When I was a new believer years ago, we sang the following song in Sunday school class:

I Am Covered Over With The Robe of Righteousness

"I am covered over with the robe of righteousness that
Jesus gives to me, gives to me;

I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus
And he lives in me, lives in me,

Oh what joy it is to know my Heavenly Father loves me so,
He gives to me, my Jesus.

And when He looks at me He sees not what I used to be, but
He sees Jesus, Jesus."

I enjoyed the song and it certainly seemed Scripturally correct, but I always struggled with the last line: "He sees Jesus, Jesus".

My problem was not with "who I USED to be", but who I still was in the flesh - an utter wretch. Though I understood theologically that I was in a daily war between the new creation and the old sinful nature, I just couldn't comprehend how God could see Jesus when He looked at me.

The Lord finally led me to the one Scripture that settled it for me:

Galatians 23:26-27 NIV

"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

Now it made sense what the "robe of righteousness" actually was - Jesus Himself! This opened up other Scripture, especially:

Jude 1:24-35 ESV

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

This is why we who are believers are not to have a "fearful expectation of judgement" because we are destined to be presented to Him "blameless" with "great joy" because we are "clothed with Christ".

When He sees us He sees Jesus, indeed!

Thoughts?

While the issue has not moved forward in the Senate, the Florida House on Friday passed a controversial bill that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and shotguns.

The Republican-controlled House voted 76-35 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 1223), which would reverse a decision that raised the minimum age after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, has repeatedly said the Senate doesn’t have a similar bill, meaning the proposed age change will not pass during this year’s legislative session.

So in the pass I have tried dating sites, but only being somewhat literal with modern technology I have had great problems with loading up photos. Has anyone else had this problem and more importantly can someone explain to me how to do this?

A few days late for this, but Finland's new president Alexander Stubb has now officially become the 13th president of Finland. In a ceremony held on 1st of March, power was handed over to him from outgoing President Niinistö, after having served full 12 years in office.

In his first speech as president, Stubb talked about the current world situation, Finland's membership in NATO and about ensuring peace.

John 3:18 NIV
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

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What does it mean to believe in a name?

Wouldn't that also include everything the person stands for, therefore His words also?


I think that given the following context:

Deuteronomy 18:18-19 Acts 3:23
"I will raise them up a prophet .....whosoever will not hearken unto him will be destroyed from among the people"

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John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

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Matthew 7:26 "everyone that hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them,
shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand...."

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"and they were astonished at His doctrine for He taught as one with authority" Matthew 7:28

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"whoever transgresses (disobeys the Torah) and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God,
he that abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son" 2 John 1:9-10

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"My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me" John 10:27

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"I say unto you that hear....."
"Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say?"
Luke 6:27-49

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"He that has my commands and keeps them, he it is that loves me...
He that does not keep my commands does not love me"
John 14:21-24

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"if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let that person be Anathema! Oh Lord come!"
1 Corinthians 16:22

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Given that context I think John 3:18 is better understood in this manner:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the word of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.



What are your thoughts?

Psalm 25 NIV

1In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord, is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!

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Make My Life A Prayer To You - Keith Green

Make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers no compromise
I wanna shine the light You gave
Through your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know You're really there

Well I wanna thank You now
For being patient with me
Oh it's so hard to see
When my eyes are on me
I guess I'll have to trust
And just believe what You say
Oh You're coming again
Coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave to me
The love that set me free
I wanna tell the world out there
You're not some fable or fairy tale
That I've made up inside my head
You're God the Son and You've risen from the dead

Well I wanna thank You now
For being patient with me
Oh it's so hard to see
When my eyes are on me
I guess I'll have to trust
And just believe what You say
Oh You're coming again
Coming to take me away

I wanna die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave to me
I wanna share the love that set me free

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Melody Green
Make My Life a Prayer to You lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

In case anyone on this forum is familiar with the church, Chambersburg Christian Fellowship (located in south central PA), which is the church that David Bercot attends, does anyone know of a church with the same or very similar beliefs and teachings that is located in or near the Kansas City, MO area (such as within an or so drive)?

