Is there any official teaching, either in the Church per se, or within the writings of The Ladder, on what happens to those who are pulled off The Ladder?

Maybe I have been living under a rock all these years, I don't watch the news I don't even watch the weather channel.
But where to start?

A person is held in prison for a serious crime... Let's say that the particular country that the person is in has the death penalty for that crime... for the sake of discussion, the person is definitely guilty.

* Should a Christian agree with the death penalty?
* What is the biblical justification for that position?
* WWJD

Thank you.

Why did you convert to Orthodoxy? What wasn't working for you over there?

Many people think that the rapture is for believers to escape the tribulation whereas it is the fulfillment of God`s purpose for the Body of Christ. We have been promised that we will sit with Christ on His own throne.

`To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne.` (Rev. 3: 21) So, when and where is that?

We know that the Lord Jesus is presently with the Father on His throne in the highest. (Eph. 1: 20, Heb. 1: 3) Then when the Body of Christ is mature (Eph. 4: 13) the Father will send His Son with those asleep in Him to connect with the whole Body.

` For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God (Father) will bring with Him (Jesus) those who sleep in Jesus. ` (1 Thess. 4: 14)

The Body of Christ with the Head will then go to the Lord`s own throne where He will be given the authority by the Father to begin the judgments over the rebellious nations. (Rev. 5: 1 - 7) This throne is on mount Zion, in the third (angelic) heaven. (Rev. 4: 2 & 3)

`I (Father) have set my King on My holy hill of Mount Zion.` (Ps. 2: 6)

Mount Zion is symbolical of the highest ruling position in all of God`s great kingdom.

`But you have come to Mount Zion...to an innumerable company of angels...to God (Father)....to Jesus....` (Heb. 12: 22 - 24)

It is from that throne (seat of the Lord`s authority and power) on Mount Zion, that He will, with His Body, begin the judgments.

Hastily passed 45 days after 9/11 in the name of national security, the Patriot Act was the first of many changes to surveillance laws that made it easier for the government to spy on ordinary Americans by expanding the authority to monitor phone and email communications, collect bank and credit reporting records, and track the activity of innocent Americans on the Internet. While most Americans think it was created to catch terrorists, the Patriot Act actually turns regular citizens into suspects.


By locking people (including American citizens) on foreign soil with no warrant, no due process, and possibly under conditions of torture, Wire tapping, credit card and bank, computer and telephone surveillance (unwarranted), have we safeguarded the tenants of the Constitution/Bill of Rights of the United States?

Shoul we be nervous about the European Right-Wing growing in popularity. The "right" in the USA usually means "Republican" but what about the European "right?" Last century it went as far a "Nazism/Fascist-ism" What the article pointed out was the speed in which it took over. Now it seems they are trying to place a more extreme right leader of the EU hoping he/she will come from Germany.

From the article:
“We are now the most exciting right-wing party in all of Europe,” Krah said in his speech in Magdeburg. He argued that the AfD — which advocates anti-migration, climate change-denying, Russia-friendly and deeply Euroskeptic positions — would not “adapt” to less radical stances in order to attract more voters or form alliances, as other right-wing parties would allegedly do."

Can anyone strp us through this more radical stance coming from Germany? How reliable is "Politico?" Admittedly, I am not a big proponent of internet news coming from any side of the political spectrum. Also since childhood have have had a degree of paranoia concerning the return of extreme race and nationalist politics becoming mainstream again.

Is anyone willing to post about what the politics of Europe is really (I mean like actual reality and not entertainment or propaganda news) trending toward?

Link to the article I happened upon:

Any feedback would be helpful

Don't know if I should post the song (because there is cussing in the song) so I won't, but this song seems to have taken America by storm. You can see why. The man speaks from his heart about how politicians use and abuse people. It's very much a "for the people" type of song. You can disagree with the language he uses (his cussing) but he seems to have struck a nerve with the American people. The song was released on August 08, 2023, and it already has over 43 million views. That's really something! It's caught the attention of news outlets like Ben Shapiro and The Babylon Bee. It's really something!

