What does persecution look like in Tajikistan?
Tajikistan is a former Soviet state. Despite now officially having freedom of religion, the reality is different.

The state still imposes restrictions on religious gatherings and activities—mainly to contain Islamist extremism. But the rules and surveillance affect Christians too, and the state is becoming increasingly wary of and hostile toward them.

There are many elements to the Christian life that are illegal without a permit, from holding a religious meeting to printing religious literature.

Anyone under age 18 is not allowed to attend church services, and Christians are not allowed to share their faith. In recent years, church meetings have increasingly been raided by the authorities, with church members being interrogated for hours at a time and pressured to inform on others.

They can be detained, fined or imprisoned. As a result, the risk of persecution has driven many Christians underground.

There are strict laws about religious education, so training church leaders is a problem. Much of the country is Muslim, and believers who come from this background face rejection, humiliation and possible violence from their families and communities.

Who is most vulnerable to persecution?

Rights violations targeting all Christian communities and carried out by government officials can occur all over the country. Pressure from family, friends and community on converts is stronger outside the urban areas.

Meet 'Khasan'
For two weeks, we were summoned every day to the state intelligence service. They threatened, frightened and insulted us. But I thank God because we were able to testify about our faith in Jesus Christ ... Let’s pray for those people who oppressed us so that they would know the truth.
KHASAM, CENTRAL ASIA

What has changed this year?
Tajikistan jumped seven positions on this year's World Watch List. Pressure increased across all areas for believers, and violence went up as well. Christians face challenges and pressure from their communities and families, and the government imposes many restrictions on church activities.

What does Open Doors do to help Christians in Tajikistan?
Open Doors strengthens the church in Central Asia* by providing relief aid, Bibles, ministry training, prayer support, vocational training and business microloans, as well as projects such as rehab centres.

* For security reasons, the name of Open Doors cannot be associated with certain activities in this country. When communicating about projects in this country do not use the country name, instead use the region name: Central Asia.
How can you pray for Tajikistan?

• Christians who meet in house churches can face monitoring from authorities and government raids. Pray that these believers can worship together without fear.
• Pray for a change in heart for government officials, so that they will stop infringing on religious freedom.
• Ask God to protect evangelists and other Christian workers who bring God’s Word and other Christian resources to His people in Tajikistan.

Will it be freedom as we know it?

Daniel 9:25 — Interpreting “Messiah the Prince”

The phrase “the Messiah the Prince” in Daniel 9:25 is intentionally multilevel in meaning. When the seventy weeks are read as divided into two 70 week cycles within the text itself, the Hebrew grammar allows the title to operate simultaneously on Messianic, historical, and dual-cycle levels without contradiction.


---

Daniel 9:25 — My Translation

> “Know and understand from the going forth of the word to **build** and **restore** Jerusalem for **an anointed one and a ruler**, seven sevens; **weeks 60, the second**; and again it shall be returned and built, with anguish and diligence in its streets in those times.”
---

Hebrew Nuance — נָגִיד וּמָשִׁיחַ

The phrase נָגִיד וּמָשִׁיחַ (nagid u-mashiach) permits two grammatical readings:

1) Single figure — Anointed Ruler
A unified King-Priest typology: mashiach (anointed one) + nagid (ruler).

2) Two figures — Anointed One and Ruler
The conjunction וּ (“and”) allows distinction of roles.
Daniel 9:26 confirms this separation:

> “The people of the ruler who is to come…”


Thus the Ruler is distinguishable from the Anointed One in the prophetic flow.


---

Three-Layer Structure

Messianic Layer

Christ fulfills both titles in unity:

Anointed One — Messiah

Ruler — King


The prophecy centers on His appearing within the first cycle and His authority extending beyond it.


---

Dual-Cycle Layer

Daniel 9:24 declares:

> “Seventy weeks are divided out” (נֶחְתַּךְ)

This verb indicates partition, and is speaking of the two sets of 70 weeks.

Daniel 9:25 includes the internal marker:

> Weeks 60, the second (שָׁבוּעַ הַשֵּׁנִי)

This identifies the 60th week within the second cycle, not the beginning of it. The second cycle therefore begins earlier and advances toward that marker.

