Does anyone know what a chin mean in a dream. I had a dream about a coworker I work with. In the dream I was removing something off their chin then after that they wanted to go outside to release so we walked outside. What does that mean? In the same dream I saw another coworker who was on crutches and it look like she was having a hard time trying to do the work while injured.

What does it mean when you dream a man put his head on your shoulders. He was got so close to me that I can actually feel his body heat in my dream it felt so real that I could feel his body heat. He was showing me something in my dream then all of a sudden he got close to me.

I asked this because I asked the guy that's a Christian who happened to know that I already have feelings for him but I didn't know at the time he knew that already. I came to him one day and told him I didn't want these feelings because I was having these feelings for someone and I realized that it was wrong and I told him that if he could pray that God removed these feelings and he told me he wasn't going to pray for that because he said that God give us control over our emotions. I was kinda of shocked he said no because he always pray with me when I ask why is this different.

I work with this guy who also is a Christian. My thing is why is he always around me and always taking glances at me and sometimes stares at me. Should Christians of the opposite sex engage in such activities? Should that be reserved for the man or woman that God wants you to marry? Like why would a man or ♀️ focus on a particular person if they know that's not their future spouse?

People often think of prayer, the inner journey, and seeking to live a deep spiritual life as a hobby of sorts, which is not all that important. Or if pursued, is something done to get some sort of result? Inner peace, healing, etc. The seeking after God can bring all the above, but often not in ways that people seek, or want.

From my experience, and I am truly only speaking for myself here, it is the practice of prayer that allows one to deal with inner chaos in such a way that leads to the fulfillment of one’s purpose.

One of the biggest obstacles to prayer is society in general. Cultures want their citizens to lock step in a tight formation. Meanwhile using the term liberation as its catchword. As society becomes more dependent on technology this process is speeded up and harder to overcome.

This can be seen on an innocent level by the popularity of tattoos. Everyone has them, they mean nothing but simple ornaments. Yet they can be shortsighted because of the aging process. The in thing is to be oneself, by being like everyone else. This is not always bad if it allows us to deepen our relationship with Infinite. Fashion is another example
of mindlessly following the dictates of someone else telling us what is in, and what we need.

How do prayer and a deep inner life free us from being herded along following the orders of the prevailing culture?

Well, one thing to remember is that we all need some sort of community to live in. We need feedback, as well as the struggle, that allows us to grow in our knowledge of self. A good Spiritual path will bring us in direct opposition to all that is in us that wants to just go along. To sink into the collective and not struggle, at least on the level of morality.

Now spirituality has its pitfalls as well. All one needs to do is investigate some of the fanatical forms of religion. That is to be expected given the nature of our species as well. It can be seen in political movements. Even in sports, people go nuts over their home team, and when they lose, well it can be truly tragic for them.

As a species, we are trapped in acting out in ways that seem to be programmed. We can’t seem to break out of cycles of war. Hatred comes naturally to us for those who are different. Yet it would seem we go along with it no matter how absurd we know the outcome will be. It is always the same outcome.

The problem is that to break out of these ways of acting calls for a deep inner struggle that fights our need for revenge, often called justice, and other forms of collective destruction. The wheel turns and for the most part, it is easy to be caught on the outside of this ever-turning wheel.

When we pray from the heart, there is a slow turning towards seeking solutions to the above. The answer seems simple, but it is one of the most difficult chores we are all called to do. It can take a lot of inner struggles, and sweating blood to allow it to happen. It also takes ‘grace’.

It is forgiveness of our enemies, to love those who hate us. These words flow easily but are hard to accomplish. It does take death to self to be able to let go of the need for some sort of blood depth. If we could begin with that, then other aspects of our inner lives could be looked at and find answers from living out of our deep center. I guess we can only do this one person at a time, and then as we learn to forgive, love, and let go of other tendencies that lead to chaos in our lives, perhaps change will come.

In the United States, the year 2024 is going we be a wild ride. We are backed into some tight corners with no way out. All that seems to be happening is that pretty much two sides are hating each other, throwing the same insults at one another, and thinking that they are taking the high road. I have no idea what is going on. I do know that unless the soul is dealt with, and healing sought, we will take our inner wars outside to those around us. Leading to all of us carrying the pain, anger, and yes, the deep rage of one another.

