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Michie · Apr 16, 2024

Most of the men scheduled to be ordained as priests in the United States in 2024 are 31 years old or younger, according to the latest research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

The Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) commissioned the annual survey of ordinands to the priesthood.

A total of 392 ordinands completed the survey. CARA says four in five respondents (83 percent) were from a diocesan or eparchy, and one in six respondents (17 percent) was a religious. The biggest group of responding ordinands (38 percent) is completing studies at one of the seminaries in the Midwest.

The statement from CARA listed some other characteristics of the Ordination Class of 2024, including:

Continued below.

Most new U.S. priests ordained in 2024 will be 31 years old or younger

Most of the men scheduled to be ordained as priests in the United States in 2024 are 31 years old or younger, according to the latest research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

cruxnow.com

Kokavkrystallos · Apr 16, 2024

Heart Religion Praised by God

True religion must never expect to be popular. It will not have the praise of man, but of God. I dare not turn away from this part of my subject, however painful it may be. Anxious as I am to commend heart-religion to everyone who reads this, I will not try to conceal what heart-religion entails. I will not gain a recruit for my Master’s army under false pretences. I will not promise anything which the Scripture does not warrant. The words of Paul are clear and unmistakable. Heart-religion is a religion “whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

God’s truth and scriptural Christianity are never really popular. They never have been. They never will be as long as the world stands. No one can calmly consider what human nature is, as described in the Bible, and reasonably expect anything else. As long as man is what man is, the majority of mankind will always like a religion of form far better than a religion of heart.

Formal religion exactly suits an unenlightened conscience. Some religion a man will have. Atheism and downright infidelity, as a general rule, are never very popular. But a man must have a religion which does not require much, trouble his heart much, interfere with his sins much. Formal Christianity satisfies him. It seems the very thing that he wants.

Formal religion gratifies the secret self-righteousness of man. We are all of us more or less Pharisees. We all naturally cling to the idea that the way to be saved is to do so many things, go through so many religious observances, and at last we shall get to heaven. Formalism meets us here. It seems to show us a way by which we can make our own peace with God.

Formal religion pleases the natural indolence of man. It attaches an excessive importance to that which is the easiest part of Christianity—the shell and the form. Man likes this. He hates trouble in religion. He wants something which will not meddle with his conscience and inner life. Only leave conscience alone and, like Herod, he will do “many things” (Mar 6:20). Formalism seems to open a wider gate and a more easy way to heaven. Facts speak louder than assertions.

Facts are stubborn things. Look over the history of religion in every age of the world and observe what has always been popular. Look at the history of Israel from the beginning of Exodus to the end of the Acts of the Apostles, and see what has always found favor. Formalism was one main sin against which the Old Testament prophets were continually protesting. Formalism was the great plague which had overspread the Jews when our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world. Look at the history of the Church of Christ after the days of the apostles. How soon formalism ate out the life and vitality of the primitive Christians! Look at the Middle Ages, as they are called. Formalism so completely covered the face of Christendom that the gospel lay as one dead. Look, lastly, at the history of Protestant churches in the last three centuries. How few are the places where religion is a living thing! How many are the countries where Protestantism is nothing more than a form! We cannot avoid taking notice of these things. They speak with a voice of thunder. They all show that formal religion is a popular thing. It has the praise of man.

But why should we look at facts in history? Why should we not look at facts under our own eyes and by our own doors? Can anyone deny that a mere outward religion, a religion of downright formality, is the religion which is popular at the present day? It is not for nothing that John says of certain false teachers, “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them” (1Jo 4:5). Only say your prayers, go to church with tolerable regularity, and receive the sacrament occasionally, and the vast majority will set you down as an excellent Christian. “What more would you have?” they say: “If this is not Christianity, what is?” To require more of anyone is thought bigotry, illiberality, fanaticism, and enthusiasm! To insinuate a doubt whether such a man as this will go to heaven is called the height of uncharitableness! When these things are so, it is vain to deny that formal religion is popular. It is popular. It always was popular. It always will be popular till Christ comes again. It always has had and always will have “the praise of men.”

Turn now to the religion of the heart and you will hear a very different report. As a general rule it has never had the good word of mankind. It has entailed on its professors laughter, mockery, ridicule, scorn, contempt, enmity, hatred, slander, persecution, imprisonment, and even death. Its lovers have been faithful and ardent—but they have always been few. It has never had, comparatively, “the praise of man.”

