Daniel 7 describes four beasts which represent kings/kingdoms. The fourth beast is different than the others, and a little horn from that beast was speaking pompous words and making war against the saints.

The chapter also shows a judgment where the Ancient of Days, attended by many thousands, sits for judgment, with open books.

Another scene shows the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, and receiving an everlasting kingdom.

The saints have judgment passed in their favor, and the time comes for them to inherit the kingdom. Three of the beasts have their dominion stripped, and the fourth beast is killed, with the dominion of the little horn of the fourth beast removed.

The purpose of this thread is to identify, if possible, the timing and location of the judgment and the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven. This topic was discussed in another thread, as it touches on a unique SDA doctrine. I have seen the following proposed times and locations:

1. The judgment is of nations,and coming of the Son of Man is Jesus going to the Father in heaven at His ascension.

2. The judgment and the coming of the Son of Man is in heaven, and Jesus is coming to the Father shortly prior to the second coming to judge the beast power and deliver the saints

3. The judgment and the coming of the Son of Man is in heaven, and Jesus is coming to the Father to conduct an investigative judgment of all professed followers of God, beginning in 1844, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in fulfillment of the type of the work of the high priest on the day of atonement in the earthly sanctuary, to see who is deemed worthy to have a part in the first resurrection (SDA).

4. The judgment and coming of the Son of Man is on earth, at the second coming.

5. The judgment and coming of the Son of Man is on earth, at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

I have entertained multiple views over the years on the subject. I am now leaning towards view 4. based on recent study and conversation here, especially based on some comments by @The Liturgist. So I figured prayerfull discussion with others may help clarify.

General considerations:

- The earliest timing I could imagine for the coming ofthe Son of Man would be at Jesus' ascension. The description of the Son of Man seems to emphasize the incarnation. Jesus called Himself Son of Man repeatedly during his earthly ministry. Jesus' ascension to the right hand of God as the Christ would mark the first opportunity in my view for Christ to fulfill this scene. It could be as late as the second coming.

- There are some statements that could refer to this scene in the New Testament, and tying one's view to those allusions would seem to strengthen the case.

I (36M) am husband and father in a blended family. My wife (39F) brought twins (18M&F) into the marriage whom she had in college, we got married in March of 2022, and now we have an eight month old son together. Since the age gap between my wife and step kids is so small they're very close, but there's a boundary within a certain issue that I'm uncomfortable with.

A bit more backstory I moved my family out from the east coast to my hometown in California after being away from there for two years. My stepson stayed behind because he didn't want to move, so he's living with his grandparents where we had all been living together for a time. His twin sister was feeling more adventurous so she came with us, so there's four of us in my household.

The issue is that my wife raised the kids with some kind of open door policy in her bedroom where they slept in her bed with her anytime they want and they often take naps on her bed. The problem is they still do this today, and they're 18 years old now. I on the other hand was raised where I had to get permission to go into my parents room because it was generally off limits, as I got older I learned the value of that and not only respected it but appreciated that they had their own private space in the home. Don't get me wrong, when my sister and I were kids we often watched TV in their room or would sleep there if we had nightmares but it was always with their permission or at their invitation.

Right now I'm sleeping in a different room because I have severe sleep apnea that I've yet to begin treating (no CPAP yet) so I snore very very loudly and it keeps my wife awake. Plus we don't have a big enough bed.

But it bothers me that I feel like my stepdaughter spends more time in my/our bedroom than I do, and often times when she's taking a nap I feel like I can't go in there to change clothes or take a shower or really do anything because it all feels too inappropriate. It's not currently an issue that her brother does it too because he's not living with us at the moment but there's a reasonable expectation that he's going to move out here and join us in the next 6-8 months or so, at which point I'm concerned that'll start happening again. And if I have a problem with his sister sleeping and napping in our bed and generally spending half her waking hours in our room, it's that much more of a problem for me when it comes to her son. I just find it highly inappropriate that her 18-year-old son would sleep in the same bed as her, or that he helps himself to our bedroom + bed whenever he pleases. This was an issue before when we were all under the same roof but I felt guilted into letting it slide because my wife is always so concerned about his emotional state (which for the record: I think he uses his perpetual "melancholy" as a manipulative tool to control people around him).

