Hey everyone! My name reflects my affinity for classic rock, but also my love for the true King, who is Christ, who shed His crimson blood for our salvation.
Hoping to share in good conversation, but also to have some questions answered
See you all in the chats

Overshoot: Why It’s Already Too Late To Save Civilization

Thoughts?

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Seriously at this point there is nothing much to say that hasn't been said. The western "progressive" are racists. Being a person who most align with classical liberalism (not the modern far-left liberalism), I find this raise of open hostility towards the white people sickening. The same kind of feeling I felt when the other minorities (especially the blacks) were the targets in decades past.

Imagine that the course replaces the word whiteness with blackness or yellowness or brownness? The notion that a person's ethnicity or genetic makeup is inherently negative is the thinking of a racist.

This idea you can solve racism with racism is moronic. IMHO this is not about solving racism but revenge. This movement uses guilt as a tool to oppress and be hostile toward those whom they perceived to have wronged them - the whites. The problem with this is the collectiveness of the action. Now anything white is consider detestable. I have read that even exercising is a white supremist activity. The problem is not people having the freedom to write nonsense, the problem is the proliferation of such view points in mainstream society. In schools, in workplace, in enforcement even in unfortunately places of worship.

The frequency of this is also on the rise. From fringe to forefront. And the largest group of people perpetrating this are the progressives. And this is not even a contested fact. Every single video or news article I have the misfortune to consume, displayed a left leaning ideolog. Western left leaning ideologs. The same group of people who champion inclusivity and diversity - only in name not in act. The fruits of their ideology are very apparent and not anecdotal.

Are there extremes in the western right? Yes there are. Like the mirror image to their counterpart. Difference is in the number and level of infiltration into general society. By the way it is going America will always have racial problem. No one is interested in ending the cycle of hatred. Too preoccupied in getting revenge - to ensure the other side suffer as much as possible for a collective "crime". People who rather punish than forgive. To hold on to past baggage than let go to move forward.

Evil has no preferences, it will gladly latch on to whomever are willing. Evil give joy and pleasantness to those who would nurture it so it will be harder to abandon every passing moment. Evil distains self-reflection in fear that it may be seen for what it is. Evil is self-righteousness guised as righteousness. Upon maturity evil becomes you. No longer an aspect but a total.

I work for a great company and love my job, but over the last 3-4 months I feel like I'm being forced into a leadership role which I do not want. I have been a Staff Engineer at an automotive manufacturer for about the last 2 years. Before that I was a project engineer, and before that a manufacturing engineer (all at the same company). I've had great managers who have not only been excellent leaders, but they have recognized my hard work and promoted me throughout the years; and for that I'm grateful.

About 3-4 months ago, one of our managers was promoted, which led to me being appointed as the 'interim' engineering manager. I'm fine with filling in temporarily, but becoming a manager has never been part the career path which I had planned for myself. It's far too political for me, and although I feel like I can relate to people and lead people very well (although not as good as the former engineering manager), it's just not where my passions lie - I'm much more interested in the technical side of engineering. My current (or maybe former role) as the Staff Engineer was to lead the (much smaller) projects team, and also to help out the production engineers when needed - and I feel like it is a role that fit my passions and personality very well.

Since being appointed as the 'interim' engineering manager, it's pretty much been implied that the role is mine permanently if I want it... but in my heart I just don't. The biggest drawbacks for me are:

1. You can't ever truly walk away from work... ever. The exception to this is when you are on vacation. But other than that, when you go home your phone is with you at all times, and for the most part you're expected to answer it.
2. If a major piece of production equipment is down, it pretty much dominates your life until it is back up and running again.
3. You are now responsible for the entire engineering team... including all of their successes, and all of their failures. I'm a very independent person. I'm more than willing to help others, but that's it... I help them or give my advice, then walk away and what they do with it after that is their choice, and (for the most part) of no consequence to me.
4. I'm a pretty hands-on / 'go out and just do it' person... and management roles just aren't like that. You delegate to people and politic in meetings, and that's it. Which leads me to my 5th point...
5. I (for the most part) hate meetings! I think they are definitely essential, but so many people within my organization come to them unprepared or use them to talk about things that just don't matter, that the majority of them end up being a waste of time. Yes I schedule meetings when I think they are essential; but in my old role, they are a very small part of my day. Managers live in meetings, and I can't stand it.

