Three police officers were injured Wednesday while responding to a shooting in southeast D.C., officials said, as the suspect remains barricaded in a home.

"All three suffered non-life threatening injuries," the D.C. Police Department said on X, formerly Twitter. "The scene remains active."

A fourth officer, who was not shot, was transported to a local hospital to be treated for "minor injuries," police also said.

The suspect is barricaded inside of a home and is continuing to open fire as of noon local time, according to NBC Washington.

WASHINGTON — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, released an unusual statement Wednesday warning of a "serious national security threat" without providing additional details, pre-empting what the White House said was a planned briefing for congressional leaders.

"Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all Members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat," Turner wrote in the statement.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan addressed Turner's statement at a press briefing a short time later and suggested he was perplexed by the congressman's statement because they already had a briefing planned for Thursday. A U.S. official confirmed that the Thursday briefing is related to the threat highlighted by Turner.

A Democratic source familiar with the threat told NBC News: "This is a serious issue that could lead to a destabilizing situation and a national security threat."

The source described it as a “potential foreign threat” but would not identify where the threat is coming from.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said that there's no reason to panic.

When God made man, he made only 1 sex: Man. As Adam was hanging out and having fun, filling his days but getting lonely, God saw it'd be good for him to have a mate and he made Eve as part of Adam.


My question:
Does that mean that God only created one gender for all the other animals as well and because of the fall half of all these animals spontaneously changed genders OR did God make both genders for all other animals but only one "man"?

I haven't come to a logical conclusion on this and it's vexing me.

Hello brothers and sister I am happy to be back to the community after some month of absent due to soul winning in the field of Africa be from brother phi

I have a coworker (R.J) I am not comfortable working with and he is following me to the new job I got hired at. Can you pray that this coworker can find happiness somewhere else at another different job even at a higher pay or position as long as hes not working with me and not following me to the new job I recently got hired at Amen

Should we confess past sin we did in the past to people we have wronged or should we just confess it to God and not do it again if it doesn’t affect that person today ?

Who are these sinners? They are all who are falling short of what God approves. They are the depraved, the detestable, the unrighteous, and the ungodly. They are all who practice wickedness, immorality, evil, wrongdoing, lying, cheating, stealing, and committing adultery, and the list goes on. For they are the disobedient who do not obey the commands of God, in practice, but who make sin their practice, instead. And some (or many) of them also profess faith in Jesus Christ and claim heaven as their eternal destiny.

As those who are followers of Jesus Christ, we have died with Christ to sin, and we were raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, by the grace of God. Now we are to live in self-denial, in daily dying to sin, and in following Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). Sin is no longer to have mastery over our lives to where we obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey it leads to death, not to life eternal (Romans 6:1-23).

This is not saying that as followers of Christ that we will not ever sin again, for we might, but that sin should no longer be our “go to,” our habit, our practice. Now righteousness and holy living and moral purity, honesty, faithfulness and walks of obedience to our Lord should be what we practice day by day, in the power of God. So, did Jesus save us from our sins? Yes! He did! But many people are using the phrase “saved sinners” to describe Christians, but which then gives the impression that we are still “sinners.”

Are we still capable of sinning against the Lord Jesus? Yes! Because we still live in flesh bodies. Do we still have the propensity to sin? Yes! Are we still tempted to sin? Yes! But that doesn’t make us “saved sinners” who are merely saved from hell and from the punishment of sin. If we have died with Christ to sin and we are now living to his righteousness, in obedience it him, it makes us the righteous and the saints of God who are now living holy lives, pleasing to God, by the grace of God and in his power and strength.

So, please don’t buy into the lie that all Jesus did was to save you from hell so that you can now go to heaven when you die. For true “sinners” are enticing Christians to believe that lie so that the believers in Jesus Christ will believe that they can now continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord and that it will not be charged against them. For Jesus died to deliver us out of our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now serve the Lord with our lives in obedience to his commands, in his power and strength.