What's a benign way to establish a boundary that grown kids (really, they're young adults) don't need to be hanging out in our bedroom or sleeping in our bed. They have their own. Anytime I might've broached the subject my wife gets very defensive and takes it very personally; she suggests I don't like her kids (false). So I'm not sure how to approach this anymore, but as a husband, father, and head of the household I believe I'm well within my rights to establish this and say "No, this room is for us and the baby only unless I say otherwise." I don't want to be too heavy handed but I also feel like I'm letting too many bad habits, behavior and tendencies to slip by because my wife is afraid of how the step kids will take it or something.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I lack a specific denomination, and my place of worship is of a non-denominational nature. However, reading about the forum as I do, I came across a post in The Junk Drawer, where someone mentioned their church ( Catholic denomination ) holds Mass 5 days a week at noon, which led me to think: Can I just... Hang out at church? My own church is open from 9am-4pm and closed in the evenings except for groups. I find myself desiring a space for leisure that isn't within my home. The notion of being able to visit my church at any hour, carrying my Bible, and engaging in reading and study appeals to me. I envision an environment free from group obligations or structured events; just an opportunity to show up, unwind, and connect with God and other believers. It would be a space where conversations about the Bible and faith could naturally unfold among fellow congregants. The absence of time constraints or sermons, along with a warm welcome extended to all, would encourage individuals to convene and delve into discussions about faith for as long as they desire. Naturally, the expectation would be to tidy up after yourself as a display of common sense and courtesy. But alas... Why not? Is that weird? I feel like it's weird.

I know I can take my Bible anywhere, and you bet I do. It caused me to have my bag re-scanned twice and eventually opened by TSA last week. Fun pro-tip I learned, big books should be taken out of your bags and placed with your shoes because it can cause you issues. But the notion of visiting the church solely to relax like you would parks, beaches, or cafes has got my puzzler puzzled. The idea of spontaneously spending time at the church without any formal agenda feels like it's just not allowed. Or at least not usual. I know I've had to show up several times to drop things off and I swear I saw a tumbleweed rolling through. But why not?

Do any of you have any insights into this matter? Have you experienced similar sentiments?

Trump overstated net worth by up to $2.2 billion, New York attorney general says

New York Attorney General Letitia James raised the allegation in a lawsuit seeking $250 million and sanctions that would halt the Trump Organization's operations in New York.

www.cbsnews.com

Sounds like fraud.

The filing is here:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=ug5960XEpNMksGWCbGdRDA==&system=prod

Lawmakers on the Oversight panel said the president’s son Hunter Biden may have traveled to 15 countries with his father while he was vice president and that during that time, Mr. Biden met in Beijing with his son’s business associate, a Chinese national, while he was on official business.

“Then Vice-President Biden’s misuse of Air Force Two and Marine Two is indicative of yet another way in which the President has abused his various offices of public trust and wasted taxpayer money to benefit his family’s enterprise, which consisted of nothing more than access to Joe Biden himself,” Oversight lawmakers wrote to U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan.

“The bottom line is this is an alternative and parents are screaming for alternatives,” Sheri Few, president of U.S. Parents Involved in Education, told The Times. “Parents don’t want critical Marxist theories, overt sexualization and anti-American propaganda taught in government schools.”

Lets talk pay gap. There are many reasons I see for the pay gap. Today, in the workforce, men make up 93.8% of construction workers, 87.5 percent of law enforcement, 84% of military (men are drafted women are not), 95% in waste disposal, 73.6% farmers, 96.4% of mechanics, 88.2% of firefighters, 93.9% wielders, electricians 95.6%, 96.2% coal mining, 96.5% plumbers, 86.3% engineers, Nuclear plants operators 92%, 98.1% oil riggers and I can go on and on.