So there's a bunch of negatives for me.... and the only positives are:

1. Higher salary. (I don't know how much higher, but I have a rough idea). A higher salary would provide (perhaps) a better future for my family - but personally I think that the stresses associated with the manager role outweigh that benefit. And if I want more money in my current position, there is voluntary overtime available on weekends. As a manager, I would no longer be eligible for OT.
2. More control over my own destiny (maybe). If I pass up the manager role and end up with a manager who delegates everything to me anyway, I'm stuck with (at least some of) the responsibilities of a manager, but with none of the monetary benefits.

But those aren't even the biggest negatives. Today, after 3-4 months of pondering this decision, my manager came to me and told me that due to cost cutting measures, the headcount of our department must stay the same. Since I am (by management's perception, it sounds like) the only person within the department who is qualified to be the next engineering manager, I can get promoted into that position, our headcount will then stay the same, and everyone in the department will keep their position / job. If I turn down the position, they will then have to hire a manager from outside the department (or perhaps outside the company), that will increase the headcount of our department by 1, which will require us to let someone go (or best case, maybe we can move them to another department). What?!

So basically, either I take the management position that I don't want, or someone could lose their job. What kind of a decision is that? I've prayed about this for months, asking God to make it clear what His will is for me. Despite all the prayers, I still don't have a firm conviction. In the absence of all other external factors (salary, pressure / perceived pressure from upper management, fear of retribution if I don't take the position), I would choose to not take the promotion, and to stay the Staff Engineer. But, after learning that someone else could loose their job if I don't take the position, my thoughts were "Ok... maybe this is God's way of saying I really need to do this, and it won't be as bad as I think it will. Or even if it is that bad, this is God's will for me, and there will be other benefits (for my family, co-workers and whatnot) that make it worth it in the long run."

So where is God in this decision? Maybe someone else can offer some advice or perspective that I am not seeing?

Thanks,
Mark

"Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family," Comer said. "When Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States, he joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times."

"When Burisma’s owner was facing pressure from the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company for corruption, Archer testified that Burisma executives asked Hunter to ‘call D.C.’ after a Burisma board meeting in Dubai," Comer continued.

"Why did Joe Biden lie to the American people about his family’s business dealings and his involvement?" He asked. "It begs the question what else he is hiding from the American people."

That's enough for an impeachment inquiry to begin.

This is a bit older piece of news but I never found any discussion here about it, even though I think it's relevant and pertinent:


The Guardian and several Australian news outlets reported a gun attack in rural Australia as a "Christian terror attack". I am curious if they would similar report on Muslim sectarians engaged in similar violence as an "Islamic terror attack".

This kind of reporting risks portraying religious people, especially Christians, as extremists prone to violence. It sounds to me like the real culprit here is the importation of American-style political cults and conspiracy theories, not Christianity per se.

I look at Bibles like "The MacArthur Study Bible" and I have an immediate problem with putting a person's name on the front of the Bible to endorse it.

What are your thoughts?

House Republicans launched an investigation Monday into how the Justice Department bungled a plea deal with Hunter Biden so badly that a judge sent them back for a mulligan.

The committees conducting the investigation said several parts of the agreement were “atypical” to the point that the federal prosecutor who led the defense had to acknowledge under questioning that there was no precedent for such an arrangement.

One provision ruled out prosecutions for crimes beyond the scope of the case, and another limited the government’s authority to prosecute Mr. Biden should he violate the terms of the deal.

Back in the day, my university lecturer was Dr. Koyama from Japan - teaching phenomenology of religion - and he was a believer in Jesus.

This was unusual as Japan is one of the most unreached countries in the world.

So he had some insightful things to say.

I will never forget his comment on Western Christianity - a people without patience - expecting early responses from God in answer to prayer - when in God's time the answer often rightfully comes in years, not months or days.

The extreme version of this is seen at Bethel - folks are taught to demand that God acts now.

Even Jesus had to wait and see what the Father wanted to do...

Timing is everything - Make you requests known with thanks and fully yield the matter.

Leave it there - making things happen in place of God is spiritual manipulation.

Claiming that God must heal now is distorting the message of the Cross.