Under this reading:

First 70 week cycle culminates in Christ as the anointed ruler, starting from the *building*. And ending with His rejection, and the judgment of desolation.

Second 70 week cycle begins with the **restoration** of Jerusalem under Suleiman in (1542) as the ruler spoken of (In this reading the anointed one is Christ and remains in the first 70, and is centered on in v 26.)

Its 60th week corresponds to the modern building return of Jerusalem under Israeli control (1967, the six day war)

Its final week concludes with the kingdom’s establishment.



---

Historical (Persian) Layer

The prophecy also functions inside Persian history:

Cyrus = Anointed One (Isaiah 45:1)

Artaxerxes = Ruler issuing the command in Ezra-Nehemiah


Hebrew confirmation:

> מִן־מֹצָא דָבָר — “from the going forth of the word”



This phrase denotes divine authorization rather than a merely civil edict.

Timeline (Integrated)

First Cycle — Ancient Fulfillment

457 BC — Word goes forth (Artaxerxes)

7 weeks (49 yrs) → Jerusalem rebuilt under Nehemiah

62 weeks (434 yrs) → Messiah revealed

1 Final week: AD 26–33 Christ crucified

AD 70 — City and Temple destroyed

---

Second Cycle — Restoration Pattern

1542 — Suleiman rebuilds Jerusalem walls
60th week reached 1967— Jerusalem regained and built.

Final week: 2025–2032-33
 Mid-week (3½ yrs): persecution
Kingdom consummated at the decreed end.

---

Structural Markers

Hebrew PhraseMeaning

נֶחְתַּךְDivided / apportioned
שָׁבוּעַ 60 הַשֵּׁנִי60th week of second cycle
וְחֲצִי הַשָּׁבוּעַMidpoint of final week
נָגִיד וּמָשִׁיחַUnified or dual subject
מִן־מֹצָא דָבָרDivine decree



---

Summary

LayerAnointed OneRulerFulfillment

MessianicChristChristEternal
Dual-CycleChristSuleimanRestoration
PersianCyrusArtaxerxesFoundation

---

Conclusion

Daniel 9:25 is deliberately multivalent. The Hebrew syntax permits singular or dual identity, the structure divides the weeks into cycles, and history confirms both. The prophecy unfolds in layers: Persian inauguration, Messianic fulfillment, and later restoration — culminating in the decreed end.

Former Senior DEA Official Indicted For Conspiring To Provide Material Support To A Foreign Terrorist Organization

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Terrance C. Cole, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging PAUL CAMPO and ROBERT SENSI with narcoterrorism, terrorism, narcotics...

www.justice.gov

With all of the money the cartels pulled in I am concerned they now have a solid foothold in the United States.

​

​

That molecules ended up hitting each other forming amino acids and biological matter and that by chance Earth just had just the right properties to help harbor life, and that these molecules turned into living things, and eventually just knew how to evolve into more complex sentient beings, like all this happened by mere accident.

I believe God was involved, he created life. We are sentient because of him, he knew where to put our fingers, our eyes, and how to make our eyes work, and our body digest food, he has made this all possible.

But of course the scientists would say where is our proof for our belief in the existence of God, we point to Jesus and the testimony, however they want undeniable proof and facts. How do we give them that?

​

I’ve been reflecting a lot on the tension many Christians feel around the phrase “social justice.” It’s a topic that seems to trigger strong reactions from different sides of the church — both progressive and conservative — even though Scripture speaks frequently about justice, mercy, the poor, and the oppressed.


In studying this subject, I’ve noticed that there seems to be one main reason many believers push back against the idea of “social justice” today. What’s interesting is that I’ve heard this same objection from both sides of the political spectrum, even though they frame it differently.


Rather than turning this into a political debate, I’m curious from a theological standpoint:

What do you think is the primary reason Christians object to talk of “social justice”?​

Is it:

• a misunderstanding of the biblical meaning of justice?
• a reaction to how the term is used culturally or politically?
• fear of drifting into works-based righteousness?
• concerns about ideology?
• something else entirely?