The fact is men do more dangerous jobs and for this reason statistically men take up the vast majority of workplace fatalities. Women take more time off of work due to maternity leave and other reasons. Plus as I made a thread earlier where most agree men should pay for the meals on dates leading to a bigger financial responsibility. Men, after a divorce, are more likely to be paying child support, lose the family home, becoming homeless (men make up the vast majority of homeless) and lose their children statistically ever since the Tender Years Doctrine.

I believe the pay gap is easily fixable if we work towards equality for both men and women.

What are your thoughts?

" A federal judge has determined that Rudy Giuliani has lost a defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers against him after he failed to provide information sought in subpoenas."

Good for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Giuliani and trump turned their lives upside down. I hope they get at least 5 million.

Giuliani loses defamation lawsuit from two Georgia election workers​

He makes some good points:
If you want to skip the add stop the video at 4:30 that's when the advertisement starts.

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The whole concept of men paying first to follow traditional roles yet women don’t want to follow traditional roles in other areas such as taking care of the home, purity, having a hot meal on the table, child rearing and not working… The whole concept of men paying for the meals was from a time when men had money and women didn’t. Don’t women want to be treated equally today? Then they can pay for half the bill. After all, that’s equality. I know a woman that went on date after date solely for the free meals, men are not a free meal ticket, especially when there is no commitment established.

What are your thoughts?

Alabama State Rep. David Cole of Madison was arrested Tuesday on a charge of voting at multiple or unauthorized locations.

Cole, 52, was booked into the Madison County jail Tuesday afternoon on the charge, which is a Class C felony.

Cole was elected to the Legislature in November, representing District 10. But AL.com’s Kyle Whitmire reported in July that Cole lived in District 4.

In 2020, Cole’s primary opponent Anson Knowles complained to Alabama Republican Party officials that Cole had not resided in the district for a year prior to the election, as required by state law. [Party did nothing -- well actually, they kicked Knowles off the ballot for having flirted with Libertarianism.]

Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama Legislature would have to determine whether Cole was qualified to hold the office. [The AL legislature has so far declined to do so, leaving him in office.]

How is the sermon and bible reading handled in your church? How long is the reading, how long the sermon?

Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced something, he said,
Luke 1:

After he said this, Mary replied, saying
Which is odd, very odd. Gabriel's message is promissory, it is a word from God about the future. He says "thou shalt conceive" and he says "and shalt bear a son", and "and shalt call him Jesus.", and "He shall be great", and also "and men will know him for the Son of the most High", and finally "the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob eternally". It's all about what will happen in the future. And Mary is introduced to us as betrothed to Joseph who will be her husband - God sent the angel Gabriel to a city of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 where a virgin dwelt, betrothed to a man of David’s lineage; his name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Mary knew about marriage and - meaning nothing prurient here - knew how babies were made. Mary was to wed Joseph. What did she mean then when she said "how can that be?" and added as a reason why she was surprised about the prediction, "since I know not man"?

The US is fast approaching the status of an Antichrist. What this means it that one political party is becoming so doggedly antichristian that it will not tolerate any speech or thought but its own. As long as the current push among Conservatives continues to see success I think there is hope for our country.

Let me put this in a biblical frame of understanding. Jesus said, "let both grow together until the harvest."

Matt 13.28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

This has been the principle all down through the ages. God began with Israel. When Israel grew hardened against God's word, their nation was taken away, and the Kingdom of God was given to pagan nations, ie Roman Civilization. Christianity has prospered among European nations since that time.

But in modern times we see a gradual shift away from Christianity, and more recently, an abrupt shift away from Christian thinking. Christian nations are now becoming hardened, as Israel was, against God's word. And our nation is in jeopardy along with so many others.

