I have been looking for a good Christian forum. I've been through a lot of spiritual struggles throughout my life.
My hope is to grow closer to God through learning and fellowship.
I've done a lot of reading here and it is a great forum.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." NKJV

What does Paul mean by “set aside the grace of God?” It definitely has something to do with the law. Paul stated “If righteousness came through the law Christ died in vain.”


1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. NKJV


As Paul states in the above everything is legal for those who are in Christ. Romans 7 God considers everyone in Jesus to have died with Him. Being dead means that we are not under the law as dead people cannot sin. Therefore, God will not impute sin to those in Jesus. We have liberty to sin.


Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." NKJV


Paul warns us about using our liberty as an opportunity to please our flesh. Then he cites that all the law is fulfilled by the OT law of “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Does this mean that we have to “Love our neighbor as our self” to be saved by Jesus? No!


Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. NKJV

Our righteousness is apart from the law. That means that our righteousness has nothing to do with our doing any OT law.


Romans 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: NKJV


God imputes righteousness apart from doing any works. The above scripture is a 2-edged sword. For those who do not work their faith is accounted for righteousness. It also means that if one is doing a work to be righteous, they do not believe in Jesus. If anyone believes in Jesus, then that belief in Jesus is their righteousness. How could they believe Jesus makes them righteous, if they are working to be righteous?

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. NKJV


Again, the above scripture is a two-edged sword. If anyone believes in Jesus, He is the end of the law for righteousness. That means if you believe in Jesus you do not get any righteousness by doing works of the law.


It also means if anyone is doing works to be righteous, they do not believe that Jesus makes them righteous. If Jesus made them righteous then why do they need to work to be righteous?


That is what Paul means by setting aside grace. If anyone does any work to be righteous, they are setting aside the grace of God. God gives us grace so we do not need to work for righteousness.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. NKJV

Some Galatians had been convinced they had to trust in circumcision. Circumcision has noting to do with righteousness.(It was a requirement for those in the first covenant) If they got circumcised, believing they needed to for salvation, they would set aside the grace of God. If anyone sets grace aside the only way left to be righteous is by doing the law. We know no one will be made righteous by the law because no one except Jesus could do the law without committing sin.

Then why did Paul tell us to “love our neighbor as our self” to be righteous?

Paul has just gone through several chapters explaining how faith in Jesus is so much better than being under the law, he is not going to now tell the Galatians to do the law, the law is one entire unit not separate parts. He is telling them not to use the liberty in Jesus to satisfy their lusts. We do not lose salvation if we die under discipline, which if we use our liberty to satisfy our lusts we will die under discipline.


Galatians 2:20(a) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; (b) and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." NKJV


The answer to why Paul told us, to love our neighbor as ourselves, is in the above scriptures. Verse 20 b the life that Paul lived in the flesh he lived by faith in Jesus. That is the way all the sons of God live.

Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. NKJV

By accepting discipline, we prove that we are sons of God. Verse 12 we should not live to satisfy the flesh. If we live to the flesh we will die physically. Any of the elect (remember David and Bathsheba) could fall into temptation and quit walking in the Spirit. If this happens Jesus will start discipline, ending in our physical death , if we do not repent. This is what Paul meant by the life he now lives he lives by faith in Jesus. Paul had faith that if he continued to obey Jesus' commands that he would accomplish everything God had planned for him to do. Romans 13:8 We are under the law of love. If we fulfill the law of love we will continue to live physically. If we stop fulfilling the law of love we will die and go to heaven under discipline. 1Corinthians 11:32 God disciplines us so we will not be judged by the world.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two top deputies at the Department of Health and Human Services, ABC News has learned.

Heather Flick Melanson, Kennedy's chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, deputy chief of staff of policy, are departing, according to a department spokesperson and another person familiar with the decisions.

No reason was given for the ousters. The person familiar with the situation told ABC that Kennedy "has every right to make personnel decisions."

