I have mental illness and spiritual battles. I stay away from people mostly. I like to create things from metal. It helps me. It's the only luxury I have. It's all I want.

The struggle comes when I want everything. I need to keep it simple and cheap. I don't need the greatest or the most tools. I seek simplicity over complication.

Do you enjoy a hobby?

The toughest part of belief in my view is how God will mete out punishment/ how we will be judged. I am not asking about myself but about "how it works". On the one hand, I know that God is a loving God and wants the best for us. And Christ has clearly laid out what is most important to Him: Loving your neighbor as yourself and loving God with all our mind, heart and soul.

But earthly life is interaction with others who have no concept of this, or choose to ignore it. I am older and have seen a lot. In the past 15 years (but not exclusively) I have seen a great deal, or experienced a great deal, of bad behavior of the "un-neighborly" kind. Some have been punished or faced the natural consequences for their deeds. For example, a business that had mistreated its customers goes out of business. (Perhaps 3 times?) But there are many who apparently go on along unaffected by 'earthly punishment', and will have to fully face their iniquity at the fearsome Judgment Seat of Christ. (Not that 'going out of business' absolves the owners from their bad behavior.) There are many of them, even in my small sample size.

I find it hard to believe that so many will be cast in the Fire, or whatever we believe. Seems like there should be a means to atone for their bad deeds, even when they are mortally dead. But I don't know that mechanism. What does Orthodoxy say about this?

(If this isn't the correct forum, please point me to the correct one. Thank you.)

James 1:4 (NKJV)
But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why do the words of truth put such a high value on patience having its perfect work….?

It is because patience is the work horse of faith, being that patience is that that causes one’s eyes to turn away from themselves and look to Christ…. For this is the work of patience, for no other work is of more consequence in the believer’s life then getting one’s eyes off of oneself and onto Christ….

For this is the great lesson of patience, keeping one’s eyes off of anything other then Christ…. For if truth be known, whatever has one’s heart becomes that one’s god, patience being the work horse of faith that destroys the other that would take one’s eyes off of Christ… For patience waits for God to do something in one that that one cannot do for oneself, this something being, the forming of Himself in the believing one…. For this is what the salvation offered in Christ is, the forming of the Divine nature in the believing one, this new nature’s nature is not to sin just as the fallen nature’s nature was to sin….. For this new life, is that life that is created in the image and likeness of God, being the Three in one having Their image and likeness manifested in the creature, the Is, the expression of the Is, and the effect or consequence of that Is…

For this word patience is translated, steadfastness, perseverance, endurance in other translations, all pointing to the same truth of maintaining the keeping and the looking to Christ regardless of any and all circumstances of life…. For it is when faith sees that righteousness does exist and it is the manifesting of this righteousness which is the manifestation of God’s will in all things… Patience being that work of faith that brings forth this manifestation of righteousness…. For without the manifestation of righteousness being manifested in one’s life the Divine nature is not being brought forth, in other words, Christ is not being formed in one… For patience’s perfect work is the bringing forth of the perfect image of this perfect Three in One God in one, each having Their respective image brought forth….

Oh that the heart of man would let patience have its perfect work, for the bringing forth of that expression of righteousness which is the Divine nature being brought to life in one…

To him that would have it be done, let it be done unto….


A fellow follower of His, Not me

Pray that innocent Palestinian civilians deaths & Israeli military personnel deaths are kept to a minimum as Israel ramps up war in Rafah, Gaza:

October 16, 2011: I have been reading in Ephesians for my quiet times with the Lord the past few days. The main thing that is standing out to me from this reading is how Paul made such a point to remind the church of how they used to live when they followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the air, Satan, who is now at work in the hearts of those who are disobedient. Yet, he also reminded them of God’s great love and mercy in sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins so we could go free from slavery to sin.

He said all this to say, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” He insisted, in the Lord, that they no longer live in the futility of their thinking, which was darkened in its understanding, and is separated from the life of God. Instead he reminded them that they were to put off the old self, to be transformed in their thinking, and to put on the new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (see Eph. 4:17-24).