As a family, we are looking to come to the UK for a period of one to three months, is there any possibility that you can help us with accommodation for part of or all of the period.

If you can or know of anyone who can, please let us know.

We would also be looking to share with your church about the situation in China

Please pray about this.

Thanks

Keith Helen and Sherry

There would be three of us

We can know that we belong to the Lord if we understand His Mysterious Plan, hidden since the beginning.

Colossians 1:25-26 NIV - "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people."

As the Scripture states, the Lord's people have been disclosed this Plan. Therefore, and as suggested, you can know that you belong to the Lord if you know this Plan as it existed since the beginning.

How has the Plan been kept hidden? In how many different ways? Furthermore, why was the Plan kept hidden?

If we will take the time to figure these things out . . . our understanding of the True Saving, Gospel Plan of Christ will be revealed to you.

The following video talks about my thoughts on Putin, Israel, and the need for brotherly love.

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Lately have been praying to him as "God". I feel it works for me a lot better. I had thoughts of Jesus being the mediator between us and god, wondering if maybe praying directly to Jesus might be a mistake?

I think i've had a sort of Jesus burnout. Not saying I don't believe in Jesus, I just think that praying directly to God works better for me and allows me to stay interested in good things like morality, repentance, seeking forgiveness and just being an overall better person.

In context of the gospel, it is widely believed that sin (from the perspective of an increase of rebellion towards God) was not, and still not, a hindrance to faith - once someone is presented with the gospel itself; although what I'm alluding to primarily concerns the time when Christ Himself was ministering the truth. Now while I'm not necessarily saying this is wrong (or right), how do you understand this in light of what Jesus told Nicodemus:

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

If Christ is that light that came into the world (which He is), it is illustrating rather candidly that the world's inability to believe in Him is because of their evil deeds, while also implying right after that those who believe do so because they come to the light (as something that illuminates the works of man - something that Christ surely did) out of the confidence that they practice the truth, and want full assurance that their works are approved of God. How do you reconcile this with statements such as: there is none righteous, there is none that seeks after God, and all their righteousness is as filthy rags? Who are those who practice the truth and by consequence of doing so come to Christ?

Scientists have discovered why humans no longer have tails

Around 25 million years ago, an evolutionary split occurred between our ancestors, the precursors of humans and apes, and monkeys, resulting in the loss of tails in our lineage. However, the genetic mutation responsible for this significant transformation has remained elusive until now.

In a new study published in Nature, researchers unveiled a unique DNA mutation linked to the disappearance of ancestral tails. This mutation resides within the TBXT gene, which plays a role in tail length regulation in tailed animals.

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The details:

In the latest study, researchers identified two Alu elements within the TBXT gene exclusive to great apes, absent in monkeys. Interestingly, these elements reside in introns, sections of DNA flanking exons that were traditionally deemed non-functional "dark matter." However, when the TBXT gene produces RNA, the repetitive nature of Alu sequences causes them to bind together, resulting in the removal of an entire exon during RNA splicing.

Experimentation involving the introduction of these Alu elements {repetitive DNA sequences unique to primates, which can introduce variability by inserting themselves into the genome} into mice revealed a loss of tails, mirroring the evolutionary transition observed in humans and apes. Notably, this finding supports the hypothesis that tail loss facilitated the evolution of bipedalism in humans, a crucial adaptation.

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God tells Cain to get out of Dodge and Cain starts freaking out , saying , " Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

Why does he think people want to kill him ?.......is he suffering from some kind of paranoid schizophrenia or something.
There is no record that anyone tried to kill him , and he even meets a woman and she doesn't kill him but becomes his wife.

So i'm thinking he must be delusional and God would know this too , because God knows the future and would have seen that nobody was going to kill Cain , so do you think it's possible that when God said , ]“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
God was simply catering to Cains paranoid mind and just told him this to make him feel better , meaning there was no actual mark.

