Ephesians 1:11-14 ESV


Who are “we”? We are the saints of God who are faithful in Christ Jesus. We are those who, by God’s grace, have been set apart from the world to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of Jesus Christ. And we are those who are full of faith, who have been persuaded by God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of (turn away from) our sins to now follow Jesus Christ in holy living and in obedience to his commands.

And we are the chosen of God to be conformed in character and in action to the likeness of Jesus Christ and to not be conformed to the passions of the flesh, but to be holy in all our conduct. And we are called to the purpose of God’s will which is that we abstain from the practice of sin and that we follow our Lord in obedience to his will for our lives, which is that we be holy in all our conduct. For Jesus Christ shed his blood for us to buy us back for God out of our lives of sin so we will now honor God with our lives.

[Ephesians 1:1-10; Psalms 139:13-16; Romans 8:29; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24]

And we are the saved of God by God’s grace, a grace from God which is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s soon return. For Jesus Christ gave himself up for us to redeem us (to buy us back from) all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, which are the works of God which he prepared in advance that we should walk in them (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10).

We are the ones who have obtained an inheritance by God, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (which I just shared with you in the previous paragraphs). For we are not those who have merely given lip service to God, who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but who did NOT follow that profession of faith with submission to Christ as Lord, with genuine repentance (forsaking our sins), and with walks of obedience to him.

For we who put our hope, trust, and faith in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives do so not only for the salvation of our own souls, but for the praise and glory of God, that Christ will be honored in our bodies by the way that we live in accord with his word and with his righteousness and holiness, in his power and strength. For faith in Jesus Christ is not of our own doing, not of the will of man nor of the flesh of man. For this faith comes from God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Ephesians 2:8-10]

So, belief in Jesus Christ is not just some intellectual or emotional assent to who Jesus Christ was and is and to what he did for us on that cross, and of his bodily resurrection from the dead. True faith in Jesus Christ results in us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and us walking in obedience to his commands, in practice, in holy and righteous living, and no longer in sin. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and godly living and walks of obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we do not have an inheritance with God guaranteed us, 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]

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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Chemical abortion toll surges as unregulated virtual clinics expand


Industry growth follows FDA ruling to weaken safety regulations.

Many chemical abortion pill dispensaries have admitted they spend little to no time with clients and several are openly selling potentially dangerous and poor quality abortion drugs to minors.

Hello,

I pray you all are well. I have several questions.

1. Was Calvin the one who first wrote and preached on double predestination?

2. When were the first teachings on limited atonement. What I mean by this is the teaching that God died on the cross for the elect, but did not die on the cross for the reprobates.

3. Are there any denominations (I am not claiming Calvinism to be one of them), that believe in theological hard determinism? What I mean by that is
— absolutely zero free will
—God controls every thought, every movement, every single thing that we think about and do, and that we have no free will to do anything else than what was predetermined by God.

If you could clarify which question(s) you are answering in your post, I would greatly appreciate it. These answers haven’t been the easiest to find for me. Also please know that outside of question 1, the other questions are not meant to implicate Calvinism. I am not trying to start a debate, just specifically seeking knowledge.

I really should be more supportive of Christian parents that want to tell their children that sex is a special gift from God that lets people procreate and people that people that focus on sex as "being just for fun" can be become addicted to porn and have unfulfilling lives.

However people that claim there is a "cultural Marxist conspiracy" clearly have vastly oversimplified the problem so much they are going to cause more problems that they will solve

Are there any political organizations that support parents rights only and do not over simplify things by talking about a cultural Marxist conspiracy ?

A medical examiner later determined Maria was strangled to death, and she had also been sexually assaulted.

Pasadena police said the suspect, Mr. Garcia-Rodriguez, was picked up by U.S. border agents in January while crossing into the country.

He was later released to sponsors in Baton Rouge, according to authorities, who said the sponsors then sent him to Pasadena for work and he got a room in the same complex where Maria lived.


My prayers go out to Maria's family.

Please pray for Steve who has diabetes and other illnesses. He has had a toe amputated and may need a couple of other toes amputated. He is walking against doctors orders. Please pray for total healing

Just a general observation... Christians seem to put a lot of emphasis on salvation...
Repenting and believing in Jesus as our saviour is often emphasised...

But to my mind, love is higher. Love should be above salvation...
Love for God and love for your fellow humans...
Salvation may be considered an expression of that love, but it does not encapsulate all that love is.