So, pray, give it a try. If you do not know who you pray to, just address your heart, desires, hopes, and yes dreams, to the ‘Great Mystery’. Christians know with whom they seek union I believe that those who pray from the heart, will in the end find Infinite Love waiting for them. It is grace, we can’t earn it, but we are called to seek, knock, and open up our hearts.-Br.MD

What if I turn out to be a "good and faithful servant"… but, for whatever reason (Hypothetical examples: (A) I don't want to do all that reigning/ruling. (B) I somehow identify with the unborn, who never got to earn any rewards), want the default/unrewarded experience?
Can I turn-down the rewards, recommend a different Believer, etc., or would He see it as rebellion?

"tailgating, erratic lane changing or illegal passing,” factors into 56 percent of crashes resulting in a fatality."

My wife and I experienced all of the above for 2500 miles during a trip on I-75 to Florida, last month.

Many don't remember their drivers ed instructions.

I suffer from bouts of depression. Yes initially if God had just healed me after prayer I wouldn’t know the things to do to get out of it like socialise, make friends, have a purpose, do things enjoy. I have my 7 th bout since 2009 & have had enough. My Church has prayed for me but nothing happens. I don’t really have any good friends at the moment, I am lacking the motivation & energy to get out & volunteer or socialise. If God loves & cares for me why doesn’t he just heal me. I feel angry at Him

I just got back on the road not too long ago and I am always anxious. I’ve had a history of fender benders and hitting objects but I have never gotten a ticket. I’m always worried that one day I’ll get a speeding ticket or a red light ticket in the mail if not by a police officer. Sometimes I can’t remember if a light was green or not or if I made it through a yellow light before it turned red. How do you deal with this anxiety if you have it?

Here's the walkout:


Power move?

I still don't get how they justify having this contempt hearing when they have active Republican members of Congress who themselves violated and ignored Congressional subpoenas.

Here's a graphic of congressional republicans who have ignored subpoenas:

It is alleged that Fulton County DA Willis hired a private lawyer who lacked prosecution experience and has paid him over $600,000 in legal fees. It is also alleged that the money was used for the two lovers to take a cruise vacation.

Trump promotes 'totally baseless' birther conspiracy theory against Nikki Haley​

It will be interesting to see if his fans pick this up and run with it, or slowly shake their heads, gaslight themselves and pretend he didn't really do it

Former Republican Members of Congress signed a letter calling on the Federal courts to move swiftly in adjudicating the cases prior to the election and the current USSC term (ends in June):

“EQUAL JUSTICE BEFORE THE LAW” IS A BEDROCK PRINCIPLE of our legal system and our democracy. It is rooted in a fundamental proposition of this country’s founding: That we are a nation of laws, not of men, and accordingly no man is above the law.

As former members of Congress, all of us Republicans, we dedicated ourselves to upholding this principle. And we are now deeply concerned that former President Donald Trump’s response to the ongoing criminal prosecutions against him are testing it—requiring the U.S. Supreme Court to act swiftly to meet the moment. In no case is this more true than in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In this case, the federal courts are confronted with Trump’s gambit to escape accountability altogether: assert an unprecedented claim of absolute presidential immunity from criminal prosecution and use the appellate process to delay the trial until after the November election.

....
The D.C. Circuit has been moving with deliberate speed in the criminal case. If it affirms the trial court’s decision denying immunity after today’s argument, it should also return the case to the trial court with similar speed. No doubt Trump will then appeal to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court takes the case, the public interest demands that the Court decline to stay the trial proceedings, or else expedite its consideration and decision of the case so that it can be resolved well before the Court’s term expires in June.

Read the rest here:

I am reading in Romans 9:1-33. Here Paul expressed that he had great sorrow in his heart that so many of his fellow Jews (the Israelites), his kinsmen according to the flesh, had rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and so they were no longer of the household of God. Heaven was not their eternal destiny. But then he went on to explain that just because they were physical descendants of Abraham, it did not mean that they were children of Abraham in a spiritual sense. They were not! For if they did not believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, then they didn’t belong to Israel.

See also: [Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 9:4-8; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; 1 John 2:22; John 8:18-19,38-47; Jude 1:5; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16]

But the Jews’ rejection of Jesus Christ then brought about the gospel going out to the Gentiles and many of them ended up believing in Jesus Christ. And there were some Jews who believed in Jesus, too.


