Another activist judge. No criminal conviction is needed to deport someone, the judge obviously doesn't care for the policies of the new president or that the people voted for him much because of the same policies.

Shalom

Could you please pray for our sister Daniela, a faithful servant of our Lord Jesus?

She is taking her final exams next week and is looking for a new job and a new apartment, that the Lord will bless her abundantly there in Jesus' name.

"Blessed be the Lord, who delights in the prosperity of his servant." Psalm 35:27

And she is creating a social media channel for the Kingdom of God. May God bless it too, so that much fruit will come from it, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank you for your prayers!

May the Lord bless you abundantly (Luke 6:38, Job 42:10) and may he bless Israel, in Jesus' name. Amen!

Soli Deo Gloria

PS: And I pray that the Lord will send out harvesters into his harvest (Matthew 9:38).

"Forsaking all other lovers, so long as you both shall live…”

A lot of people equate HOLINESS with purity. And I think purity is marvelous and necessary — but it seems to me that purity, as wonderful as it is, is a beautiful symptom of what true holiness really is: radical, exclusive PASSION for Jesus. Because holiness is not a quality or state or personality trait that can exist separate from a relationship with God. And our passionate relationship with God is both the source of and the reason for holiness.

And I know that there are times when we just have to be militant and war against our fleshly appetites and not let them win, because we know it is the right thing to do (Hebrews 12:4). But the BEST times are when we are so in love with Him that other “lovers” just aren’t an option. (Psalm 16:11)

“You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.” (Leviticus 20:26)

"I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine." (Song of Songs 6:3)

CNN Host Drops Fact Check On Far-Left Dem After She Falsely Claimed Trump Called For Medicaid Cuts​

Bravo CNN

Bessent says it signals Russia that Trump is committed to a peace process.

The U.S. and Ukraine have signed the deal to create the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund -- the long-awaited mineral deal that gives the U.S. rights to Ukrainian rare earth, both sides announced Wednesday.

Continued below.

Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity, was tortured and had organs removed before her body was returned, according to a joint media report published Tuesday through Forbidden Stories, a nonprofit media organization.

In February, Russia returned Roshchyna's emaciated body with signs of torture and some organs removed, possibly to hide further traces of torture, said the report by media outlets including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Ukrainska Pravda, and iStories, citing Ukrainian prosecutors.

The forensic examination "revealed numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment", the prosecutors were quoted as saying.

These included "a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on her feet," according to Yuriy Belousov, head of the War Crimes Unit at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office.

I don't think he relates well to the average guy.

Romans Eight:
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Notice this does not say we are free from sin, but "the Law".
This law is described in the previous chapter.
Romans 7:
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me,
the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God
according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members.

We could discuss Romans Seven and its relationship
to Romans 8 as a project for the entire month of May.

Let me focus on the highlighted portion above.
*********************************************************
The battle is in the mind, and we are fully responsible
for winning that battle.We have the indwelling Spirit,
therefore we are without excuse, and yet excuses
seem to prevail over engagement in many Saints.

Putting on the new man

Ephesians 4:
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.

Once again, recall that the "new man"
is the Body of Christ, and no individual.
Therefore, the sinless perfection
sought by "those who would do good"
can only be accomplished in the
Fellowship of the Spirit in Christ.
We work together as one in sharing worldly burdens,
so that every member can serve their purpose
in their own ordained and 'light' burden in Christ.

We must have the same goals in mind!
2 Corinthians 10:
3 For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal but mighty in God
for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every
high thing that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God, bringing
every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience
when your obedience is fulfilled.

We are not "set free" from sin until
"Christ is fully formed in us".
This is again instruction to the Congregation,
not an individual.

Galatians 4:18 But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always,
and not only when I am present with you.
19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again...
until Christ is formed in you(all)...

The Work of the Holy Spirit is to direct us in "casting down
arguments" in opposition to the simplicity of Christ.
The questions become, will someone receive correction?,
and is the person addressing the issue qualified by their
own obedience to "punish disobedience"?

Paul certainly showed a relentless love in trying
to bring the correction we all need in Christ.
By observation, most defend their arguments
and opinions to the point of devious and sophomoric
debate methods to "win arguments", rather than iron
out the dross, and find the pure vein of silver.

I experienced 3 decades of consistent spiritual growth
after discovering that the hand of the Lord
in discipline can be discerned,and the rods
of men in the world when they are used
in service to the Lord.
This is a true testimony. I literally learned
to enjoy discipline, though painful (as it is written),
when I comprehended the "harvest of righteousness
and peace" that my mind experienced in accepting
the discipline JOYFULLY!!!
This is to be "renewed in the Spirit of your mind".

This Dossier was on an official who was in today's cabinet meeting with President Trump.

For those who do not forgive 70 times 7, only the wrath of God awaits them around the corner.

My humble wish is that God frees us from his wrath for not forgiving 70 times 7
)

Approval rating underwater among all other religious demographics

President Donald Trump and his policies have majority support among white Evangelical Protestants even as nearly all other religious demographics have expressed reservations about some or all of his policies, according to a new poll.