Discussion most welcome.

In October 1996 I found myself in a seminar group with Sinéad O’Connor. My name then was O’Neill and the alphabet had lumped us together long before any other identity group had a chance to.

I was looking forward to hearing what she had to contribute and not at all dreaming about shaving my head, becoming her best friend and meeting Prince, but I never saw her again after that first week. Like so many times before and since, the ever-restless heart changed route.

I never kept up with her work, but from time to time I would read about something shocking she had said or done. She frequently spoke out on issues of rights, racism, child abuse, religion and feminism, and she was clearly a deeply damaged, troubled person desperately seeking stability and truth. If it was Galilee circa 31AD she would have recognised truth and found the rest that she so rightly longed for. But she was unable to recognise that which is “the same yesterday, today and forever” in the short span of time between 8 December 1966 and 26 July 2023.

That Christ was not clearly revealed to her through the Church which He established is something that should give us pause. After being ordained a fake priest in 1999, O’Connor (still restless) moved on again and converted to Islam, calling it, “The natural conclusion of any intelligent theologians’ journey”, But O’Connor was not an intelligent theologian. Her ignorance of Catholicism was staggering, and she had been badly let down by those tasked with feeding the sheep. She was a woman crying out in agony and hearing no adequate response from the Church of her cradle, a failing which Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of as he reflected on Jesus’ own agony:

Continued below.

Matthew 24:

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

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We don't know and don't waste your time trying to figure it out. In the meantime,

44 you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

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The more important question is this: Are you ready for the parousia? You are given a lifetime to earn your rewards in heaven.

There is a group of people in the Church who not only say Chrismation is an inappropriate entrance into the Church, but also claim Orthodox should get a corrective baptism if they were received by Chrismation. Any thoughts?

Hello there. I am a new Christian and I am interested in how God's Word could help me to complete my work, avoid mental excuse making and avoid procrastination to the point that it becomes laziness. This is one of the main things in my life that causes me anxiety, so I am seeking The Lord's help in dealing with this.
Thank you and bless you,
Bradley.

• Actor Paul Reubens passed away on Sunday night after battling cancer
• The 70-year-old was remembered as a 'gifted and prolific talent'

Pee-Wee Herman star Paul Reubens has died at the age of 70.

The actor, who performed as the iconic character since 1977, passed away on Sunday night after battling cancer in private.


Reubens had cancer for six years - but kept his fight a secret. He battled the disease with his 'trademark tenacity and wit.'

In a note written by Paul but posted by his family after his death, the actor asked for forgiveness for not informing the world about his diagnosis.

Paul Reubens wrote: 'Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years.

'I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans, and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.'

Continued below.

This will be the next Progressive Liberal Meltdown.

‘Have We All Lost Our Minds?’ Country Songwriter Blasts Wokeness With Simple Question

Isaiah 5:

14 Therefore Sheol [H7585] enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion's nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!

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Strong's Concordance:

sheol: underworld (place to which people descend at death)

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LXX translates "sheol" as "hades" [G86].

Strong's Concordance:

hadés: Hades, the abode of departed spirits

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There is a popular belief that the dead have a conscious spirit existence in Sheol/Hades. I doubt that's the case.

One of Joe’s most infamous and specific lies was, “My son has not made money in terms of this thing about — what are you talking about — China,” which he delivered from the stage during the second presidential debate in October 2020.

Since the 2020 presidential face-off, White House visitor logs, testimonies from Biden business partners, and documents obtained by Republicans investigating Biden family corruption contradicting Joe’s original statements have surfaced. Now, Joe’s lies have morphed into calling evidence that he sold political favors to foreign oligarchs a “private” and “personal” matter that only relates to his son.

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:14-17

So most of us know this passage. Philip goes to Samaria and preaches the gospel. Many were baptized into the faith, but "the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them."

Why couldn't Philip, a man who was "full of the Holy Spirit" minister the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan believers? Why did Peter and John have to go to do this?

More importantly I think, is what does this story mean to us in the modern church? Are all Spirit filled believers equipped to minister the Holy Spirit, or should only elders and leaders do this, like Peter and John.

From sidewalk feces to overflowing trash cans, San Franciscans have long complained about how dirty the city is. And now we have official confirmation from City Hall. The Controller’s Office released a report Monday telling many city residents what they already knew: San Francisco is a pretty dirty place.

