• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Eating Jesus is the way

By "Eating Jesus" I mean taking Him in. Christ is so available for us to contact and enjoy,
If we turn our hearts towards Christ to take Him in we will live BY Him.
We will have something more powerful and roight than living by ethics,
We will have a perfect Person within us, living again THROUGH us.

Eating Jesus is the way to live by Jesus.

John 6:57 - As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.

(100% Serious Question) How do you deal with Sociopaths that try to gaslight you with mind games ?

• Gas-Light - manipulate (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.


I wanted to ask in this section how some of you personally deal with Sociopaths that use gaslighting and deceptive mind games to make you question your reality and harass you. Satanic / witchcraft people love to do this and also people who have really suppressed their conscience past the point of no return. They think that they are being slick and sneaky because they are doing it covertly.

(The worst is when someone in The Church does it to you. I had a young priest when I was Eastern Orthodox who did this to me. He would make fun of me in a low key mocking way and so would some of the parishioners. It Was Soul Crushing and disappointing.)

Do you call them out ?

How do you confront it and win in a Christian way etc ?


It even happens on this forum sometimes.
Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thanks.

Questions on the extent of God’s sovereignty.

I think we can all agree that God is sovereign. This thread is meant to try to explore the extent of His sovereignty. So to start, I pose these questions.

Does God know every action man might freely choose? If so, can He let man do that action if it suits His purpose? Also, can He intervene to prevent man from performing that action?

Voting won't matter: Biden’s power grab could destroy elections, silence the People

I've been saying this until I was blue in the face for years, and people would roll their eyes and think to themselves, "This guy is a right-wing conspiracy nut---totally off his rocker."

Well, here's an article written by a former Congressman, that tells the story much, much better than I ever could:

Oklahoma First State to Fund Religious Charter School

This one is Catholic.

The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. The online public charter school would be open to students across the state in kindergarten through grade 12.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond had warned the board that such a decision clearly violated the Oklahoma Constitution.
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Southwest Border Sees 70% Decline in Illegal Crossings Since Ending Title 42

Fortunately, the anticipated surge in illegal border crossings with the lifting of Title 42 didn't happened.

Since the CDC’s Title 42 public health Order lifted and the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive plan to manage the border went into full effect on May 12, DHS has continued to experience a significant reduction in encounters at the Southwest Border.

As a result of planning and execution—which combined stiffer consequences for unlawful entry with a historic expansion of lawful pathways and processes—unlawful entries between ports of entry along the Southwest Border have decreased by more than 70 percent since May 11. DHS has overseen significant expansions in lawful pathways even as we have repatriated a significant number of migrants.

From May 12 to June 2, 2023, DHS repatriated over 38,400 noncitizens under Title 8 authorities, including single adults and families, to more than 80 countries.


One simple way to make a hologram

Was thinking about it, yesterday, and a little today, took only a few seconds today for it to hit me, you can send out some invisble dust in front of the light-beam, a countinous spray of dust, non-harmful, and the light hits it, it was there in front of me all the time, was a little hard to find a solution for it, a way to sort of, stop the light-beam

DOL7b7sXcAA8fqz.jpg
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Ezekiel 26:1-14 - a difficult passage.

The topic's passage is a little bit difficult to deal with. It says Nebuchadnezzar will level the fortress island of Tyre and that Tyre will never be rebuilt, but neither thing happened.

Ezekiel 26:1-14 On the first day of the...month of the eleventh year of our exile, the LORD spoke to me. 2 "Son of man," he said, "this is what the people in the city of Tyre are cheering about. They shout, 'Jerusalem is shattered! Her commercial power is gone! She won't be our rival any more!'

3 "Now then, this is what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: I am your enemy, city of Tyre. I will bring many nations to attack you, and they will come like the waves of the sea. 4 They will destroy your city walls and tear down your towers. Then I will sweep away all the dust and leave only a bare rock. 5 Fishermen will dry their nets on it, there where it stands in the sea. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken. The nations will plunder Tyre, 6 and with their swords they will kill those who live in her towns on the mainland. Then Tyre will know that I am the LORD." 7 The Sovereign LORD says, "I am going to bring the greatest king of all—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia—to attack Tyre. He will come from the north with a huge army, with horses and chariots and with cavalry. 8 Those who live in the towns on the mainland will be killed in the fighting. The enemy will dig trenches, build earthworks, and make a solid wall of shields against you. 9 They will pound in your walls with battering rams and tear down your towers with iron bars. 10 The clouds of dust raised by their horses will cover you. The noise of their horses pulling wagons and chariots will shake your walls as they pass through the gates of the ruined city. 11 Their cavalry will storm through your streets, killing your people with their swords. Your mighty pillars will be thrown to the ground. 12 Your enemies will help themselves to your wealth and merchandise. They will pull down your walls and shatter your luxurious houses. They will take the stones and wood and all the rubble, and dump them into the sea. 13 I will put an end to all your songs, and I will silence the music of your harps. 14 I will leave only a bare rock where fishermen can dry their nets. The city will never be rebuilt. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

