Cop car crashes into the front of a gay bar. Police say one of the owners assaulted one of the responding officers. Owners say they were handcuffed after refusing to provide identification despite being the victims. That link has video of the crash. Video of the ensuing interaction hasn’t yet been released.

The origin of the Sabbath has been debated by Bible scholars with some that argue that the Sabbath originated at the time of Moses. A major reason why the question of the origin of the Sabbath has attracted much attention is because with it is bound the larger question of whether or not the principle and practice of seventh-day Sabbathkeeping is binding upon Christians. So we will look at this question at Creation and see what it has.
Genesis 2:1-4
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

Verse 1 and 4 makes clear when the origin happened, as it was after man was made and all the work of creation finished, which helps in understanding that the Sabbath was established by God at creation for the benefit of mankind, which would make its observance as a creation ordinance binding upon all, Jews and Christians.

if we look at verse 2 and 3 we find in the verses that the Biblical view of the origin of the Sabbath is unequivocal: the Sabbath, as seventh day, originated at the completion of the creation week as a result of three divine acts: God "rested," "blessed," and "hallowed" the seventh day.

Twice we see that it states that God "rested" on the seventh day from all His work. The Hebrew verb shabat, translated "rested," denotes cessation and not relaxation. Now in Exodus 20:11 the idea of rest is expressed by the Hebrew verb nuah, which is used, is as where the divine rest fulfills an anthropological function: it serves as a model for human rest. In Genesis 2:2-3 however, the divine rest has a lager function as it serves to explain that God was content to be the Creator of this world and did not need to proceed to further creations here on the earth, it ended at that point. To acknowledge this fact, God stopped or ceased.

Genesis 2:2 affirms that the Creator "blessed" (brk) the seventh day just as He had blessed animals and man on the previous day. Divine blessings in the Scripture are not merely "good wishes," but assurance of fruitfulness, prosperity, and a happiness in life. In terms of the seventh day, it means that God has promised to make the Sabbath a beneficial and vitalizing power through which human life is enriched and renewed. In Exodus 20:11 the blessing of the creation seventh day is clearly linked with the weekly Sabbath, and the same rest.

Exodus 20:10-11
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The theological reasons given for the command to observe the seventh day Sabbath in verse 10 "to the Lord your God" is "for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" in verse 11. Notice it clearly repeats the same as Creation, God "rested," "blessed," and "hallowed" the seventh day.

I have requested prayer years and years ago. I had a spirit of distraction bother me for years. And then for about 4 years from about 2015 to 2019 a completely left and I was a total peace. Wow I thought. This is what it's like to be filled with the spirit and at peace. I was just literally happy all the time.

And then around 2019 or 20, this Spirit of distraction came back to bother me. And so here it is going into 2024 and it's still bothers me. So would you agree in prayer that this thing would leave me for good?

This thing has bothered me for years and years. So let's believe in faith and prayer that God would do this for me. Also many others are praying. Very strong and godly people. And I appreciate your prayers, thank you, John

The 118th Congress is on track to be one of the most unproductive in modern history, with just a couple dozen laws on the books at the close of 2023, according to data from data analytics firm Quorum.

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This is an odd thing to me. We are told not to be worldly, and yet we were made for the earth. I love being physical and not a spirit, I like making music, I like watching society advance. Is this sinful of me? Adam and Eve were told to develop the world, so I dont think it is, and yet these desires are considered "worldly"?

Does this apply to pastors?

2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Some pastors:

Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart
Weren't they both with Assemblies of God?

Mr. Bakker is very old. I don't know about Swaggart's age. Isn't he still preaching in Louisiana? I'm wondering how people would know whether or not someone repented of sins they were secretive about.

Are there other reasons to not be a pastor?

An Eastern Orthodox suggested that priests are as human as other people. What about being an example? What about St. Nicholas?

I'm not interested in debate --- just information.

The Colorado Supreme Court has disqualified Trump from their ballot in 2024.

The disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Tuesday's 4-3 ruling is stayed until January 4 because of likely appeals. Three justices on the Colorado Supreme Court dissented.

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As much as the Democrats like to complain that the Republicans are the "anti-Democratic" party, they appear to be doing whatever they can to keep the leading Republican candidate from even running. This is not likely to be upheld, as the Trump team looks to appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The policies of the Biden administration encourage child labor, rapes, and sex trafficking. Realize that there are many criminals entering this country.

John 20:24-29

24 Thomas was one of the 12 disciples. He was also called Didymus. He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came. 25 So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “First I must see the nail marks in his hands. I must put my finger where the nails were. I must put my hand into his side. Only then will I believe.”

26 A week later, Jesus’ disciples were in the house again. Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “May peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed.”

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Jesus seems to be talking about future Christians who believe he had risen but have not seen him.... such as those who were reading his words in the Bible...
I thought it was interesting...

When talking about immigrants and saying they are "Poisoning the blood of our country"
What does that mean?

