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Saved by Grace doesn't mean our works don't matter. Ephesian's over all context screams this.

The following text in Ephesians is to often ripped out of context to imply it doesn't matter what we do because we are saved by grace.

Eph 2:8.9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.



Ephesians 2, verse 10. It says we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God had before ordain that we should walk in. The fact that verse 10 starts with the word “for” Lets us know what is about to be said is the reason for what was just said. So the reason why It is not of works that we do is because we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God preordained that we should walk in. That we should be holy and without fault before Him in love. Eph. 1:4
Ephesians 4:24, says in context to us, being his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, that we are to put on the new man which, after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Then in context to us being his workmanship, and putting on the new man created in Christ Jesus, in righteousness and true holiness verse 25 in chapter 4 starts with the word wherefore. This shows us that there is a contingency or condition in respect to us, having put on the new man which, according to God, was created in righteousness and true holiness. It says for us to put off speaking falsehood. And that we are to speak truth with our neighbor, because we are one with one another. That when angry, we are not to sin and let the sun go down on our wrath. Giving no place for the devil. Then in verse 29 in relation to the quote above, it says, let no corrupt communication come out of our mouth. But only that which is good and edifying in respect to other people’s needs.
Then continuing, and in the same context, chapter 5 starts with be therefore imitators of God, and walk in love. Not letting fornication,uncleanness and covetousness be named among us but be as saints. For this, we know that no fornicator or unclean person or cuffs, who is an idolator has any inheritance in the kingdom of God and his Christ.
Be not deceived. Because of these things comes the wrath of God. Because they are disobedient. BE not partakers with them.

The Abundant Love I Have for You

“For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.” (2 Corinthians 2:1-4 ESV)

When we share the truth of the gospel, and when we refute the lies of the enemy, not everyone is going to thank us for that, not even all who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Many people will ignore us or will refute what we are teaching, for they have been taught a different gospel from what we are teaching. And they have been taught a different God, a different Jesus from the one we profess. And they have accepted a different “church” from the one we proclaim, too.

For they have been taught a God/Jesus Christ who does everything for them and who requires nothing of them, or else they will make his requirements optional as though they are mere suggestions or recommendations, but not requirements (commands). For I hear so many say, “This is how we are supposed to live, but of course, none of us live like that,” or something to that effect, as though that is okay to know the will of God for our lives and to refuse to do the will of God, if just by ignoring it.

But so many are teaching today that faith in Jesus Christ requires nothing of us, no works at all, no obedience to the Lord’s commands, and no forsaking of our sins. For again they claim that Jesus does it all and we are not required to do anything other than to “believe,” which is rarely biblically defined. For they forget that belief is persuasion of God and that it is gifted to us by God and that it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we don’t get to define belief. God does. His word does.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]

So how does what I am saying here fit with the passage of Scripture quoted? In every way! For Paul was a teacher and a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he taught the people the requirements of God, and he rebuked and corrected and disciplined those who refused to submit to God’s requirements and who chose to go their own path, instead. And that caused the people pain and suffering, because some truth is painful to receive. It does not make us feel good all over and shouting “Yippee!”

And this takes me to another part of this whole thing of teaching what the Scriptures teach with regard to how we are to live. It appears most people who profess faith in Jesus Christ don’t want to be reminded of how they are presently living and of what God requires of them in the way of holy living, and of how they need to change and go with God and not with their flesh. They regard such teachings as negative, judgmental, harsh, unloving, and intolerant, etc., and so they will just tune you out.

But if you read the New Testament, especially the epistles, that is what it largely teaches. And even the encouragements in the Scriptures have conditions attached to them. They are only for specific people who meet particular qualifications, and the qualifications are not just a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ, if read in full context. The qualifications are obedience and submission to Christ as Lord and the forsaking of our sins and walking in holiness and in righteousness.

But if you teach what the epistles taught, some of which even the people of Paul’s time considered negative, you might have other professers of faith in Jesus Christ regard you as someone who is generally negative and who gets pleasure out of correcting error and speaking truth. But look at Paul’s words here:

“For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.”