The Covenant is only for Israel - Not the World

Jeremiah 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

God isn't making a covenant with the world, He is only making the covenant with the House of Israel/the Twelve Tribes. If the world does not change citizenship to become part of Israel, they will not be given the Holy Spirit. Also when Christ returns, he's not coming to save the world, He is returning to save Israel--and Israel only.

Jeremiah 16:14-15 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.'

Matthew 24:22; Ezekiel 37:16-24

The Exodus and End Times are book ends. The entire Bible is Israel-centric; it only ever has to do with Israel and nations that come in contact with Israel. But just like during the Exodus, a great mixed multitude came out with Israel.

How does this set with people who are against the Hebrew Roots movements, or those from the past who accused Christians of Judaizing and persecuted them for it? If you're not Israel, you won't be rescued. You don't have to be blood Israel anymore, but how does one know your citizenship, except by your culture and behavior? You can't continue in man-made traditions and the culture of the world if you're an Israelite by birth or adoption. If the world doesn't recognize you as an Israelite, a Spiritual Jew, or a "Judaizer", as some mock, then it's unlikely God does as well.
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Russian forces destroy Kakhovka dam, triggering humanitarian disaster

Hey, everyone, remember that dam that people always said the russians would blow up to flood Kherson after they lost control of it? Guess what.

"Everything is quiet and calm, there is nothing at all," RIA Novosti, one of Russia's state-owned news agencies, cited the mayor, Vladimir Leontiev, as saying. He later said that only "the upper part of the power plant" had been damaged, but the dam itself was intact. Leontiev later claimed that the dam was destroyed by Ukrainian shelling.


On the upside, the dam was also responsible for crimeas main fresh water supply.
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If I Love You More

2 Corinthians 12:14-18 ESV

“Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?”

I am reading today in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. Paul was under some kind of false accusations and persecutions and rejections, and so he was coming to his own defense, not only for his own sake, but for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For if he could be discredited, it would also discredit what he was teaching, too. So, he was defending his own honor and his calling of God and his own character and purpose and motives, as well. And he was letting them know that he was not in this for himself but for them, and for their good. And he said he would most gladly be spent for their souls.

So, another reason why it was important for Paul to defend his own honor was for the salvation of souls, and it was for the spiritual growth and maturity of those who claimed to be followers of Christ. And it was to prove his genuine love for the people and to demonstrate how he loved them. But the love that he had for them was not a fleshly and worldly love which is based in emotions, but the love he had for them was love that comes from God and that prefers what God prefers, which is what is righteous, holy, upright, morally pure, honest, and faithful.

And so he asked them, “If I love you more, am I to be loved less?”

Now he was concerned that they were misinterpreting his motives and that they were being led astray by false apostles, and that they were not seeing him through the correct spiritual lens. For perhaps they were being influenced by the false apostles to take Paul to task. Or perhaps it was because some of them were still living in sin, and they had not repented of their impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they had practiced, and so they attacked Paul because he was teaching against how they were living. And this is not unusual for this type of thing to take place.

Now, what is standing out to me here is the love that Paul had for those who had professed faith in Jesus Christ. And his love for them was demonstrated by his commitment to them and to their walks of faith, and by the fact that he was teaching them the truth, and that he was exhorting them to live holy and morally pure and upright lives for the glory of God. And this is how God loves us, too. In fact, we read in Hebrews 12 that God disciplines us for our good, because he loves us, and that discipline is painful, but that it will yield what is righteous in the lives of those trained by the discipline.

But many people professing faith in Jesus Christ today don’t want discipline, and they do not see discipline as God’s love. And they do not see instructions on holiness and warnings against continuing in sin as God’s love. And so they are being drawn to false teachers who are telling them “pleasant things,” the kinds of things which make them feel good about themselves, and that do not confront them with God and with his word and with his commands and with his instructions to us in holy living and in the forsaking of our sins. And so they will see love as what makes them feel good and not necessarily as what is for their good.