He made the decision to hire them. And made the decision to approve an ethics waiver for Melanson. According to that document, Trump installed Melanson to keep an eye on RFK Jr.

The Trump administration has officially ordered the destruction of nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food left undisturbed before the USAID program was shut down.

The food, worth $800,000,000, is enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week. It will cost another $130k to incinerate the food, according to the Atlantic. The food is set to expire soon, after the agency was shut down and could no longer distribute the food, originally meant for needy children in parts of Africa and the Middle East.

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No words. Just prayers. And tears.

x

I have to be honest. I have a enough of this. I really tired to be Christian. Since i begin a Christian i feel only Fear, anxiety, miserable not happiness or joy. Since when i became Christian i get nervous more than ever. Right now i don't see God as good father but only severe. I only afraid him not love him. I came on Tik Tok and some woman says "This is verse for women who don't have kids" but jesus said to them, "daughters of jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children! 29 behold, the days are coming when you will say, 'blessed are the barren wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.' 30 alternatively, to the mountains, 'fall on us!' and to the hills, 'cover us!' 31 for if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" I'm don't want to be a mother . And i 'm afraid i'm going to the hell. I have enough of Christianity. First one i wanna end with christianity but other side no. I just broken inside. It all makes me crazy. I can't sleep normal i sleep only 2-3 hours not anymore.If you want you can pray for me but i don't if i became atheist.

Tim Timberlake has a message for Christians, particularly those in the West, looking for comfort: discomfort may be precisely what is needed.

In his new book, The Bumpy Road to Better, the 41-year-old bestselling author and senior pastor of Celebration Churchin Jacksonville, Florida, challenges the notion that faith is a way around life's hardships. Instead, he invites readers to walk through them, head-on, hand-in-hand with Jesus.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Timberlake said he's not out to offer simple solutions or spiritual clichés but clarity. Pain has purpose, he said, and avoiding it prohibits growth. He believes the Christian life is less about dodging hardship and more about learning to steward it well.

Continued below.

PARASHAH: “Balak” NUMBERS 22:2-25:9


This is the famous story of Bilam, who was asked to “curse” Israel, and instead, “Blessed” Israel, yet before this, his donkey spoke to him. The name “Bilam” or Balaam” might be a shorter version of the name “Baal-haAm” (lord of the people). Some believe that he was a true prophet of G-d, others believe he was a false prophet or a corrupt prophet. Seems like he was the latter, yet YHVH used him to bless HaAm Israel

The princes of Balak, (whose name means, "one who lays waste"), King of Moab, offered money to Balaam to curse Israel, so Balaam consulted Adonai as to what he should do. Elohim answers;

“Thou shalt not go with them, thou shalt not curse them for they are blessed” (Num 22:12)

What the LORD has blessed, stays blessed, what the LORD has cursed, stays cursed UNLESS the LORD himself lifts the curse and changes the curse to a blessing. Balaam tells the princes, “I cannot go with you,” yet Balak is stubborn, and wants Israel cursed; he offers more money, and fame, re-sends his princes and asks them again to propose to Balaam; “Stay here tonight and I will see what the LORD will tell me,” says Balaam.

But hey, didn’t Adonai already say NO? What more is there to ask again? Or…is there a hidden reason? Maybe a money reason? We can see perhaps a greedy prophet trying to see if “God will change his mind”. Just a little curse for a lot of money? However, Adonai says, “Go with them, but only say what I tell you to say”. So, the word of God says that in the morning, Balaam saddled his ass and went with the princes of Moab, BUT…God was angry because he WENT! There is a problem here, didn’t Adonai already give his permission for Balaam to GO, yet he was angry because he WENT! What is the root of interpretation here?