Of late, my friend @Ain't Zwinglian has posted a number of interesting and important threads defending the practice of the infants and children against the attacks of the credobaptists who believe that only “Believer’s Baptism” of adults, and in some cases, older children or adolescents, is admissable.

Now despite one of my ancestors being among the first Baptist pilgrims in the New World, I reject wholeheartedly the Baptist position that only “Believer’s Baptism” is admisable.

I wanted to post a thread in concordance with the threads posted by my friend @Ain't Zwinglian and also certain interesting and correct posts by my friend @ViaCrucis to address the baptism of children and infants from a Patristic and Oriental perspective, that is to say, from the consensus existing between early writings of the Greek and Syrian Fathers, and the contemporary baptismal praxis of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and the Assyrian Church of the East and Ancient Church of the East, as well as the related and usually identical practices of most of the sui juris Eastern Catholic churches, as well as what I can assume to be, or at least to have been at one time, the praxis of traditional Protestant churches operating in the Middle East and in South India.

It is specifically the case that the Orthodox practice the baptism of infants, children and adults alike using three-fold immersions, with the energumen (catechumen ready to be baptized) being baptized in this manner: by being fully immersed, or in the case of infants, at least thoroughly splashed (although a safe technique does exist for full immersion without a risk of drowning through aspiration of water in the font, but this is taught in seminaries and I would not encourage anyone to do this except with a trained Orthodox parish priest who has children of their own and is experienced in this baptismal technique either conducting the baptism or concelebrating the baptism and supervising a younger priest; monastic clergy in some cases do a number of baptisms and in other cases have little or no experience, and it is a combination of training and experience in either conducting such baptisms or in supervising them that ensures their safety. To my knowledge, in the United States, the Orthodox churches have a perfect safety record. The only mishap I am aware of involving the immersion of an infant occured in Moldova in 2009 and was considered and prosecuted as the equivalent of first degree murder, for it was intentional malpractice, but unfortunately it did not occur to the family that the young clergyman conducting the service was mishandling the infant by holding them submerged under the water until the infant had in fact drowned, in a regrettable case of homicide, which it should also be noted that one of the two Eastern Orthodox churches operating in Moldova may be schismatic and irregular, and the area is canonically disputed between the Romanians, the Ukrainians and the Russians and so is something of an ecclesiastical minefield, and the sort of area where if such a dreadful mishap were most likely to occur.

It is generally possible to perform the threefold immersion of infants however without actually submerging their face, and in this manner it is done properly, and this can be done for example by seating the infant in the font and splashing them from behind.

In my observations, infants and young children enjoy being baptized, particularly if the water in the font is not excessively cold, and usually are happy to be blessed in this manner.

If an impediment exists which creates an aspiration hazard, for example, if the child has a tracheotomy, other alternative techniques can be used. I have heard that the Serbian Orthodox Church in particular is known for making frequent use of baptism by affusion (pouring) which might also be done perhaps in drought conditions if access to a suitable font or baptismal location is not easily obtained.

My main point in sharing this is to dispel what I believe is a common misconception among some proponents of Believer’s Baptism, that being that full immersion and the baptism of infants or young children are mutually exclusive. They are not, and this is why infants are normally baptized in the same manner as adults in the Orthodox churches.

I was not received by baptism but by Chrismation, and as a matter of fact my baptism was by aspersion, or sprinkling, most likely using a device using an aspergilium, which is also used in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches to bless the laity by splashing them with Holy Water. For the latter purpose, one can also use hyssop, or other plant matter (as in the case of the Syriac Orthodox Church, which I believe uses thoroughly inundated palm fronds, or similar large leaves, in their Kneeling Service on Pentecost Sunday).