Now, I am certainly not suggesting that we must go around always talking about sin and judgment. But we need to understand that the love of God is not permissive. His love does not overlook habitual and deliberate and rebellious sinning against him and against other humans. His love is defined for us in Hebrews 12 as the love of a father who disciplines his children for their good. And he trains us in righteousness and holiness. But many people are getting this idea that God’s love just makes us feel good about ourselves, even if we are deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord. And that is just wrong!

But is the love of God all discipline? No! He encourages us in many different ways, but his encouragements are based largely on our relationships with him and our actions and our obedience to him. Like he promises to be with us and to not leave us or forsake us, and that he will give us strength and courage, and the joy of the Lord will be our strength. And he lifts us up when we are downcast and when we need encouragement. But this isn’t for everyone who just says, “Lord, Lord.” This is for those who are walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh and who are honoring God with their lives.

So, back to what Paul was saying about his love for his spiritual children and his concern that they were loving him less, or not at all, in reality, for love does not treat people like some of them were treating Paul. We do need to understand that love is not all this feel good stuff that many are dishing out today. For these false teachers can make you feel good about yourself, and that can make you feel loved, but if they then lie to you and deceive you and so you believe their lies, and so you don’t repent of your sins, and thus you don’t end up in heaven, but in hell, then is that true love? NO! It isn’t!

But if we are truly loving people with the love of God, and so we will gladly spend our lives for their souls, even if we are not loved in return, then that is true love, for it is sacrificial love that is willing to be misunderstood and hated and judged unfairly in order to tell the people the truth which will save their souls from hell and which will lead them to walks of holiness and righteousness in the power of God. And this is how God loves us, for he is willing to have us hate him and to reject him in order to tell us the truth and in order to discipline us for our good in hopes that we will follow him and that we will have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Do You Love Me?

An Original Work / July 24, 2013

Do you love Me now?
Will you seek My face?
I have given you
My love and My grace.
Will you walk with Me
Ev’rywhere I lead?
Will you find in Me
All of what you need?

Won’t you meet with Me
Down upon your knees?
Will you obey Me,
And do what I please?
Will you hear My voice
Speaking now to you?
I am couns’ling you
To abide in truth.

I have died for you;
Taken all your sins –
Crucified with Me,
You have been forgiv’n.
I have set you free
From your slavery,
So that you can now
Live in victory.

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Be counted for "Avodah" (service) in ministry: Numbers 4:21-7:89

PARASHA: “Nasso” (Elevate) NUMBERS 4:21-7:89

God has us all counted, and is counting on us to take part in ministry. As the Levites served, so we as believers serve using our spiritual gifts. Don't let HIM down!


We will see various themes in this Parashah study. In Chapter 4, the duties of some of the important Levite families; “B’nei Kohat” “B’nei Gershon” and “B’nei Merari” (sons of). Their jobs consisted in taking down, transporting, and setting up the Mishkan (Tabernacle) throughout the wilderness journeys. Each family member had an important task to do within the Tabernacle and its furnishings. Interesting note that all the furnishings had to be covered by blue cloth. Blue symbolizes “HaShamayim” (The Heavenlies) This was their service in ministering to the LORD and to the other tribes in Israel. We also have jobs to do in ministry.

It is interesting to understand the root meanings of these names; “Gershon” (Ger) means “sojourner” a visitor and not a permanent resident. “Merari” (Maror) means, “sad” or “bitterness”. And then “Kohat” meaning “togetherness in a congregation (Kahal). So these family members transported the furnishings of the Tabernacle from one site to another for the 40 years they were in the wilderness. (perhaps one site per year, since there were 40 encampment sites).

By the meanings of these names, we can see; “We move together as a congregation, but as sojourners, not permanent residents, and even though sometimes moving can be sad, and we go through bitter times, we must remember that YHVH is with us and will never abandon us”

We are all “sojourners” on planet Earth, and at times, we run into bitter experiences such as job losses, perhaps untimely deaths, divorces, lost friendships, etc…yet we must remember that we are all part of the Body of Messiah, which is our main “Adat” (Body) but we have many “Kehilot” (congregations, assemblies) and we must encourage each other to stay firm and keep our eyes and hopes on the World to Come, Eternity, The New Jerusalem, we all have our permanent residence there, and there we will no longer be “sojourners” and there will be no more “bitterness” and this earth will be re-made, re-fashioned into, perhaps, what it was at the beginning of time, before sin and corruption, and the New Jerusalem will come down to sit on the “New Earth” forever. “Baruch HaShem!”