I promise you that is where I am, absolutely! I totally agree with what Paul said here. This is my motivation, too, for why I do what I do – that and obedience to my Lord and to his calling upon my life. I teach the truth of the Scriptures, even the hard truths, because that is what we need to hear, and that is what we need to obey if we are going to see God in eternity. And that is the ultimate in love and sacrifice knowing that we are going to be hated and rejected and ignored, in return, by the majority.

So, what is the gospel? The Scriptures teach us that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him and no longer for self. They teach that Jesus poured out his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so that we will now honor God with our bodies. And they teach that God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return.

They teach that by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and his righteousness. And Jesus taught that to come after him means denial of self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to his commands. But if we refuse, we will not have eternal life in him. And he taught that not everyone who calls him “Lord” is going to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Titus 2:11-14; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897


Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Every Morning You Greet Me

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
Every morning you greet me.
Meek and pure, truth and light,
You look pleased now to meet me.

Flourishing, growing in Him each day,
Live with Him forever.
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,
Blessed to know Him forever.

Based off the song “Edelweiss”

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Prayer for Work life

While I am grateful to have a job, it gets overwhelming sometimes with my supervisor & manager adding more workload onto my plate. It feels like I get used to some of the workload and then all the sudden more work is added. I am a supportive coworker and of course, know that I work for the Lord and not man but I need this to dissipate. I don't like feeling overwhelmed and then deadlines to certain projects. I like that they keep the lines of communication open. Please pray that it gets better in my company for us all. :prayer:

Please and thank you.

God bless.

-Angel David

no faithfulness in their mouth

Does anyone notice, every single person, speaking these days on this forum seems to be exactly as God testified for how people were before Jesus Christ came to save all, with no faithfulness in their mouth, showing great wickedness, and their throat only open graves, with nothing pure, clen or worhtwhile coming from them, and flattery or deceit from their tongues ...




Psalm 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

Psalm 10:7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

Psalm 36:3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.

Psalm 50:19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.


Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:



Notice the mouth of Christ is not deceptive as theirs, neither HIs followers are supposed to be as these forum talkers shows it is.



Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Zephaniah 3:13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Loving your neighbor as yourself? (and starving children)

So Christians would often tithe (give 10% or more to the church/etc) but what about loving your neighbor as yourself? Should you keep 50% of your money for yourself and 50% for your neighbors? Or the least amount you can survive on then the rest to people who really need it like starving children? (ones who end up dying of malnutrition)

Or are starving children not really that important and is spreading the gospel what is really important? Maybe children would go to heaven anyway since they might be too young to be accountable to God.

Is the job market and the USA economy good?



Hey Joe Biden, looks like Bidenomics ain't nearly as good as you and the rest of the ruling elitist class wants us Americans to believe!!
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IS JOHN 20:19-23 REAL ?The book of John

The book of John 20:19-23 says that the disciples can REMITT SIN ?

In verse 22 , Jesus breaths on the disciple and saith to them receive ye HOLY SPIRIT .

In verse 23 , whose sins ye REMITT , they are REMITTED unto them ;

and whose soever (( sins )) ye Retain , they are RETAINED .

How did the disciple REMIT SINS ??

dan p

פר בן בקר

פר בן בקר is typically rendered in English translations as either a bullock, son of the herd or simply a young bullock. However, is that truly what it means according to the scripture? Every so-called sacrificial animal has multiple possible meanings and a par ben bqr is no different. Par may be understood as fruit, while baqar may also be boqer, (morning), and such differences were only understood by context and love for the Father and His Word before the advent of niqqud and the Masoretic Hebrew text. Moreover there are signs for the appointments and appointed times in the Torah, and these are very ancient things, and it appears that the Master refers to some of them, at least in the following passage. I will therefore open with his words. In the following passage we find G2540 καιρος, (kairos), which is not just a time or times, as in most translations, but is primarily a set time, an appointed time, and it is often employed in the LXX for mo'ed, which is also primarily used for an appointed time and the appointed times of the Father in the Torah.

Matthew 16:1-3
1 And the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, tempting, asking him to shew them a sign from heaven.
2 And answering, he said to them, Evening having come, you say, Fair weather: for the sky is fiery red.
3 And morning time, Stormy weather today: for the sky is overcast fiery red. Hypocrites: truly you know to discern the face of the sky, but the signs of the appointed times you cannot!