Heart-religion is too humbling to be popular. It leaves natural man no room to boast. It tells him that he is a guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinner, and that he must flee to Christ for salvation. It tells him that he is dead, and must be made alive again and be born of the Spirit. The pride of man rebels against such tidings as these. He hates to be told that his case is so bad.

Heart-religion is too holy to be popular. It will not leave natural man alone. It interferes with his worldliness and his sins. It requires of him things that he loathes and abominates: conversion, faith, repentance, spiritual-mindedness, Bible reading, prayer. It bids him give up many things that he loves and clings to, and cannot make up his mind to lay aside. It would be strange indeed if he liked it. It crosses his path as a killjoy and a marplot, and it is absurd to expect that he will be pleased.

Was heart-religion popular in Old Testament times? We find David complaining: “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards” (Psa 69:12). We find the prophets persecuted and ill-treated because they preached against sin, and required men to give their hearts to God. Elijah, Micaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, are all cases in point. To formalism and ceremonialism the Jews never seem to have made objection. What they did dislike was serving God with their hearts.

Was heart-religion popular in New Testament times? The whole history of our Lord Jesus Christ’s ministry and the lives of His apostles are a sufficient answer. The scribes and Pharisees would have willingly received a Messiah who encouraged formalism, and a gospel which exalted ceremonialism. But they could not tolerate a religion of which the first principles were humiliation and sanctification of heart.

Has heart-religion ever been popular in the professing church of Christ during the last eighteen centuries? Never hardly, except in the early centuries when the primitive church had not left her first love. Soon, very soon, the men who protested against formalism and sacramentalism were fiercely denounced as “troublers of Israel.” Long before the Reformation, things came to this pass—that anyone who cried up heart-holiness and cried down formality was treated as a common enemy. He was either silenced, excommunicated, imprisoned, or put to death like John Huss (1369-1415). In the time of the Reformation itself, the work of Luther (1483-1546) and his companions was carried on under an incessant storm of calumny and slander. And what was the cause? It was because they protested against formalism, ceremonialism, monkery, and priestcraft, and taught the necessity of heart-religion.

Has heart-religion ever been popular in our own land in days gone by? Never, excepting for a little season. It was not popular in the days of Queen Mary, when Latimer (c.1487-1555) and his brother martyrs were burned. It was not popular in the days of the Stuarts, when to be a Puritan was worse for a man than to get drunk or swear. It was not popular in the middle of the eighteenth century, when Wesley (1703-1791) and Whitefield (1714-1770) were shut out of the established church. The cause of our martyred Reformers, of the early Puritans and of the Methodists, was essentially one and the same. They were all hated because they preached the uselessness of formalism, and the impossibility of salvation without repentance, faith, regeneration, spiritual-mindedness, and holiness of heart.

Is heart-religion popular at this very day? I answer sorrowfully that I do not believe it is. Look at the followers of it among the laity. They are always comparatively few in number. They stand alone in their respective congregations and parishes. They have to put up with many hard things, hard words, hard imputations, hard treatment, laughter, ridicule, slander, and petty persecution. This is not popularity! Look at the teachers of heart-religion in the pulpit. They are loved and liked, no doubt, by the few hearers who agree with them. They are sometimes admired for their talents and eloquence by the many who do not agree with them. They are even called “popular preachers” because of the crowds who listen to their preaching. But none know so well as the faithful teachers of heart-religion that few really like them. Few really help them. Few sympathize with them. Few stand by them in any time of need. They find, like their divine Master, that they must work almost alone. I write these things with sorrow, but I believe they are true. Real heart-religion today, no less than in days gone by, has not “the praise of men” (Joh 12:43).

But after all, it signifies little what man thinks and what man praises. He that judgeth us is the Lord. Man will not judge us at the last day. Man will not sit on the great white throne, examine our religion, and pronounce our eternal sentence. Those only whom God commends will be commended at the bar of Christ. Here lies the value and glory of heart-religion. It may not have the praise of man, but it has “the praise of God” (Joh 12:43).

God approves and honors heart-religion in the life that now is. He looks down from heaven, and reads the hearts of all the children of men. Wherever He sees heart-repentance for sin, heart-faith in Christ, heart-holiness of life, heart-love to His Son, His Law, His will, and His Word—wherever God sees these things He is well pleased. He writes a book of remembrance for that man, however poor and unlearned he may be. He gives His angels special charge over him. He maintains in him the work of grace and gives him daily supplies of peace, hope, and strength. He regards him as a member of His own dear Son, as one who is witnessing for the truth as His Son did. Weak as the man’s heart may seem to himself, it is the living sacrifice which God loves, and the heart which He has solemnly declared He will not despise. Such praise is worth more than the praise of man!