Homeland Security has detected multiple instances of people armed with guns sneaking into the U.S. from Mexico, including one where agents trying to arrest a group of illegal immigrants came under fire twice

Days later, National Guard troops assigned to assist the Border Patrol were using a scope to keep tabs on the wilderness area and they spotted an armed person climb over the border fence.

A day later, two more armed persons were spotted in the same place.

I think so, Matthew 5:

27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

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Adultery has to do with sexual desire. If Jesus did not understand sexual desire, he would have been denouncing something that he didn't understand.

Was that really a wise thing for Solomon to command?

1 Kings 3:

16 two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.

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Nice and concise description. However, in reality, more testimonies must have been given by the two women in the charge and counter-charge as they argued before the king's questionings. Near the end of the proceedings:

25 the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

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Was it really a wise thing for Solomon to command?

Yes, because by this point, Solomon was acquainted with the psychologies of these two women. He knew one was good and one was bad. The true mother was the good one. He just needed to confirm it by this unusual command.

26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.”

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Solomon expected the above response from the good woman.

But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.”

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Solomon banked on that kind of response from the bad woman.

Why did she respond like that?

That's her psychology. There are people like that. She wasn't loving toward the baby. She hated the true mother for bringing this lawsuit before the king. If they actually had gone ahead and killed the baby, that would have been her revenge against the true mother and no one would know she was guilty.

What if she responded by saying the same as the good woman: “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death”?

By her personality, she wouldn't. If she had, Solomon would just give the live baby to its true mother.

Was Solomon wise in this episode?

Yes, wise in the sense that he could tell psychologically what kind of women were before him and predicted their responses.

27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

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What about us today?

James 1:

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

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Who won the first Republican debate?

I would not object to people who call Jesus a philosopher but I would object if they think he's just a philosopher. Philosopher (lover of wisdom) is an artificial thing while Jesus is the Son of God.

What's Paul's take on philosophy?

Paul did not shy away from philosophy or philosophers. Indeed he engaged them in Athens, Act 17:

22 And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are very religious. 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.

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The climax of the debate came:

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”

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At the end of that encounter, Paul successfully converted Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them (verse 34).

There are more important matters than human philosophies and theologies.

1 Corinthians 1:

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

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1 Corinthians 2:2

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

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Discerning the Philosophy of Jesus via the Bible is missing the most important point of the Bible: the resurrection of Jesus.

What do you think about witchcraft, magic, and sorcery? Do you think it is used today? If so, how is it relevant to us Christians? Is there any room for Christians to dabble? If you don't think it has modern application, when did it become irrelevant?

Hello, I am Ranae a Christian, believe totally in Jesus. I have gone to many different churches depending on the where I lived. I totally love the diversity in them and how people are so wonderful from all these different ones. I have recently retired and have moved in with my brother and a friend to help with expenses. I am now seeking a new church and fellowship. I really miss my old one but didn't mind the drive at first, it's an hour away but then my hands started to hurt and couldn't drive that far anymore arthritis. I enjoy watching the services on the computer, but it's not quite the same. I just started checking out the different churches around where I now live, have went to 3 different ones so far. I like them all, for different reasons, but still seeking.

So not only has our lead elder been gone for the past month but my wife also has had to work every Sunday to date and she is the only ride I have to church because my church is an hour away from where I live.

It's not my wife's fault that she has to work Sundays because she is a part time employee and can be called in at anytime. I don't want her to quit or lose her job or change jobs. Especially when she likes working at Walmart so much. I just... feel depressed that I haven't seen my congregation since Easter because lots of stuff has been coming up. I feel naked without attending service or being immersed in my Bible or even watching sermons on YouTube. I just don't anymore and there's no excuse for that. None whatsoever.

But I wish my wife worked full time because then she would have the weekends off and we could attend. It doesn't help at all that she is the only one who can take me to church and I need my church to grow spiritually. My wife can request time off a Sunday 3 weeks in the future but that just seems so horribly far away and she's already requesting time off next Thursday because she has a Doctor appointment to go to.