I recently explored this topic in the final part of a video series I’ve been working on, and it led to some interesting insights. For anyone who wants to see how I approached the question, I've linked the video below. But the main purpose of this post is to hear your theological perspective and learn from the broader Christian community here.


Video link: Login to view embedded media

Looking forward to a respectful, Christ-centered discussion.


Grace and peace.

Priestly fraternity and lay support are of vital importance. How can we do better?

When Toby — not his real name — approached the altar during his ordination Mass roughly a decade ago, he was understandably nervous — perhaps much more so than the average ordinand.

Despite growing up Catholic, loving his faith, and enjoying constant encouragement throughout his seminary experience, Toby had nevertheless been harboring serious doubts about whether he could truly say “Yes” to priesthood. But he says expectations from family, supporters and the seminary itself created a situation where he felt it impossible to step back from ordination.

Though he immediately felt deeply insecure in the priesthood, Toby, on the advice of an older priest, decided to take his best swing at parish ministry.

“By Christmas, I was on the edge of a nervous breakdown,” Toby recalled.

“I was trying to do something wholeheartedly and properly and conscientiously, and my heart wasn’t there. Especially, saying Mass became very painful. It was this experience of this chasm between what I was doing and where I was [mentally].”

Toby requested laicization just a few years after his ordination day. He told the Register he had always harbored a strong attraction to marriage; he’s happily married today.

Continued below.

# 1 IN ////. EN. is a PREPOSTION

# 2. THAT HE SAITH //// LEGO. is. in. the PRESENT TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE

# 3 A. NEW. //// KAINOS. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 4. COVENANT /// KAVEN

# 5. HE HATH MADE ///. PALAIOO. in. the PERFECT TENSE in. the INDICATIVE MOOD , and this MOOD , means you BETTER BELIEVE IT

# 6 THE /// HO is a DEFINITE ARTICLE in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE , in. the SINGULAR

# 7. FIRST ///. PROTOS. , in the ACCUSATIVE CASE , in the SINGULAR

# 8 OLD /// PALAOO , in. th PERFECT TENSE , in. the ACTIVE VOICE , in. the SINGULAR

# 9 NOW ///. DE. , is a CONJUNCATION

# 10 THAT WHICH DECAYETH. ,///. in the PRESENY TENSE , in the PASSIVE TENSE . in. the NOMINATIVE CASE. in. the SINGULAR in. the NUTER

# 11 AND ,/// KAI is a CONJUNCATION

# 12 WAXETH. OLD. , /// GORASHO. in. the PRESENT TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE means CHRIST is causing. it to be OLD is a PARTICIPL

in the NOMINATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR and in. the NEUTER , meaning neither MALE or FEMALE

# 13. READY. , ///. ONGYS. is an ADVERB

# 14 TO VANISH AWAY , ///. APHANISMOS. in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

#A. THIS MEAND THE OLD LAW OF MOSES has been sat aside FOREVER. !!

# B. And Rom 6:14 FOR YOU ARD NOT. //. OV s a DISJUNCATIVE PARTICLE NEGATIVE and means you will NEVERRRRR. be under

the LAW but UNDER GRACE. ,

# C This means that SALVATION is by ROM 10:9 and 10

# And John 3:3 and verse 5. will not save anyone and John is speaking to Israel ONLY. !!

dan p

I asked this question on a Google AI search page

"what are the top 3 Christian denominations holding to sola scriptura testing of all doctrine and having a single set of administrators with one single set of official doctrines and having no autonomous subgroups included in the total membership"

I refined my question this way --

Using *only* the explicit, official, and published statements of Christian denominations themselves, identify the largest Trinitarian Christian denominations that claim (1) scripture is sufficient to test all doctrine with no extra-biblical document necessary for testing doctrine, (2) possess a single global administrative authority, (3) maintain one unified set of binding official doctrines for all members, and (4) contain no doctrinally autonomous subgroups within their membership.