So, who are God’s chosen people now? All who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah, who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. They are all who by faith in Jesus Christ have died to self (denied self), have died to sin, who are dying to sin daily, by the Spirit, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. And this includes both Jew and Gentile who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord.

Now, this may sound a little contrary to what we just read in this passage, and I do believe this is a subject that can be confusing if we don’t know the Scriptures and if we don’t study them in their context. For the word “works” is used in the New Testament Scriptures in both a negative and a positive context. And the works this passage was speaking of were the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, which included physical circumcision. The Jews thought they could be saved by keeping those Old Covenant laws.

But this doesn’t mean that we are now lawless or that God doesn’t expect us to do works. We still have to obey our Lord’s commands under the New Covenant, which are primarily his moral laws. And there are works which are required of us still, which are the works that God prepared in advance that we should walk in them as his workmanship. But just as faith without these works is dead, so are works without faith. We cannot just do “good deeds” and expect to be received into God’s heaven. We must live in submission to his will and we must be walking in obedience to his commands.

[Eph 2:10; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:21; Tit 2:11-14; Jn 15:1-11; Tit 3:8; Jas 2:17]

The same rule that applied in the Old Testament still applies to us in the New Testament. If sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, holiness, and walks of obedient faith to our Lord Jesus, to God, we will not enter into God’s eternal rest. Heaven will not be secured for us regardless of what our lips profess. For faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief.

And then I want to note for us here that this Scripture states clearly that only a remnant of the physical sons of Israel will be saved and will have eternal life with God. It says the same thing in Romans 11, but many people are misinterpreting that passage and what it teaches regarding the physical nation of Israel and regarding who are God’s chosen people today. Only those who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives are God’s chosen people, his elect. And we are only saved by faith in Christ, but a faith that results in obedience to our Lord and the forsaking of our sins.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

The Lord’s Anointed

An Original Work / December 16, 2011
Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;
Anointed to preach the Good News;
Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;
Proclaim freedom for the captives.
He sent me to preach release for pris’ners
Who are walking in sin’s darkness;
Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;
And tell them about God’s judgments;
Comfort all who mourn;
Give crowns of beauty;
Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,
A planting of our Savior, God,
For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and
They will rebuild God’s holy church.
God will renew them, and will restore them,
And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.
You will be ministers of our God, and
You will rejoice in salvation.
The Lord loves justice;
He is faithful to
Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;
My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.
He has clothed me with His salvation,
And in a robe of His righteousness.
He has given me priestly garments to wear,
As the bride of Jesus Christ.
As the garden of our Lord and Savior,
He causes us to grow in Him.
He makes righteousness,
Praise, and thanksgiving
Spring up before all the nations.

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Emmett

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Lt. Byrd, who is a USCP commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.

The facts speak truth. Ashli was ambushed when she was shot by Lt. Byrd. Multiple witnesses at the scene yelled, “you just murdered her.”

As I've said before, this was clearly a bad shooting. It is hard to imagine any other police department in the nation trying to justify such actions. We have a two tiered justice system. If the officer was white and the victim black we would hear calls for life imprisonment or execution. This was a travesty of justice.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats to let Europe "freeze" over winter have come back to bite his country as power outages spread nationwide.

Tens of thousands of Russians are reported to have no heating in their homes in the Moscow region alone after a heating main burst at the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant in the town of Podolsk, which is around 30 miles south of central Moscow, on January 4.

Residents in multiple regions including Rostov, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, and Voronezh have also been affected by lengthy power outages, and some have resorted to filming video appeals as they grapple with the subzero temperatures. In one of the clips, Russians complain that they are freezing and that they are left with no choice but to warm their homes with gas stoves, heaters, and "whatever else we can find."

Click to expand...

There's been a cold snap here as well, with temps going below -20 C even in the more southern parts with freezing records being recorded in the north. I believe temps hit around -43 C somewhere north. The snap itself seems to be receding now and we are now around 0 C here, so it'll most likely pass over Russia soon as well.
But in the meanwhile, in ironic fashion, it was Russia that suffered from freezing over rather than Europe, in good part because the aging infrastructure simply couldn't deal with the cold. Some areas had power outages at the same time, so being told to use electric heaters to get through didn't help much either.