In the service to Adonai, we each have different jobs and ministries to perform. The Body of Messiah consists of many members, some preachers/pastors/rabbis, teachers of the Torah, of Hebrew, Youth ministers, musicians, praise and worship members and leaders, finance personnel, maintenance personnel, prayer warriors, intercessors, counselors, and the list could go on, HaShem has put his Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) on each and every born-again believer and has given each member different gifts and jobs to do in the body of Mashiach. We have all been “elevated” to perform our different ministries in the Body of Messiah Yeshua.

It is very interesting that in this Parashah, there are the repeated letters “Ayin and dalet” In this case the two letters are pronounced “ED” which in Hebrew means “witness’. The word for “congregation” is “Adat” which has the letters “Ayin and dalet” the other word “Avodah” which means “service” also has the letters “Ayin and Dalet”.

We can look at it in this way; When we “serve” or do “service” in our “congregations” we should be good “witnesses” to those who observe us, as also, there are “witnesses” in the heavenlies who observe our service to our LORD and God. Just as the different families of the Levites served in the Tabernacle and later in the temple, so we also should serve in our congregations using our spiritual gifts and abilities.

There should be no laziness in the body. We were not appointed just to show up on the sabbath and/or on Sundays just to sit in the pews, listen to the message, drop some money in the box, and leave. It is much, much more than that, anyone can do just that, what are you doing with YOUR gifts of the spirit?

It is interesting to note that service in the Mishkan started at 30 years old and ended at 50. (4:29) Each Levite family member had a twenty-year commitment to serve. When did Yeshua begin his ministry? When he was 30 years old! Coincidence? Or obedience to Torah?

Chapter 5; Unclean persons isolated! Anyone who was physically unclean had to be put outside the camp until the uncleanliness had passed. When we sin, can we consider ourselves spiritually “outside the camp?” out of fellowship with YHVH? I would say yes, our spiritual condition is much more important than our physical condition, as Adonai looks upon the heart and not upon the flesh. But once we repent and get right again with our LORD, we are back in fellowship and in the right standing. We could be physically inside the synagogue or church, going through the “praise” motions, yet spiritually miles away, yet through true confession and “Teshuvah” when we “Shoov” (return) to Adonai, He accepts us again. He never leaves us, we leave HIM!

(5:5) Confession and Restitution; Part of our lives is “confession and restitution” If we have wronged our brother or sister in Messiah, we must confess that “wrong” and if possible, make up the “wrong” if it is possible. If not, when all we can offer is a sincere “I am sorry for what I did” then, it is up to the person wronged to be mature enough to accept that and leave the event in the past, and not mention it at all, forevermore.

(5:11) Concerning unfaithful wives; it the days of old in Israel, if a wife was accused by her husband of adultery, she had to either confess or take an oath of “not guilty” a prayer was written with the name YHVH on it, and washed off into a bit of muddy water, if the woman told the truth, nothing would happen to her and the husband would have to accept her and HE would have to confess his “jealous spirit” BUT If the woman were guilty, then, her thigh would rot and her belly would swell. that would be a horrible punishment, sounds like her womb would never again harbor a child.

However, this might be a psychological measure. If the woman were indeed guilty of adultery, she could admit her guilt, knowing what would happen to her if she covered her sin. The worse that could happen would be that the husband would issue her a letter of divorcement. Stoning happened only if the man and woman were caught in the act, and/or there were witnesses to the said act.

A lesson to all marriages to be faithful one to the other. Not that the same thing would happen, but where there is adultery, there is the spirit of jealousy, the spirit of HaSatan, and many times, broken marriages and lives, marriage is a covenant, and a broken covenant leads to the curse.