All I can think of it meaning is that the speaker is worried about ethnicity becoming mixed, like mixed blood. As in, people of certain ethnicities, their blood is poison or bad and degrades the overall gene pool.

I'd like to think that this isn't an overtly racist troupe though, but I am struggling to think of a better explanation as to what is meant by "Poisoning the blood of our country"


Can someone help me out here. What is a positive and less racist way to interpret this?

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.
I feel like this verse is a good reminder to people who feel lost. Including me. I wanted to post this, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section.

In a bombshell decision, Colorado's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that former President Donald Trump's candidacy in the state's primary next year is prohibited on constitutional grounds.

"A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution," the ruling said. "Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.”


....things are getting spicy.

In related news "Ron DeSantis wets pants with excitement" (okay, I made that part up)

I was raised in the church, but sometime after I got into college my parents stopped going to church. I think this was for two reasons: 1) They claimed the pastor at the nearest one we went to "talked about the same thing over and over". Apparently he emphasized God loving us "too much". Sounds ridiculous, I know, but this was what they told me when I tried asking them about it. And 2) A church that we used to go to had a pastor that was on the Ashley Madison list. Ashley Madison was a dating social network designed for married men to discretely cheat on their wives. Most of the women turned out to be just bots, but when a list of all the men who had used it was leaked, it was a devastating scandal. Even though by this point we didn't go to that church anymore, I think it really turned my parents off from church even more than they had already been.

I also feel like I'm to blame a bit. When I was a kid, I didn't like going to church. We had to dress up in fancy clothes, sit still and be quiet, which is a lot of conformity to put onto a child. My parents forced us to go and forced us to socialize with people, and I didn't like getting to know people I was only going to see for one day of the week. I didn't like socializing with people back then. I'm on the autism spectrum and that may have had something to do with it. So maybe me and my twin brother's autism (my twin brother also doesn't believe, but he's in a different state) made it so that church was just a place where we showed up on Sunday for the service, and then left. This was especially prominent once we switched churches (from the church where the pastor was on the Ashley Madison list, to the one where the pastor kept talking about God's love "too much"). At the first church, we stayed for Sunday school, but when we went to the second church, we just showed up for the sermon and then left. It didn't help that the second church was bigger and it was harder to get to know people.

In any case, now my parents won't go to church. They think watching a sermon online is equivalent to going to church. That may have made sense during the pandemic, but it's over now. I've tried inviting them to my Bible study but they claim that they "already know all the Bible stories" and are "too old" to learn anything new. They seem to think that they've "outgrown" church now that all of their children have grown up. I go to a third church now in a different denomination, but it's full of young people and way too loud. I don't think they'd like it, and if I tried to invite them they'd turn me down.

People keep saying I need to just let myself be a light for Christ. But I don't know if that will be enough to bring them back to God.

Can a woman spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

this type of phone once upon a time?

Please pray for my nephew's boy (02 years plus) named Shaurya, He having a fever for the last few days has not eaten full meals, and has not passed stool for a while.
Kindly pray for healing for the child. and God's protection for the child.

i came here before, about 5 or 6 years back. I was in poor shape, back then, dependent on drink and somewhat in despair had turned to the Bible. About a year passed and I'd long since forgotten about Bible studies, but was then able to quit on my own. Perhaps God made me suffer a bit longer, to drive home the message that it was an evil behaviour that had gotten a grip on me. I think if I'd managed to quit then, magically, I'd have been back on it by now. I've not touched any for over 4 years.

Anyway, I do remember I recieved lots of very kind, mature, thoughtful and supportive messages here. I recently decided to resume my Bible Studies and am in a much better place now to do that. I hope to make more of a contribution than I did last time! Outside of Bible Studies, I like camping, reading (mainly about history) and walking my dog.

Looking forward to chatting to you all,

Richard.

If you love Jesus ...
and are a worshipper, too ...
I think you may like this!


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please pray for a workmate who is very competitive and pushes her way in so that she is in the way of what I am doing. i dont know why she is doing this but I'm finding it difficult, thank you.

Amazing image.

General view also showing some of its moons.
Note the background galaxies in the image as well.

These results expand our understanding of human adaptation to a ketogenic diet combined with exercise. In conjunction with weight loss, we observed altered skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and efficiency, an effect that may contribute to the therapeutic use of ketogenic diets in various clinical conditions, especially those associated with insulin resistance...

Carbohydrate-restricted diets are a practical and sustainable lifestyle approach to manage conditions closely associated with insulin resistance, including metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes...

Given the involvement of both insulin resistance and mitochondrial impairment in a wide variety of degenerative diseases, if enhancement of mitochondrial function is a mechanism through which ketogenic diets improve insulin sensitivity, this would imply potential for major improvements in public health.