Ex President Trump’s legal team argued for the ability of Ex President Trump to arrange the murder of Ex President’s Trump rivals.

my daughter sherry has not slept for many months, please pray for er to rest and be at peace

keith

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NASB20)
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.
Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is being described above is the actual place of one entering into one’s death in Christ…. This is the place that all believers must be brought to if they would be one that would follow God fully…. For this place that is beyond one’s strength, even to the point of despairing of life itself, is the place that the dying to one’s own will is actually done….. For until one’s hope would be in God alone and nothing of what one’s own life might be able to accomplish, one has not yet entered into the hope of faith, for the giving up of oneself brings the hope of faith…..

For it is from this place of no hope, that hope is to be found, for when one’s hope is in God alone whatever He brings is met with one’s eye of faith on one’s hope in God…. For this is the place of entering into one’s death in Christ, the place of actually denying of one’s own will…. This act of actually giving up of one’s will to God, not in word, but in reality by faith, so that the fruit of one being beyond one’s strength might be manifested, that being, that one might be freed from the dregs of one’s own will…..

For it is through one’s death in Christ that the embracing of Christ’s life of righteousness is laid out to be God’s will for all.… Then with an eye of hope towards this life of righteousness is the turning from one’s own will made manifest, (that being, that life that is always after its own), that this promised new life is brought to life and manifested by the heart willing to embrace this life of righteousness by the hope of faith..

It is from this place of faith that the glories, the presence, the knowledge of the Righteous One is known, felt, experienced; the faith that says my life has been given to God He may do with it what He pleases as I only seek to embrace my death in Christ the more, that the more of Him might be lived out through me……

May we all be blessed in the experiencing of this blessed life….


A fellow follower, Not me

I debated long and hard about posting this, but in the end, I decided I wanted to know what others thought. A few comments before we begin:

1) I know I am not this woman's target audience. I fully expect to receive at least a few comments about "you're a man, you have no right to make judgements!", or "you're male, you have absolutely no idea!"

2) Speaking strictly for myself, if this is what modern women are like, if I ever end up being a widower, instead of looking for another wife, I believe I'll just get two or three more dogs and call it good.

3) Again, bearing in mind #1 ("You have no right") and #2 (speaking strictly for myself), with a lot of this, she comes across as being extremely whiny: "My life is so hard!" Well, everybody's life is hard, lady. Your difficulties might be different than someone else's difficulties, but whining about it won't help. By the time I got to the cartoon where she was outlining how women's bodies were their lifelong enemy due to their reproductive systems, I was thinking to myself, "For crineoutloud, lady, go get a friggin' hysterectomy and quit bleating about it!"

But again, I am not the woman's target audience, and I know I supposedly don't have any say in what she's illustrating here. But I do know I don't agree with her in numerous ways---and if I were still in the dating scene, I wouldn't touch this girl with a 4,000-foot pole.

Your thoughts?

Marching In Mark’s Gospel



By



Dr C.K. McClinton
BA (Hons); M.A.; Ph.D.; D. Litt


Ulster Christians Fellowship
Website: www.ulsterchristians.org




A series of daily-reading teachings from the Gospel of Mark which are designed to expand the student’s knowledge of sound doctrine; using the medium of Bible Exposition to encourage practical Christian faith - with selected quotations from the excellent work of J.C. Ryle (1816-1900): to reintroduce Ryle’s writings to the 21 Century church; to enhance Christian understanding of God’s Word; to exalt the Name of Christ Jesus as both Saviour and Lord.

J. C. Ryle 1886 – 1900 Bishop of Liverpool
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

John Charles Ryle (10 May 1816 – 10 June 1900) was an English evangelical Anglican bishop. He was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool.

Life

He was the eldest son of John Ryle, private banker, of Park House, Macclesfield, M.P. for Macclesfield 1833–7, and Susanna, daughter of Charles Hurt of Wirksworth, Derbyshire. He was born at Macclesfield on 10 May 1816.
He was educated at Eton and the University of Oxford, where his career was unusually distinguished. He was Fell exhibitioner at Christ Church, from which foundation he matriculated on 15 May 1834. He was Craven scholar in 1836, graduated B.A. in 1838, having been placed in the first-class in literæ humaniores in the preceding year, and proceeded M.A. in 1871. He was created D.D. by diploma on 4 May 1880.
Ryle left the university with the intention of standing for parliament on the first opportunity, but was unable to do so because of his father's bankruptcy. He took holy orders (1841–42) and became curate at Exbury, Hampshire. In 1843, he was preferred to the rectory of St Thomas, Winchester, which he exchanged in the following year for that of Helmingham, Suffolk. The latter living he retained until 1861, when he resigned it for the vicarage of Stradbroke in the same county. The restoration of Stradbroke church was due to his initiative. In 1869, he was made rural dean of Hoxne, and in 1872 honorary canon of Norwich. He was select preacher at Cambridge in 1873 and the following year, and at Oxford from 1874 to 1876, and in 1879 and the following year. In 1880, he was designated dean of Salisbury, and at once, 19 April, advanced to the newly created see of Liverpool, which he ably administered until his death at Lowestoft on 10 June 1900. He is buried at All Saints Church, Childwall, Liverpool.