Lord, Move Me

An Original Work / October 16, 2011

Be my desire, my heart set on fire,
Lord, move me to worship You only, I pray.
Fill with Your Spirit, my heart overflow.
Lord, may I long for You; Your word to know.
Teach me to walk with You, Lord, in Your power,
And may I serve You, Lord, right now in this hour.

Lord, how I want to obey You forever.
Help me to hear You, Lord, so I will not stray.
Teach me to love You; adore You always.
Envelope me, Lord, with Your grace today.
Meet me in my need, and show me Your mercy.
Forgive me for all things, as I humbly pray.

Counsel me, lead me, direct me, and guide me,
So I follow You, Lord, where’er You lead now.
I love to hear You speak Your words to me.
I am so grateful that You set me free.
Wash me, and cleanse me, and make me like You, Lord,
And I will live with You for eternity.

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Aristotle, Anselm, Aquinas, Liebniz, and William Lane Craig provide famous reasons to believe that God exists. Less well known is a way proposed by the African intellectual Augustine. In his fantastic book Five Proofs of the Existence of God, Edward Feser explains this argument at length. Inspired by Augustine, let’s begin with the reality that 2+2=4.

Some realities exist in matter. A house is made of wood, nails, and cement. A dog has fur, muscles, and bones. Other realities exist in a mind. My memories of seeing the Grateful Dead in concert and of running track against Harvard exist in my mind. Your beliefs about dogs and about chocolate exist in your mind.

Does the reality of 2+2=4 exist in matter or in mind? Well, material realities have a particular weight, length, and density. But the reality that 2+2=4 does not have a weight, a length, or a density. So, the reality that 2+2=4 does not exist as a material object.

Continued below.

Isaiah 8:
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.
16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.

My disciples: [H3928] limmud= "the learned"

Psalm 50:
4 “The Lord God has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
5 The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away.

A disciple must learn the Way of the Lord;
This is a sound apostolic doctrine...
Ephesians 4:
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk
as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him,
as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man
which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God,
in true righteousness and holiness.

AMOS 9:7-15

Amos Ha Navi (Amos the Prophet) speaks through the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) saying that Yes, Adonai will seek out and punish Israel for their sins, and will search out the kingdoms of the earth where they are at, many will and have been destroyed because of their rebellion, HOWEVER, not all, there is always a remnant which is faithful, and true to the God of creation.

We see the example of Elijah the Prophet when he killed the 400 prophets of Baal. Queen Jezebel sought his life and he had to make a run for it. He cried out "Am I the only one left LORD?" (sort of saying) The LORD replied, "I have 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal" (so, you're not alone my dear servant) We don't know the population of Israel back then, but, there was that remnant of 7000 who were not persuaded to follow the pagan god "Baal".

We do not have to go with the flow, especially if the flow is going over the bridge into a stormy and ravaging river. We can always detour and follow the path to green pastures and quiet waters, and search for the Good Shepherd and the Water of Life. It may be the unpopular thing to do, but we need to look at the big picture, "ETERNITY" and speaking of eternity...

Amos looks into the future, and sees that Israel, and all of God’s children, both born as Israelis and born in the Gentile nations will come together as ONE, (echad), …” Behold, the day is coming says YHVH…” We look into the future millennium and see “paradise restored” and real and eternal peace and Yeshua will be on the throne as KING and LORD of all the world. What a time that will be for ALL of us.

LUKE 2:1-52

Do we look forward to the future return of Yeshua? In this chapter, Simeon and Anna look forward and greatly rejoice to see Mashiach, even as a baby. He was presented at the Temple and was circumcised, Simeon and Anna recognized him as Mashiach, even before he grew up and performed miracles. Simeon said; “My eyes have seen YESHUAH! Who is a LIGHT (HaOr) to bring revelation to the Gentiles?

