay, glory is, again, what does glory mean? Who God is and what he does. Okay, the glory of God. You say, you know, I saw the glory of God, who God is and what he does. So he walked in what we can call as Sonship Glory. He walked as the Son of God and he walked in Sonship Glory. No, let's look at John chapter 1, you know, that reference that we just read, that Amman just read for us. John chapter 1 verse 14. Okay, what does it say? And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Okay, he's talking about the eternal Word, which is the Son of God, Jesus. The Word became flesh, now it's becoming confining to an earthly, physical body and dwelt among us, lived among us and we beheld his glory, who he was, what he did. Okay, and the word used there is doxa in the Greek, glory, who God is, who he was and what he did. So we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. No, we saw his glory, we saw what he did, we saw who he was. Okay, he did many things and we saw this doxa, this glory, this glory as of the Son and not of the Father, we saw as of the Son, as of the only begotten of the Father. Okay, so he walked on the earth, he did things, he taught, he ministered and he did it in the sonship glory as the eternal God confined to the natural laws, confined to the natural physical body which was tiring, which was, you know, hungry and so on. And he did that and whatever he did, we're going to see now, he did by the power anointing of the Holy Spirit. Okay, so that is something for us to again consider and understand because we are coming to a place where the Lord turns around and says, in John chapter 14, you know, he who believes in me, the things that I do, he will do also. So many times as believers, we look at the wonderful things that he did and we say, Jesus, you are God. When you walked on the earth, you did it as God. So how can you expect us, we are only human beings? How can you expect us to do it? And the Lord is saying whatever he did, scripture points to the fact, the Lord himself says that he was anointed by the Holy Spirit in order to do the supernatural acts, which is why he can say, he who believes in me, the things that I do, he will do also. Why? The others who believe in him will also be anointed by the Holy Spirit and because of that, they can minister the way Jesus did. Because of that, we can minister the way Jesus did. Now that's wonderful, right? That's wonderful hope. There's wonderful great news for ministry, right? Because Jesus is saying that even as he was filled by the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Holy Spirit, in the same way we also can be, will be and we are filled with the Holy Spirit to do the same things. Let's look at John chapter 17. I'm sure there could be questions here, but we just look at John chapter 17 and verse 5. John chapter 17 and verse 5, the whole of John chapter 17 is the prayer of the Lord Jesus. He's praying to the Father, he's praying for the disciples, Homan is going to live behind and so on, right?  I've finished the work for which you have given me to do, etc. And verse 5 he says, and now, oh Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. There's another verse here which talks about Jesus himself saying, I was there before the world was, right? Okay, that's one thing.  So John chapter 1 talks about, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Son. Again, going back to the word glory, it means who God is and what he does. You know, in a very simple way, that's what glory is, right? When you say glory, we beheld the glory, who God is and what he did or what he does, right?   So we understand, yes, he is divine, but when he walked on the earth, he walked in what we can call as sonship, glory. He confined himself to the natural physical body and the laws and so on. And whatever he did, we're coming to that, whatever he did, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. So this is what the people had to say. Luke chapter 4 verse 17, this is what the disciples had to say about, or the people had to say about what he did. Luke chapter 4 verse 17, and he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. I'm sorry, this is the Lord Jesus testifying. He's reading from the scroll of Isaiah and verse 18, he's saying, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Now he's basically, what is he describing here? This is my ministry. He's saying this is the ministry to preach the good news, to open, to set at liberty those who are captives, those who are imprisoned, recovery of sight to the blind, to heal the broken hearted and to proclaim the acceptable ear of the Lord. Basically, the Lord is saying this is my ministry. And before everything starts, he's saying, The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me. So he's reading that prophetic scripture, which is actually about him. And then verse 20, he closes the book, gives it back to the attendant and verse 21 he says, Today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. So even before that, we see the water baptism happening, look chapter 3, 16. We see the Holy Spirit descending upon him as of a dove. So here he's saying, I have been anointed to preach the gospel, to heal the broken hearted, to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to open the eyes of the blind, to proclaim the acceptable ear of the Lord. So what is he saying? He's saying, I've been anointed by the Holy Spirit to do this. Let's look at a few more scriptures. Let's look at Hebrews chapter 2, verses 3 and 4. And maybe you can turn to Acts chapter 10, verse 38 also. Hebrews 2, verses 3 and 4 says, How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which had first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who also, who heard him? God also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. God bearing signs or bearing witness with signs, wonders, various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Everything that the Lord Jesus did. So he's talking about the message of salvation. How can we escape if we neglect this great salvation and we need to hear it, we need to give earnest need, etc.  