Hi all my first post. I was brought up a Catholic but lost my faith as a teen, I became an atheist perhaps agnostic. Many bad things happen to me in my life. of late I can only think that the devil or something is causing this. I have always thought that if there is a God he would be discovered by science. The more I learn about near death experince and cross referincing that with quantum mechanics I am convinced that there is a god. I have a good friend who ( A very good, happy genuine person with a great family) I will be meeting this weekend to discus Jesus. I have so many questions and I want very much to believe, wheere and how do I start?

Please help me understand

We as humans, no doubt, have many plans, things that we want to do and to accomplish in this life. Some of those may be good plans, and some may not be, and some may be neither good nor evil, but just are. But we who are followers of Christ should submit our plans to the Lord for his approval, for he may have other plans for our lives. But first and foremost we should seek his plans for our lives and then walk in them in his power and strength.

I can recall vividly this one night the Lord had me up in the middle of the might speaking to me. Now he didn’t speak to me audibly but by his Spirit in my spirit. The year was 2016. And the Lord, through his word, was asking me if I would leave it all to go with him wherever he sent me. He asked me if I would leave my children and my grandchildren and my house to go with him wherever he wanted me to go. And I said, “Yes, Lord, I will go.”

Well, later that morning, after I had slept for a little while, I saw that my husband, who was working his job from home, was intently staring at something on his computer. So I asked him what he was looking at. He was looking at apartments in our hometown of Akron, Ohio. I asked him why, and he told me he wanted to retire and he wanted to move back to Akron, from our home in South Carolina, to care for his aged parents.

Immediately I knew that this was what the Lord was preparing me for in the middle of the night. I still went and prayed about it, to confirm that this was the will of God, and then I said “Yes” to my husband that I would move back to Akron (500 miles away from our children and grandchildren). And so that is what we did. And I know that the Lord had a plan and a purpose for that move at that time, but it didn’t last very long (1 year, 3 months) before we knew we must leave, and that the Lord was sending us someplace else.

And then we lived in another state and in another city for two more years before the Lord sent us back home to be with our children and with our grandchildren once again. And that is where we have been the past 4 years and 4 months. And I am convinced that all of those moves were in the plans of the Lord for our lives, and that the people we met and spent time with and talked with were in our lives for that time and purpose. And the Lord had his purpose and timing for bringing us back home to our family.

And as I have talked about before, there was a time in our lives (in 2004) when my husband and I were training to be church planters under our church denomination at that time. But while I was at one of their prayer conferences the Lord spoke to me strongly through the speakers at that conference and through his word that he had something else for me to do which he then made clear to me several months later.

And that is what I have been doing the past nineteen years, which is to write down what I am learning through the Scriptures and through time spent with my Lord each day and then to post my personal times of devotion with the Lord on the internet for others to read. Now a lot of those early on were the Lord opening my eyes to seeing so many things I was totally unaware of as regards what is going on in the world and in these market-driven “churches.” And he was also helping me to unlearn things I learned wrongly.

Eventually these writings became more like Bible study lessons, and this is what God had planned for me, to be a missionary on the internet, basically, which is ministering to people throughout the world instead of just to our small congregation we had. But this was not in my plans. I would never have thought of doing anything like this. And then he added on writing songs and then poetry and then doing video talks and Christian memes. None of this was in my plans or thought of on my part.

And these are just two of my personal examples from my life in order to illustrate how this passage of Scripture might unfold in our lives when we are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and when we are willing to follow our Lord’s plans and purpose for our lives even if it goes against or changes and alters the plans that we had for our lives, even if they are good plans. For we may have good plans, but they may not be God’s plans for our lives, at least not for that time and purpose.

So, for me, the central message here is that, even if our own plans are good plans, they may not be God’s plans for our lives. And so we all need to be sensitive to hearing the Spirit speaking to us through his word and we need to let him direct our paths to where he wants us to go and to what he wants us to do. And that is no guarantee that everything is going to turn out great or that we won’t have definite challenges and even persecutions.

For, when we moved back to Akron, five months after we got there we were infested with bed bugs, something I never thought possible for us, for we are very clean people, and I falsely assumed bed bugs only came to people who were not clean. I was wrong! They were in the apartment building, and they went from apartment to apartment. And they were in my hair and I broke out in horribly large sores all over my body which burned and itched like crazy. But we were free of them in about six weeks.

And that was just one of the challenges that we faced there. For there were others, and then the Lord led us to leave and to go someplace else. But wherever we went God had a plan and a purpose for it all, as God has had a plan and a purpose for this calling on my life. And it has not been without “bumps in the road,” either, nor do I expect that there won’t be even more or worse “bumps” yet to come. For Jesus promised us a life of trials and tribulations and persecutions and sufferings for following him.

But the good news in all of this is that God is working his plans and his purpose through it all, and he will get us through these “bumps,” whatever they may be, when our trust is in him, and when we are walking in his ways, according to his commands. We have to just keep in step with him each step of the way in listening to what he directs us to do and in where he intends for us to go next, and his will and purpose will be accomplished through it all. So we need to be those who are making his plans our plans. Amen!

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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