Adonai gave his permission for Balaam to go PHYSICALLY with the princes of Moab, yet, Balaam in his heart was GOING ALONG WITH THE IDEA, to curse for money, and greed was in his heart. One thing is to GO, another is GO ALONG WITH THE IDEA, or be in unison to do evil. This is why the anger of the LORD was kindled, Balaam had in his heart the IDEA or the DESIRE to GO CURSE ISRAEL for riches. It was all about the “inner motive” of Bilaam, Adonai knows the heart above all things. We can all “go” places, but if our hearts carry evil intentions, then the “going” will bring a curse upon ourselves.

Here is another idea. God permitted Bilaam to go, only that he make known the plan to bless Israel, yet Bilaam did not tell the second group of emissaries that he would bless Israel. He allowed them to think that he would pronounce a curse upon Israel. In this type of deceit, Bilaam would “blaspheme” the name of God, knowing one thing, and hiding it on purpose. Perhaps Bilaam thought that if he told the group that he would only “bless” Israel, then he would not receive payment. It would then be a “financial setback”. (ill-gotten greed).

Now Adonai used Balaam’s donkey to “wake him up” as to what is happening. Then, “Malach-YHVH” (The Angel of the LORD) stands in the way, the ass avoids him three times, until Balaam strikes his donkey three times for going off the road. Finally, the LORD opens the mouth of the donkey, and the donkey is made to speak;

“Why have you smitten me these three times?” Wouldn’t you wonder that Balaam would have been impressed that an animal would speak? Hebrew at that? Even the Angel said, “Why have you smitten your donkey these three times?”

Some wonder about the number “3.” Does it have meaning? There are “3” entities in Elohim, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Yeshua was in the ground for 3 days, there are 3 parts of the Bible, the Torah, the Prophets and Hebrew poetry, and the Brit HaDASHAH (New Testament) Yeshua asked Kefa 3 times “Do you love me?” The Angel of Elohim gave “3” warnings to Balaam, yet he did not SEE, or perhaps, did not WANT to see or heed the warnings, until his donkey, “alerted him”

Another thing we can see is that God is concerned for the treatment of animals. Those who have pets should treat them with love and tender care, not mistreat them, for if the angel saw the donkey being struck and called Balaam’s attention on that, the LORD sees how YOU are treating your pet, (hopefully no one has a pet crocodile running around the house, yet there was a case of a family that DID have indeed a PET CROC in the house)

Balaam meets Balak, and again, they go to 3” separate places to view Israel, and Balaam orders 7” altars to be built. 7 bulls and 7 rams would be sacrificed. “7” is the perfect number, yet all three times, Balaam opens his mouth to BLESS Israel, whom YHVH has blessed, no man can curse. Even in the third blessing, Balaam echoes the blessing of Abraham: “Blessed be everyone that blesses thee and cursed be everyone that curses thee!”

What can we learn from all this? We must always support and bless Israel, bless our brothers and sisters in our congregations, do not let money be the main interest in our doing “good” if we wish to bless our neighbor, with our prayers, labor, favors, etc., let it not be guided by monetary gain, but our sincere desire to bless and be a witness to Yeshua our Messiah. Oh yes, and treat your cats, dogs, birds, tropical fish, etc. with TLC! Adonai is watching! But let’s look at the blessings that Bilaam said to Israel, and yes, Balak was fuming! This is to show that G-d even works among heathen prophets, to shower blessings to his people; (23:8-10) We see various things of interest here: Bilaam states,

“How can I curse whom Elohim has not cursed?” “It is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” “Who hath counted the dust of Jacob or numbered the stock of Israel?.” “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine be like his.”

“A people that dwell alone.” One might think about the meaning of this. One way to look at this is that Israel is a “unique’ people, that is not given to worship idols like the other nations, but given and chosen to worship Adonai only, therefore, “Not reckoned among the nations.”

Adonai did not curse Israel, but later, Israel brought upon itself a curse because the Israelites hooked up with the prostitutes of Moab and entered into the pagan rites of the Moabites (persuaded by Bilaam). He must have said to the king that God cannot curse them, but they can bring a curse upon themselves.