So many of those who are addicted to (in slavery to) sin will attempt to entice the godly to sin against the Lord. But one of the ways in which they do this is via deception and manipulation of truth to convince Christians that their sins no longer matter to God, or that God doesn’t even see when they sin or that he just looks the other way. Or they will try to convince them that God has abandoned them or that they are deserving of some “recreation” (immorality) to comfort them in the difficulties of life.

So don’t get this idea that sinners are just going to come straight out and invite you to sin against the Lord. They may, but more likely they are going to engage in some type of deception and manipulation and trickery and twisting of truth to persuade you that God will not be upset with you if you do “such and such,” or that he will not judge you, or that your salvation is secure regardless of how you live. For Satan is behind all of this temptation, and his desire is for us to fail, to sin against God, and to not obey God.

And if you get caught in their net of deception, and you begin to take chances with your salvation, and with your relationship with God, and you begin to believe that you can engage in what is contrary to God’s will and purpose for our lives, and that you can now live more for yourself and for self-pleasure while you neglect the commands of the Lord, and while you neglect his calling upon your life, then you are in a dangerous place. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience, we do not have life in God.

Now, this is not teaching that in every act of sin against God that we immediately lose our salvation. But it is also not teaching that we can freely continue in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord without consequence, and without risk of losing our salvation when it comes to Christ’s return for his faithful bride. For many who call Jesus “Lord” will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because sin is what they practiced and not obedience to our Lord.

So, don’t buy into the lies that you can live your life however you want and still have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. That is not what the Scriptures teach. They teach that if sin and disobedience to God are what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life. Those who have eternal life with God promised to them are those who make their practice obedience to our Lord and to his commands and moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness.

So don’t give in to the liars who entice you to sin. Keep obeying the Lord, even if you get hated and rejected by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ because you don’t make compromises with the world.

[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; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; 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]

Hear My Cry

By G. M. Eldridge

When my soul is worn and weary
And my eyes are filled with grief,
When my hands in desperation
Reach to heaven for relief,

Would I find the words there waiting
If I had the strength to start?
Could a mortal tongue interpret
All the sorrow of a heart?

Spirit, search me in my weakness,
And discern this growing gray.
Intercede in understanding,
Hear the things I cannot say.

Hear my cry, heav’nly Father,
You have known my ev’ry pain.
You have seen all my sorrow,
Hear my cry once again.

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Earliest ancestor Malcolm Crawford and earliest known Virginia ancestor John Crawford

I'm not quite sure what to think about this video inasmuch as I am still learning the Orthodox faith two years after my chrismation.

Please watch and dissect for me what is being said here.

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When we love with this (agape) love, we as disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ prefer to live through Christ, to embrace God’s will, to choose his choices, and to obey them through his power. For this word “love,” in this context, means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to the Lord. So we will do for others what is for their good, and we will not do to them what is evil.

In what ways can we put this into practice in our daily lives? First of all it must be through us surrendering our lives to Christ to do his will, then we must submit to the Lordship of Christ over our lives. We must be crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For we can’t love with this love if we don’t first love God.

Thus, when we love with this love, it is in action and not in words only. It is not just in lip service, but it is in walks of obedience to our Lord, and it is in walks of holiness, godliness, moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness to God and to his will and purpose for our lives; and faithfulness to our spouses. It is in acts of kindness and generosity, and in humility. And it is in doing for others what is for their good, and it is not willfully doing evil against them.

For this is not human love. It is not based in our emotions (feelings) and in the one we are loving. This love continues even when we are hated and mistreated in return. For we don’t love others based on how they treat us, but we love others based on God’s love for us and on his love working in and out through our lives in us loving others, even loving those who mistreat us and who do evil against us continually. For God is love!

And how did Jesus love us? He gave himself up for us sinners to free us from our slavery to sin so that we will now walk in obedience to him and to his commands in holy living. So we should dedicate our lives to loving others in this way by surrendering our own lives and reputations and time to God in order to share with others the truth of the gospel which will set them free from their bondage to sin so that they can also walk according to God’s will.