Family

He married three times but his first two wives died young. The first marriage was on 29 October 1845, to Matilda Charlotte Louisa, daughter of John Pemberton Plumptre, of Fredville, Kent. The second, in March 1850, was to Jessy, daughter of John Walker of Crawfordton, Dumfriesshire. The third, on 24 October 1861, was to Henrietta, daughter of Lieutenant-colonel William Legh Clowes of Broughton Old Hall, Lancashire. He had a daughter by his first wife, and four other children by his second wife Jessy. His second son, Herbert Edward Ryle also a clergyman, became successively Bishop of Exeter, Bishop of Winchester and Dean of Westminster.

Legacy


John Charles Ryle, by Carlo Pellegrini, 1881.
Ryle was a strong supporter of the evangelical school and a critic of ritualism. He was a writer, pastor and an evangelical preacher. Among his longer works are Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century (1869), Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (7 vols, 1856–69), and Principles for Churchmen (1884). Ryle was described as having a commanding presence and vigorous in advocating his principles albeit with a warm disposition. He was also credited with having success in evangelizing the blue-collar community. He was a strong believer in the return of the Jews to their own land as being prophesied in the Bible and thus was part of the movement that led to the Balfour Declaration.

Published works

· The Cross: A Call to the Fundamentals of Religion (1852)
· Expository Thoughts on Matthew,
· Expository Thoughts on Mark,
· Expository Thoughts on Luke, Vol. 1, Vol. 2,
· Expository Thoughts on John, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3,
· Coming Events and Present Duties, and Prophecy, (1867) Now published as Are You Ready for the End of Time?
· Shall We Know One Another, (1870)
· Knots Untied, (1877)
· Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots, (1877,
· Practical Religion: Being Plain Papers on the Daily Duties, Experience, Dangers, and Privileges of Professing Christians, (1878)
· Higher Criticism: Some Thoughts on Modern Theories about the Old Testament (1880)
· Simplicity in Preaching, (1882)
· Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times, (1887)
· The Duties of Parents, (1888)
· From Old Times: or Protestant Facts and Men, (1890) (partially reprinted as Five English Reformers)
· Bible Inspiration: Its Reality and Nature (1877)
· Christian Leaders of the Last Century (1873)
· Tracts and Other Works