Then Acts chapter 10, verse 38. Shani question. Yeah, I know you said the glory is who God is and what he does. Can you just explain the sonship again? What is? I said, I know you told, I know you said that the glory is who God is and what he does, but can you explain about the sonship again, please? I'm sorry, so glory is who God is and what he does. Yeah, can you explain about the sonship? About the sonship, okay. So sonship, you know, this is a term that we're just using it to explain the glory that the Son had. Son Jesus had while he was on the earth. We're just saying that, you know, that is what we can call as sonship glory or the glory of the Son, right? So who the Son was and what he did, right? Because we saw in John chapter 17 where verse 5, the Lord is saying, you know, now let me have that glory, which I had with you before the world was. And John chapter 1, the latter part of it, we saw that the John's writing and saying that he became flesh, developed among us and we beheld his glory. Who's glory? The Son, the Word, who became flesh, Jesus. So we are referring to that as the sonship glory. So it's just a term that we're using to, you know, refer to who Jesus was and what he did, just to, you know, make that distinction that here he was walking as man in the natural. And the things that he did, he was doing by the power of the Holy Spirit, just for us to make that distinction. Okay, thank you. Right? Okay. So when we look at Acts chapter 10 and verse 38, it says, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth. Okay, Acts chapter 10, verse 38, right? How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him. Okay, so very clearly it describes how and what Jesus did. Okay, what Jesus did was, is very clearly mentioned here. What did he do? What did he do? According to this verse, what? No, no, no. What did Jesus do? Look, just look at that verse. What did Jesus do? Who went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed by the devil, right? So those two things just compresses the earthly ministry of the Lord. Doing good, healing all who were oppressed. So we know all the things that he did, the eyes that he opened, the lives that he brought back to life, the healing that happened. You know, the people, and we, in the Gospel, we see that many came and they were healed, right? And people came bringing the main, the, you know, everything. You know, they were finding so much hope. They said, oh, you know, I've waited for such a long time. There was no hope. And now I'm bringing him to Jesus. And scripture attests to the fact that all who came to him were healed, right? So this is what, when we say, doing good and healing all who were oppressed, he did the good things. He was talking about the ministry. The part before that talks about how he did it. Okay, what he did is in the second half. How he did it is in the first half. It says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Okay. So he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. And because of that, he went about, that is how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed. So why are we studying this? Because we are learning that, okay, we are learning that Jesus did what he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, he, when we look at Luke chapter four, he read the prophetic scripture which is directed at him in the book of Isaiah. And he said, today this is fulfilled. Because he was already filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized in the Holy Spirit. He's there, the power of God. And he's saying today this is fulfilled in your midst. And the disciples, you know, we see Luke again testifying in Acts chapter 10 and he's saying that this is what it was. He ministered by the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay. So we are talking about how Jesus ministered. We are talking about how Jesus emptied himself in Philippians chapter two. Now, what does that do to us? How does this apply to us? Yeah, we are going to study a little later when Jesus teaches, you know, that's the next thing Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit. We're going to see, you know, how Jesus teaching is saying, what the Holy Spirit does is something that is applicable to you now. He wants to do something in you. He wants to do something through you the same way the same Holy Spirit did through the life of Jesus. So that gives us so much faith. That gives us so much hope, you know, and so excited. The same Holy Spirit. Is it a different Holy Spirit now? Same Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that we studied, you know, was at brooding over the waters. The same Holy Spirit who