Also, we see Mary and Joseph practicing and honoring "Pidyon HaBen" (the redemption of the Firstborn). In this practice, God had selected the firstborn of the Tribe of Levi to be part of the priesthood. Since Mary and Joseph were of the Tribe of Judah, there was the "redeeming of the firstborn" saying "I will buy back my son from the priesthood" They were to pay 5 Shekels of Silver and offer two pigeons at the temple. Mary and Joseph respected that custom, yet we see that even though Yeshua was not a Levite, he would still be considered "Our High Priest" and mediator between us and the Father. He is our Redeemer, Mediator, Torah Teacher, Our High Priest. "Salvation" (Yeshuah) revealed.

It is God’s perfect will that Yeshua be revealed to ALL PEOPLES, both those of Israel and those outside of Israel so that HIS BODY might be complete, a “Kehilah Kadosh, Kol HaAm” (A holy congregation of all people)

Have a blessed week.

Today was "Holocaust Remembrance day" May such a tragedy never again happen!

Bereshit (Genesis) - Chapter 10​

Luke 3:35-36 King James Version (swKJV)
35 Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Genesis 10:22 Commentaries & Bibles"> Sons of Shem{gr.Sem}, Elam, and Asshur{gr.Assur}, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Syria{gr.Aram}, and Cainan.

Genesis 10:23 Commentaries & Bibles"> And sons of Syria{gr.Aram}, Uz, and Ul, and Gater, and Mosoch.
Genesis 10:24 Commentaries & Bibles"> And Arphaxad begot Cainan, and Cainan begot Sala. And Sala begot Eber{gr.Heber}.

JUBILEES 8
The Earth Divided Into Three Parts For Shem And Ham And Japheth
1 In the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, [1373 A.M.] in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and her name was Rasu'eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam, and she bare him a son in the third year in this week, [1375 A.M.] and he called his name Kainam.

5 And in the thirtieth jubilee, [1429 A.M.] in the second week, in the first year thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was Melka, the daughter of Madai, the son of Japheth, and in the fourth year [1432 A.M.] he begat a son, and called his name Shelah; for he said: 'Truly I have been sent.'

Hi everyone, I would greatly appreciate your prayers- Back on April 4 I was pulled over by the police for accidentally running a stop sign and also for making an illegal left turn. I had 2 fines that I paid and it seemed like everything was fine but just recently I received a letter from the Department of Transportation that stated I was now loosing my driver's license for 3 months due to driving without an insurance card, when the officer pulled me over he asked for license, registration, and insurance. I had the license and registration but did not have my insurance card with me. The officer then told me to get a new insurance card at present it at the police station within 10 days and everything would be fine. I did this and the police department to me to take the insurance card to the magisterial district office and then present it to them. I also did this and they just gave it back to me and said I did not need it. Now due to this mistake on their part I may lose my license for 3 months. I am getting a lawyer and want to fight this in court, I think due to their mistake I will be able to get the charges dismissed and not lose my license. If you wouldn't mind pray that any incorrect charges would be dropped and that I will not lose my driver's license. Thank you!

If this thread doesn't belong here please let me know and I'll move it. Let's praise the Lord in scripture, psalms, poems, testimony and praise. We can pray for each other. We can share burdens.

Remember that we are sorrowful yet rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10)

We weep with those weep and we rejoice with those who rejoice. (Romans 12:15)

I praise thr lord that I am alive and i have hope. My soul laments but I rejoice in being new. I died and my life is hidden. (Colossians chapter 3)

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I obey Paul's tradition in scripture. I don't follow man's church tradition however. If the church wants to follow Paul's tradition then they should be poor and be dressed in rags like the apostles were. See 1 Corinthians chapter 4

They should have a messenger of Satan torment them like Paul did. They should be out of their own minds for God somtimes as the apostles were.

They should carry death in their bodies as the apostles did. That's tradition.

Not tradition in some of the churches but all of the churches. Note the scripture below

1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.

Colangelo's role in the Trump prosecution has raised questions among some in the GOP about the alleged politicization of the case. His transition from a senior role at the Biden Justice Department to Bragg's team, and the subsequent charges brought against Trump, have been viewed with suspicion.

Not a surprise.