Repent! Then Believe! Mark 1:1-15
Text: “Therefore, turn thou to thy God; keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.”
Hosea 12:6.
Good morning, repentant Christian! Not enough for you to have initially repented - turned away from your life of sin, old attitudes, habits, and worldliness - to follow hard after the Living Christ. You, having turned away from sin, now seek a daily turning towards Christlikeness, by the power of God the Holy Spirit. Praise God, you do well. May the Lord enable you and I to be obedient to His Word throughout this day and always. Amen! (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
How often in this apostate day we hear pastors, teachers, and lay-person Christians get Christ’s Gospel message of repentance wrong. Repentance seems to have become merely a word mouthed frequently by Churchy people, a word that has lost its intended meaning; a word devoid of Spiritual application to the souls of sinners today. How sad. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)
Christ’s message revealed in today’s Bible passage is, “...Repent ye, and believe the Gospel...” (V.15). It is not a message of, ‘Get saved and made fit for a Holy Heaven, then live an ungodly life of Hell on earth!’ No! The message of the Master is “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel...”. (Acts 2:41-47) (1 Peter 1:15-16)
Repentance is a concept sorely neglected in the Church of the 21st Century; a fundamental doctrine which is absolutely necessary, not only for a soul’s Salvation, but for the progressive sanctification of our natural state before God. We all need to be progressively sanctified daily, as we seek to fellowship with our Holy Lord God and with each other in the Body of Christ. We have hindered prayer-lives and hampered fellowship when once the doctrine of repentance is neglected.
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18)
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
Mark’s Gospel makes genuine repentance an absolute precursory to true belief of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified for sinners.
J.C. Ryle Comments: “The Gospel of St. Mark, which we now begin, is in some respects unlike the other three Gospels. It tells us nothing about the birth and early life of our Lord Jesus Christ. It contains comparatively few of His sayings and discourses. Of all the four inspired histories of our Lord’s earthly ministry, this is by far the shortest.
“But we must not allow these peculiarities to make us undervalue St. Mark’s Gospel. It is a Gospel singularly full of precious facts about the Lord Jesus, narrated in a simple, terse, pithy, and condensed style. If it tells us few of our Lord’s sayings, it is eminently rich in its catalogue of His doings. It often contains minute historical details of deep interest, which are wholly omitted in Matthew, Luke, and John. In short, it is no mere abridged copy of St. Matthew, as some have rashly asserted, but the independent narrative of an independent witness, who was inspired to write a history of our Lord’s works, rather than of His words. Let us read it with holy reverence. Like all the rest of Scripture, every word of St. Mark is “given by inspiration of God,” and every word is “profitable.” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)
Repentance: Turning away from our past life of sin, and turning to God is the act of initial, or primary, repentance. However, if that primary act is a genuine one, then a continual repentance from sin to God shall follow. (Hebrews 12:12-15) (Psalm 42:1)
In reality, we sinners shall always sin. Yet our sins, after genuine repentance, shall become all the more exceedingly sinful to us, and we shall immediately feel the Holy Spirit’s deep grief convicting us to seek forgiveness and a forsaking of the sin into which we have so foolishly fallen. (John 16:8) (Luke 22:54-62)
When we feel the pangs of conviction sin, it only goes to prove the legitimacy of our belief - a belief in God’s Word which teaches us to truly repent and continually believe/trust in the Lord. Therefore, apparent defeat by sin is swallowed up in a very real Spiritual victory through the Cross of Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! What a Saviour! (1 John 1:8-9)
Repentance is itself the gift of God to Hell-deserving sinners whom He has chosen to save. Esau sought repentance, yet couldn’t have it. Saul of Tarsus wasn’t looking for it, yet was blessed with it on a dusty Damascus road. “Salvation is of the Lord...”. (Acts 9 (Hebrews 12:14-17) (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Go to then, genuine Christian, when sin seems to have a victory - repent and believe - the Lord has made a provision for weak mortals like you and me. Thanks be to the Living, Loving Lord God! (2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Thought: True belief, bringing true repentance, proves a true Bible belief.

(c) Dr C.K. McClinton
Ulster Christians
www.ulsterchristians.org

See If you relax the Law, you will be least in the kingdom of heaven?

I am a member of the Pentecostal Holiness Church who also visits Baptist churches. I have sent a niece through Liberty University. Most of the pastors I know both Pentecostal and Baptist are Liberty University graduates.

Liberty University's Rawlings School of Divinity

In which boasts the world’s largest school for religious studies and ministerial training. Liberty University defines itself as a Christian college that aligns with the evangelical tradition. But with the Thomas Road Baptist church nearby, arguably more Baptist.

So... We are a Pentecostal Holiness denomination filled with Liberty graduates. With the Liberty University influence comes change. The nearby Radford Pentecostal Holiness Church has renamed itself Compassion Church with Liberty graduates at the helm. We also have a nearby Northstar church that are fruits of Baptist ministries. When asked about denomination influence the Liberty graduate will tell you they are, "Bible Believing." The Northstar church does very well with I would say 1,000 folk in attendance while Virginia Tech classes are in progress. Noting that both churches have about the same training, they also share in the fact that there is no advertised denomination. You would have to dig to find their denominational influences.

Compassion Church Radford | A family where you belong

In advise in choosing a church of this influence I would highly recommend to research into the leadership.Good leadership is essential. Saint Ambrose once said, "While in Rome do as the Romans." Which I believe is good advice and there may be a time to get out of Rome if the Romans are getting off base. But while in Rome I at least try to be friendly and well mannered.

My goodness! What a delicate thread! These are... Though... Changing times in which denominational focus is not what it was as in times past.