Love should be primary, and salvation accepted and evangelised within the context of that overarching love.

I'm sure many Christians are motivated primarily by love, but I do find that some are motivated by truth/being-right/power...
Something about that feels dangerous to me.. a kind of spiritual or psychological violence can be done from that place..
I think this is even mentioned in the scriptures, but there seems to be some Christians that seem to ignore that and conduct their preaching on a way that is demeaning and judgemental to those on the recieving end.

* Anybody else notice that? Opinions?

Jeremiah 17:

21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

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But then, Jesus healed an invalid (V1) on the Sabbath day in John 5:

8Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

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There were three issues here:

1. Jesus worked on the Sabbath.
2. Jesus told the V1 to work on the Sabbath.
3. V1 worked on the Sabbath.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”

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According to the Jews, V1 broke the Sabbath. He blamed the healer:

11But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

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They charged Jesus for breaking the Sabbath.

17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

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Jesus' defense antagonized them even more:

18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

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The Jews understood that Jesus claimed that he could break the Sabbath because he was equal with God.

Jesus continued his defense:

27 "And he [the Father] has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man."

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Elsewhere in Matthew 12, Jesus said:

8 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

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Jesus had authority on earth to break the Sabbath and tell V1 to break the Sabbath and V1's breaking the Sabbath was okay according to Jesus.

The nuns at a Carmelite monastery in Arlington, Texas, announced Friday that they “no longer recognize the authority of” Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, an act that could see Olson declare the nuns in schism.


“[W]e hereby state that, in conscience, we no longer recognize the authority of, and can have no further relations with, the current Bishop of Fort Worth or his officials, and forbid him or any of his officials or representatives to enter our monastery property or to have any contact or relations with the monastery or any of its nuns or novices,” an Aug. 18 statement on the sisters’ website stated.

Sources close to the monastery confirmed the authenticity of the statement to The Pillar Friday afternoon.

Continued below.

Had biopsy of neck lesion to check if cancer. Waiting for results. I am 74 years old and already took care of my late wife, who I nursed for 10 years with cancer.

There are many study bibles available for many English translations but which of them do you use and why?

I avoid NKJV, NIV, NASB bibles because none of them is available in a Catholic edition.

I use RSC-CE, NABRE, JB, NJB, RNJB, GNB-CE, LB-CE, and especially DRB, Knox, and CTS-New Catholic Bible.

Psalm 148:4 says, “Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!” “Waters above the Heavens”? How did they come about, and what are they for?

As for the first part of the question, we could presume that because Genesis 1:1 says that in the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth, He probably created the water above the Heavens even though it isn’t mentioned in Genesis. On the basis of logic alone, who, other than God the Creator, could have created those waters?

As for the second part of the question, what are those waters for? Are they just an embellishment, in the sense that curtains are an embellishment in a house that was built, or is there a purpose to them? Perhaps it’s both.

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The term “handiwork” generally refers to the works of someone. It could refer to artistic works. In that context, the Mona Lisa is a handiwork of the artist. Its only use is to be looked at if the eye happens to catch it. If it was hung in a home, it would be an embellishment in the home, along with the curtains. It adds ambience. So, one could say that the waters above the Heavens are an embellishment, adding to the ambience of the Heavens.

So, do the waters above the Heavens serve any purpose? According to a vision of John in Revelation 22:1-2, an angel showed him “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city...” Well, if it was flowing from “the throne of God,” one could conclude that this water is in Heaven where God lives. Is it conceivable that this “water of life” came from the waters above, like rain on earth comes from the water in clouds above the earth? Perhaps the purpose of the waters above the Heavens is to feed the water of life that runs through the street referred to in Revelation 22:1-2.

The waters above the Heavens...an embellishment, a purpose, or both? Take your pick.

San Bernardino County deputies responded to a shooting at the Mag Pi clothing store located at 28938 Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen around 5 p.m.

Arriving deputies found the victim, Laura Ann Carleton, 66, suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

While investigating, detectives learned the suspect made “several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton.”

Carleton is survived by her husband and nine children.

(The possible motivation is obviously very tentative and alleged at this point.)

If no one comes from the future to stop you doing it how bad of a decision can it really be?

King James Bible, Romans 1:

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [G96] mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

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Elsewhere, Berean Literal Bible, 1 Corinthians 9:

27 But I [Paul] batter my body and bring it into servitude, lest having preached to others, I myself might be disqualified [G96].