Israel is unique; no nation like Israel. The word for “unique” is “Yachid” and is different from the rest of the nations, because Israel believes and worships only “One G-d” YHVH! The rest of the nations at that time were pagan, idolatrous nations.

Why is Jacob/Israel compared to dust? Can anyone count “dust?? Yet dust will last forever. The desire of all is to “die like a Tzadik!” a righteous person, but Bilaam did not die like a Tzadik, he died like a pagan prophet who was, unwillingly, used by YHVH. The next blessing is from 23:19-24.

“God (EL) is not a man that He should lie, Nor the Son of man that He should repent”

The word for God in this verse is “El” (the strong one who leads and instructs), and through the Torah, Adonai shows us the way to Mashiach! Yes, God is NOT a man, He is Spirit in the pure essence of His being, yet He became flesh, in Yeshua, to die for our sins, and Yeshua never needed to repent of anything since He was and IS sinless!

‘None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob nor seen perverseness in Israel”

Yet didn’t YHVH want to wipe Israel from the earth for past sins and rebellion? Yes, BUT, Moshe interceded for them like Yeshua intercedes before the Father on our behalf. YHVH was looking at Israel through Messiah Yeshua, He sees Israel as if Israel had never sinned, being righteous! Are we any different? Our flesh is black like sin (figuratively) because our flesh is dead and dying, yet inside us lives our soul-spirit, and it is white as snow, purified through the Blood of Yeshua. The third blessing is from 24:3-9.

“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy dwellings, O Israel”

This is the beginning of one of our daily prayers. The tents and dwellings symbolize the whole people of Israel, the ones who dwell inside the tents. The word "Dwellings" is written in Hebrew: "Mishkanotecha." Here is the mention of the Tabernacle "Mishkan" "Your Mishkan" where the LORD dwells amongst His People!.

“Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters”

Yeshua is the “Living Water” (Mayim Chayim). Many waters can symbolize the “multitudes” of people, since the Hebrew letter “Mem” symbolizes both “water” and the “masses” (of people). This is the “Seed of faith” that has been scattered among all the nations of the world. The blessing ends like the promise of Abraham, “blessed be every one that blesses thee, and cursed be everyone that curseth thee,” and in HIS SEED shall ALL the world be blessed, “HaZeman Yeshua” (the seed of Yeshua), the seed of “Faith.”

Shalom, have a blessed week.

The administration's campaign to increase deportations to third-party countries gained a major legal victory last month, when the Supreme Court suspended a ruling by a federal judge in Boston that had required the U.S. to give detainees a certain degree of notice and due process before any deportation to a place that was not their country of origin.
That now-suspended lower court order had required officials to give detainees and their lawyers notice of the third country the government wanted to remove them to, as well as a chance to contest their deportation, including by raising fears of being harmed or tortured in that nation.

Thank you Eswatini! One of the Christian nations I have not visited.

"Where these sleeper cells may be is in plain sight," former FBI special agent and terrorism task force member Jonathan Gilliam said. "And that's the real terrifying part of this is that putting people in place, as we've seen over the past four years, everyone's scrambling because certain amounts of people could come in here and get in here."

With the lax security during the Biden administration there may be hundreds of Iranian terrorists in the country.

Please more prayers for my son Jake. He is having a really bad night mentally. Please ask God to heal him mind and body and give him some kind of joy. He is suffering. Please please ask God to allow him to be happy if it is His will and that there is nothing seriously wrong with him mind or body. Your prayers mean so much. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you. Carmen

South Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar introduced a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform package on Tuesday that would provide legal status for certain undocumented immigrants.

The measure would create a “Dignity Program” allowing undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. since 2021 to apply to live in the country for up to seven years with work authorization. They would have to pay $7,000 in restitution, stay in legal compliance, and check in with the Department of Homeland Security regularly. It would be renewable if individuals remain in good standing.

Notably, it would not grant immigrants permanent residency or citizenship.