Chap 6. The Law of the Nazarite. After reading this chapter, we ask ourselves, are there Nazarites today? Is there any prohibition of undergoing a Nazarite vow? Torah does not prohibit it, if a person feels compelled to take a Nazarite vow, then, that person should honor that vow and stay away from raisins and grape juice, and grape wine. If one could remember the 1960s, in the “hippie era” one could think; “a lot of Nazarites, everyone has long hair” but not so, I don’t think that hippies had long hair because they were Nazarites. One can take an “oath” to serve HaShem completely for “X” amount of years, perhaps on the mission field, without undertaking a Nazarite vow, remember it is the heart that matters, not so much the “hair”

The Priestly Blessing; a very important blessing that says a lot: MAY YHVH BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU

This is written in the Hebrew “singular” YOU not the plural YOU, because Israel, and all believers today are as ONE (Echad) in unity and ONE in fellowship, Adonai KEEPS us by “guarding us against curses and calamity, against sickness, poverty, He delivered our souls from the curse of sin, through Yeshua HaMashiach. However, we can, through rebellion, bring on to ourselves these curses!

MAY YHVH MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO YOU. The idea of “shine” is happiness, purity, and friendship so, May “P’nei Adonai” bring happiness to you and keep you pure “tahor” and bring you many friends, also GRACIOUS is from the Hebrew “Chen” (grace) something that is not merited, by GRACE we are saved, not by our own merit, He showed us the “Face of Grace” in YESHUA HaMASHIACH who is our YESHUAH (salvation)

LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE. May YHVH give his “attention” to you and direct it to you, and may you rest in HIS SHALOM! When we have Yeshua as Mashiach, we have that internal shalom, in spite of the world around us being in a lot of “unrest”

So THEY SHALL PUT MY NAME ON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND I WILL BLESS THEM. We can see that one of the names of God which is EL, is part of the name “YisraEL” and the most sacred name; YHVH is part of “Y’HUdaH (Judah)

Chap 7 “The offerings of the leaders” The leaders of the Tribes of Israel brought offerings to the Mishkan, great offerings of silver, gold, and other items, for the maintenance of the Tabernacle. Today, we bring tithes and offerings, yet our offerings can also be the offering up of our Time and Talent as well as our finances, it all goes back to using our spiritual gifts to edify the body of Messiah.

So remember, we can ALL participate in ministry. We ALL have something to contribute.
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Extinct species, known as Homo naledi.

"Researchers have uncovered evidence that members of a mysterious archaic human species buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls long before the earliest evidence of burials by modern humans.

The brains belonging to the extinct species, known as Homo naledi, were around one-third the size of a modern human brain.

The revelations could change the understanding of human evolution, because until now such behaviors only have been associated with larger-brained Homo sapiens and Neanderthals."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/world/homo-naledi-burials-carvings-scn/index.html

Get out of sin. Become effective

Hi Guys.

I just saw a video that made sense as I have been guilty of it too. (Goes only for about 1 min)
For a long time as a believer, I was stuck in habitual sin. This sin made me feel like I was a hypocrite. Which I was. Because of this feeling, I felt guilty telling the Gospel. I felt like a liar. So, leave your sin. Every time you sin, you will then put off sharing the Gospel with others for even longer. Sin will stop you from doing what Christ has called you into.
But the longer you are away from sin, the more you feel renewed. And the more you push into his word, the more you will love Him. The more you love Him, the more you will be excited about Him and then you will want to tell everyone.
So, stop sinning. It is hindering/stopping your ministry. Love God with all your heart. Then go and preach the Gospel. Become a weapon for God.
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Twitter's Ad Sales Plunge 59%

"Twitter’s U.S. advertising revenue for the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May was $88 million, down 59 percent from a year earlier, according to an internal presentation obtained by The New York Times. The company has regularly fallen short of its U.S. weekly sales projections, sometimes by as much as 30 percent, the document said."

Twitter’s ad sales staff is concerned that advertisers may be spooked by a rise in hate speech and pornography on the social network, as well as more ads featuring online gambling and marijuana products, the people said. The company has forecast that its U.S. ad revenue this month will be down at least 56 percent each week compared with a year ago, according to one internal document.


Twitter's new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, started her first day on the job today.

FBI 'afraid' informant could be killed over Biden family information if unmasked: Congresswoman Luna

Here is how the meeting went with Trump's team of lawyers and the DOJ pending indictment.

Trump's reaction after the meeting speaks volumes:

"“HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING,” Trump railed. “ONLY TRUMP – THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”

I don't know, something tells me DOJ put Trump on notice.

Axelrod: Manchin is ‘dead man walking’ in West Virginia



I wonder how much of this is due to a little bit of "self-sabotage" on the part of Democrats.