We read of a "restraint" happening in history, preventing the complete collapse of Christian Civilization into hardened Antichristianity...

2 Thes 2.1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction....
6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

Paul is teaching that those who claim to be bringing in the Kingdom of God today are deceivers, because God is actually holding out bringing final judgment until Antichristianity is hardened and fully "mature." He doesn't want to bring judgment as long as the pagan state of our culture remains open to the Gospel. Antichristianity has been around since Christ was crucified, but wickedness has not matured to the extent that European Civilizatin has closed its doors to further evangelization.

This is the "Restrainer" that holds back divine judgment and the Coming of Christ. The Early Churh Fathers identified the "Restrainer" as Roman Government. And that is based on Dan 2, where King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream in which a final 4th Kingdom would be extended until feet appeared at the end of 2 legs. This represents, to me, the 2 halves of the Old Roman Empire, which still exist in form today, and ultimately result in the Eastern and Western States of Europe, ie the feet and toes.

Daniel saw that before Antichrist would arise there would be a long history of paganism in which God could shower grace upon the peoples, bringing about their salvation and blessings to their nations. Antichrist would be restrained as long as Christianity was prospering.

But today's aggressive progressive movement is throwing off all restraint now, and is acting fascistically in preventing Christian morality and speech, consigning it to banned dogmatic material that is biased and inhuman. This is the rise of the endtimes Antichrist, though the door is not yet closed on the Gospel.

I would encourage all true Christians to work on their commitment to Christ, because you will be the judges who in the end bring this nation back to who it was called to be. Once the door on the Gospel is closed, final judgment will fall on all nations. God will deliver Christians who have remained true to who they are, and they will decide the basis by which their nation will continue to survive.

Isaiah 9:6-7
New International Version
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.


Daniel 2:44-45
New International Version
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands - a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”


Daniel 7:13, 14, 27
American Standard Version
I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.


Luke 22:28-30
American Standard Version
But ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations; and I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.



Others:
2 Timothy 2:12
American Standard Version
if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us:


Revelation 3:21
King James Version
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.


Revelation 20:4
King James Version
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.


Revelation 20:6
King James Version
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.



How is the kingdom of God defined in scripture?
A Government by/of God, set up in the heavens, with God's appointed King - Christ Jesus, who has chosen and appointed faithful persons to rule alongside him as kings.


What is the dominion - territory of the kingdom/government of God?
Daniel 7:14 all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed


Matthew 6:10
American Standard Version
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

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Hi all.
I broke up with my ex on May 13th. I've been thinking lately about how he's told me he'd gone to other people asking for advice on our relationship, and how I'm pretty sure he's told people about a bad thought I confessed to him. A few times, we went "pretty far," physically, but not all the way. And I'd had the thought of "baby trapping" him--if he got me pregnant, he'd have to stay with me. This happened a few times, and each time I remorsefully confessed or later apologized to it (first time I told him I'd had the thought, and then another time he asked if I'd had the thought).

I can practically hear the words "she's crazy," or "she's a psycho." If he told his current girlfriend about it, I feel like that would be her conclusion. I don't know who he told, or what people think, or what HE even thinks of me now. I know when we were going through the breakup, he asked our friends to make sure I knew I wasn't alone. He refused to hang out with me because he didn't want his feelings coming back--which tells me there was still something there.

All that to say is, I want to email him and apologize. Even though he's made it more or less clear that we're not to be talking anymore. And regardless, the damage has been done if I apologize; he may have already told people. I know I'd have the same thought if someone told me; I'd probably think "she's crazy and you dodged a bullet." He's a very forgiving person, but I worry that his opinion of me has changed after being away from me. And I worry about what others think.

I confessed the baby trap thoughts probably out of compulsion. I needed him to know that I'd had these terrible thoughts and motives. Maybe I didn't need to even share them with him. But I did, and maybe he'd say it's a good thing I did. All I know is, I sunk horribly low in our relationship. I was the worst version of myself. And there's no fixing whatever people might think of me.