Kara Sánchez thought she was honoring her mother in her final years: caring for her through debilitating illness, paying her bills and managing round-the-clock care.

But in a twist shared on a recent episode of Politely Rude with Abby Johnson, Sánchez revealed that after five years of sacrificial caregiving, she discovered her mother had secretly been sitting on nearly $500,000 in cash.

“I had found out that my mom had been living off of my husband and I for five years,” Sánchez said. “She told us she didn’t have any means to support herself. And then I find out she had almost $500,000 in the bank. I felt lied to. I felt like someone had betrayed my trust and my kindness under my roof.”

Continued below.

The simple point to be inferred from this whole issue of the Ten Lost Tribes is that the Jews are not all of Israel. God’s purpose is to let the 10 tribes which were separated in King Rehoboam’s time, to become lost to the world and the two tribes of Judah to remain visible. Deuteronomy 32:26; 2 Chronicles 10:19; Jeremiah 29:18
They both have specific tasks to fulfil, during this period of dispersion, the Church age.

Perhaps one way to identify the other Israelite tribes, besides those of Judah already known, is to look for those who fear, acknowledge and love the Creator God, live by His laws and produce the fruit of good works. James 2:24.
The Caucasian, Western nations (people groups) have been identified by the historical, linguistic, archaeological and genetic research, as having a majority of descendants of Israel/Jacob. They are also the Christian nations, so this is another proof.

According to some records, at least one tribe went eastwards and I think that South Korea, because of their amazing Christian awakening, has quite probably: Israelite origins.
Bible prophecy clearly says that all the Israel of God, who now comprise every faithful Christian, Jew and gentile, will be gathered into all of the holy Land, before Jesus Returns and Gods promises to the Patriarchs will be kept by their descendants by faith. Ezekiel 20:34-38 Genesis 17:6-8

Malachi 3:16-18 Then those who feared the Lord, talked together – the Lord listened. A record was written of those who feared Him and respected His Name.
They will be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, My own possession for the Day that I appoint, I will spare them. Once more you will see the difference between those who serve God and the wicked apostate peoples.
Malachi 4:1-6 The Day comes; burning like a furnace, all the arrogant evildoers will be as stubble, they will be destroyed in a fiery blaze.
But you, who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings and you will break loose, like calves released from a stall.

On the Day that I take action, you will tread down the wicked, they will be as ashes under your feet.
Remember the Laws given to Moses, keep all My commandments given to Israel at Sinai. Look; I will send you Elijah before the Day of the Lord. He will reconcile families and preserve the Land from the wrath of the Lord.

Reference: Revised English Bible, some verses abridged.

Trump and some of the congressional republicans must be "disconnected" from their base if they think that the crowd spent months making "Epstein didn't kill himself" memes, are going to just let this one go.

When a party panders to a cohort that's convinced that the "establishment" is complicit in an "elite pedophile ring", they're asleep at the wheel if they think that same crowd is going to "let it go" on this one.

I recently finished reading My Confrontation with Hell: Real Demonic Encounters of an Exorcist, an interesting and informative new book by Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti, D.Min., Ph.D. Rossetti is an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse and the president/founder of the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal. He’s also a licensed psychologist and has spent many years working in psychological treatment as well as the spiritual renewal of priests and religious.

Rossetti doesn’t perform exorcisms on everyone who believes they need them. There’s a process that those experiencing what they think are demonic attacks have to undergo. And an exorcist-priest must have permission from the local bishop to perform a formal exorcism. (Beware of anyone who claims to be an exorcist who isn’t approved by the local bishop.) “The Saint Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal carries out its ministries with the approval of the Archbishop of Washington,” according to a statement by the Rev. George E. Stuart, J.C.D., episcopal vicar for canonical services for the Archdiocese of Washington. This is very important.