“It’s terrible; this street is covered,” said Joe Souza, a Tenderloin resident who has lived on Larkin Street for a year. “There’s poop everywhere. You always see it along the wall and in front of the garage there.”

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace [F] you have been saved through faith [F]. And this is [N] not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

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Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

For by grace are ye saved - By mere favor. It is not by your Own merit; it is not because you have any claim. This is a favorite doctrine with Paul, as it is with all who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity;

And that not of yourselves - That is, salvation does not proceed from yourselves. The word rendered "that" - τοῦτο touto - is in the neuter gender, and the word "faith" - πίστις pistis - is in the feminine. The word "that," therefore, does not refer particularly to faith, as being the gift of God, but to "the salvation by grace" of which he had been speaking. This is the interpretation of the passage which is the most obvious, and which is now generally conceded to be the true one; see Bloomfield. Many critics, however, as Doddridge, Beza, Piscator, and Chrysostom, maintain that the word "that" (τοῦτο touto) refers to "faith" (πίστις pistis); and Doddridge maintains that such a use is common in the New Testament. As a matter of grammar this opinion is certainly doubtful, if not untenable; but as a matter of theology it is a question of very little importance.

Whether this passage proves it or not, it is certainly true that faith is the gift of God. It exists in the mind only when the Holy Spirit produces it there, and is, in common with every other Christian excellence, to be traced to his agency on the heart. This opinion, however, does not militate at all with the doctrine that man himself "believes." It is not God that "believes" for him, for that is impossible. It is his own mind that actually believes, or that exercises faith; see the notes at Romans 4:3. In the same manner "repentance" is to be traced to God. It is one of the fruits of the operation of the Holy Spirit on the soul. But the Holy Spirit does not "repent" for us. It is our "own mind" that repents; our own heart that feels; our own eyes that weep - and without this there can he no true repentance. No one can repent for another; and God neither can nor ought to repent; for us. He has done no wrong, and if repentance is ever exercised, therefore, it must be exercised by our own minds. So of faith. God cannot believe for us. "We" must believe, or "we" shall be damned. Still this does not conflict at all with the opinion, that if we exercise faith, the inclination to do it is to be traced to the agency of God on the heart. I would not contend, therefore, about the grammatical construction of this passage, with respect to the point of the theology contained in it; still it accords better with the obvious grammatical construction, and with the design of the passage to understand the word "that" as referring not to "faith" only, but to "salvation by grace." So Calvin understands it, and so it is understood by Storr, Locke, Clarke, Koppe, Grotius, and others.

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From the vertical point of view, faith is a gift from God. Humans cannot boast about that. At the same time, from the horizontal (human) point of view, God tests the strength of our faith in Him. We are responsible to believe. Both are true. This is an example of Co-Reality.

Our brains are hardwired to believe lies and conspiracy theories, says researcher (Taylor & Francis, 29 June 2023). Marcel Danesi Ph.D., is a professor of semiotics and linguistic anthropology at the University of Toronto. This poses the question: can we believe what Professor Danesi says? Perhaps his hard wired belief system is repeating lies that he's heard. Of course, as a secular scholar, he is convinced that lying is a result of evolution. Since evolution assumes that everything that survives must be to the advantage of the creature, then lying must be a good thing. Except that Danesi could well be lying about that also. Still, it gets his paper published.......

The foundation of Christianity is truth. God hates lies. It was a lie that got mankind into strife in the first place. Yet speaking the truth can get people in prison now. Simply saying the truth that people are born either male or female is illegal in some places. The ultimate liar will be the Antichrist. The world is being softened up to reject God's truth and embrace Satan's lies. Christians need to shun anything dubious, anything that is deceptive and anything that draws us away from truth. I'm not big on conspiracy theories for exactly this reason. In most cases, there is little evidence and a vast amount of speculation. How about,
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things."

