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

A new study found the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai Chi was more effective in reducing high blood pressure than other forms of exercise such as brisk walking or stair climbing.

Chinese scientists compared two groups of participants with high blood pressure over one year—one practicing Tai Chi and the other performing aerobic exercise.

The authors of the study, published in the JAMA Network Open journal, say their results should encourage health advisors to promote the gentle martial art in preventing heart disease in those with hypertension.

Researchers from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences took 342 participants with prehypertension–blood pressure that’s slightly higher than normal–and split them into two groups.

Half the participants (average age 49) performed Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art practiced for self-defense and health, during four supervised sessions every week for one year.

The traditional mind-body exercise guides individuals to concentrate on very slow and fluid movements that can benefit an individual’s balance, breathing, and heart function. (Watch a beginning lesson below…) Previous studies have also shown its benefits in reducing blood pressure.

The other half of participants performed aerobic exercise including climbing stairs, jogging, brisk walking, and cycling four times a week during the same time frame.


Researchers measured the systolic blood pressure (SBP) of participants at six months and at the end of the study. At both stages, they found significant differences in the blood pressure of the two groups.

Continued below.

Not being an academic, I only gradually become familiar with the dogmas of men that exist in the Christian Community. Most recently, this strange idea of "Gentile Reprobation" has come to my attention, suggesting that those judged as "goats" were predestined and their choices played no part. And this in spite of the Lord's own words:

Matthew 25:

45 Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it

to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.

46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

This is as clear a statement of personal accountability as you will ever hear, and I marvel that someone could attain to the level of spiritual blindness to ignore such evidence to the contrary against the position they hold. I then realize that this is a perfect example of the Lord hardening hearts and why.

To accuse the Lord of being random and capricious takes quite the reprobate mind. The proponents also demonstrate a marked inability to receive any instruction or correction as further evidence to the state of their heart. I would implore that all prayers, supplications and intercessions be made on this topic, even as I will now demonstrate how and why a heart is hardened in the Gospels.

John 1:

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

I highlight the final phrase, for this is often overlooked, and is a key to understanding why the scribes and Pharisees, and many of the citizens of Jerusalem were hardened against the Lord, as discussed by Paul in Romans 9.

Note that the narrative also stipulates that John was "a man sent from God". The Lord Himself also speaks to this, although many think that He was only referring to Himself. I will soon prove otherwise.

John 6:

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Now, to John the baptist, and the truth that his ministry was a litmus test for the hearts of Israel.

Luke 7:27 This is he of whom it is written:

‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist;

but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God,

having been baptized with the baptism of John.

30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves,

being not baptized of him.

The Lord calls them out on this in Jerusalem, and silences their opposition.

Luke 20:1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel,

that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him

2 and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?

Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

3 But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:

4 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say,

‘Why then did you not believe him?’

6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Those who did believe in John the baptist not only were baptized by him, publicly confessing their sins, but they also listened to him teach, which prepared their hearts to receive the Lord.

John 10:

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.

41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke

about this Man were true.”

42 And many believed in Him there.

Therefore, it is with good reason that the Lord hardens hearts, and those who accuse Him of doing so otherwise are hardened in their own hearts, and unteachable to the contrary, which is the very nature of a reprobate mind. Such is the true nature of man's reprobation, holding to doctrines of men that oppose the Word of God.

One more example of Insanity-Without-Borders:

Scientist whose research paved way for COVID vaccine named to Pontifical Academy for Life (Vatican Press Office)
Editor's Note: Pope Francis has named Katalin Karikó, a winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize for Medicine, as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Karikó and Drew Weismann were awarded the prize “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.” According to statutes approved by Pope Francis in 2016, ordinary members of the Pontifical Academy are chosen “on the basis of their academic qualifications, proven professional integrity, professional expertise and faithful service in the defense and promotion of the right to life of every human person.”
(found on Catholic News)

Click to expand...

Did they actually out-loud say "effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19" ?

Hi,

If we read story of Job, he was innocent, where his sons and daughters innocent also ? They died, I mean why ?
God is giver of life so he can take life anytime he wants to, humans can't do this because we can't give life.

Br,

Acts 13:48: "...and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."

It is the suggestion of some that "appointed" here should be understood as an appointing of oneself, because the verb can be taken as either a middle or a passive.