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might not be
γένωμαι (genōmai)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

disqualified
ἀδόκιμος (adokimos)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 96: Failing to pass the test, unapproved, counterfeit. By implication, worthless.

Strong's Greek: 96. ἀδόκιμος (adokimos) — 8 Occurrences

Was it possible for Paul to become a G96-reprobate?

Yes, he said it himself in 1 Corinthians 9:27.

Hello, new friends!

I hope you're all having a wonderful day in the Lord's grace. I'm eager to hear how you spend your time at work when there's a lull, or even what you dream of doing when there's a pause in the action. Let's chat about our work, the things we enjoy, and maybe even the challenges that test our patience there.

As for me, I often find myself flipping through my phone and enjoying a good read during those quieter moments. But my true passion? I've dubbed myself The Questgiver of "Company Name" at every job I've worked at. I refuse to respond to work related texts like a normal functioning human being and I've bestowed my coworkers with unique adventurer titles and speak to them as if I'm trapped at a renaissance faire. I purchase little wooden chests and treats from a local candy shop and hide them around. I create crudely drawn maps from garbage, and if there's a particularly tough task I need done, I try to find something special for them to find.

This causes my coworkers to smile and groan which fills me with glee. Especially the groans.

I also hold random customer surveys that have absolutely no point. For instance, "Pumpkin Spice or Apple Cinnamon". The vast majority chose apple cinnamon! I work on a ship, and I wanted to share this picture with you all as we are heading off and it's very nice out today.

May your days be filled with God's peace and joy!

Romans 11:

26a in this way all Israel will be saved

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Cambridge Bible:

“all” bears a less exact reference here, as so often in Scripture, and means “in general;”—“Israel in general, the Jews of that day as a great aggregate, on a scale unknown before, shall be saved.”

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The word "all" does not universally mean everyone without exception. Another example of such a usage is in 2 Chronicles 12:

1 After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.

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In the NT, another example is Matthew 2:

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

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It was rather common in the times of the old and new testimonies that the word "all" was used to exaggerate the point.

Young's Literal Translation, John 6:44

no one is able to come unto me, if the Father who sent me may not draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day;

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ἐὰν μὴ
if not

draws
ἑλκύσῃ (helkysē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1670: To drag, draw, pull, persuade, unsheathe. Or helko hel'-ko; probably akin to haireomai; to drag.

BDAG:

ⓒ w. other particles

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α. ἐὰν καί even if Gal 6:1; likew. ἐὰν δὲ καί (POxy 472 II, 7) but if 1 Cor 7:11, 28; 2 Ti 2:5. ἐὰν δὲ καὶ παρακούσῃ but if the pers. refuses to listen Mt 18:17.

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β. ἐὰν μή if not, unless w. pres. subj. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ᾖ ἀξία Mt 10:13; cp. Lk 13:3; J 3:2f, 5, 27. Mostly w. aor. subj. ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ Mt 5:20; 6:15; 12:29; 18:3; 21:21; Mk 3:27; 4:22 (s. KBeyer, Semitische Syntax im NT, ’62, 131); J 4:48; 6:44; 7:51; Ro 10:15; 1 Cor 9:16; 14:6; unless, without ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὸ πίω Mt 26:42. W. fut. ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσουσιν Rv 2:22.

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Biblehub listed 30 translations out of 51 use the word "unless" to translate ἐὰν μὴ with aorist subjunctive. In this case, it is not just ἐὰν μὴ; it is ἐὰν μὴ followed by an Aorist Subjunctive verb. This pattern has been observed frequently enough that some experts believe that this pattern is the equivalent of the English concept of "unless".

In this thread, I will stick with the literal translation: The Father may or may not draw him.

Does the Father draw everyone?

One interpretation of the potential subjunctive mood says no.

Now, Jesus said in John 12:

32 "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

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The Cross will draw all people to Jesus. After that, the sovereignty of the Father has to draw him to enable him to actually come to Jesus.

See also No one can come to me UNLESS the Father who sent me draws him.

I have a question about the T-shirt that says “I can’t, but I know a guy.”

Just simply, what does it mean?

