"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." -Romans 3:23-25

Most Calvinist seem to claim that the "all" in Romans 3:23 means "all without exception" as it is a major proof text for total depravity. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," -Romans 3:23.

But if applied to the second half of the sentence continued in verses 24 and 25 than doesn't it say that all without exception are also "justified by his grace as a gift"?

hi,

So I almost know all the standard answers regarding why God allows suffering in the world, but thing is I am not satisfied with the answers and kinda a bit dissapointed in God for organizing reality like it is now, I want it to be organized differently.
I wouldn't mind if God decided to destroy me and everything else and start all over again.

Br,

Hi,

Formulating differently, so they say God has a specific plan for each christian, thing is would God ever give a plan that the christian hate ?
For example:
make you become missonary but you hate it ?
make you become a pastor but you hate it ?

I don't think so ? are we sure this won't happen ?

Br,

I saw this post on social media.





While the author is right that boyfriend/girlfriend is not in the Bible, she makes it seem like it's something wrong to do. She relates it to sexual sin.

What are your thoughts on it?


My thoughts, I don't see anything wrong with having a boyfriend or girlfriend. I consider that part of the relationship valid. I see it as a male and female have decided to be exclusive with each other and are in the process of finding out if they are compatible and right for each other for marriage.

Usally I don't remember what I dream of but the other day I did remembered my dream when I woke up and it was rather odd and felt symbolic / spiritual in nature.

I was in a neighbouring city and it was some big event going on and all of a sudden the skyscraper with hotell I was staying and alot of others was under attack and the higher floors were bursting out in flames. I was super cool but alot of people around me started panicing and there was 1 woman who was almost paralyzed out of fear, I grabbed her and pulled her out of the situation and into some office building. As I had her seated I was moving towards the people working there to have a word and when I turned back the woman were gone. I wondered where she went, she just poffed.

I moved out on the streets again and turned towards the burning building and it exploded, but it was really odd because it didn't just came crumbling down but a new facade popped out and were now looking like a middle age tower. I walked down a street in the middle of the road and it was rather empty by now, I saw 2 police officers about 20 meters infront of me standing and talking with someone. From my left side there came about 5 men in full millitary kit and refiles completely ignoring me like they didnt see me and shot down all the people infront of me and just kept moving, like straight to the next mission.

And I considered moving after and turned around and back towards where they went and the police officers bodies had now too magically disappeared, but where one body had been laying there was a really weird looking pistol, like it had an handle and a trigger but the pipe were like that of a mussel and as I was pressing on the trigger the "mussel" construction were opened and out came some kind of gas. And next to the pistol there was only 1 bullet and it had a silver tip, almost white in color. It really stood out. Then I woke up.

Like I said I usally don't remember my dreams and these kind of dreams, to this level, probably just once before in my life very spiritual in nature. What do you make out of this? Be real.

I have a coworker (R.J) I am not comfortable working with. May R.J find happiness elsewhere at another job even if its more higher pay Amen

Truth Social LINK



From the website:

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Pray that The Holy Spirit Miraculously finds survivors among the people who fell into the harbor waters when the Bridge in Baltimore collapsed due to a ship hitting it:

Hello, my fellow brothers and sisters. I'm glad to be here with you all to embrace Jesus together in faith. I'm a 34 year old female from Philadelphia. Single and no children (hoping The Lord changes this). Blessings to all.

The network announced McDaniel’s hiring on Friday, two weeks after she stepped down as the RNC leader, saying McDaniel would add to NBC News’ coverage with an insider’s perspective on national politics and the future of the Republican Party.
Maddow said she’d been told that MSNBC management had signed off on the hiring, but that when staff “expressed outrage,” it was made clear that McDaniel would not appear on the cable network, which appeals primarily to liberal viewers. Since then, she said there’s been an effort in other parts of the company to “muddy that up in the press” and make it seem like that’s not what happened.

What is the world to come to? Who could imagine MSNBC or NBC or CNN would hire a Republican who provides an opposing view?

Is your congregation having a Tenebrae Service? For me, this is when I knew I was in for it...Tenebrae made me feel like Lutheranism was 'home.' The service is very impactful.

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Yours in the Lord,

jm

Matthew 6:

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

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If God knows everything, why do we need to pray?

James 4:

2b. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

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It is a relationship talking to God in prayers. What kinds of things are you asking? What are your motives? By our asking and God's answering, we interact with God in a relationship. We learn from God in our prayers. Paul described a more mature way to pray in Philippians 4:

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

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Don't just ask, but give thanks to God. Praise God's work in our lives.

Jesus continued to offer a model prayer in Matthew 6:

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

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It is meant to be a daily affair, establishing a prayer life for the Christian. Prayer is a major way we practice the relationship between God and us. Jesus Prayed, and the apostles prayed. This is one way we get in touch with God.

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

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This kind of prayer changes our thinking and behaviors toward others.