Good morning all you beautiful children of the King, something I discussed with my wife last night, I'd like to share here. Finding our identity in Christ and being grounded in Him as our Way, Truth, and Life! Consider a chart, like a sales chart, you have a base line and a separate line that moves in an upward or downward direction away from that base. And we know, that life can resemble something more like an EKG reading, where that line goes up and down, because well life is full of ups and downs. But the one constant in that, is that center base line. It stays the same, it's constant, never changing. That's Jesus. When the line is moving upwards away from the base, it's a reminder that when life is going good, we need to be humble so our successes and blessings don't pull us into pride, away from the grace of God. When that line starts to drop and pull us down away from Christ, it's a reminder to humble ourselves and seek His face. That as He humbled himself in suffering, we too can find joy in our trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. "For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Just to find strength in the anchor of our soul, who never changes and never fails. He alone is worthy and whether things are going well, or whether things are going rather poorly, if we are anchored in Him, neither will pull us away from Him. As He said [paraphrase] "The storm comes for everyone, those who hear my word and do it, will stand for they are grounded on the Rock! Those who do not obey, will suffer loss for they were grounded on sand."

Hi all.
I broke up with my ex on May 13th. I've been thinking lately about how he's told me he'd gone to other people asking for advice on our relationship, and how I'm pretty sure he's told people about a bad thought I confessed to him. A few times, we went "pretty far," physically, but not all the way. And I'd had the thought of "baby trapping" him--if he got me pregnant, he'd have to stay with me. This happened a few times, and each time I remorsefully confessed or later apologized to it (first time I told him I'd had the thought, and then another time he asked if I'd had the thought).

I can practically hear the words "she's crazy," or "she's a psycho." If he told his current girlfriend about it, I feel like that would be her conclusion. I don't know who he told, or what people think, or what HE even thinks of me now. I know when we were going through the breakup, he asked our friends to make sure I knew I wasn't alone. He refused to hang out with me because he didn't want his feelings coming back--which tells me there was still something there.

All that to say is, I want to email him and apologize. Even though he's made it more or less cleat that we're not to be talking anymore. And regardless, the damage has been done if I apologize; he may have already told people. I know I'd have the same thought if someone told me, "she's crazy and you dodged a bullet." He's a very forgiving person, but I worry that his opinion of me has changed after being away from me. And I worry about what others think.

I confessed the baby trap thoughts probably out of compulsion. I needed him to know that I'd had these terrible thoughts and motives. Maybe I didn't need to even share them with him. But I did, and maybe he'd say it's a good thing I did. All I know is, I sunk horribly low in our relationship. I was the worst version of myself. And there's no fixing whatever people might think of me.

Deuteronomy 14:

21a You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death.

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I am not against the above but I do not follow it, Romans 14:

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

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22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

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Is it okay to eat an animal that died naturally?

I think it is okay but you follow your own conscience. Just make sure you thank God before eating

Colossians 4:2-4 ESV


The “mystery of Christ” is the gospel of Christ, of our salvation, to bring about the obedience of faith (Romans 16:25-27). It includes redemption through the blood of Christ and the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace and the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ (Ephesians 1:7-9). And this includes God’s grace, and it includes the fact that Gentile believers are fellow heirs with Jewish believers in Christ, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Ephesians 3:1-12).

Wow! That “packs a punch!” It has a powerful effect or it is capable of having such an effect. It says a lot! It “covers a lot of ground”, i.e. it deals with much information and many facts and a large area of a subject which I am going to attempt to cover here, by the grace of God, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For this speaks of salvation, obedience of faith, and redemption, forgiveness of sins, God’s grace, his will, his purpose, Jew and Gentile one in Christ, of the same body, of the same faith and promises. And these are all part of the gospel. So, this may take more than one writing. But these writings are devotions, not doctrinal treatises.