In Genesis 4:17 there is one named Henok, the first by that name, and this first Henok then has a son who is also named Henok, and it comes to pass that this first Henok builds a city, and he names the city according to the name of his son who is also named Henok. It is important that the text specifically states that this first Henok is produced by Qain's wife, instead of simply saying that he was produced by Qain: this is a distinguishing characteristic and factor to be reckoned with in our understanding of the text, for it is highlighted by the fact that for the remainder of the genealogy the sons are all stated to have been produced through their fathers, not their mothers, while only this first Henok is said to be produced by his mother, instead of Qain. This appears to be why the reading appears somewhat difficult at the beginning of the statement which follows, (Gen 4:18a), and in studying this I noticed something strange: the next son is named Irad, but that name is the same word for a city, iyr, with the letter dal attached onto the end of it. Is this just a mere coincidence or is it significant? In light of what precedes this in the previous statement, regarding the first city ever mentioned in the scripture, it appears to be significant, at least imho. The following is my tentative reading.

בראשית 4:17-8 Hebrew Bible
וידע קין את אשתו ותהר ותלד את חנוך ויהי בנה עיר ויקרא שם העיר כשם בנו חנוך׃
ויולד לחנוך את עירד ועירד ילד את מחויאל ומחייאל ילד את מתושאל ומתושאל ילד את למך׃

B'reshiyt-Genesis 4:17-18
17 And Qain knew his wife, and she conceived and produced Ḥenok, and it came to pass that he [Ḥenok] built a city, [עיר] and he called the name of the city according to the name of his son, Ḥenok:
18 And he to-for-of Ḥenok begat Irad [עיר+ד, (city+d)] .......

It appears to me that it may be quite possible that one of these two named Henok produces Irad, (a city?), while the other ends up in the next passage as the son of Yared, which is very similar to Irad, (as are most of the other names in Genesis 4 similar to names in the next passage with only slight spelling changes, and Lamek isn't changed at all, and is almost surely the same Lamek). And if one is able see the genealogy of the next passage as those having been born from above, a spiritual seed line of those who came to believe, then it is truly possible that Henok of Breshiyt 5 was physically born some time before he was born from above and became a son of Adam.

I am already fully aware of the standard English translations and readings for the above text, and how they assume that Qain is the builder of the city, however, I say, they are "not following the pronouns", (as they say), so an argument in favor of that view would only be counterproductive to the whole purpose of this thread and the things I would like to explore herein.

Of course if "good people" do nothing in the face of egregious evil

Are they really "good," ?

What if no one had ever stood with the Blacks against slavery? What if no one had ever bothered to pen the words

All men are created equal?

I am glad people in our history got involved.

It is wrong to say that Christians should not get involved in public life. Not getting involved has led us to this hideous moral decay we have

I have read many book about the Simpson murder trial. True, that was years ago so maybe I am not going to remember a lot of what I read but I read the book written by Marcia Clark, prosecutor, and also the one by Darden, fellow prosecutor and then I read others I can't recall the authors of.

So yeh, I have read up on the evidence and .. long story short:

That dude did it in my pov.

I mean, I would just simply say He did it, but since he wasn't convicted, I probably shouldn't put it that way.

So yeh... you get a bunch of bad jurors (they were mostly Black. How did that happen?) and you're not going to get justice...


So, all you who think that the Steal is unreal... or maybe you think that Trump is obviously guilty though not convicted yet...

maybe you should consider that there is DEEP division, politically, in our world and that all judges cannot be trusted to do the right thing. All a judge has to do is show his prejudice against a defendant by ruling against him (his lawyers in the courtroom) more than he or she does the prosecution and

voila..... the jury gets the message and often acts accordingly. After all, the judge has clout; people respect judges...

I put quotes on the word Pope because I say that there hasn't been a valid one of those since 1958. I guess I am a Sedevacantist and yet I say that the Real Presence, a tangible Presence, is still there in at least SOME novus ordo Churches... so that makes me wonder about... well, I'm not sure how to word what all I wonder about but in any case, back to the... I think that prayer we say in the Mass is the Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth... (There's the Apostolic Creed.. I think it is called.. which is shorter)

So anyway, that Creed used to begin: "We believe..."