Do we need to be specific in our prayers?

Yes, we praise God spontaneously throughout the day. At the end of the day, we thank God, item by item, for the blessings we received that day. We ask God to forgive us, again, item by item.

The model prayer is not meant to be a strict jacket. Acts 9:

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

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Peter was being succinct in this prayer.

Another example in 1 Samuel 1:

13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.

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Hannah was barren and prayed for a child. She gave birth to a son, Samuel, whose name means "God has heard"

Romans 8:

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

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There are different ways that we can pray depending on our circumstances. It's not the formalities of prayers; it is our prayer life through which we get to know God better and better

Why do we pray?

By praying to God, we talk to God. We grow in Christ.

See also Whatever you ask IN MY NAME.

Who was Melchizedek and why was he so important?




Melchizedek, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), a figure of importance in biblical tradition because he was both king and priest, was connected with Jerusalem, and was revered by Abraham, who paid a tithe to him.

A Strange Story concerning Melchizedek -

Noah had a bother called 'Nir', Nir had a wife called 'Sopanim' who became pregnant in her old age.
She is embarrassed by this pregnancy and hides herself until the child is due. When Nir discovers she is pregnant he rebukes her and intends to send her away because she has disgraced him, but instead she falls dead at his feet.

Noah discovers this and tells Nir that the Lord has “covered up our scandal.” They bury Sopanim in a black shroud in a secret grave.
However the child was not dead and came out of the dead mother as a fully developed child. This terrifies Nir and Noah, but since the child is “glorious in appearance” they realize the Lord is renewing the priesthood in their bloodline. They name the child 'Melchizedek'.

Melchizedek is only with Nir for forty days, then the Lord instructs Arc Angel Michael to go and take the boy up to heaven. The Lord calls him 'My Child Melchizedek'.

The child is to be placed in Paradise forever. Nir is so grieved by the loss of his son. He also dies leaving no more priests in the world, allowing the world to become even more evil. Noah is therefore instructed to build the ark.

This strange miraculous birth story for Melchizedek is part of an interest in the King of Salem (Salem - Later to become known as Jerusalem) first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 14:18.

I am interested in this as I was speaking to some friends the other day about how especially in the media, Hollywood, Music and entertainment there seems to be this pagan or even Satanic ritualistism going on. Things like wearing these head dresses with goat horns and other pagan symbols. Its always very provocative and sexual as well. Almost a celebration of our animalistic side.

I think I know what is happening. Just like in the days when people defied God they turned to nature, to animals and nature itself like Stone idols. Now that modern society is rejecting God this same belief is coming back. It may seem natural for people to worship nature as god. But primarily when this happens its not really about gods in nature but the self as god, about worship our naturalistic side.

Also in those times people were made gods when theres no transcendent God. As self is god desires and feelings and self experience becomes godlike in status. Therefore comfort, pleasure and all the good feelings are moral and the aweful feeling ones are sin similar to Hedonism

So are we seeing a repeat of the down fall of society like Sodom and Gormorrah or like with how Empires have fallen where morality breaksdown and where the created is worshipped and not the Creator which undermines Gods natural order into entropy and chaos as has happened before except on a much bigger scale.

New International Version, Jeremiah 1:

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

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Does this prove the human soul (nephesh) exists before conception/fertilization?

No, not according to First-Order Logic. The word soul (nephesh) is not even there in the verse.

For Israel and the Nations but not for the Body of Christ.

Better version of cnn video:

please pray for healing for my leg

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romans 8:29, 30

That He "foreknows" something in us, is that not a clear indication that there is "our part" and "duty" in our salvation? If predestination is to be taken in a fatalistic sense, and unleashed without bounds to render man's will ineffectual towards the things that pertain to his salvation, then foreknowledge is superfluous - being superseded by predestination.

What is wrong with taking the word predestination (as with predetermine and foreordain) in an non-fatalistic sense that keeps our will and duty intact: that us whom He foreknew, were far from what He expected us to be, so that He determined from the foundation of the world to save and perfect us through His Son? This means that the way has been made for us (whom He foreknew and loved, even while yet sinners) to be conformed into the image of His Son, through obeying the gospel. This is also a personal ordainment - for each one his own specific means to be conformed (though all into the same image). This is because all are unique, hence our relationships are also unique with Him, even based on the same foreknowledge of God. Our preordainment does not automatically equate to us fulfilling everything that is His will for us, but is also contingent on our will to take heed to His will; but this also does not undue the fact that God determined for us in advance the way in which we ought to walk and attain to.

Him knowing us in advance is not the same us Him knowing us in real time, for knowledge here is used in the sense of a close relationship, such as a shared unity of spirit between friends (as an imperfect example). Thus, He does not seize to know us after He called us, nor while we walk in the way that He determined for us. Predestination does not supersede foreknowledge, instead, they work together one with another.