Thus this post should not be regarded as proscriptive of non-immersive baptism but rather as prescriptive of the baptism of infants, however it is to be done, because it is the most ancient practice of the church in the Levant, Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Ethiopia and Eastern Europe, basically the territory of the surviving Orthodox and Assyrian churches, to baptize infants and children through three-fold triple immersion, as adult converts who are to be received by baptism are also baptized. Because the Nicene Creed includes a confession of one baptism, it is generally regarded as improper to rebaptize converts.

Secular version of how the lights came on

.

Church Militant, the controversial Catholic media outlet that has for years maintained a reputation for combative and antagonistic coverage of Catholic figures and issues, will cease operations next month following a $500,000 defamation judgment against it.

Boston-based law firm Todd & Weld said in a press release this week that Church Militant had “agreed to the entry of a judgment against it in the amount of $500,000” in a defamation lawsuit brought by Father Georges de Laire, the judicial vicar of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire.

The media outlet had run an article in 2019 titled “NH Vicar Changes Dogma Into Heresy,” one in which the author, canonist Marc Balestrieri, claimed to “have talked to a number of anonymous sources who allegedly made negative comments about Father de Laire both personally and professionally,” the law firm said.

De Laire brought suit against both Balestriei and Church Militant over the article. In the course of the lawsuit, both the writer and the outlet were “unable to identify a single source who said anything negative about Father de Laire,” Todd & Weld said.

Continued below.

John 6 many of Christ's disciples took his symbolism too literally and then they left Him...

66 As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him

========= They were taking Him too literally

41 So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 And they were saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”... 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.”

literally living bread falling down literally out of heaven... or possible the John 1 "Word" where the lesson of Manna is brought into John 6's discussion about manna -- "man does not live by bread alone but by every WORD the comes from the mouth of God" Deut 8:3


52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”...58 This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus says He is already bread - that already came down out of heaven and already is supposed to be eaten... not "some day in the future I will turn into bread and in the future you must eat my flesh".

66 As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him.

---- the real lesson of John 6

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
66 As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.

=============================

YET ANOTHER example where His followers were taking the symbol of BREAD too literally.

Matt 16:5 And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

In both Matt 16 and John 6 - bread is used as a symbol for teaching

John 6

Can you go to heaven if you have not received the holy Spirit? Before you answer remember we don't know those on the cross with Jesus had received the HS do we?

2 Cor3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

And the NEW Covenant according to Paul is the one we find quoted in Rom 8 from the OT in Jer 31:31-34

The Spirit does not delete "do not take God's name in vain" -- because under the NEW Covenant God WRITES the LAW of God on the heart see Jer 31:31-34

Instead of saying "go ahead and take My name in vain - I don't care about that any more... it was asking too much"

Without the transforming work of the Holy Spirit -- the one lead only by the flesh, only by the sinful nature - "DOES NOT submit to the LAW of God neither indeed CAN THEY" Rom 8:


2 Cor 3: 7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

As anyone who has studied the English language is able to see, in the above verses, the subject of those verses is the NEW Covenant vs the OLD Covenant - where both have the ten commandments. And in the case of the NEW Covenant of Jer 31:31-34 they are written on the heart by the SPIRIT - but under the OLD covenant they remains external - on tablets of stone alone.

Therefore under BOTH covenants it is always a sin "to take God's name in vain". But under the NEW Covenant - the New Heart (no longer the stony heart) that command is written on the heart - the new creation.

No wonder Paul states that in the distinct unit of TEN - "Honor your father and mother is the first commandment with a promise" Eph 6:2 and as such - still applies to all mankind.

Under the OLD Covenant that same Law known to Jeremiah and his readers in Jer 31:31-34 yet without the Spirit, without the gospel - merely condemns the sinner "for all have sinned" Rom 3:23 and "The ages of sin is death" Rom 6:23

Rom 3:19-20 reminds us that the Law of God places all the world under guilt, doomed -- and this is why all need the Gospel where that moral law of God is "written on heart and mind" and the power to act - is via the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.
==============================================

No wonder that BEFORE THE CROSS even happens - both Moses and Elijah stand in glory with Christ on the mount of transfiguration. The NEW Covenant of Jer 31:31-34 -

“Oak Flat is like Mount Sinai to us — our most sacred site where we connect with our Creator, our faith, our families and our land,” Wendsler Nosie Sr., an Apache elder and leader of the group, said in a statement. “Today’s ruling targets the spiritual lifeblood of my people, but it will not stop our struggle to save Oak Flat.”