God will proclaim His approval of heart-religion before the assembled world at the last day. He will command His angels to gather together His saints, from every part of the globe, into one glorious company. He will raise the dead and change the living and place them at the right hand of His beloved Son’s throne. Then all that have served Christ with the heart shall hear Him say: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mat 25:34). “Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Mat 25:23). Ye confessed Me before men, and I will confess you before my Father and His holy angels. “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me” (Luk 22: 28-29). These words will be addressed to none but those who have given Christ their hearts! They will not be addressed to the formalist, the hypocrite, the wicked, and the ungodly. They will, indeed, stand by and see the fruits of heart-religion, but they will not eat of them. We shall never know the full value of heart-religion until the last day. Then and only then we shall fully understand how much better it is to have the praise of God than the praise of man.

If you take up heart-religion, I cannot promise you the praise of man. Pardon, peace, hope, guidance, comfort, consolation, grace according to your need, strength according to your day, joy which the world can neither give nor take away—all this I can boldly promise to the man who comes to Christ and serves Him with his heart. But I cannot promise him that his religion will be popular with man. I would rather warn him to expect mockery and ridicule, slander and unkindness, opposition and persecution. There is a cross belonging to heart-religion and we must be content to carry it. “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Act 14:22). “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2Ti 3:12). But if the world hates you, God will love you. If the world forsakes you, Christ has promised that He will never forsake and never fail. Whatever you may lose by heart-religion, be sure that the praise of God will make up for all. And now I close with three plain words of application. I want it to strike and stick to the conscience of everyone into whose hands it falls. May God make it a blessing to many a soul both in time and eternity!

- J. C. Ryle, from Formality

Chapel Library

www.chapellibrary.org

tonychanyt · Apr 16, 2024

Psalm 14:

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
3They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Psalm 53:

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

Foolish people deny God. They are no good.

Romans 3:

10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.

They are foolish. They all sin against God.

However, by the grace of God, some are not so foolish, Genesis 6:

9b Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

Job 1:

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and *upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Genesis 15:

6 Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Lk 2:

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Is there anyone who seeks God?

Jesus commanded everyone to do so, Matthew 6:

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 7:

7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

In their natural state, people are selfish and deny God. No one is righteous without God's grace. People can seek and find Him by God's grace.

See also

RabbiJames · Apr 16, 2024

2 KINGS 4:42-5:19

We read about “Naaman” the Syrian who was healed of his Tzara-at, whatever kind he had, He was healed, not because of anything he could pay Elisha, but because of what he did in OBEDIENCE and FAITH. He went and bathed in the River Jordan, when down 7 times, again, “7” is YHVH’s perfect number, symbolizing baptism in a way. When he came up the seventh time, he was healed of his disease.

We also see that Gehezi, Elisha’s servant was stricken with “Tzara-at” because of his selfish motives and because he lied to his master. So, what do we see in the motives of Gehezi? Outwardly, he was clean, with no disease, yet he was selfish and greedy inside. When he approached Namaan and asked for gifts, Namaan gave him clothes and 132 pounds of silver.(2 talents, 66 pounds = one talent) Perhaps this made Namaan think that his healing cost him that, or that this was an "offering petitioned." (By Gehezi, not by Elisha).

God's healings are always free, and never should a servant of God ask someone for money in exchange for prayer, for healing, or for favors, for helping out a needy person. Namaan, who was sincere, was now clean inside and outside. Gehezi, who appeared clean on the outside, was now diseased on the outside as well as inside. One can have spiritual leprosy which can be worse than the physical malady.

We can become clean inside when we obey God’s Word, and accept Yeshua as Savior and LORD, Yeshua is the “Living Water” and when we “bathe in Him” we become clean, our “Tamei” becomes “tahor”

LUKE 17:11-17

Not the official Parashah reading, but this deals also with the healing of 10 who suffered from some skin ailment, which made them “Tamei” and “outcasts”. Yeshua healed them all, only for the asking, YET only ONE returned to say “thanks”. Do we take our Salvation for granted? Do we think we deserve it? Remember that only through the grace of YHVH does he allow us into HIS family.

Do we really live like children of the King, or….do we succumb to the deceiver and lair of all times? Do we praise and thank Him for so great a gift such as YESHUAH (Salvation)? do we thank and praise YESHUA for YESHUAH? Something to think about.

Being children of the KING is an honor. If we are HIS kids, then, are we following his family rules and regulations? Yeshua said; "If ye love me, obey my commandments."