was there right through, you know, he came upon the prophets, the kings. The same Holy Spirit is among us today is in dwelling us today. And he wants to empower us and he has empowered us to minister the way Jesus wants to. Wants us to minister, right? So that is that exciting or what? Somewhat. Okay, that's very exciting. You know, that gives so much hope, you know, that ministry that you do, ministry that we are trained for, getting equipped for, need not be something that I do in the flesh and blood, you know, just my special ability or my learning or my capacity, it's not about that. God will use that also. God will definitely use that, right? Like how we did in the life of Paul, you know, all his understanding of scripture and everything was used by the Holy Spirit in order to write two-thirds of the, you know, of the New Testament, right? So God will use that, all the abilities that natural, you know, giftedness and everything that we have. But the Lord wants to do something special, you know. He wants to do by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He wants us to mirror the same kind of ministry that Jesus did. Okay. Okay. Wonderful. Yeah, Sam, you have a question? Yeah. After we spoke about Jesus having a sonship glory, right? Yeah. And that verse in John chapter 17 verse five, he says, now Father glorify me in your presence with the glory I had before, with you before the world began. Yeah. So is it, is this like a prayer to the Father before he goes to the cross or? Yeah, it's a prayer. It's a prayer.  Okay, okay. Yeah. And we see that, you know, after this, he's going to be betrayed. He's going to be arrested. He's going to be crucified. And all that is going to happen soon after this. Right. So, yeah. Yeah. Got it. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. N number of? Angels. Angels. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So what's your name, brother? What's your name? Vicky. Okay. So Vicky's question is, okay. See, God has, the Lord has angels at his beck and call. Okay. Multitude of angels. So why did the Lord choose it?  Why can't he just release the angels and get things done? Right. Okay. Does anybody have an answer? What do you think, Vicky? No idea. Okay. The thing is this, you know, the Lord wants us as believers to do the same thing. Okay. So in his plan and purpose, God so planned things that he is making us, his tabernacle, his dwelling place. Right. He's coming. He's going to indwell each and every believer. The one who believes is going to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. And he's going to be, you know, he's going to be our guarantee until the full redemption, collisions. So efficient. One talks about that. So he's going to indwell us now. And he is omnipotent, all powerful, all knowing, ever present God. And we have the privilege and God wants to have the privilege of releasing his power, his power, releasing his ability through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, through earthen vessels like us, with all limitations, with all weaknesses, he wants to redeem the world through us. Right. And we are actually partnering with him in this world, in this redemptive, restorative work. He wants to redeem the world. And by him indwelling us and by us cooperating with him, the Lord wants to reach and redeem the world. Okay. So that's the grand plan. Right. So the Lord is saying, okay, the same way the Holy Spirit came and, you know, baptized me and enabled me to do the things. The same way he will do that also in you. Right. So I would say that, you know, that's the big plan of God. Okay. There's one more question here. How do we obey the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit guides us? How do we hold on to the speaking? And also when the Holy Spirit says, do this and don't do that. Yeah. So that's the, how do we do that is when we, yeah, when we simply obey him and when we, I think that's it. You know, when we just obey him, Lucy, how do we do that? Yes. There are barriers. Okay. We will study that in a later class. There are barriers of flesh, rebels, our undenured mind, rebels. Right. And that's why scripture says, if you are led by the Spirit of God, you are the sons of God. And if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Okay. And also if you live by the Holy Spirit, you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. So all these things go together. So our undenured mind and our fleshly appetites are definitely barriers. So these need to be put to death. Right. We'll address that in the coming classes as well. Okay. Excellent. We'll stop here and then we'll continue in our next class. Okay. Thank you. God bless. Bye-bye. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you. Bye-bye. Thank you very much, sir.


The Tara Pacific expedition collected over 58,000 samples from coral reefs and surrounding waters in the Pacific Ocean between 2016 and 2018. These samples are now available for researchers to explore and analyze. In addition, environmental context data such as climate, oceanographic conditions, and species distribution have been validated and made available to the scientific community. This dataset provides a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of environmental changes on coral reef health and resilience. This article was authored by Fabian Lombard, D.M. Borden, Stéphane Peasant, and others.