Apache Stronghold had asked the court to block construction of the planned mine on the grounds that it would violate their constitutionally protected religious rights and an 1852 treaty between the United States and the Apache. The group said Oak Flat — on the edge of the Tonto National Forest outside Phoenix, not far from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation — is a unique and biodiverse archaeological site used for religious ceremonies they cannot hold anywhere else.

According to federal planning records, the multibillion-dollar mine would transform Oak Flat — which the Apache call Chí’chil Bildagoteel — into a nearly two-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep industrial crater to access one of the largest untapped copper ore deposits in the world.

In a 6-5 ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Daniel P. Collins wrote that Apache Stronghold’s religious claims failed because, while the government’s transfer of federal land to Resolution Copper would significantly interfere with their ability to practice their religion, it would not “coerce” them into acting contrary to their religious beliefs, “discriminate” against or “penalize” them, nor deny them rights or privileges afforded to other citizens.

Collins ... wrote that Apache Stronghold had not only asked for the government to allow their free exercise of religion, but for “de facto” ownership of a “rather spacious tract” of public property — a request he said had to be rejected.

In a dissent joined fully or in large part by the remaining judges of the panel, 9th Circuit Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia, an Obama appointee, wrote that the “utter destruction” of Oak Flat clearly represented a “substantial burden” on the Apache’s religious rights under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and should therefore be blocked

Several other judges wrote their own dissents and concurrences, as well — reflecting a diverse array of opinions in a complex case that has created strange bedfellows, uniting religious conservatives with liberal environmental activists

Is it just me or is everyone losing there mind lol

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We live in a day and time presently much like what was described for us in the Scriptures with regard to the last days before the return of Christ. And it appears to be getting much worse by the day. So, if we are at all observant about what is going on in the world and all around us and even within the gatherings of what are called “churches,” at least here in America, we should be able to see the signs of the times happening right before our eyes.

But there is a warning here for us lest we get caught off guard unaware of what is happening all around us and lest we are also unaware of its influence on our lives and that we may be deceived. For many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are deceived, and they are living in a dream world completely unaware of their surroundings and of what is really happening, much of it behind the scenes, but the evidence of which can be seen, if we will see.

But deception abounds today in the government, in the media, in the news, on social media, on the internet, on TV, on the radio, in movies, in TV shows, in advertisements, in social media memes, in “Christian” song lyrics, and in preachers’ sermons (talks), and in how “churches” are being formed and run these days, etc. Lies are everywhere. Anything can be faked, and much is. And anything can be doctored and altered, and much is, too.

So, we cannot take people and anything we hear or read or think we see at face value and believe them just because what we see or hear looks or sounds real. This is a time like none other in our history where we must absolutely test everything and everyone against the Scriptures (in context – critical) and in prayer to make certain that what we are hearing, reading, and seeing is real and that we are not being “taken for a ride,” so to speak.

For so many professing Christians are so easily believing the lies and thus they are indeed being weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of this life. And many are trapped in sexual idolatry and immorality and in lying and cheating and in taking advantage of others. And so many of them are so worldly to the point to where it is now barely distinguishable between the church and the world, for they look the same pretty much.

So we need to be people of discernment who test everything and everyone and who are listening to the Lord and who are students of the Scriptures who study them in their context. And we need to be those who are following the Lord Jesus in daily surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands in holy living and who are not living for self and for self-pleasure. In other words, we need to be spiritually awake and ready for our Lord’s return because we are remaining steadfast in faith and in practice in Him.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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