This idiom at the time had already become a well known saying, and it would have been especially used by sailors, (fishermen, think Galil), but it goes way beyond that time, even all the way back to the time of Mosheh and the giving of the Torah.

Red sky at night, sailors' delight: red sky in the morning, sailors' take warning:


What is a fruit, (par), a son of the morning, (boqer)?
It is a morning offering, and it is fiery red, and it has a leathery skin like a bullock or a red heifer.

pomegranate-juice.png


Hosea 14:1-2 KJV
1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves [פרים] of our lips.

The calves of our lips? Um, no.

Hosea 14:2 LSV
2 Take words with you, and turn to YHWH, || Say to Him, Take away all iniquity, and give good, || And we render the fruit [פרים] of our lips.
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Release international, prayer request, Sudan and Eritrea

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Two Ladies Praying

Sudan​

Sudanese Christians can attend church services openly, but activities that threaten Islam’s dominance can still lead to believers (especially church leaders) being detained and imprisoned. Pray they would be wise especially in how they share the gospel.
Number of Prayers 0
Sudan

Sudan​

Pray that God will build His church in Sudan, where there are estimated to be around two million believers, and that Christians will be a strong witness to God’s love amid the current power struggles.
Number of Prayers 29
Sudan


ERITREA

Pray for Rev Haile Naizgi, who is from the same church as Dr Kiflu and has also been imprisoned since 2004.
Number of Prayers 56
Eritrea

Eritrea​

Pray that God would comfort the family and friends of Pastor Tesfay Seyoum as the first anniversary of his death approaches. Tesfay died in prison, having spent ten years behind bars. His family could not bury him in his hometown because of his faith in Christ.
Number of Prayers 38
Eritrea

Eritrea​

Pray for Milion Gebreselassie, a nurse and anaesthetist, who has been imprisoned for his faith in Jesus for more than nine years.
Number of Prayers 52
Eritrea

Eritrea​

Pray for Jospeh, who has been imprisoned several times for his faith in Christ. Give thanks for his unwavering faithfulness in spite of the fierce persecution he faces.
Number of Prayers 44
Eritrea

Eritrea​

Dr Kiflu Gebremeskel will have spent 20 years in prison this May. Dr Kiflu has never been charged with a crime or been tried in a court of law. Please pray for him and his family: wife Elsa, sons Yosias, Daniel and Senai, and daughter Hermala

Christian Bands That Sound Like These Secular Ones

So back when I used to listen to secular music, some of the stuff I used to listen to were: Evanescence, Lacuna Coil, Delain, The Birthday Massacre, Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath, and Blue Oyster Cult. The problems with those bands is they all had Satanic songs with Satanic lyrics and if possible, I would like to find Christian bands that sound like the bands I mentioned, except the Christian bands would have Godly lyrics in the songs, not the Satanic ones. So would any of you guys happen to know some Christian bands or singers that sound like the secular bands I mentioned above? Thanks in advance. God bless!

Just a Little Wisom

Proverbs 8:13, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

Before that Proverbs 8:1, 7-8, "Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them."

Now here is something we can ask for, and it shall be given, according as it is written in James 1:5-7, " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."

Vines says "the prerequisite is a desire to follow and imitate God as He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, without self reliance, and especially not in a spirit of pride."

It is best to repent when the call is made, and you deal with it now with the LORD, and suffer the temporal loss which might be a little temporary discomfort, but in the end will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness.; Best do it this way, than have the LORD Himself chastise and strip things from you that you were not willing to sacrifice for His name's sake.

Thus wisdom is something that should be zealously sought after, and kept close!

Spiritual Warfare in Evangelism

Hopefully I am posting this in the right place. Forgive me if I'm not.

I've been thinking about my attempts of evangelism over the years and while I've never once been successful at leading someone to saving faith, I've noticed a similar theme. Every time I have convinced someone to come to church or a gospel outreach event, or anything, there is always something that comes up that either prevents them from coming or hearing the gospel.