Have a blessed week,

Ben Avraham

Michie · Apr 16, 2024

Catholics should hesitate before getting on the Jordan Peterson bandwagon.

We live in a period of mass deception. We cannot trust politicians, be they establishment or anti-establishment. Even anti-establishment figures such as RFK Jr., Donald Trump, and Javier Milei, all of whom I have praised in the past, have shown inconsistencies with what originally made them appealing and seemingly authentic figures. Here are just a few examples: RFK Jr. chose Nicole Shanahan, who helped finance Event 201, as his running mate; Trump launched the Covid vaccine Warp Speed program, resulting in unprecedented deaths and extremely harmful side effects for an allegedly safe and effective vaccine; and Milei recently instituted a mandatory registry for Bitcoin and all crypto currencies.

Another anti-establishment figure, Jordan Peterson, is no exception. As the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold.

I have met Peterson twice, and both times he was very congenial and open. I have written many articles about him, some published on Crisis, a chapter in an academic book, and elsewhere. I also reviewed 12 Rules for Life quite favorably. I have always tried my best to have a balanced view of Peterson, or any thinker or influencer for that matter. In contrast to some I have introduced to Peterson’s work, including academics who idolize him and place him on a pedestal, I take a balanced approach, offering both praise (as I have done in some of my past articles) and criticism when it’s due.

Continued below.

Why We Should Be Cautious of Jordan Peterson

Catholics should hesitate before getting on the Jordan Peterson bandwagon.

crisismagazine.com

Pop D. · Apr 16, 2024

"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord."- Proverbs 16:33

So does this mean, when making decisions on what to do, if I pray to the Lord to speak to me through the results of coin flips, will He do it?

9Rock9 · Apr 16, 2024

What are the differences between these Anabaptist groups when it comes to doctrines, practices and lifestyles?

Kokavkrystallos · Apr 16, 2024

Hosea 6:1-3,
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

"Everything in the New Testament accords with this Old Testament picture. Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day.

This Flame of the Presence was the beating heart of the Levitical order. Without it all the appointments of the tabernacle were characters of some unknown language; they had no meaning for Israel or for us. The greatest fact of the tabernacle was that Jehovah was there; a Presence was waiting within the veil. Similarly the Presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His Presence. That type of Christianity which happens now to be the vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress the Christian's privilege of present realization. According to its teachings we are in the Presence of God positionally, and nothing is said about the need to experience that Presence actually. The fiery urge that drove men like McCheyne is wholly missing. And the present generation of Christians measures itself by this imperfect rule. Ignoble contentment takes the place of burning zeal. We are satisfied to rest in our judicial possessions and for the most part we bother ourselves very little about the absence of personal experience.

Who is this within the veil who dwells in fiery manifestations? It is none other than God Himself, "One God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible," and "One Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God; begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God; begotten, not made; being of one substance with the Father," and "the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified." Yet this holy Trinity is One God, for "we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the glory equal and the majesty co-eternal." So in part run the ancient creeds, and so the inspired Word declares.

Behind the veil is God, that God after Whom the world, with strange inconsistency, has felt, "if haply they might find Him." He has discovered Himself to some extent in nature, but more perfectly in the Incarnation; now He waits to show Himself in ravishing fullness to the humble of soul and the pure in heart.

The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged. This would burn away the impurities from our lives as the bugs and fungi were burned away by the fire that dwelt in the bush." - AW Tozer, from The Pursuit of God

Entering in is a key thing he mentions here, and this takes time, and a little effort. Or more than a little effort. Note in the passage from Hosea "After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." There is some time elapsing here. This is not an instantaneous reviving. It is as I posted earlier today about tarrying and watching, or waiting on the LORD; praying through.

We need to let go of the modern type Christianity we may have bought into. If you haven't that's great! But so many, including myself at one time bought into the easy road - which Jesus never ever taught. My Yoke is easy and my burden is light, He did say, but in Him we have joy that it should seem that way. More often He spoke of the cross, and self denial, and persecution: blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven: blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Getting rid of that mindset "we all make mistakes" is another thing. I hear it all the time. It's not scriptural. Read through 1 John, slowly and meditatively. See how many times it talks about keeping His commandments and not sinning. Repentance is lacking, and when true repentance is received and experienced, such a joy floods the soul! The Word of God should then open up unto you, as Job declared that he esteemed the Word more than his necessary food. Amen!