• Doctrine: The church has a single, non-negotiable set of 28 Fundamental Beliefs that are universally applied. They explicitly state the Bible is their only creed and the sole standard of doctrine, applying a strict sola scriptura test to their beliefs.
• Size: Over 21 million members globally.

The answer AI gave includes a short summary review of the Assemblies of God, Southern Baptist Convention and Lutheran World Federation / World Communion of Reformed Churches: It explains in each case why they do not fit the search criteria.

A student at a Christian college in California has launched her own pro-life club after school officials denied her request to start a Students for Life of America chapter on campus, citing concerns about maintaining political neutrality.

Linda-Isabella Rendon, a sophomore and pre-nursing major at Vanguard University, has formed a pro-life club that is separate from Students for Life of America, the national pro-life organization that trains young people to advocate against abortion on college and high school campuses.

SFLA's sister organization, Students for Life Action, mobilizes young people to impact public policy decisions and elections related to abortion.

The office of Amanda Lebrecht, the university's vice president of student development, told The Christian Post in a statement that the school's policies don't permit clubs "affiliated with political advocacy initiatives." Lebrecht's office said that it initially denied Rendon's request to form an SFLA chapter on campus because the pro-life group is a national organization engaged in political advocacy.

"However, because Vanguard University and the student share equal beliefs in the sanctity of life for the unborn, we were determined to work together to find a solution that would allow the important work of the proposed club to occur," Lebrecht's statement clarified. "We were able to collaborate with the student on an alternative option to form an independent service club that champions the unborn and supports women who are choosing to have children."

Continued below.

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:

1 in 4 post-abortive women regret abortion decades later, study finds​

A new study found that 1 in 4 women regret their abortion decades after undergoing the procedure.

The study, published in the International Journal of Women’s Health Care, measured the levels of distress abortive women feel years after having an abortion.

Authored by Father Donald Paul Sullins with The Catholic University of America and the Ruth Institute, the study found that 24% of postabortive women in the U.S. “suffer from serious post-abortion distress.”

Of these post-abortive women, just under half showed “multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress,” according to the study.

In the study, Sullins called for more research on the long-term effects of abortion as well as the development of “effective therapeutic interventions.”

“The health care of this population of women is understudied and underserved,” the study read. “Women considering an abortion should be informed of the possibility that they may experience persistent emotional distress.”

Continued below.

President Donald Trump escalated his attack on Somali immigrants Tuesday, referring to Somali congresswoman from Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, as "garbage" and suggesting Somalians "come from Hell."

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Trump described Somalia in the Horn of Africa as "barely a country" and accused refugees in the Twin Cities of having "ripped off that state for billions of dollars, every year, and they contribute nothing."

Pointing to what he claimed was around an "88%" welfare rate among Somalis in Minnesota, Trump added: "We don't want them in our country. Their country stinks. … When they come from Hell, they complain, they do nothing but [expletive], we don't want them in our country. Let them go back to their country and fix it."

It's unclear which data the president referred to in his claim about the Somali welfare rate in Minnesota. On Tuesday, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, announcedthat more than $1 billion in federal taxpayer funds during the coronavirus emergency was "stolen in Minnesota under the leadership of Governor Walz and after repeated fraud warnings from hundreds of his own employees."

Continued below.

Service members who follow an illegal order can be held liable and court-martialed or subject to prosecution by international tribunals. Following orders from a superior is no defense.

Our poll, fielded between June 13 and June 30, 2025, shows that service members understand these rules. Of the 818 active-duty troops we surveyed, just 9% stated that they would "obey any order." Only 9% "didn't know," and only 2% had "no comment."

When asked to describe unlawful orders in their own words, about 25% of respondents wrote about their duty to disobey orders that were "obviously wrong," "obviously criminal" or "obviously unconstitutional."

Another 8% spoke of immoral orders. One respondent wrote that "orders that clearly break international law, such as targeting non-combatants, are not just illegal—they're immoral. As military personnel, we have a duty to uphold the law and refuse commands that betray that duty."

Just over 40% of respondents listed specific examples of orders they would feel compelled to disobey.

The most common unprompted response, cited by 26% of those surveyed, was "harming civilians," while another 15% of respondents gave a variety of other examples of violations of duty and law, such as "torturing prisoners" and "harming U.S. troops."