In analyzing the Apostles conception of God's salvific power and grace, it may be seen that foreknowledge is the source, calling the means, and predestination the end. Justification is the cause of His grace, and glorification is His reward, by His good pleasure by means of His Son - into Whom we are conformed. The whole of this serves as a source of hope and exhortation to His elect whom He chose in Christ unto the attainment of the glory of God; though I will particularly allude to this (in context of our discussion): that that which we committed unto Him in faith - however small - He will keep and multiply by his grace and power unto the last day.

But because we are taken from the same lump of sinners, one may conclude that the foreknowledge of God is not based on anything in us that answers to His will. To answer this, we need to analysis first the concept of repentance and redemption: for repentance unto life must take place first before one can be redeemed from sin and death. Thus, the righteous before Christ stood in need of redemption, and also to receive the whole counsel of God in Christ (when He came) - the new covenant. But even during Christ's time, all His people (Israelites) were found largely estranged from God, such that they stood in need of John's baptism first, but even more so in the context of the preaching to the gentiles (in this case to the Romans): repentance unto life was entirely fit for this situation. Hence why it can be freely said by Paul, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - this holding true for Israelite (himself) and gentile. Therefore, the role foreknowledge takes in the context of all needing repentance is still in view of those whom He knows shall turn unto Him - just as there were those who before the time of Christ turned from their wicked ways unto the ways of life and yet stood in need of the redemption that the Messiah was to bring. In this way, foreknowledge is applicable both to those who were ready to be redeemed and those who still needed to turn first so that they may be redeemed. Accordingly, the whole of the Apostles declaration (as best as I can enumerate it) is spoken of in view of the redemption from all time of His people, beyond just Israel after the flesh - for all that seek not their own righteousness but God's righteousness; that for the sake of the elect whom He foreknew, He saved them by that redemption that is in His Son; that He (that is Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brethren (us).

Behold the wondrous mercy and sweet favor of God: Christ the Firstborn calls us His brethren! And now, what place may fatalism find amongst this grace? For just as the Son freely worked the will of the Father, so are we freed by Him to freely choose the things of God. "We love Him, because He first loved us".

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." John 15:16

Indeed, we do not choose Him, but rather, through obedience to His calling: we simply become the faithful and elect (chosen). For man could never choose God for what He is; they only "choose Him" in the image they wish to see Him in - after their own hearts. Truly though, all who were ever justified were justified through the knowledge of the Lord - by whatever revelation they had of Him - and being faithful in those things. Far be it for man to be saved through their "false god(s)" and/or through their works (as if themselves gods)! Now the point I'm trying to make with this is that Jesus Christ has manifested the Father wholly unto us: such that all the things by which the Divine Godhead has wished - once and for all - to justify and refine His people with has been freely communicated and given unto us. Man - including His disciples - could never have perceived this, much less choose that which they perceived not. However, He yet judged them faithful in that which is little - even their faith as the mustard seed, so that He could reveal the Fathers name unto them. For otherwise, many would have chosen Christ - even anoint Him King, so long as they could have Him meet their expectations. In fact, after this manner: many did search and find Him - thus "chose Him"; that is of course, until He proved their hearts and works. So it is today: many choose Christ after their own hearts; and since He is not here to prove their works, the tares appear to thrive among the wheat. Nevertheless, the Spirit of Truth yet continues His work of making a difference between the children of promise and the children of the flesh, albeit, because it is of a more subtle nature, many get away with it. Therefore, in these words to the disciples (and us for that matter), there is the reminder of Who is that author and finisher their faith; for we are simply recipients of His salvation - it came not from us but God.

Cardinal Mario Grech, one of the two leading cardinals in charge of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality, endorsed so-called ‘female deacons’ and ‘a different space for women in the Church.’

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Mario Grech, one of the two leading cardinals in charge of the Synod on Synodality, has appeared to contradict Catholic teaching, stating that “the female diaconate and a different space for women in the Church are a natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”

Speaking on the sidelines of meetings of the Swiss Catholic bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech gave his extensive thoughts on the current status of the multi-year Synod on Synodality, accentuating themes of forms of “equality” in the Church, while also speaking on “harmony” and “unity” in response to more difficult questions about the fallout following Fiducia Supplicans.

‘Female deacons’​

Continued below.

The temple institute has all the pieces in place and want it done before passover, so this seems like the most likely time.

If they sacrifice the red heifers this weekend with the solar eclipse coming up a week later we should expect the week before the eclipse to be similar to the first week of covid where there is a run on the grocery stores, imma stock on up on some TP!

Here in Texas they are actually declaring a state of emergency in multiple counties on the day of the solar eclipse due to the massive amount of people coming to the state.. Seems kinda strange its not like we havent had tons of people come here before for superbowls and things like this, the last eclipse was a "heh, cool, okay back to work" moment for me.

I just find it so odd the news is telling us to stock up for a solar eclipse...