Let the Word as that Sword do its cutting and dividing and piercing through, that it reveal and cut out all sin: for it has the power to reveal and convict, and to root up sin, that ye live no longer in it, nor to the flesh, and no longer obey the lusts thereof.
Enter that veil Tozer speaks of. It is a glorious place, and Christ made the way for us to apprehend it.

Kokavkrystallos · Apr 16, 2024

(Hopefully this is the right forum for this.)

Your Church is Going to Die

BY CLINT CLIFTON

People rarely consider how churches begin and almost never consider how they end. Churches, just like people, have lifecycles. They are born and they die. Where is your church in its lifecycle?
Have you ever considered how close your church is to death? In his book, “The Unstuck Church: Equipping Churches to Experience Sustained Health” Tony Morgan describes seven stages of a church’s life.

Launch
Momentum Growth
Strategic Growth
Sustained health
Maintenance
Preservation
Life Support

Where is your church in this lifecycle?

People rarely consider how churches begin and almost never consider how they end. Churches, just like people, have lifecycles. They are born and they die. They close their doors, they sell their buildings, they liquidate their assets, and they stop gathering.

If you don’t believe me, get on a plane to Jerusalem and look for the church first pastored by James. Then skip over to Turkey and see if you can find the church at Antioch still meeting. Those churches are closed, disbanded and scattered. American churches are closing too, and not just one or two at a time – they are closing by the thousands. This Sunday morning when you go to church, about 135 fewer American churches will be gathering than gathered the same time last week. That’s 600 churches disbanding every month – and 7,000 churches vanishing every year.

Western Europe experienced drastic changes over the course of the 20th century. During the 1960s, it experienced terminal decline of virtually all its large, organized churches and the pervasive Christian culture, which influenced Western Europe for centuries, virtually disappeared. Today the streets of major cities throughout Western Europe are peppered with church buildings that lasted longer than the congregations that erected them. Hundreds of church buildings are now being used as restaurants, nightclubs, concert venues, cafés, modern condominiums, museums and mosques. They stand as stark proof that western culture is spitting Christianity out of its mouth.

The change is not really that shocking if you think about it. Churches are made up of sinners, and sin kills everything it touches. If sinners are going to church, churches will be dying. If churches are dying, new churches are necessary. Every year in America about 4,000 evangelical churches begin. Of those started, 35% close before their 5th anniversary, leaving about 2,600 new churches planted annually. While churches are dying at a significantly higher rate, each year in the U.S. approximately 7,000 churches close their doors forever. All things considered, the number of churches in the U.S. is decreasing by about 4,400 churches per year, while our population is growing by about 3 million people per year.

How is the American church responding to the crisis? We are spending countless millions of dollars erecting buildings that likely will outlast the congregations that erect them. We are building the nightclubs and mosques of tomorrow, while tossing pennies to the establishment of new churches.

As you get busy with your work, you will be tempted to find the measure of your success based on the number of people you successfully gather for worship. Please keep in mind that the mission of the church was to scatter, not to gather. Instead of measuring the success of your church by the harvest you gather, concentrate your energy and measure your success based on the seed that you scatter.

Churches have a life cycle and eventually die, and one day yours will too. My prayer is that you would plant a church vigorously committed to planting other new churches. I pray you will stretch the faith of your people, not so they can have a larger building to worship in, but that Christ may have a larger kingdom of worshipers.

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 8, 2021

Your Church is Going to Die

People rarely consider how churches begin and almost never consider how they end. Churches, just like people, have lifecycles. They are born and they die. Where is your church in its lifecycle?

www.newchurches.com

I know it's just a building, but it's sad. I've seen my former church torn down, or sold and become something else. It makes you wonder what became of the real church that congregated in that building: the body of Christ, as something that old probably did have memebres of the body of Christ in attendance. Today, there are lot's of churches where it's another body and another Spirit, but I'm not talking about that.

Harley. · Apr 16, 2024

For example, I used to have this thing where I would suddenly, OUT OF NOWHERE get a thought saying something like "You're going to get cancer soon". This was an actual thought I got once. And the only way to stop this event (whatever it was at the time) from happening was I had to keep repeating this prayer until I said it perfectly. Once that had been done (Which could take half an hour, sometimes longer) it meant I had "Convinced" God not to give me cancer...yeah...I was a pretty weird kid. Idk what this was. Ive also had it where I could just be putting something down and ill get a thought "If you don't put that down 4 more times X will happen (Typically of some supernatural variant)". It scares me so much and its all the time. I remember being mocked as a kid for my repetitive actions. Ive had this for so long. Are either of these God?