Pray for anxiety at work to go away and also pray for a comfortable working environment with great respect for one another. Also pray that management at work wont change my current work schedule as the new proposed schedule wont work for me. Also pray for my health concerns to be resolved and sound mind Amen

SCRIPTURE: Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit (Psalm 119.96)

LESSON: It is true that even perfection has its limits, but God's commands know no bounds when it comes to their perfection. Therefore, when we apply the word of God to our daily lives, by standing on His word in any situation and using it as a balm for healing our souls and physical bodies, we can achieve excellence at the very least, if not perfection. With the help of God's word, we can strive to be our best selves and live a life that honors Him.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to pay closer and deeper attention to your word (your instruction) for it is our life!

Sometimes when we're feeling down or discouraged all it can take is a little smile or laugh to lift our mood. And some people just need a small distraction or 50 to debrief & settle down after work. I saw that @peaceful-forest had made a meme thread about singles/single life and I thought it would be a good idea to migrate a thread I posted in a dead sub-forum to one where it might make more people smile. I'll still keep the other one open though if you end up leaving the singles only section for a while (or for good!).

• Please keep the memes about general things or off topic subjects (i.e. memes that don't really have a home in any other thread here).
• If you have any memes relating to singleness please use @peaceful-forest's thread and keep it going. This is the aforementioned thread.
• Please also try not to get too political as this is a thread intended to promote joy & lift moods, not create angst.
• Try to keep each post to 1-2 memes at max to avoid clogging the entire page with a single post. However, please feel free to machine gun post memes; just make a new post for the next one you want to do. This will also allow people to comment and have a bit of fun about specific memes rather than having to reply to your whole post of 7000 memes.

I know this isn't a strictly Christian sub-forum of the website, but it is a Christian website. So please also keep the memes as clean as you can (including free from blasphemy) and in keeping with Christian morality, ethics & values as best you can:
"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." -Galatians 6:10
"Finally, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble. Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing." -1 Peter 3:8-9
"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." -Galatians 6:2
"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." -Ephesians 4:32
"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you." -1 Thessalonians 3:12

God bless everyone and "Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!" (2 Thessalonians 3:16) .

2 Timothy 4:14-18 ESV

“Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

When we are serving the Lord Jesus with our lives, and we are sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of this world, and when we are refuting the lies of the enemy, we are going to be opposed, even by others professing faith in Jesus Christ. For not everyone who professes faith in Christ has genuine faith in him. Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” truly worships Christ as Lord.

There are many professors of faith in Christ who are still living worldly lives, still living for the flesh, still habitually and deliberately sinning against the Lord. And so they don't have the mind of Christ, and so they don't really comprehend the things of God and how God works. They are still seeing through fleshly eyes, and so they end up rejecting what they truly do not comprehend.

And it is possible that the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ will oppose the truth of the gospel, possibly because they were not taught the truth and so they grew up believing the lie as the truth, and so their natural instinct is to deny what seems opposite of what they had always been taught. Others will reject the truth because it doesn't agree with their chosen lifestyles.

And just like Paul, when he was Saul, opposed the gospel and those who taught it, there will be people who will oppose the truth of the gospel and those of us who are teaching it because they sincerely believe we are wrong and that they are right. But among them are those who don't care that we might be right and that they might be wrong for it is all about them hanging on to what they were always taught, right or wrong.

So, it is possible that you might find yourself standing all alone, at times, with no one to stand with you, and with no one to support you. For even if some people will verbalize agreement with you in private, they may not be willing to take a public stand with you because they don't want to be persecuted with you. For it takes courage to stand on what is truth especially when you have the majority against you.

But even if we have to stand alone, at times, we must stand on the truth. But first we must search the Scriptures to make sure what we are believing is indeed the truth. And this is why it is so critical that we study the Scriptures in their full context, for many are being taught the Scriptures outside their context and so they end up believing the lies and not the truth. So we need to be seekers of truth.

And when we are on the Lord’s side, and when we are obeying him, he is our support even if all humans desert us. He will be our strength, and he will help us to stand on the truth. And he will give us the words to say and the courage to say them. And although he does allow evil people to do evil against us, he will carry us through it all and he will bring good out of it if we trust him and if we obey him.

And one day he will take us to be with him for eternity and that is our hope. But please know that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” is going to heaven, but only the ones doing the will of God. So, if walking in obedience to the Lord, in holy living, is not your practice, but if living in sin and for self is your practice, you will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what your lips profess. For we must obey our Lord, in practice, and we must not walk in sin if we want to have eternal life with God.

I Will Lift My Eyes

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.