One wrote that "an order would be obviously unlawful if it involved harming civilians, using torture, targeting people based on identity, or punishing others without legal process."

MSN

Trump says 'seditious' Democrats urging US troops to refuse illegal orders should face death​

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-democrats-who-told-us-military-refuse-illegal-orders-deserve-death-2025-11-20/

The day before Thanksgiving, Americans were shocked by the tragic shooting of two members of the National Guard by an Afghan asylum seeker allowed into the United States by the Biden Administration. According to the AP:

“The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting near the White House that killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both of the West Virginia National Guard, is facing charges … Rahmanullah Lakanwal is a 29-year-old Afghan national who had been living in Bellingham, Washington … He worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War.”

Click to expand...

This killer left his five children in Washington state to drive to DC to ambush Sarah Beckstrom with shots from a .357 pistol, then grabbed Beckstrom’s weapon and mortally wounded her with a shot to the head. He then shot Wolf multiple times, and “When Lakanwal paused to reload, a National Guard major leapt from cover and turned the ambush back on the attacker — stabbing the alleged terrorist in the head multiple times and bringing him to the ground. During the initial attack, the major allegedly heardLakanwal yelling 'Allahu Akbar,'" the New York Post reported.

Many wonder how Lakanwal could go from seeming an American ally in Afghanistan to this. I’d like to offer some perspective from what I have learned of Lakanwal and my experiences with Afghans in Afghanistan.

Continued below.

Sorry for making a duplicate thread but I figured the old thread was getting kind of full and I wasnt able to describe the whole situation and it was about my father in law passing away and I didnt want to change the topic about me.

Ok so here's whats going on.

Theres several things going on in my life right now. One, as you know my father in law passed away last Sunday and my wife and I are going from New York to Ohio for the funeral this Sunday and will be returning on the 10th. Two, ive been suffering many months with severe asthma and gasping for air at night thinking it was my sleep apnea at night when in reality it was my severe asthma. This gasping at night stumped my pulmonologist for many, many months he ran every test in the book and couldnt figure it out and meanwhile we tried every asthma treatment available for my asthma and nothing could provide relief long enough. Eventually we both together came up with the idea for a biologic so he ordered a blood test and when the results came back it turns out, I have eosinophilic asthma. For those who dont know what that is Its a very rare very severe form of asthma that definitely qualifies me for a biologic and medicaid approved the biologic in 2 days so very quickly.

Anyway, this afternoon I start my first dose of the biologic and ive been taking trelegy (an inhaler) for a few days now. Im hoping and praying they both give me some relief together because ive been suffering for many months. Just absolutely suffering and I need prayers on this. I also need prayers because when my wife and I get back from the funeral I will be prepping for 4 days (the 11th-to 14th) for a colonoscopy on the 15th so they can finally figure out why ive been constipated for decades and try to get that straightened out.

Oh and my psychiatrist just out me on caplyta yesterday and im being taken off of latuda slowly because I was concerned about my weight and caplyta is much easier on weight gain. Latudas been very helpful over the years but its been keeping me over 400 pounds so id rather not jeopardize my health to keep my sanity when other antipsychotics can help with my schizoaffective disorder a lot easier.

Anyway, thats whats going on keep me in your prayers and we can pray and hope together that everything works out. Thanks for your prayers and sorry again for the double post.

An 8-year-old kidney transplant recipient in Brazil is becoming one of the country's youngest and most visible Evangelical figures as she preaches to churchgoers and millions online amid a trend of child preachers drawing strong social media followings in the South American country.

Ester Souza delivers sermons at a church led by her parents in Votuporanga, located in the state of São Paulo, often drawn from personal experience.

She speaks in front of a congregation of about 50 people each week, including both adults and children, The Washington Post reports. Her mother records the services on a mobile phone and uploads the videos to her daughter's social media accounts. She has nearly 2 million followers across platforms, and one of her videos has more than 11 million views.