The verb (τεταγμένοι), however, is a perfect participle within a periphrastic construction. The significance of the perfect periphrastic is that it gives a pluperfect force to the verb, suggesting that the appointing is an action that was completed in the past with regard to the Gentiles' exposure to the gospel. Thus, the act of appointing and the subsequent act of believing are distinct actions separated by a period of time. The appointing precedes the Gentiles' hearing and acceptance of the gospel.

If interpreted as middle voice, then, the notion of "appointing oneself" to eternal life implies a self-designation to a future state of belief, distinct from the act of belief itself. This appointing of oneself, in other words, would not involve a conscious decision to embrace Christ in faith.

What does that mean? For those who take the view that this verb should be interpreted as a middle, what does it mean to say that one, as an unbeliever, appoints oneself to a future state of belief, without in that very act of appointment embracing Christ in faith?

The severe improbability of such an interpretation is why translators render this verb as a passive, and the verse does therefore go quite a ways in supporting a doctrine of unconditional election.

Mayorkas on Sunday acknowledged that the nation’s southern border constitutes a “crisis,” but he also called on Congress to pass legislation “to fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system."
The Biden administration lied to us when they claimed the border was safe, closed, and secure. Now that they are caught in the big lie because of the busing and the major media being forced to cover the disaster, they claim no responsibility.

It is becoming clear why all nations might come against Israel. That is a sign Jesus gave of the endtime. Jerusalem surrounded by armies. What is not yet clear is why God would destroy Russia's forces (and co) to stop them. Watching the Tucker Carlson/Putin interview I found it hard to read Putin's true nature. On the surface he has several seemingly Christian oriented policies. Pro family, protect Russia from lgbtq agenda etc. Yet when Tucker asked him about being a Christian and how that aligns with his war etc I found the answer questionable. So, the point here is that IF the leader of Russia was totally lying and insincere and using a facade of Christianity for whatever reasons (like gaining trust of Russian people) I could see reasons for God doing what Eze prophesies. (wiping them out when they try invading Israel)

So if that were the case, we have a motive for invading Israel (the slaughter of civilians in Palestine) and a reason for God to wipe them out (if Putin or a successor were completely lying and not right with God)

Thoughts?

An Article I Read Today

I read an article on the internet today that I believe is fitting to this passage of Scripture, so I am going to share with you a quote from it, and I will include a link to the article at the end of this devotion. Here is the quote:


So, what is this “He Gets Us” movement? Here I am going to quote what they say about themselves from their own website, and again, I will include a link to this article at the end of this devotional. Here is what they say:


So, the common desire of these “Jesus fans and followers” is to “rediscover and share the compelling story of Jesus’ life in A NEW WAY.”

Our Value to God

So, does Jesus value all people? Yes! Jesus, when criticized for healing a man on the Sabbath said to his accusers: “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12 ESV). And he said about his followers that they were of more value than sparrows and the birds of the air (Matthew 6:26; Matthew 10:31). So, for what reason are we valued? Well, we were created in the image of God by God, by Jesus Christ, and we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and he has a plan and a purpose for our lives (Psalms 139:13-16)

And Jesus valued us enough to die for us on a cross in order to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we might now live for him in walks of obedience to his commands and in holy living (Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Titus 2:11-14). And he didn’t do this for us because of our goodness, for our own righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6 KJV). For “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NIV). So his love for us is not based on our goodness (in the flesh) but on His.

And This is the Judgment

Okay, so I am going to tie this all together, as the Lord leads. This group, the “He Gets Us” group, has as its goal to rediscover and share the compelling story of Jesus’ life in a new way. What new way? Well, it is first of all to dispel and to do away with “the old way,” which is the way of the cross of Christ and of the teachings of Jesus and of his NT apostles. For they want to present Jesus in a new way, which is the way of the flesh, and as someone who did not come to judge or to divide.

But Jesus made judgments about people and about sin and hell and heaven and faith all throughout his teachings. I mean just look at Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; and John 3:19-21. And he did come to divide family members, one from another (Luke 12:51-53). And then they said that Jesus’ teachings were a warm embrace, not a cold shoulder. So they obviously did not read these passages of Scripture and Matthew 23:1-39 where Jesus strongly rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes for their religious hypocrisy.

And they didn’t read John 6:35-58 where many followers of Jesus deserted him, for they found his teachings to be “too hard to accept” because he was, basically, inviting them to die with him to sin that they might have new life in him free from their bondage to sin in true worship and in true loyalty of devotion to him as their Lord. And they obviously did not read all of Jesus’ teachings or they would not have concluded that Jesus valued people in such a way as to ignore their sinful lifestyles and to accept them just the way they are without pro-this or anti-that beliefs influencing his decisions.