And Jesus did what he did despite how others treated him in return. He loved even when he was reviled in return, and when they called him “crazy” and “of Satan,” and when they accused him falsely of disobeying the commands of God. He was still loving the people when they hung him on that cross to die and when they beat him and spat on him and mocked him and when they treated him like he was the enemy. He still loved them!

And this is how we are to love. And even while we were still the Lord’s enemies he gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we can now be free from our slavery to sin and so we can now walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedient walks of faith in him. But not just that, but so that we can have eternal life with him in heaven, provided that we continue in these walks of faith to the very end.

So, we will not be known as the Lord’s disciples just for showing human love to one another, for human love is fickle, it is based in how we feel, and it is fluctuating depending on our circumstances, and it is not un-ending like agape love is. For feelings come and feelings go, and people can stop loving one another when they lose those “special feelings” that they once had. And this is why there are so many divorces in America. People fall out of love.

Therefore, other people should know that we are disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ when we love God and when love our fellow humans with this agape love which prefers what God prefers and which chooses his choices and obeys them in his power. They will know we are his followers when we love others even when they revile us and do evil against us and despitefully use us and treat us like dirt. For that is how Jesus loved and loves us.

You Loved Me

An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name

When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.

Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.

When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.

Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.

Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.

And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.

And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!

And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.

Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.

When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,

My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.

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So recently I discovered the "I Love Lucy" channel on Pluto TV!

Tonite, I caught Lucy and Ethel singing the "Friendship" song by Cole Porter.
It brought a smile to my face ... maybe it will to your's, too!


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Yippee. I am so excited.

The Queens/suburban district is seen as a bellwether for other swing districts that turned red in 2022.

Because I lived in NY-3 for 16 years, i had been so disheartened to see Santos representing them.

And hopefully a sign that Mike Johnson will go back into Congressional obscurity soon.

I pray the following prayer every night before going to sleep. It is a good way for me to end my day.



"This Prayer for Daily Neglects, as it is best known, invites us to offer God the Father the Sacred Heart of his Divine Son, as we read below, in reparation for our sins. The third petition brings to mind the Penitential Rite at Mass."


Copied and pasted from: A Prayer For Daily Neglects: Offering The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

The Bible unquestionably endorses the idea of welcoming strangers and showing hospitality. It further calls for the just treatment of everyone, because they are created in the image of God (Deuteronomy 24:17). But that’s not a rebuke of national borders or a statement that people should be able to go wherever they want whenever they want. “Thou shalt not kill” and “that shalt not steal” are not in conflict, they are complementary. They both recognize that people have dignity and rights by virtue of their humanity, which include the right to life and the right to property. Nations are a way of recognizing property that is owned by a community and therefore not owned by those outside the community. This means people inside a community have privileges those outside a community do not have. Like the definition of a woman, this hasn’t been controversial until very recently.

The book of Nehemiah is dedicated to the idea that the security that comes from walls is a sign of God’s blessing and provision. Conversely, the lack of walls is evidence of social decay and vulnerability. God is not troubled that the purpose of walls is to prevent some people from doing things they want to do because He knows some people desire to do things they shouldn’t do, like take fentanyl and victims of sex trafficking across international borders for the purpose of killing and exploiting.

Of course, not everyone seeking to cross our border intends harm, but that would also be true of all the people who might want to sleep in your house tonight if they knew it was unlocked, but you lock it anyway.

MSCI is an investment support services firm with $2.1 billion in revenue that provides ESG ratings of corporations. Even though China requires every firm with 50 or more employees operating in China to employ at least one Communist Party political commissar, true independent audits don’t happen, and information about a firm’s financial health can now be considered national security information, MSCI rates Chinese firms anyway.
In 2022, MSCI rated the three Chinese energy stocks higher than the U.S. energy stock, with Brigham scoring 2 out of 10 ESG points overall. This compared to China Coal Energy, a firm majority owned by the Chinese government, with an overall ESG rating of 3.1; China Resources Gas Group, a natural gas pipeline operator and a subsidiary of a state-owned company, with an ESG score of 6.3; and Xinyi Solar Holdings — a firm that uses slave labor in its supply chain — with an ESG score of 6.1.
With ESG getting pushback from Texas and other states’ pension funds, I wanted to check back in on whether MSCI still rated these Chinese firms highly.