I mean, there is no option of a closer church unless I want to join a Catholic church I'm just seemingly stuck. I'm not Catholic at all but if I was there's like 10 Catholic churches in town. The closest reformed church is in Canton which is the one we attend. My wife can only get some many days off and I regret her saying she can work weekends because every single weekend since she's got this job she's had to work Sunday and gotten Saturday off.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I don't really consider youtube much of a replacement but more of an addition. And if haven't regularly read the Bible in years. Its just not the same without reading it with my congregation. Idk. I just don't know I just guess I can't attend Church until my wife starts working full time...

My conclusion is that there is little interest in the other candidates.

There won't be any convictions before the key primaries are over (by mid February), so it is difficult to see how anything changes.

Would you vote for Biden if he is impeached?

It seems that Christians are giving up at overcoming, they are drifting into evil addictions that destroy their connection with, and separate them from God. Rather than confess their sin they are tending to justify it in one way or another and become even more under its spell. With many even using scriptures to excuse their iniquity, but we have this from Gods Word..
Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Yet, Christians seem to be digging in deeper into sin and iniquity and entrenching themselves even further, so what is happening. Well, the problem is our sinful, or carnal, nature, the propensity to sin which we has come down from Adam. Propensity to sin is a proneness or tendency to sin which every human being possesses. It is this nature that leads us to sin against God as scripture tells us
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We see leaders and ministers and teachers getting caught in the act as they say and now becoming partakers of sin rather than keeping from it. Now many are confused as to what a Christian should do as they see all this from those they look up to, and many are becoming themselves caught in sin. We have to start doing something that seems to have been forgotten, which is repentance.
re·pent·ance
/rəˈpentns/
noun

1. the action of repenting; sincere regret or remorse.
   "each person who turns to God in genuine repentance and faith will be saved"

SOP tells us, "Many are asking the same question as did the multitude on the Day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they cried out, "What shall we do?" The first word of Peter's answer was, "Repent." Acts 2:37, 38. At another time, shortly after, he said, "Repent, . . . and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19.

Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life."

John the Baptizer thought it was okay, Luke 3:

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

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John didn't tell them to quit their jobs.

My #2 son is in the Canadian military full-time

However, Muhammad Ali refused to join the army. In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned Ali's earlier conviction for evading the draft, citing his status as a conscientious objector.

Should Christians join the army?

Some should. Some would not. Let the Paraclete in your conscience guide you.

I Apologize For Being Wrong In My Error,, On My Claim Of A Post Recently Being Removed

I Apologize To The Forum For Being Short On Love, Lord Jesus Help Me Follow You And Your Word

In Love, Jesus Is The Lord

Matthew 18:20-22KJV
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

President Biden’s alcohol czar, Dr. George Koob, told the Daily Mail that the USDA could revise its alcohol recommendations to match Canada’s guidelines.

I think the Biden adminisration will start easy with fines and/or community service for those who break the rules.

Romans 12:1-2 ESV


So, Paul was writing this appeal to the church in Rome. Thus, he was urging, admonishing, calling, and exhorting them by the mercies of God to do something. And what are the mercies of God? This is speaking of our Lord’s compassion to us, his pity on us, and of his favor and grace to us which was shown to us by our Lord dying on that cross in order to save us and to forgive us, which is to deliver us out of our lives of sin and to give us new life in him to be lived for his praise and glory in obedience to him.

Because of what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross, on that basis, this appeal (exhortation, admonishment, urging) is being directed to the Christians in Rome, but not just to them, but to us who profess faith in Jesus Christ today, too. And the exhortation is that we present our bodies to God as living sacrifices (offerings) to our Lord, offered on his terms, not ours, as prescribed by God and not of our own doing. So, this is an offering which God will accept because it is being offered to him on his terms.

And we are to present our bodies to Christ, holy and acceptable to God. And what does it mean to be holy? It means to be set apart by and for God, to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because, in Christ Jesus, we are being conformed of God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. So, this means we are no longer to be like and to live like the world. We are no longer to have worldly mindsets and behaviors, but our minds are now to be set on our Lord to obey him in all things.