For example. The last time I got someone to come to church, they received notice that a family member had died and had to take a phone call right as the preacher was getting to the gospel. They never came back to church. Another time, a friend of mine wanted to go, but it was a Sunday when I was scheduled to serve in the Sunday school, and since I wouldn't be there for the service, he decided not to go. Still yet, another time I convinced a friend of mine to come to my church's weekly volleyball meetup where the gospel is preached halfway through. But sure enough, something came up and he had to leave right before that happened. I can't tell you how many times someone has expressed desire to come to church or a bible study and continually remind me that they want to go, only to not show up and ghost me the day of. I could go on and on.

This is not just limited to me. There are friends of mine at the church who will often ask me to sit with a coworker of theirs who is visiting because they're up for serving in Sunday school/nursery. These people again leave before the gospel is preached. I can even think of someone who got a coworker to sign up for and pay to go on our yearly men's retreat. This is a 2 hour drive away, but when they arrived, his coworker realized he had accidently taken his wife's car keys with him and had to go back.

This happens so much that it surely cannot be a coincidence can it? There must be some kind of spiritual things at play here given the nature of it. Am I crazy? What do you all think?

O That the Atheist....

O that the Atheist would quit questioning God, and stop seeking every imaginable excuse to deny Him!

O that the Atheist who has even a miniscule belief that there might be a somewhat intelligent force behind the operations of the Cosmos, hence being somewhat of a Deist, would open their heart to see such utter complexities as the Universe, on down to the smallest known particle, all show plainly the wisdom and knowledge of an intelligent Creator.

O that the Atheist, the Deist, the Unitarian, the Agnostic, all realize there is a Holy Spirit, being part of the Godhead of Father, Son, and Spirit - and that the Holy Spirit is sent into the world to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment: That the absolute Holiness of God demands the absolute justice of God, because of the absolute love of God, who gave His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for your sin, of which the wages of sin are death!

Question if you may, disbelieve if you will, but none of your surmisings will change the course of God's sovereign will, Who will perform His will despite all your unbelief and questioning. Do not debate with the LORD, for you shall lose!

Thou art a sinner, for you were born in sin, and the only way to be free from the power and the penalty of sin, is to believe upon Jesus Christ, confess your sins to Him, and repent: turn from your sins. For even if you have lived a good moral life by the worlds standards, you are still a sinner, and your denial and unbelief themselves are sin!

O that the Atheist, the Deist, the Unitarian, the Agnostic, come to know the love of God, who is reaching out this time that you might be saved! Get a KJV Bible and begin to read it, and pray mightily for wisdom to receive its truth, that the living Word, who is Jesus Christ our Saviour may awaken your hearts to salvation, that ye die not in your sins and burn in hell: for that is the lot and portion of all unbelievers, and those who embrace sin over the Saviour!

Turn now, for the door is NOW open, and Christ awaits to envelop you with His love, and fill you with His Spirit; for His blood shed on the cross has the power to cleanse you from your sins, and the gift of eternal life shall then be yours. Until you come to Jesus and take Him as the Saviour of your soul, you are pitifully lost, and beneath the dreadful wrath of a Holy God, who is Righteous, and demands Justice, for in unbelief you condemn yourself.
Pray God then, O unbeliever, that He have mercy, and grant you repentance unto life, and saving faith, that ye may believe unto eternal life.
Amen.
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We Do Not Want You To Be Unaware

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
“For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-14 ESV)

So many people these days have this idea that we should keep all of our sufferings to ourselves, well, unless it is physical suffering. That kind is acceptable to share, like if you are having surgery or you have cancer or you are in the hospital. But if you are suffering persecution and mistreatment, like Paul and the other apostles did, and like Jesus did, it is not generally acceptable to share that with others. They usually want you to just keep that to yourself. But that isn’t biblical.

Now we should not be gossipers and whiners and complainers who just go around complaining about anything and everything. But we are to bear one another’s burdens, and we are to pray for one another, and we are to encourage one another, and that can’t be done if we are prohibited from sharing our sufferings and our persecutions with others. And another aspect of that is if no one else shares their sufferings and their persecutions with us, we will not know how to pray for them and how to support them, either.

So, what happens in these cases is that many hurting people are suffering in silence because they are being told not to share their sufferings, if they are in the realm of persecutions and mistreatments. And so they feel all alone. And I can still remember the first time I watched a video series of married couples talking about the same situation I have been going through and how much that encouraged me and validated me, too, to know that others out there understood what I was going through and gave me some hope, too.