So, let’s get started. The first subject we will deal with is salvation. What are we saved from? And what are we saved to?

Salvation

The word rendered “salvation” in the Greek is “soteria” which means deliverance, salvation. It is defined as “God’s rescue which delivers believers out of destruction and into His safety” (source: biblehub.com interlinear). And what does this word “deliver” mean? It means to “take out, remove, completely out from, remove completely, bring into a complete rescue” (biblehub.com). But what are we rescued and delivered and saved out from?

Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father (Galatians 1:4) and to deliver us from the domain (power, control, rule) of darkness (sin, evil, wickedness) (Colossians 1:13). And he died to deliver us out of our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin and from the domain (power, control, rule) of sin, and from hell as our eternal destiny (Romans 6:1-23). So we are saved, not just from the punishment of sin, but from the control of and the power of sin over our lives and out from our slavery (addiction) to sin so we no longer walk in sin.

And I am going to stop right here and state that all of this is conditional on what we do in heart response and in action with regard to what our Lord provided for us through his death and resurrection. For if we are truly delivered from the power and rule of sin over our lives, and if we are truly delivered out from our addiction (slavery) to sin, it means we will no longer walk in sin. Sin should no longer be what we practice. We should no longer be living under the control of sin, for if we are, it will end in death, not in life eternal with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

[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]

And what are we saved to? To walk in newness of life in Christ, dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, so no longer enslaved to sin but now living as slaves to God and to his righteousness. To present the members of our bodies to God as instruments for righteousness. To obedience to Christ which leads to righteousness and sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. And now to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return (Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 4:17-24).

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to (save) our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die with him to sin and we live to his righteousness (lose our lives), then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For if we are ashamed of Jesus and of his words in this life, he will be ashamed of us (deny us) when he returns (see Luke 9:23-26).

To be continued… Some of these will be on my blog and not in devotionals: Run With It!

Should I Not Preach Jesus

An Original Work / July 4, 2013
Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.
I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.
I make myself a slave to ev’ryone
To win their hearts to Christ.
All this I do for my Lord Jesus,
And for the sake of His Name;
Do it for the sake of His gospel,
So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;
Written down for us as examples
To keep us from setting our hearts
On evil as did those of old.
Do not worship other gods of man;
Do not give your hearts to them;
Not partake in immorality.
Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are
Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.
God has given his word to warn us,
So through faith we will not fall.
No temptation has o’ertaken you
Except what is commonplace.
God is faithful to not let you be
Tempted past what you can bear.
He gives the way of escape.

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Republican chairmen from three separate House committees sent the letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, giving the top DOJ official until Sept. 11 to comply with their demands.

“Your appointment raises numerous concerns considering earlier statements from you and Mr. Weiss that Mr. Weiss already had ‘ultimate’ authority — free of any political pressure — to pursue the investigation” however he wished, the lawmakers wrote.

“Now, recently reported information raises additional concerns about the Department’s unusual actions in this matter, and suggests that the Department under your leadership has been attempting to circumvent the rule of law in favor of Hunter Biden, President Biden, and the Biden family,” the lawmakers wrote. “Given the extremely serious nature of these issues, the Committees expect unfettered cooperation with our oversight from both you and the Department.”

Has, or can, the James Webb Space Telescope disprove the Bible?

I thought I had tribulation figured out until I finished the book on Dispensationalism required for my seminary class in bibliology and theological method. But according to our textbook, some will enter the millennium that get saved during the tribulation, refuse the mark of the beast, survive and yet do not have to be martyred. This was news to me as I thought the only way a person could be saved during tribulation was to die a martyr's death, so I want to discuss where both ideas come from and who is right. Is there hope for some people that (1) are not Christians and miss the rapture of the church at the start of the tribulation, (2) see the BIble was right all along and they messed up by not believing in time but they come to saving faith because the Holy Spirit, while withdrawn from some respects, is still here for salvation purposes for those who find their faith and persevere to the end, (3) do not accept the mark of the beast, and (4) do not die during the 7 years, so they enter the 1000 year reign as unglorified (still alive) humans that eventually die as normal humans die during the 1000 years. Again this is all new to me because I thought I had it clear that only those who died a martyr's death could be saved during tribulation, but this book from DTS on Dispensationalism says there are some who somehow get through all of tribulation and meet all the requirements to be judged and allowed to enter the Kingdom a normal humans, while those of us who were believers when Tribulation began are back in.