And how are we made acceptable to God, and well-pleasing to him? First and foremost it is only by his grace to us in dying on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, now in his power and strength. For we cannot be acceptable and pleasing to God of our own selves in our own flesh. But it is also via our faith response to what he did for us on that cross in us surrendering our lives to him, dying with him to sin, and now walking in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).

For Jesus Christ did not die on that cross just to forgive us our sins so we can go to heaven when we die. And his forgiveness of our sins involves him delivering us out of our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin so that we can now walk in freedom from the power of sin over our lives, and so we can live holy lives, acceptable to God, by his grace and in his power. For when we believe in Jesus with God-given faith, our old self is crucified with Christ in order that we will no longer be enslaved to sin but to righteousness.

Now, when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, and we give our lives to the Lord as living sacrifices to him, not of our own doing, but as prescribed by God, and that which is holy and acceptable to God, by God’s standards, according to his will, and in his power, this is our spiritual worship of God. So, although singing is certainly part of worship, we can sing praises to God and not be worshiping him at all. For if our lives are not surrendered to him, living holy lives acceptable to him, we aren’t truly worshiping our Lord.

Thus, we are no longer to be conformed to this world, to where we take on the character of this world and not that of our Lord. We are not to be those who are following the same pattern (model, mold) of the world and of the flesh of humans. We should not be those who look like, act like, speak like, and think like the world, and like the ungodly, in character. There should be a definite distinction between us and the ungodly who do not worship the one true God. For our minds should be set on God and not on the world.

For by genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ we are to be those who are being transformed in heart and mind away from what is sinful and ungodly and toward what is holy and righteous and obedient to our Lord. We should no longer have the same mindset as we did before we believed in Christ, for our Lord is renewing our minds as we walk by faith in him, in his power. For this word “transformed” has to do with “metamorphosis” like a caterpillar being transformed (changed) into a butterfly.

And this transformation of our hearts and minds will be evident in how we live and in our speech, actions, thinking, attitudes, and behaviors. There should be fruit in our lives which should be increasing which reveals that we have indeed had this transformation of heart and mind away from our lives of sin to now walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living. And this change brought about in our lives by God should give evidence of what is the will of God – that which is well-pleasing to him – his good and perfect will.

[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]

Songs in the Night

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!

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Put On Those Filthy Rags!

Just because "all our righteousness is as filthy rags"
- doesn't mean we shouldn't be wearing them

Sure, 100%, it isn't any holiness of our own that will get us into Heaven
- but we are still commanded to be holy

Sure, it says that all over the place, but none of it matters since "faith?"

The church today sees Paul's message as clear and easy to understand
- and sees Peter/James/John as harder to understand, needing more care...

But Peter says the opposite, that Paul's words are the ones hard to understand
- and Peter says that unstable people will wrest those words to their own detriment

Further, Peter expresses the sum of "salvation by faith not of works" just a tiny bit differently..
- saying that "the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation"
- which is really the same exact thing, but makes it clear....
- no matter all this grace, He is just "tolerating" us in our failures

And it seems to me, to please Him, we should put on some filthy rags!

I want to try and understand this better. According to some christians when the Bible writers wrote the Bible, they were being given the words supernaturally by dictation from God. This sound like a mechanical process that bypassed the writer's personality, just as if a boss asked his secretary to take a letter, she would write down just the words he said verbatim, not put it in her own words, at least that is my understanding of dictation. I have some reservations at the moment about this theory of inspiration if it involves bypassing of the writer's personality, mainly because when the authorship of a letter in the New Testament is disputed, the arguments about whether or not its by Paul or someone else are said to be based on style differences - its not Paul's style. What they mean by its not Paul's style, if they mean more than that he didn't sign it, I am not sure? Anyway is it possible for divine inspiration to involve the personality of the writer, or is the personality bypassed - like they are "beside themselves" while they are inspired, if so could this be something similiar to what Plato has called "divine madness"?