Rossetti’s latest book is easy to read and non-polemical. His writing is firmly grounded in traditional Catholic teaching without being pretentious. The demonic encounters he writes about are warnings for people not to get involved with the occult in any way, shape or form. In fact, the majority of people who have sought his assistance over the years either dabbled in the occult or were heavily involved in it for a long time.

A few brief excerpts from the book are as follows:

“I know a man who became possessed after an unholy interest and visits to haunted houses and ghost hunting. His unholy interest and personal sins made him vulnerable, and his frequenting these ‘haunted’ locations actually put him in regular contact with the demonic. The currently popular ‘ghost hunting’ craze is a spiritually dangerous idea.” (page 23)


Continued below.

House GOP blocks Dem maneuver to force release of Epstein files​

What happened: The House Rules Committee, which prepares legislation for votes on the House floor, voted 5 to 6 against attaching Khanna's amendment to a procedural measure related to the GENIUS Act and a defense funding bill.

• The measure would have forced Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish all documents related to Epstein on a "publicly accessible website" within 30 days of procedural measure being enacted.

...
In a rare move, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) crossed over and voted with the panel's four Democrats in favor of attaching the amendment.

• He told Axios earlier on Monday: "The public's been asking for it. I think there are files. All of a sudden not to have files is a little strange, We'll see how it plays out ... I think the president will do the right thing."

Please strong prayers for my doctor. His name is John. He is very ill and we are very worried about him. Please pray for healing and for his stress. Also please pray my husband comes home safe and my son has a good happy night. Thank you and God bless you. I ask in the name of Jesus and if it is God's will. Carmen

Spoke to my priest regarding baptism of my son after mass and unexpectedly got called out for my tattoos.. It was awesome. He said “You do understand there are certain spiritual ramifications for tattoos, right? Have you ever seen Fr Rippergers talks about them?” He continued: “They can be a source of visual scandal, so ensure you are dressed modestly so as to convey an outward sign of an inward change. I will also be looking into the prayers of decommissioning for them that I will perform on you.” This man was taught by Fr. Ripperger and I experienced that in real time today. Some people might have been offended by this, but this kind of ‘hard’ truth really spoke to my soul. In all of us as men is the desire to be called out by men we respect. That happened to me and it was intensely refreshing. And I’m very much looking forward to getting them decommissioned. Glory to Jesus Christ and thank God for loving priests that take their vocation seriously.

Tattoos & the Catholic Church

There are people living on this planet earth who give lip service to the Lord Jesus, but whose hearts are far from him. They fake their Christianity to make others think that they are good Christians, but while, behind closed doors, they are sinning in secret, and they are plotting evil against others, some of whom are those who are walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living. Just like Jesus’ opponents, they are jealous of the truly righteous, and so they hate them, and they want to destroy them any which way possible.

These are people who are, by nature, liars, manipulators, the addictive, the unfaithful, and abusers who put on a mask (pretense) to cover up who they really are and what it is they are really doing when no one else is watching. So they perform for an audience, and they may even be people who lie to get the sympathies of others, posing as though they are the victims, but they are the perpetrators. For these are people for whom lying, trickery, and deception are what they practice, to present a false image of themselves.

In character, many of these people are morally corrupt, malicious, liars, egocentric, opportunistic, cunning, crafty, and predatory, who catch people in their webs of deceit. And many of them are those who are teachers of the Scriptures and ministers of “the gospel” who are altering and diluting the truth of the gospel to make it more appealing and acceptable to human flesh and to the ungodly. And so they teach God’s grace as though it is a free ride to heaven with no requirements for death to sin and obedience to God.

Many of them are chameleons who blend in with their environment and who wear many “different hats,” i.e. characters. For they like to be approved of others, and they seek attention, and they want praise. And so they feed off the attention and the approval of others. And so if someone comes along who confronts them with their sinful practices, and who calls them to biblical repentance, and to walks of obedience to the Lord, and who can see through their façade, they may find a way to try to discredit those people.