And we are not to be those who “rediscover” Jesus according to human thinking and reasoning, and who “explore Jesus’ story” on our “own terms” and at our own pace, i.e. according to our own fleshly appetites and preferences and not according to what the Scriptures teach. And this leads me back to that article that I read which points some of that out. For they want a Jesus who is light on sin and judgment and heavy on grace and love, but not the grace of God which frees us from slavery to sin and not agape love which prefers what is holy, righteous, morally pure, honest and faithful.

For they do indeed want a tailor-fit God who adopts the same quasi-standards of morality that mankind does who does not require death to sin and living to righteousness and walks of obedience to him and to his commands. They want a God who will receive them and their professions of faith in him without question and without limits and without any restrictions or commands or conditions to be met in order to receive his forgiveness of sins and eternal life with him. But that is not the God of the Scriptures!

For what do we read in John 3:19-21? There is a judgment of God here which is that Jesus and his truth and righteousness and his gospel message have come into the world. But those who are worldly, even many who profess the name of Jesus, are rejecting that light (Jesus, truth, gospel message, righteousness) because they prefer the darkness to the light, because they want to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and against other humans, but some of them while still professing Jesus as their Savior and heaven as their eternal destiny.

But that isn’t the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught. We can’t have Jesus and his salvation and eternal life with God and our sins and our selfishness and our own versions of Jesus, too. For if sin is what we practice, this says that it means that we hate the light (Jesus, et al) and so we don’t really come into the light, even if our lips profess that we have. Those who come into the light, thus, are those who walk according to the light, i.e. according to the Spirit in walks of holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (see all noted Scriptures 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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Link to article quoted above:

He Gets Us

I like to first start off by saying sorry for my spelling and all these errors to my story, I’m here to try my very best on explaining myself.

I’ve met this lovely woman to whom I’m engaged with, and theirs some things that I’ve said and done, where I’m reflecting on from my past that I regret making.I’d like to share as to where our relationship is at, our relationship is a long distant relationship where I’m from the United States, and she from Mexico.I’ve been A Christian for maybe a year or so.She herself is making changes little by little for her to become a Christian for me, and not just for me, but for God most importantly.


Before we were a couple. i’ve been introduced to her to which we’ve set up a date. And when getting to know someone you’ll take that person out on dates and so forth in order to get to know that person more, that’s how we’ve done it as friends.Time went by and as for me, I’ve started losing interest in her, it was like I really didn’t have feelings for her and seeing it now, at that time looking back at it.It was mostly because what I was looking for in a woman, was a woman just off her looks, and to me at that time I didn’t really see her as a attractive person. I was looking at her asking myself if she is going to be my future girlfriend and future wife.Im sure I was debating on that, I don’t remember because it’s been a while, but I’ve made the decision where I’ve ghosted her/left her on read to her messages without giving explanation as to why I’ve stopped talking to her. Told myself I’ve made a decision. I gotta stick with that decision I’ve made. it was something that I did that I’m sure I was conscience of and where I thought out on this decision.

Throughout the time when I stop talking to her, I've made these prayers where I prayed against her, to God. where I was throwing these vows, promises, oaths and I don’t remember whether I’ve said covenant too, asking God to never have her as my future girlfriend and future wife continuously and sincerely, through out my time where I’ve stopped talking to her.Through out that time I was asking where is said the same things but where asking God to promise me and so forth where I was praying against her.I had this hate towards her, Ive despised her when I did happen to see her at Mexico.Its certain that I’ve spoke bad about her and her looks behind her back.I didn’t want anything to do with her, just like I’ve mentioned, where I’ve made this decision, now I gotta stick with it.I do happen remember I think where I was saying yes to Christ and asking God to find me another future girlfriend and future wife.It went on like that for a while until I’ve gotten the opportunity to speak with her and come to her, asking her to forgive me for everything I’ve done and how I’ve left her without giving an explanation, I gave her some reasons as to why I stopped talking to her. For example, my dad wasn’t in favor of me speaking with a woman from Mexico. I also gave her an excuse of how I make decisions without thinking. I shared a little bit about my past and how I am. and she forgive me anyways and not long after we ended up dating. and when dating it came to me in my conscience were in my conscience I did not share her the main reason as to why I stopped talking to her and so I decided to make a phone call which was very hard for me share with her as to why I stop talking to her. but I said it I shared with her the main reason as to why stop talking to her and that was because of her appearance, and and how I was looking for a woman who has good looks.And she forgave me anyways on those details that I did not share with her when I first asked her to forgive me then afterwards, she asked me whether I wanted to continue on with this relationship and the things I said through that phone call, it didn’t bother her. I said yes I do wanna continue on this relationship, and how long after that we got engaged.Not to mention when we stopped talking to each other I was explaining myself to God being reasonable as to why I’ve also stopped talking to her, but it was mostly just off the looks, and as for the other details are because we had this language barrier in which now we are able to understand and speak more to each other.And the other reason is because it was long distant relationship but now we look at the suffering as a little bit, we don’t see each other for maybe like for one weekend every 2 weeks.