Pew Research Center released a report Monday highlighting President Donald Trump’s approval rating among members of various religious denominations as the first 100 days of his second term in office come to a close. The data in the report is based on responses collected from 3,589 Americans between April 7-13 and has a margin of error of +/-1.8 percentage points.

Respondents include 496 white Evangelical Protestants, 351 white non-Evangelical Protestants, 220 black Protestants, 428 white Catholics, 201 Hispanic Catholics and 1,079 religiously unaffiliated voters. Overall, Trump has an approval rating of 40% with the American public, while 59% disapproved of his job performance.

Continued below.

‘We’re citizens!’: Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren’t suspects​

The agents had a search warrant for the home, but the suspects listed on the warrant do not live in the house.

The woman who actually lives in the house had just moved to Oklahoma City from Maryland with her family about two weeks earlier.

The woman, who News 4 will refer to as “Marisa”, and her three daughters came to Oklahoma looking for a slower, more affordable pace of life.

Marisa said the agents tore apart every square inch of the house and what few belongings they had, seizing their phones, laptops and their life savings in cash as “evidence.”

“I told them before they left, I said you took my phone. We have no money. I just moved here,” she said. “I have to feed my children. I’m going to need gas money. I need to be able to get around. Like, how do you just leave me like this? Like an abandoned dog.”

Marisa told News 4 the agents wouldn’t even leave her a business card.

She said she has no idea who to contact to get her things back.

Woman from Haiti dies while in ICE custody at detention facility in Broward

Another detainee at the center told the Miami Herald that Blaise had been complaining about chest pains Friday. After her blood pressure measured with a top number of 156, the detainee said, Blaise was given some pills and sent to lie down. Later, “she started shaking, screaming, ‘My chest! My chest!’” the other detainee said. ICE said Blaise was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m.

The agency says U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Blaise as she started to board a flight to Charlotte from Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands without a valid immigrant visa.

[Rep for Haitian advocacy group] added that people with Temporary Protected Status and other legal protections from deportation are “being detained and transferred to ICE, who are traveling from U.S. territories [and] who should not be flagged as someone entering the U.S. when they are already in the U.S.”

Legalism is an excessive focus on strict adherence to laws, rules, or rituals, sometimes at the expense of the deeper spiritual relationship with God. It can manifest as the belief that salvation or God's love can be earned solely through good works or obedience to religious laws, rather than through grace and faith. The Church teaches that while good works and obedience are important, they are a response to God's grace, not a means to earn it.

This perspective emphasises that God's love and salvation are gifts, and our actions should flow from gratitude and love for Him, rather than a fear of punishment or a desire to "earn" His favour.

Just joking. I mean, is anyone really sure?

The Catholic Church views seventh-day Sabbatarianism, which advocates worship on Saturday as the Sabbath, as a misunderstanding of Christian tradition. The Church teaches that Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection, is the Lord's Day and the proper day for Christian worship. This shift from Saturday to Sunday worship began in the early Church and is rooted in the New Testament, where the apostles and early Christians gathered on the first day of the week.

The Church also emphasises that the Sabbath commandment is fulfilled in Christ, who offers eternal rest and salvation. Therefore, the observance of Sunday is not merely about following a rule but celebrating the new covenant established through Jesus.

My girlfriend of almost 14 months recently decided to end things between us. I had told her for the first time that I loved her the week before. She confessed to me that she is feeling confused and, while she hates it, she is unable to say "I love you" back to me for reasons unbeknownst to her. She decided she wanted to end things because she felt it was not fair to me for her to feel this way and continue the relationship. Her initial idea was for us to "take a break", but since we did not know what exactly that looks like, she decided to break up.

This breakup baffles me, and in many ways I'm still in disbelief. We are both Christian, Reformed, and aligned so well on so many values and beliefs. We enjoyed our time together; there was so much laughing. It just does not feel like things could possibly be over between us. It feels like too much was left unsaid. It feels like too lovely a thing was lost.

I talked to one of my church elders (who knows the both of us) about this, and it's his view that this was simply a moment of cold feet for her. Cold feet about the idea of marriage at this time. But he also encouraged me to center my hope on Christ, trusting that either God will bring us back together OR He has someone who is a better fit for the both of us. He also encouraged me by saying that several married couples in our church broke up for a time before coming back together and getting married. He even said that I could casually reach back out to her after a time of distance and space to see where things lead.

My original attitude towards this breakup was "assume you'll never see her again so that you can move on." It was a very bleak outlook based on fear and hurt. I don't think it came from faith. But my elder made me realize I ought not be presumptuous about the future at all, whether you're inordinantly hoping for a certain outcome or trying to cope with pain by despairing about a certain outcome. All too often there is the hope of reconciliation and reuniting with the one whom we have broken up with, the one we love. But we cannot cling to that as our sole hope. At the same time, I also don't think it's necessary or helpful to say "We are done forever, there is no hope for this relationship reconciling, I must accept and move on." It seems to me that is still being presumptuous about the future.