So, I really like how Paul starts this off with, “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia.” Why did he not want them to be unaware? He needed their prayers. He needed their spiritual support. And some of them would suffer in much of the same ways, and so this was to prepare them for that eventuality so that they were not surprised when it happened, and so that they were encouraged in advance in how to handle that suffering. For it is terrible to have to go it alone.

And then there are people who will just advise you to get out of those situations, but easier said than done, and that isn’t necessarily God’s plan. For God allows us to be in these situations to grow us in him, and to teach us perseverance, so that we can encourage others who are going through similar trials, and so that we learn to rely on the Lord and not on ourselves. And it is to humble us, to mature us in Christ, and to make us stronger and more determined to follow the Lord. But we still need prayer.

I know that for myself, if I had not gone through all that I have gone through, I would not be spiritually prepared for what the Lord has been having me do these past 20 years. And that is biblically supported. For we are promised that if we follow Jesus with our lives that we will be hated, rejected, abandoned, cast aside as unwanted, forsaken, forgotten, fought against, falsely accused, mistreated, and the like. So we don’t run away from it all and look for our own comfort, unless God leads us to leave.

We remain faithful to the Lord, we learn what he wants to teach us through it all, and we keep pressing forward in doing the will of God. And we ask for other believers in Christ to pray for us, and this is biblical. This is what Paul did and the other apostles did. They went into situations where they knew they were going to be persecuted, but in order to lead other people to genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ and to holy living. They didn’t run away unless the Lord directed them to go someplace else.

And through it all, through all the sufferings and persecutions, we are to be people of integrity who behave in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God, and in the power of God and in his wisdom and understanding. We are to remain strong in the Lord without wavering even in the face of much suffering and persecution and rejections. And we are to keep on doing the will of God in sharing with others the truth of the gospel and in refuting the lies of Satan.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

All Through the Night

An Original Work / December 7, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures


Blessed are you when you’re persecuted
Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.
Blessed are you when people insult you,
And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.

When you are persecuted in one place,
Flee to another. God will be there.
You will be hated by all the nations
Because you testify of God’s grace.
Many will seize you and persecute you,
And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.

Yet do not fear what humans may do to you,
For I’m with you all through the night.
I tell you, love your enemies with my love,
And forgive as I forgave you.
Pray for those who do evil against you.
Rest in my love and grace from above.

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Is Western Liberal Democracy inherently anti-Christ or Satanic?

It seems bizarre to me how the western, mainly evangelical Christian community sits so comfortably in the liberal democratic tradition.

The thinking goes that the more individually atomized or "open" a society becomes, the more freely the "simple Gospel" message can pass in between individuals, free of any other coercive cultural or religious structures found in pre-Enlightenment society. Ironically, when the Church is cleansed from public life, this is supposed to make the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus more fluid and effective.

You can see this attitude dominate in post-Enlightenment, Americanized Christianity. The Church no longer has any place on a societal or communal level. Society is now nothing more than atomized individuals, therefore the new concept of Church can never rise above the level of individual. In our society there is no longer a Christian Family ruled over by the husband, because this would go against the now sacred tenets of Liberalism, which dictates that a man cannot have any dominant role over a woman in any capacity. They are both equal individual units. The American Church (both Conservative and Leftist) now adopts this essentially satanic dogma into their way of life.

Privately, American Christians can say that they respect the Biblical hierarchy of man and woman, and yet they simultaneously promote a Liberal Democratic order which directly opposes such a hierarchy. This is just one example of many, but it really highlights the double-mindedness of American/western Christianity. In one sense, the Gospel message flows freely throughout the individualized west, and yet it flows within the confined spaces of an ideology that hates and rejects the Heavenly order that that the Gospel descends to earth from. ("...Thy Will Be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven") And the same Evangelizers that spread the Gospel, turn around and promote the Liberal order as a result of divine providence, and a source of "Freedom" for humanity.

American Christianity wants to combine the Cross with the Statue of Liberty, they want to combine the ultimate hierarchy of Heaven with the perpetual revolutionary shattering of hierarchy via the liberal democratic order.