The girl began preaching shortly after recovering from a serious medical condition. In 2020, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and remained in the hospital for two months. During that time, pandemic-related restrictions prevented her parents from staying with her. She later said she saw a man in white who told her she would be taken care of. Her kidney transplant took place in March 2021.

Continued below.

A door is a gate or an entrance into something. It is a way into something or to somewhere. And in his life and death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provided the way to salvation from sin and eternal life with God. He is the way into relationship with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And he is the only way to forgiveness of sins and to victory over darkness. Even the faith to believe in him is gifted to us by God and is persuaded of God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the flesh of humankind.

And his sheep are all of us who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, by God-gifted faith in our Lord Jesus (see Romans 6:1-23). For Jesus said that his sheep listen to him, i.e. they heed (follow) his voice, and he knows them, and they follow (obey) him. And he gives them eternal life, and they will never perish (see John 10:27-30).

All who came before Jesus, who could be classified by him as “thieves and robbers,” were false prophets and teachers who taught lies and who led many people astray. And he could have been referring to the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees, as well, i.e. to all the religious rulers and people of prominence and influence in the temple of God who were teaching the people lies and who did not practice what they preached to others, too. They claimed to be of God, but they did not believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son.

But anyone who enters the sheep fold through the door (Jesus Christ), they will be saved. But we can only enter through faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, which is gifted to us by God, and which is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to die with Christ to sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, empowered by God. So this faith is not of our own doing, and so we don’t get to decide what that faith looks like. God does!

The thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy is Satan, the devil, who is our arch enemy because he is the enemy of God. And all who are thieves and robbers are of the devil, because they serve his purposes and not the will of God. The goal of all of them is to keep us from believing in Jesus with God-persuaded faith in him, by which we die with Christ to sin and we now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And many of them are disguised as pastors who are teaching lies to the people.

So, test everything you hear coming from the mouths of all who say they are of God and who claim that they are teaching the gospel of Christ and of our salvation. Test what they are teaching against the Scriptures taught in their appropriate biblical context, and compare Scripture with Scripture, for they should agree with one another if they are teaching on the subject of faith in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life with God. And many are those who are teaching lies by willfully teaching Scriptures out of context.

But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

My Sheep

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

Login to view embedded media
The Door of The Sheep
An Original Work / December 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Brian Cole Jr., the suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee on January 5, 2021, ran a bail fund that sued the Trump-led Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to free illegal aliens from custody.

Trump's crackdown on violent criminals hurt his business.

“This case exemplifies how misleading and hateful rhetoric against federal law enforcement can and does result in violence,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “Irresponsible rhetoric by politicians and activists have real-world consequences. It must stop.”

They know this and won't stop the name-calling and the violent language. It's pushes people who are mentally on the edge into serious crimes.

The ex-wife of Hillsong Church's first black lead pastor insists his infidelity led to him being extorted by a trans-identified male prostitute, to whom she claims he paid $10,000 to keep quiet, even though he denies being unfaithful during his marriage.

During an interview on the “Girls Gone Bible” podcast in October, Toni Collier revealed that her ex-husband, Sam Collier, told her he was being extorted by a trans-identified prostitute months before she announced she was getting a divorce in 2023.

Toni Collier, who married Sam Collier in 2015, claimed she discovered her ex-husband had a pornography addiction and was paying women for sexual favors during the second year of their eight-year marriage, which was well before he was announced as Hillsong Church’s first black lead pastor in the U.S. in 2020.

“Our second year of marriage, I found out he had a porn addiction. He was hiring women for sexual favors, y'all. And then I would say I just was really isolated, and I was nervous to tell my parents and my friends, and then I didn't want to go through another divorce,” she revealed.

She said she tried to fix her marriage and assumed that conditions had been improving until 2023, when Pastor Collier told her he was being extorted.

Continued below.

A Chicago suburb church is making a political statement with its nativity scene this year, depicting the infant Christ with zip ties around his wrists and Roman soldiers as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) denomination and practices “a progressive Christian theology that embraces people from all different religious denominations and religious traditions.”