ESG investing has become a big driver in steering capital to corporations deemed to be good stewards of subjective principles. By 2025, financial management firms that claim to invest with ESG principles are projected to account for $50 trillion of a total global value of $140.5 trillion — more than a third of managed investments.
American Depositary Receipts in Xinyi Solar Holdings have declined from $30.64 in June 2022 to $8.87 in February 2024; China Resources Gas Group last traded on Sept. 12, 2023, at $27.27, down from $58.93, and is no longer listed; and China Coal Energy Company last traded on Jan. 8, 2024.


The above is just a short quote from the linked article. What are y'alls thoughts and opinions about this topic?

Hunter Biden’s ex-business associate Tony Bobulinski testified that Joe Biden is "the Big Guy" and said the president "continues to lie" to the American people about his involvement in his son’s business dealings.

Bobulinski, who worked with Hunter Biden to create the joint-venture SinoHawk Holdings with Chinese energy company CEFC, and said he met with Joe Biden in 2017, provided "unshakeable" testimony behind closed doors at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Tuesday.

Hey Everyone,

It's been awhile since I've posted on here. I wanted to ask if the community could pray for me and my safety during/after my tonsillectomy this Thursday. I have been ill since Christmas Eve 2023. I'm 29 years old and it could be a little risky - Im not looking forward to the pain at all, and am extremely scared. On top of that, my wife is due to give birth to our first child in the next few weeks! Everything is happening at once and I'm mentally (and physically apparently) not ready.

But of course, there's no such thing as a devil or malignant, evil spirit that urges people to commit these horrendous acts. That's just nonsense, and people who actually believe that are deluded fools. Right?

And that's just what that evil, malignant spirit *wants* you to think. And the idiot psychologists play right into his hands.

Pray that Israel's leaders, and other leaders in the Middle-East are given wisdom when it comes to Israel's military entering the city of Rafah:

Hey folks!

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Brandon and I'm from the good 'ole state of Texas. I'm born and raised Baptist, but I've attended non-denominational and Methodist churches in the past. I've played guitar in some pretty sizeable congregations' worship teams in the past. I'm not playing guitar at the moment but have begun to lead a weekly men's Bible study group, which has been so fulfilling. Leading the Bible study has helped me dig deeper into the Word - far more than I have in the past.

Anyway, glad to be here, and hope y'all have a blessed day!

-Brandon

Please take this up with the Lord to see if what I’m about to tell you came from him.

Of course, I believe it did. I have commonly gotten words of knowledge in the mornings when waking up. Where I could check them, they were proven to be true.

What came to me the other morning was that 13 American cities were going to be attacked. By Muslims. I was not shown which cities they would be, and I was not told that they would be destroyed. I was not told when it would happen.

But we do know that this country is infiltrated with Muslims who hate America and want to bring it down.

We also know that when people did things in Israel, such as offering their living babies in sacrifice to pagan gods, that the Lord himself sent pagan nations to destroy them.

And incredibly some states in this country are actually killing, full-term, healthy babies.

And we know how Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, and how the LGBT movement is so much advancing in this country.

So I guess my first prayer is for people to repent. “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sins, and heal their land.”

Next I ask for prayer for those 13 cities if the Lord is showing you that I heard from him right.

-

At a political rally over the weekend, Donald Trump mockingly asked where is Nikki Haley's husband?

Haley tweeted (in response):

"Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about. Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief."

[Haleys's husband, Major Michael Haley, is serving in the National Guard and is currently deployed to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. ]

I'm new to the forum and i'm trying to sell candles inspired by God and the Bible.
I'm not posting the links here, because it's not selfpromotion but if anyone is interrested, send me a message.

My questions are:
1) Do you like the design? If not, what I should improve?
2) Would you buy one for yourself or to give to someone you care? What about the price ($13,99) is ok or too expensive?
3) Any other tips