So, how do we practically keep a balance between these? Is it okay to hope for something that may not come true? Is it better to assume the worst? How do we always surrender our hopes to Jesus?

Plus, I would appreciate any other advice y'all may have on this breakup. Thanks!

President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his predecessor and defended his sweeping tariffs after new data showed the U.S. economy contracting last quarter, while warning that his promised “boom” will “take a while.”

“Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers. Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang,’” he claimed.

“This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!” Trump wrote.

Our Civilization Is More Fragile Than We Think​

I have a short period of time to write an addendum to today’s earlier post. In that previous diary entry (subscriber-only), I led with an angry complaint about Donald Trump’s role in saving Canada’s odious Liberals from the political abyss, through his taunting and trolling of Canadians. (His tariffs no doubt had a big role too, but certainly his frequent mocking of the Canadian people played a role.) I’m seeing a lot of conservative Americans on social media this morning saying that the fault is 100 percent Canadian voters’. In a basic sense, that is true. But this position seems to be more about exonerating Trump from some of the blame than it is to explain what actually happened.

I don’t want to get into the ins and outs of the “Who lost Canada?” question, but I want to talk briefly about an ancillary but important issue. And it’s this: the urgent need for steady, wise government in this combustible time.

My basic point is that even though I supported the Trump candidacy, and am still grateful that he is president and not Kamala Harris, that does not absolve Trump of the responsibility to use his power wisely. That is a truism, I guess, about any politician. But it’s massively important at this juncture in history, for reasons that Prof. David Betz and Ralph Schoelhammer discuss in this must-listen podcast. If you listen to nothing else today, make it this one:

Continued below.

As someone who once lived and identified as a homosexual man but who has been transformed by Jesus Christ, I’m burdened by an insidious, neutered gospel that has heavily infiltrated many Evangelical churches.

It’s called “Side B” Christianity, and its proponents have for many years pushed a set of deceptive doctrines about human sexuality.

For those who don’t know what “Side B” means, Tim Keller described it like this: “People attracted to the same sex, though remaining celibate in obedience to the Bible, still can call themselves ‘gay Christians’ and see their attraction as part of their identity which should be acknowledged like one’s race or nationality.”

This was in contrast to “Side A,” which fully affirms homosexuality. The Side A versus Side B debate emerged years ago among some who were grappling with identity questions, with one side saying it’s fine to embrace one’s same-sex sexuality and the other side saying it must be resisted while simultaneously asserting that same-sex sexual desires cannot and should not be counseled to change. Both Side A and Side B view the sanctifying power of God’s grace as an attempt to “pray the gay away” or “conversion therapy.”

Continued below.

"You know, until I came along, remember that the conservative was leading by 25 points,"

At the core of the “it’ll get worse before it gets better” fallacy lies a psychological phenomenon known as confirmation bias. This bias refers to the tendency to favor information confirming one’s preexisting beliefs or predictions. When a situation worsens, the person offering the vague prediction can claim that their foresight was accurate. When things unexpectedly improve, the same person can attribute the improvement to their expertise or intervention. Either way, the outcome supports their position.


This is particularly dangerous when the person making the prediction is an expert, a leader, or someone in a position of authority. They can position themselves so that they can’t lose. If things worsen, their prediction is confirmed. If they improve, it’s a result of their actions. This allows them to evade responsibility, even if their actions—or lack thereof—are directly contributing to the situation.


Confirmation bias makes it difficult for people to critically assess the situation and recognize that the “it’ll get worse before it gets better” narrative is a form of evasion. It encourages passivity in the face of problems and allows people to keep moving forward without genuinely addressing the root causes of the issues at hand. This is why it’s essential to question the validity of such statements and look for clear, tangible evidence of progress or regression.

Click to expand...

Why this is posted in the American Politics subforum:


Do you believe that there is some merit to the description of this fallacy in regards to the current political and economical developments?

Some of the latest.

Don’t worry ‘bout what others say
Or what they think of you.
But be concerned what Jesus thinks
About you, and be true.

For we were put upon the earth
To please God with our lives,
To do His will, to sin forsake,
So in Him we survive.

For Jesus died upon that cross
To put our sins to death,
So we will die with Him to sin,
Live in His righteousness.

And Jesus called us to obey,
To walk with Him in truth,
To sacrifice our lives to Him,
No longer be uncouth.

He calls us into fellowship
With Him, give up ourselves,
So we will follow where He leads,
And in His mercy dwell.

He has a plan for each our lives
To live for Him each day,
To read the Scriptures, take them in,
And follow in His ways.

The Spirit gives us gifts to share
With those of faith in Christ,
So we can help each other grow
In faith, in love, in life.

So listen for the call of God
And answer, “Here am I,”
And be ye willing to obey
Our Lord until you die.

An Original Work / April 29, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love