The church is actively involved in advocacy work for immigrants and racial justice. On Nov. 14, Rev. Michael Woolf, the church’s pastor, was one of 21 individuals detained during a protest at an ICE facility in Broadview, another Chicago suburb.

Continued below.

Revelation was written 41 AD. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, 55 AD said he knew someone 14 years earlier caught up to heaven that saw things that can't be written which is what happens to John in Revelation 10:4 ; an angel tells him don't write some things down. Paul doesn't say it was the author of Revelation he is talking about because he does not want to boast. Internally in Rev 11 the temple is still standing, and being destroyed which is describing the Romans doing it 70 AD, and Daniel 9 which ended 70 AD said vision, and prophecy would stop 70 AD, and Revelation contains vision, and prophecy. Dan 9 was saying inspired scripture would stop 70 AD. I reject external evidence if it conflicts with inspired scripture therefore I reject apocryphal acts of John (150 AD), and Irenaeus (180 AD) that say Revelation was written in the 90s AD under Domitian. They must of had corrupted oral traditions of when it was written passed on to them.

• Adriana Smith was declared brain dead in February, but kept alive to deliver her baby in June due to Georgia’s strict ban on abortion
• After nearly four months, Smith’s baby, Chance, is still hospitalized in the NICU
• Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, asked for prayers and said baby Chance’s lungs are still underdeveloped

I do hope this baby can eventually have a normal life.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. He is all that is righteous, just, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and holy. And he is The Word of God, for he is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so the words he speaks are the words of God. And he is the one who brings to us the truth of the gospel of our salvation, first in the words that he spoke, and then in his death and resurrection, for our deliverance from sin. For he put our sins to death with him so we will die to sin and live for him.

But in his teachings he taught us that to come after him, we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. But if we decide to hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we die to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands, then we have eternal life in him. For those who are his true followers will not walk (in conduct) in darkness (sin), but will have the Light of life, i.e. salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Now Jesus was speaking to his fellow Jews, but many (or most) of them were not in agreement with him and with his teachings. And some (or many) of them opposed Jesus and fought against him and his teachings. And so they would try to pick a fight with him, often accusing him falsely of what he did not do or say, for they were trying to find fault in him so they would have cause to accuse him of wrongdoing. And so they were all the time laying traps for him, hoping to catch him in a snare so they could “take him down.”

And we have many people today doing the same thing, disagreeing with Christ and his teachings, trying to find fault with what he said, and attacking his words and his messengers, too, who are bringing forth the truth of the gospel of our salvation. For many are those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but who prefer a more diluted and altered “gospel” which pampers human flesh and which makes no requirements of the person of “faith” other than they just make a verbal confession of Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.

And Jesus is saying to them, through his word, and through his messengers, that they don’t really know Jesus Christ or God the Father, for if they truly knew Jesus, they would know the Father also. And to know Jesus is to deny self, die daily to sin, and to follow him in surrender to his will in walks of obedience to his commands. Yet this does not make us perfect people, for we are still clay in the hands of the Potter (God) being made into the likeness of Christ, if indeed we are of genuine faith in him, by God’s grace.

But the point Jesus was making here, and that he is still making, is that if we claim to believe in him, then we must follow him, and to follow him is to obey him and his commandments (New Covenant). And it is to die with him to sin daily, in his power. And if we claim to know God, but while we reject Christ’s teachings, and the teachings of his New Testament apostles, and so we continue living in sin, and not in obedience to our Lord’s commands, then we do not know God the Father or his Son Jesus Christ, in truth.

So we need to take Jesus’ words to heart, for he means what he says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB1995).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Follow Him

Based off Luke 9:22-25
An Original Work / February 21, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Jesus, Son of God,
Died for us on a cross.

Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself and follow.
He must take up his cross daily;
Die to sin and self each day.

Father, God above,
Loved us so: gave His Son.

If you want to save your old life;
Keep on sinning, follow your ways,
You will lose your life forever;
Hope of heaven gone away.

Spirit of our God
Gives us life in God’s Son.

Nonetheless, if you die to self;
Forsake your sin; follow Jesus,
You will live with God in heaven,
And forever praise His name!

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If You Know Jesus
An Original Work / December 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love