Michie · Apr 16, 2024

Although spring is in the air, it's not always easy to get your home all shipshape, and here's why it doesn't have to be.

I recently read some comments on a Facebook thread where a woman asked for tips to make her home look unlived in. I must admit I was a little shocked, I personally want my home to look lived in (and it seriously does!). I hope it reflects my family’s life and personalities.

In fact, when visitors come to my home I want them to feel welcome and the warmth of my family. I don’t want them to feel they can’t relax or put something out of place. I definitely don’t want them to feel like they’re in a hotel environment.

I was therefore a little curious about the woman’s desire for a sterile home. I looked down through the comments and saw a mixture of replies. Some people gave no judgment and just passed on some tips. Others shared they wanted the same help, and others couldn’t believe why anybody would want to live in an “unlived” in home.

The woman explained in reply to the comments that she suffers from anxiety, and for her to feel at her best she needs zero dirt or clutter. That’s totally understandable. However, it made me think about the pressure we might feel to have the insta-perfect home. Where the whole house is carefully curated, pristine, and not one item is out of place.

And this pressure seems to mount around this time of year with the expectation we should be embarking on a spring clean.

The call to clean

Continued below.

For parents finding it too difficult to spring clean

Although spring is in the air, it's not always easy to get your home all shipshape, and here's why it doesn't have to be. Although spring is in the air, it's not always easy to get your home all shipshape, and here's why it doesn't have to be.

aleteia.org

tonychanyt · Apr 16, 2024

I don't know because Sola Scriptura is not a term found in the Bible. I neither believe nor disbelieve Sola Scriptura. I prefer to stick to the wording of the Bible in my thinking. I know the following:

Matthew 23:

1 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

Listen to the scribes and the Pharisees.

2 Thessalonians 2:

15 brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Listen to Paul's teachings.

At the time of the apostles, in addition to the recognized Scripture, followers also paid attention to the spoken words of their contemporary authorities. They should check whatever the authorities said against the Scriptures. Jesus scolded the authorities in Mark 7:

9b “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!"

Are kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts really all the same plant?

Have you ever heard of the plant Brassica oleracea?

www.livescience.com

Michie · Apr 15, 2024

A video of the attack has circulated online showing a man dressed in black approaching Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel as he preaches and stabbing the bishop several times at the altar in Christ The Good Shepherd Orthodox Church.

Bishop Mar Mari of the Assyrian Orthodox Church seconds before being stabbed by an assailant while preaching

Editor’s note: The following contains video footage of the stabbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

Continued below.

Prominent Orthodox bishop stabbed in Australia by reported Islamic extremist - LifeSite

A video of the attack has circulated online showing a man dressed in black approaching Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel as he preaches and stabbing the bishop several times at the altar in Christ The Good Shepherd Orthodox Church.

www.lifesitenews.com

Macchiato · Apr 15, 2024

I feel I Need it bc the depression and anxiety I deal with is overwhelming.

For those on meds , how did you get over the fear? I just wanna cry all the time, I feel I'm always anxious, Don't want to eat. I also feel like there's more than anxiety/depsson at play. I'm afraid of passing out or having a heart attack bc of the immense anxiety I feel.

I'm afraid of being a bit more mentally ill. I'm not sure how to cope or come to term with needing meds.

I'm afraid, once I take them it may not work, mess me up mentally to the point I'm not myself or ill have horrid side effcts.

Michie · Apr 15, 2024

A Catholic priest who serves at St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Amarillo, Texas, was pepper-sprayed while hearing confessions last week, according to a statement from the parish.

The parish said in a statement on Facebookthat “someone dealing with mental health issues” sprayed rector Father Tony Neusch with the irritant while he was hearing confessions.

Police are investigating the incident. It’s unclear whether officers have identified a suspect at this time.

“I am okay and do not require medical attention,” Neusch said in the statement.

Continued below.

Catholic priest pepper-sprayed during confessions at Texas cathedral

The parish said in a statement that “someone dealing with mental health issues” sprayed rector Father Tony Neusch with the irritant while he was hearing confessions.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

9Rock9 · Apr 15, 2024

I have a couple of job interviews this week. Please pray I do well on them.

rambot · Apr 15, 2024

Massive Asian concern. 36 Billion investment and all Texas is getting out of this is a puny little Semiconductor plant.

As if America needed that.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/15/1244716743/biden-samsung-texas-semiconductor-chips

It's interesting that they chose to put this plant in Texas. I wonder if the Texas GOP will find a way to complain OR find a way to be happy.

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