Before you answer, please note the tag for this thread is PRE-MILLENIALS ONLY. It would be pointless for anyone else to give their opinion on the topic.

Morning & Evening for 08/26/2023​

Morning:​

"He hath commanded his covenant for ever." — Psalms 111:9
The Lord's people delight in the covenant itself. It is an unfailing source of consolation to them so often as the Holy Spirit leads them into its banqueting house and waves its banner of love. They delight to contemplate the antiquity of that covenant, remembering that before the day-star knew its place, or planets ran their round, the interests of the saints were made secure in Christ Jesus. It is peculiarly pleasing to them to remember the sureness of the covenant, while meditating upon "the sure mercies of David." They delight to celebrate it as "signed, and sealed, and ratified, in all things ordered well." It often makes their hearts dilate with joy to think of its immutability, as a covenant which neither time nor eternity, life nor death, shall ever be able to violate-a covenant as old as eternity and as everlasting as the Rock of ages. They rejoice also to feast upon the fulness of this covenant, for they see in it all things provided for them. God is their portion, Christ their companion, the Spirit their Comforter, earth their lodge, and heaven their home. They see in it an inheritance reserved and entailed to every soul possessing an interest in its ancient and eternal deed of gift. Their eyes sparkled when they saw it as a treasure-trove in the Bible; but oh! how their souls were gladdened when they saw in the last will and testament of their divine kinsman, that it was bequeathed to them! More especially it is the pleasure of God's people to contemplate the graciousness of this covenant. They see that the law was made void because it was a covenant of works and depended upon merit, but this they perceive to be enduring because grace is the basis, grace the condition, grace the strain, grace the bulwark, grace the foundation, grace the topstone. The covenant is a treasury of wealth, a granary of food, a fountain of life, a store-house of salvation, a charter of peace, and a haven of joy.

Evening:​

"The people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him." — Mark 9:15
How great the difference between Moses and Jesus! When the prophet of Horeb had been forty days upon the mountain, he underwent a kind of transfiguration, so that his countenance shone with exceeding brightness, and he put a veil over his face, for the people could not endure to look upon his glory. Not so our Saviour. He had been transfigured with a greater glory than that of Moses, and yet, it is not written that the people were blinded by the blaze of his countenance, but rather they were amazed, and running to him they saluted him. The glory of the law repels, but the greater glory of Jesus attracts. Though Jesus is holy and just, yet blended with his purity there is so much of truth and grace, that sinners run to him amazed at his goodness, fascinated by his love; they salute him, become his disciples, and take him to be their Lord and Master. Reader, it may be that just now you are blinded by the dazzling brightness of the law of God. You feel its claims on your conscience, but you cannot keep it in your life. Not that you find fault with the law, on the contrary, it commands your profoundest esteem, still you are in nowise drawn by it to God; you are rather hardened in heart, and are verging towards desperation. Ah, poor heart! turn thine eye from Moses, with all his repelling splendour, and look to Jesus, resplendent with milder glories. Behold his flowing wounds and thorn-crowned head! He is the Son of God, and therein he is greater than Moses, but he is the Lord of love, and therein more tender than the lawgiver. He bore the wrath of God, and in his death revealed more of God's justice than Sinai on a blaze, but that justice is now vindicated, and henceforth it is the guardian of believers in Jesus. Look, sinner, to the bleeding Saviour, and as thou feelest the attraction of his love, fly to his arms, and thou shalt be saved.