but after hearing all this, my question to my concern is “am I bound to fulfill those vows, promises, and oats I regret making at that time when I stop talking to her or can, God forgive me for everything, I said, and done to her when I stopped talking to her at that time?”

I have a change of heart, and I truly love her and this is definitely a concern of mine because of what I did, and what I’m reflecting on right now ,and those decisions I’ve made in the past, I truly regret.

The reason why I ask whether I’m bound or not because of the Bible now the Bible is the truth and it doesn’t contradict itself and with what I’m gonna be sharing is some Bible scriptures that speak on promises and vows and how you should fulfill them and not delay on them.


Can God forgive me or am I bound to fulfill those promises, vows, oaths and covenants that I’m
very regretful of?


‭‭Numbers‬ ‭30‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.“
‭‭

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭33‬-‭37‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.“


‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭23‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.“


‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few. Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool. When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved. Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.“


‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬


”But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.“

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Encountering difficulties again.
Urgently need prayer:
1) For a new job that provides well for me & my son. Preferably no commute and M-F.
2) For resolving old debts & bad credit score, so I can get apartment for son & I.
3) For God's wisdom, peace, & guidance in where son & I should move.
In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you & God Bless you.

Romans 10:3 (NASB20)
For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is this ‘subjecting oneself to the righteousness of God’…?

God has stated that ‘He has shut up all in disobedience that He might have mercy to all’ ….

So this subjecting oneself would have to be separate from all that had been shut up in the disobedience, it would have to be something totally new and separate unto itself… This new thing is the righteousness of faith, which is a simple taking God at His word and believing that He will form a new life in one if one so desires…. For this is a real new life growing in one which purpose is to overcome and overrule all that had been shut up in the disobedience…..

This new thing which is birthed from the desire towards it, this desire, is to grab unto something other than itself, something outside of itself, something that only faith can grab unto…. Something that is in God’s ability alone, something that He has promised to work in one if one is but willing…. But God asks one thing, because it is absolutely necessary, that one would keep one’s hands out of the cookie jar so to speak that He might work His work in the growing of this new life…. Because the workings of self, is one looking to one’s own natural life, one’s own natural abilities, it is this working that nullifies, stops, prevents the promised new life from growing in one and overcoming all that needs to be overcome….

For this desire of faith is submitting to God’s righteousness, because by the giving up of oneself to this desire, self is shut up in Christ’s death on the cross…. So as this faith continues its work, and by the longing desire towards it, one grabs unto the promised new life that only God Himself can bring to life in one… For this new life is totally new and separate from the life that has been known up to the point of giving oneself over to the faith that brings the righteous life that comes down from above to become the new life that has been promised to the believing one….

The faith that says; ‘I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me’ is subjecting oneself to the righteousness of God…. For this faith that brings this righteous new life that comes from God by faith, is that faith that is accounted for righteousness….

For God has shut up all in the prison of self, that those that would, would be made free by their simply looking to Him in faith…

Many blessings as the freedom that the righteous life produces in one is known, felt and grown…. Because of His great love for the world He has brought forth something totally new, brought to life by the faith of the believer believing……


A believing believer, Not me

In the US, while ACROD consists almost entirely of Carpatho-Rusyns, as the name implies, I would not be surprised if the OCA had more members in total, and my understanding is that a great many Rusyns are also members of the ROCOR and even the MP parishes in Western Pennsylvania.

Likewise, in Europe, where would one most likely find members of this group? I have heard there are a great many in the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and the Polish Orthodox Church, but my understanding is that both churches also have Czech, Slovak and Polish members, respectively. Also that one would find some in the Belarussian Orthodox Church and among the Orthodox Christians in the Ukraine.

I would be really interested in a demographic breakdown of this information.