Ratzinger changed it to "I believe..."

I don't like that. I love the way Catholics are united by the fact that the Mass readings are all the same throughout the world. Therefore, it seems way better to say We believe... and I still do. I use this prayer when praying (beginning) the rosary, although most probably use the other one

So, maybe you could tell us what YOU like and dislike about changes to the Mass in modern times.

I absolutely HATE the priest not facing the altar (God) and instead facing the people throughout the Mass..

I don't like greeting ea other during Mass.. hate that

I see political division devouring people like a hungry wolf. It's full of gossip, slander, rebellion, judging, condemning, lust for power and prosperity, division, confusion, complaints, discontent, fear, worries, contention and it lords over others.

This is not from God's spirit. But it's ok when your side does it, for some reason

JERUSALEM, Israel – After months of negotiations, it appears Hamas might finally be willing to accept a hostage-release deal in exchange for a ceasefire. The announcement comes at the last minute as Israel was preparing to finally launch a Rafah incursion to wipe out the Hamas terrorist forces taking refuge there.

The announcement was announced as Israelis were marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The previous negotiations had only included a small number of the remaining hostages held by the terrorists in Gaza. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the deal, and details of the proposal have not yet been released. Hamas had been insisting on two key demands. One, the end of the war, and two, that Israel completely pulls out of the Gaza Strip. Both were non-starters for Israel.

Trump's criminal hush money trial in Manhattan resumes on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, videos posted to X, formerly Twitter, show fans at the race's paddock cheering the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee as he waved and pumped his fist at the crowd in return. One video posted to X showed Florida law enforcement greeting Trump's motorcade as he arrived at Miami International Autodrome, a temporary grand prix circuit built around Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Before the race, Trump was shown visiting the McLaren racing team's garage and chatting with the team's CEO Zak Brown. Later Sunday, McLaren's Lando Norris, whose garage Trump visited, collected his first-ever F1 win in the Miami Grand Prix.
Along with Brown, Trump was joined by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and CEO of Liberty Media Greg Maffei. This ensemble underscored the significance of his visit, which was more than just a casual walkthrough.

In response to widespread discussion and scrutiny, the British racing team released a detailed statement explaining their stance, as quoted by The Race. "McLaren is a non-political organisation however we recognise and respect the office of President of the United States so when the request was made to visit our garage on race day we accepted alongside the president of the FIA and the CEO's of Liberty Media and Formula 1. We were honoured that McLaren Racing was chosen as the representative of F1 which gave us the opportunity to showcase the world class engineering that we bring to motorsport," the statement read.

How much of our lives yall think we actually control is it 60% of 50% or less or more ?

Even though there is evidence of certain self-medication behaviors in animals, so far it has never been known that animals treat their wounds with healing plants. Now, biologists in Indonesia have observed this in a male Sumatran orangutan.

After sustaining a facial wound, he ate and repeatedly applied sap from a climbing plant with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties commonly used in traditional medicine. He also covered the entire wound with the green plant mesh.

The closest relatives to humans, the great apes, are known to ingest specific plants to treat parasite infection and to rub plant material on their skin to treat sore muscles.

Continued below.

Genocide:
noun

1. the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land, for Yahweh your God stiffened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to give him over into your hand, as he is today. And Yahweh said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess, so that you may fully possess his land.’ “Then Sihon with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz. But Yahweh our God gave him over to us, and we struck him down with his sons and all his people. So we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction the men, women, and little ones of every city. We left no survivor remaining.
— Deuteronomy 2:30-34

One objection I hear ad nauseum to the Reformed Theology view of election/predestination is that God wants to save everyone. So I get this quote quite often:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
— 2 Peter 3:9

So how do my Arminian/synergism-leaning friends reconcile the multiple examples of God-ordained genocide in the OT with your view of God loving everyone and wanting them all saved?