Link to Survey Summary PDF at end of article. Not to be missed. Methinks.​

​

2023 Forum Attendees Receive Results of Orthodox Convert Survey​

Hello, a friend of mine has had the experience of having helpful guidance about her marriage from balls of light that appeared in her room.
I wonder what Christians feel about getting advice on this, and similar, ways.
It seems in the Bible that followers sometimes get messages and guidance coming through, either directly or through dreams etc.
How can one tell if they should ignore this kind of communication, or if it would be a mistake to ignore it.
I see no reason to believe that it can't still happen... What do y'all think?

I received healing today. So I would like to encourage you to not fear praying for people who are sick. The following I posted in the praise reports:

I would like to give the LORD praise for something that happened to me today. Over the last few days, I have had pain and weakness in one of my arms. It has happened before, and when I went to the doctor last time it occurred they told me I had a degenerative disease in my back and shoulder region. The doctor warned me It can get so bad that if you put pressure on your neck you can end up with a broken neck. This time I must have slept wrong and something had become dislodged. The pain was so bad for a few days, that I could not even type on my computer without having shooting pain, and weakness in my right arm. It was to the degree that I did not know if I could work on Monday. I had to text the pastor of the church and let him know I would be unable to pack down at the end of church due to the pain. I still went to church but did not expect to be able to pack up. On the way my wife prayed for my arm, and I had prayed previously. However, the arm did not come good at that time. At church, I went up to Pastor John and told him I would not be available for pack up. He asked me if he could pray for my arm. He prayed, and the pain in my arm stopped. I told him I would see how it would go. But it remained good. There was no pain in my arm. I was able to pack up without any pain. I purposely lifted some heavy items just to check. Still no pain. Jesus had healed my arm through John’s prayer. At home, I was able to mop the floor, carry the laundry, pack up the clothes, and all with no pain. Right now I am typing on my computer with no pain. I will be able to work tomorrow.

If you have not been to church in a while, I would encourage you to go.

1Th 3:10-11 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.

Psalms 16 ESV


Let God be God

We all go through stuff, don’t we? And much of it is stuff we really have no control over, especially in this age of AI and computers, for pretty much all communications and business dealings these days are via electronic and computerized devices. And even if we didn’t want to participate in the world of the internet, so many of us have been forced into it because this is the way most things are being done these days.

So some people end up getting their accounts compromised due to no negligence of their own, and then we have these organizations which are standing there off to the side fully ready to be our “savior” and to protect us from those kinds of things taking place again. But who are those people? Can they be trusted? Could they be “wolves in sheep’s clothing”? Absolutely! And many of them probably are opportunists who either create situations and/or who sit like lions ready and waiting to devour anyone, who then pounce on anyone who has reported an account being compromised.

And this is just one example of how we can be put in situations beyond our control and where we are being encouraged to put our trust in strangers to “protect” us from harm. And so it is risky to make that choice to trust in strangers who may or who may not have our best interest in mind. And so this is one incident where we pray, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” For truly the Lord is the only one fully worthy of our trust.

So, before we take the next step in whatever situation we find ourselves in, we need to pray, and we need to seek God’s face, and we need to seek the counsel of God and what he would have us do, for we may just be trading one situation for another, and the other could turn out to be worse. So, we must take refuge in the Lord and then trust him to lead us and to guide us in the way that we should go. For different is not necessarily better.

And, although following in the ways of the Lord does not promise us “smooth sailing,” and that nothing bad will happen to us, if we don’t seek the counsel of the Lord, and if we don’t go the way he has counseled us, but we choose to go our own way, instead, and to run after “another god” to save us from what ails us, then our sorrows indeed could multiply, and not only did we not improve our situation, but we made it so much worse.

So, we need to be those who put our complete trust in the Lord in all things, and in every situation in our lives, and who follow the Lord Jesus with our lives, and who do not run after the gods of this world, and who do not put our trust in humans above putting our trust in the Lord. And we need to let the Lord guide us in our decision-making processes so that we don’t end up going in the wrong direction.

For God’s ways are the only right way, and his ways are the only way to eternity with God in heaven and true deliverance from our bondage to sin. But it isn’t just about sin and salvation and heaven at stake here, although that is the most critical. But this is about taking all our questions and concerns and difficulties to the Lord in prayer and us seeking his counsel and direction so that we don’t end up going in the opposite direction from where he is leading us, and possibly end up in worse situations.

Where Could I Go?

By J. B. Coats

Living below in this old sinful world,
Hardly a comfort can afford;
Striving alone to face temptation sore,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

Where could I go? Oh, where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul?
Needing a friend to save me in the end,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

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