I was recently very interested, on a related note, to learn about the histoircal representation of the Tosk and Gheg ethnic groups in Albanian Orthodoxy. The majority of the Orthodox are from the Tosk ethnic group, since most of the Bhegs were converted to Roman Catholicism, but before the nightmarish atheist regime of Enver Hoxha, a Tosk of Islamic descent, began, there were some substantial minority populations of Orthodox Christians among the Ghegs, for example, in the city of Durrës. And of course, thanks to the efforts of Archbishop Fan Noli, there is a substantial Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the OCA, which I would assume has members of both Tosk and Gheg ethnicity.

His super bowl message:

We should all pray for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Genocide in Numbers – This is What Israel Has Done to Gaza

128 days of the war. Publised 11 February 2024

2,438 massacres.
35,176 martyred and missing.
28,176 martyrs whose bodies have reached the hospitals.
12,300 child martyrs.
8,400 women martyrs.
340 medical worker martyrs.
46 civil defense martyrs.
124 journalist martyrs.
7,000 missing; 70% of them are children and women.
67,784 wounded.
11,000 wounded in need of travel for life-saving and critical treatment.
10,000 cancer patients at risk of death.
700,000 Gazans infected with infectious diseases as a result of displacement.
8,000 cases of viral hepatitis infection due to displacement.
60,000 pregnant women are at risk due to lack of access to health care.
350,000 chronic patients are at risk due to lack of administration of medications.
99 arrests of health workers.
10 arrests of journalists whose names are known.
2 million displaced in the Gaza Strip.
142 government headquarters destroyed by the occupation.
100 schools and universities completely destroyed by the occupation.
295 schools and universities partially destroyed by the occupation.
184 mosques completely destroyed by the occupation.
266 mosques partially destroyed by the occupation.
3 churches targeted and destroyed by the occupation.
70,000 residential units completely destroyed by the occupation.
290,000 residential units partially destroyed by the occupation.
66,000 tons of explosives dropped by the occupation on Gaza.
30 hospitals taken out of service by the occupation.
53 health centers taken out of service by the occupation.
150 health centers partially destroyed by the occupation.
123 ambulances completely destroyed by the occupation.
200 archaeological and heritage sites destroyed by the occupation.

No one knows this, but people think it`s hormones and stuff how much testosterone you have, you know tobacco increases it, and weightlifting, and so on, but the truth is it`s mental. if you smoke a cigar and feel like a man, and lift weights, and tough people are around you, you have instantly much more of it. It`s mental, mostly. That`s why drugs lowers it, like weed, because you know it`s a drug and feel less of a man. Nothing can kill you also if you are normal, then you have normal immune and listen to your body. if you`re immoral, do something wrong everyday, then your body will be weaken. A man said also, if you do one good deed everyday for others, you`ll never need medicine. So, if you pray too much, it`ll actually lower your testosterone

There's a church in my area that I attended for a couple of years early in my faith. I left not over sin issues or arguments, but needing to make things right and needing accountability. I know several people who attend there still, and just recently, the founding pastor at the church, the lead pastor, came up and said that God was calling him to leave and go plant a church on the other side of the US. The church has always been intentional about church planting by bringing in prospective pastors and sending them out to plant. And it seems like common sense that you wouldn't have the lead founding pastor of the church be the one who is sent out. But that's exactly what happened. He made the announcement at their annual meeting. That God had given him a command to leave and plant elsewhere, and this would be happening very soon it seems.

Now I know there are several views on how God speaks to us. I'm more in the camp that it's solely through his word, but this church generally thinks he speaks to us through circumstances and other people as well. They made a video explaining why they were doing it, and he said "I have to choose between staying and obeying God."

For context, this church is just under 7 years old, and there's about 150 in attendance. I personally think that him leaving is unwise for a multiple reasons. First, the church is still young. Yes it's got great growth, but 7 years is not much time in the context of a church. Secondly, I would argue attendance to be unstable. And what I mean by that is, I was having a chat with one of their pastors recently. Just catching up, and he told me that the average length of time that people are there is about 3 to 6 months. If you ask me, that doesn't sound good. He thought it was a great thing because there's so many new believers to meet and all that. And thirdly, they're in a situation where they are trying to get a new building/space to meet. I'll spare you the details on that one.

It seems to me like this is a very unwise thing to do and could spell disaster for a church in the state that it's in. I'm told they'll be hiring a new guy from outside the church. In the video, he likened himself to Paul, and how he went from place to place planting churches, but I would argue that Paul was a missionary, not a pastor, and he would set up churches with the mindset of him leaving from the get go, not starting a church and then announcing his departure when he's all settled in.

I think this is unwise but I'm curious on people's thoughts on this.