Now the people being spoken of here are not generally those who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are among those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, and some of them are pastors. Some of them know the Scriptures well, and were and/or are teachers of the Scriptures. But they are those who look at their own characters, as talked about in the word of God, and at what they should be like, instead, but then who just walk away and willfully choose to forget what they look like.

They know the right way. They know that they are not walking on the right path. But because they do not want to let go of their sins and their pride and their sinful rebellion against God, they willfully choose to play ignorant. But they are not ignorant. They just choose to block out what they do not want to accept, like the man who sees what he looks like but then who just walks away and willfully chooses to forget the truth about himself, so that he can keep on living in deliberate and habitual sin against God and other people.

So, what is this perfect law that we are to look into? It is the law of God’s grace and mercy which sent Jesus to the cross to die. But in his death he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will die to sin and we will now obey him and his commandments. For this is not liberty to now live however we want, without punishment, but this is liberty from our slavery to sin so we will now serve God with our lives. We are now to be those who listen and who obey, who not just hear, but who do what God requires.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

My Sheep

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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Hearers Who Delude Themselves
An Original Work / July 15, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

1 Pet 4:6 " Because it was for this that the good tidings were proclaimed to the dead, that though judged in flesh according to human beings they might live in spirit according to God"
This passage is talking about non believers who had died, but the good tidings, or gospel was proclaimed to them so that they might live in spirit according to God.
Why would God allow the preaching to the dead if they could not respond? Does God just tease them knowing that their fate is sealed?
Can the death of the mortal body not be the end of the story for those who never saw Jesus for who he really is?

Genesis 1:1
Gen. 1:1
Gen 1:1
Gn. 1:1
Gn 1:1

Revelation 1:1
Apocalypse 1:1
Apocalypse of John 1:1
Apoc. 1:1
Apoc 1:1

Psalm 50:1
Psalm 50:1 KJV1611
Psalm 50:1 LXX

Wisdom 1:1 NRSV
Sirach 1:1 RSV
Ecclesiasticus 1:1 NRSV
Tobit 1:1 VULG
Baruch 1:1 DRC
Psalm 151:1 NRSV
Psalm 151:1 LXX
Prayer of Azariah 1:1 NRSV
Prayer of Azariah 1:1 KJV
3 Kingdoms 1:1
4 Kingdoms 1:1 LXX
1 Maccabees 1:1 NRSV
2 Maccabees 1:1 NRSV
3 Maccabees 1:1 NRSV
4 Maccabees 1:1 LXX

1 John 5:7
1 John 5:7 YLT

Song of Solomon 1:1
Canticle of Canticles 1:1
Song of Songs 1:1

Ezra 1:1
Esdras 1:1
1 Esdras 1:1 NRSV
2 Esdras 1:1 NRSV

Michelle Obama was recently pontificating on her podcast about the alleged difficulty of being a woman in the modern world:

“We weren’t raised with the certainty of maleness… That kind of confidence that young men in their 30s have, which they haven’t earned. They just have it.”

Click to expand...

But men weren’t “raised with” confidence either. Rather, there is a certain amount of assertiveness that comes naturally to men. They have a hormonal framework that is different, as is the way that men think. It is a mistake to reduce nature to mere “social construct,” as if every difference between men and women is imposed by a meddling society that yearns to oppress women. We therefore err when we claim that men are more assertive because they have been raised to be such, and imply that women in the modern age were either deprived of such ‘training’ or were taught to display doubt, indecisiveness, and anxiety.

Michelle went on to claim that society “discourages” women from expressing confidence, even when their experience level would justify it. There’s a conflation happening here. It is widely agreed that exuded confidence is attractive to both sexes. What is actually “discouraged by society” is acting rudely or overbearingly, including when one thinks themselves better than others because of real or imagined accomplishments. Likewise, women over-compensating with misplaced aggression when in traditionally male roles is discouraged albeit common (that female police officer isn’t giving you a warning).

Continued below.