From what I am seeing, the Gospel of Jesus is inherently hostile to classical liberal ideology in fairly obvious ways. (not only the "Woke" liberal, but the "conservative" 18th and 19th century American style of liberalism also)... The Liberal Democratic order actively promotes the structure of sin (or the rejection of God's order)

I think many American Christians are beginning to realize this but just don't know what to do about it. There does seem to be a 'Reformation out of Liberalism' taking place.

What bothers me is that there are so many other (mostly Boomer generation) Christian leaders who completely drank the Kool-Aid on Americanism and believe that we basically inaugurated a kind of Millenial kingdom of God when America became a hegemonic power after World War 2. They have divinized modern individual American Liberty as a sacred force for good in the world, and the "Spirit of Democracy" as equal with the Holy Spirit itself. They made secularism sacred, which explains why our sense of morality seems to be dictated from the secular world now, instead of the church, (which now begs the secular world for its approval.)

In all likelihood, our way of life is so enmeshed with the liberal order, that it's probably going to take a major social collapse in order for the Church to come out of this. That seems to be the general pattern we see in the Bible as well. We aren't willingly going to give up our Liberty idols.

Parent finds Chick-fil-A owner inside home with teen he sexually assaulted, cops say

An Ohio man is behind bars after officials say he traveled across states to meet and sexually assault a teenager.

Stacy Lee Austin, 49, drove over 400 miles from Belmont, Ohio, to Rowan County, North Carolina, according to a Facebook post from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

On March 5, the 15-year-old’s parent called 911 after he came home and found Austin inside his house, officials said.

When [investigators] questioned Austin, he admitted to engaging in sex acts with the juvenile, according to officials.

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Did Nicodemus believe in Jesus?

What we know from scripture is that Nicodemus at the very least recognized Jesus as a prophet because he recognized that only God or someone sent by God could do the miracles and teach as he did. We know that he was open to listening to Jesus and we know that he was astonished and bewildered by many of the things that Christ had taught him.

He also was at Christ's crucifixion and made sure that Jesus got a typical Jewish burial so he clearly had a high view of Christ and perhaps considered him a friend and a fellow Jew worthy of such a sacred burial. But after that the Bible is kind of silent on what happened to Nicodemus. Was the man saved and chosen by God? Did he believe in the things that Jesus taught him or did he only respect him?

Since Nicodemus could recognize that Jesus was sent by God and should have had divine authority it might be likely that he believed in him or at the very least believed in the things that Jesus said and considered him to be a prophet. But really Nicodemus's ultimate fate can only he guessed and nobody aside from God and those currently with God know for sure exactly what Nicodemus believed in. But since the Bible mentioned him and gave us clues in John 3 I think it might be possible that he believed in him.

30 Day Challenge

I'm initiating a prayer challenge for the group and inviting everyone to share their requests.

You can ask for 5 things related to marriage (companion, qualities, etc.). And I'll pray them for a month on your behalf.

You must post by March 17th which gives you time to consider. I'll begin on March 19th when Nisan begins.

As you receive the things you asked for post an update.

God Bless,

~bella

Believe Him

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV).

Sometimes in life we have questions for which we don’t have answers. Sometimes we pray and we can’t hear God speaking, i.e. he seems silent concerning our requests. And, so we cry out for him to hear us, even though we know he does, and for him to answer. Yet, he doesn’t always give us the answers we desire, nor does he explain all of his ways to us.

Sometimes he just says “Trust me;” “Believe me;” “Rest in me.” And, he reminds us that his ways are greater than our ways and his thoughts greater than our thoughts, i.e. he doesn’t think and work like we do. He has purposes for what we go through in this life far beyond our human comprehension. We may even desire the right things, but he may have planned for us to go through injustice or heartache, and so he asks us to just trust him that he knows best.

Believe Him

An Original Work / July 15, 2013

My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me
Seeking You for the answers
To my heartache and questions
I have concerning my life?
Speak, Lord, to me right now.

“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me
With your life’s circumstances?
Give your all on the altar
In submission of your will
To My purpose for you.

“Surrender your life completely
To your Lord and your Savior.
He has all things planned for you
For His glory and honor.
He’ll work all things for good.

“Believe Him. He will fulfill all
Of His promises to you
For your life and your future.
Trust Him. Rest in His love.
He’ll give you peace from above.”

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