There was a lot of talk over the past several years about how "Manchin's not a real democrat", "Not progressive enough", etc... I wonder how much of his decline in popularity (in a very red state) is due to the fact that republicans still prefer a republican over him (though they find him to occasionally be a useful tool), and the few progressive democrats that are in West Virginia see him as "the enemy" now and soured on him after the branding he's gotten from other Democrats in the House and Senate.


Why I say it was self-sabotage?

It's because all of the hypothetical match-ups they cover in this article involve him losing to people who are more conservative than he is (meaning, instead of Democrats having someone in the senate who agrees with them on 30% of the issues - which should be considered a bonus for a W. Va senate seat - they'll end up with that seat getting filled with someone who fights them tooth & nail on everything)

To put that in perspective, instead of having a W. Va Senate seat where they'll at least have a friendly vote on these matters:
Voted YES on COVID relief package.
Authored 2 pro-union bills
Limit student loan repayment to 15% of income.
Increase teacher pay
Accepts gay marriage as settled law
"Citizens United decision has destroyed this country." (Oct 2018)
Give DREAMers a path to citizenship. (Oct 2018)
Favors raising the minimum wage

On the healthcare front:
  • Unacceptable to go back to pre-ObamaCare days. (Oct 2018)
  • ObamaCare makes healthcare more affordable for everyone. (Oct 2012)
  • Prohibit denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

They'll likely end up with someone who goes the other direction on all of these things...


I had made this critique a year ago in the form of a snarky question: "What, do you think that if Manchin weren't there, you'd be able to get a democrat with the positions of AOC elected in West Virginia in a Senate race???"

Be Gracious

CROSSOFLIGHT2.jpg

Be Gracious

July 25—“Be just as gracious toward the little ones as toward the great ones.
Make an effort particularly when you are with people who seem vulgar to you.
Go to everyone with the same gentleness. You are all brothers in Me.
Wasn’t I everyone’s brother? Don’t take your eyes off your model.”

Bossis, Gabrielle. He and I (Kindle Locations 1001-1004).
Pauline Books and Media. Kindle Edition.


++++++++++

Jesus talks about being Childlike. Children at their best can be very excepting of those with whom they meet. They can also be very cruel. All age groups have this contrast within themselves. Children however are in many ways clueless about life, its up and downs, and injustices. So they will often commit injustice without being able to even name it. They can be treated with contempt, without being able to name it either. Life is life, and what is, is. So trauma when one is very young, say before one is five, will have a lifelong influence on how life is understood. It can become our skin so to speak.


In my own life, I am often made aware of this ‘two-year-old’ and how my reactions, at least my inner hidden ones, come about. This can be a major obstacle, this childishness, from allowing me to grow into being more childlike. Some healing is needed before that inner graciousness can flower for others. It is part of most people’s journeys I believe.

The less this is understood, the more power this ‘inner-two-old’ has over me in my daily life. It can be easy to see it in others, but more problematic when it comes to myself. I can always have a good reason for how I may react in any situation when I forget myself.

Many distractions in prayer, I believe, come from this inner space. So many distractions can be used as a focus to grow in self-knowledge (humility), and lead to greater inner freedom over time. It is however a difficult journey.

Many think that prayer is just about asking God for ‘things’. When in fact, deeper prayer is often achieved by simply being aware of one’s need for grace. When we pray, we step back, observe, and over time learn that we are not these emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Well if we identify and believe them to be true, then yes we can lose ourselves in the inner maelstrom that can often make up our inner lives. Because our inner experiences can change in rapid succession, we can be caught in a very painful, and exhausting dream.

Prayer allows us to open up this circle and invite another in. When we start to have a relationship with “Ultimate Reality”, and find out that it is personal, then the only way to have a relationship is to be open to the reality of our own need for help, grace, and healing.
In the most painful of times, we can trust. Sentimental-Spirituality only leads to disappointment because ‘nice feelings’ do not last, something else comes in.


As we mature in our prayer life, we begin to see that our inner landscape is changing and we may not always understand how this happens, nor do we need to do. We just need to grow in trust, deepen our faith, and in dark times, as well as joyous ones, stay rooted in Christ Jesus, or true to the tradition we are following. Grace is always at work.-Br.MD
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    Votes: 1 11.1%
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https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/poli...investigation-classified-documents/index.html

A flood in a single room with all the computer servers where surveillance is stored. Man....what are the chances?!?

It's like Hillary all over again I suppose....

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