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Discussion Two men in white, the most admirable, from Revelation.

I am thinking of the two men in white at Jesus' ascension, and the two men in Revelation 11. And I match this up with the most admirable men in history. Men who could save not only themselves but others and bring comfort.
KJV Ezekiel 14:20-23
20Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.


21For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? 22Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. 23And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.

And KJV Revelation 11:1-13
1And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 3And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

The Witnesses Killed and Raised

7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 13And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

I think Ezekiel and Moses are those two men. They could stand up to droves of rebellious people, remain right, and save them. They were taken to Paradise, Jesus in his time took them to Heaven. They were justified in life, sanctified and further sanctified after they died, they were perfected. They are the ones to admire.

Eventually we will all be glorified. We'll be given crowns. Theirs are most excellent. Some of us who do not complete our commissions will not earn some crowns. Including aborted fetuses, youths and others. These two in perfection will have stood up against Satan himself. And we if need be will be able in glory, to enter their house, if permitted, and to take part in their good character and be given consolation crowns. Not that a crown has known power but as if it does, a bit like the rings from LOTR we will be raised up.
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Paradox of Tolerance?

I would love to be able to take credit for this but I cannot. I will post the meme below as it states things succintly and clearly.

However, I remember the first time I saw this. It was a few days after a discussion here on CF highlighted the idea for me:
1680532151607.png


Sadly, this didn't solve any kind of problems for me in my head. It was comforting to know that it was "a thing" but it didn't help me create an appropriate approach for dealing with intolerant people.

I realized though (after reading the meme below) that maybe we need to not be looking at tolerance as a moral construct. And really, why should it be a moral construct? There's nothing INHERENTLY moral about being tolerant any "everything". Not only that but tolerating something truly awful can very easily put ourselves in morally compromised positions. So maybe it isn't a moral construct...But then what is it....


And then.....
1680532323800.png


Thoughts?

What did he NOT do?

I read an article that said that almost half of folks believe Trump's arrest was politically motivated.
Ok. But I need some help as perhaps, I may not be totally aware of the situation.

As far as I know:
Donald Trump DID have an affair with Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump DID pay her money to stay quiet
He used campaign funds to do so.

I don't think I have seen a single person ANYWHERE competently argue ANY of these points. It seems to me that everyone involved. Donald Trump admitted it himself in a tweet
Tweet quote:
"With respect to the 'Stormy' nonsense, it is VERY OLD & happened a long time ago, long past the very publicly known & accepted deadline of the Statute of Limitations,"

Just so we are all on the same page then, the events CLEARLY happenned. The only issue appears to be that the Statue of limitations may or may not have passed (depending on local laws about residence and access, it seems).

So.....is the only REAL issue here that the Statue of Limitations has passed? And if it is, why are so many on the right talking like the whole situation is a fabricated? Why is this even considered "political" if the man himself admits to it happenning a long time ago? I recall even when this story first came out, even quite a few people on the right quietly seemed to be taking a position of "oh man...what are you doing guy? I'm gonna support you but, not cool".

Despite the court held evidence and the words of both Trump and Daniels, folks are saying it's a witch hunt....for prosecuting someone for breaking the law? This is where I'm lost.

Does this somehow make Trump into a better person with stronger moral able and capable at guiding America?

EDIT: The tone of this may be a bit condescending or negative. IT is not meant to be. I am just flummoxed.

Hallo there, any moms from South Africa? I need advice for our 18 year old child. Lovely, quiet and gentle girl but people trample on her...

I need advice for our 18 year old child. Lovely, quiet and gentle girl but people trample on her...
We live in a small town, and there is a boy that won't leave her alone. He keeps stalking her and telling her lies. Because the town is so small, she tries to avoid him, but cannot... As the mother, I can see and hear that he has narcistic traits, even at the young age of 18

Harnessing AI (artificial intelligence)

Once coined, America's Digital Goddess, Kim Komando, and her nationwide print and radio problem solving would offer no bounds over technology. But that was then. Today, automation isn’t about to sit idly by and let that title continue, the pride of tech won’t allow it. A few short years ago, many tech-minded including Kim herself would openly resist not allowing technology to ‘assist mankind so wonderfully’.

But today, the unthinkable is being discussed by some of the biggest players as well as KK herself and have changed their tune. If all true, this is no longer just folly to shrug, but evil to beware of.

In short, the moral end of today’s science finally asks:

“Should we develop nonhuman minds, ,“

Putting the Brakes on AI

Your thoughts?
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Who are the Libertines?

Summary of Acts 6:1-15 ESV, with practical application

Stephen, a man with a good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (libertines), and some others, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

So, who were these people? I Googled the definitions of both “synagogue” and “libertine” and this is what was rendered (source Oxford Languages):

“Synagogue - the building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction; a Jewish assembly or congregation.” “Libertine - a person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, especially in sexual matters; a person who rejects accepted opinions in matters of religion; a freethinker.”

Now, what this sounds like is that these were not traditional Jews, but they were an offshoot (a copy of the original but with alterations) of the Jewish faith, and without all the restrictions of the Jewish faith. So not an exact replica, but more like the servants of Satan who masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness, or like the charlatans or the wolves in sheep’s clothing, having an appearance of godliness but denying its power. For it appears they were living immoral lifestyles. But opinions differ on this.

False teachers and/or false Christians [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

But as I read this passage of Scripture, and as I looked up these definitions, what this reminded me of is the institutional market-driven and flesh-driven “churches” (like synagogues) in America today which are really businesses of human origin, but they just call themselves “churches.” So they are loosely based off the original church, but they are altered and modified to fit with today’s culture and with what the world is craving, and in order to be more “user friendly” and not judgmental, so as not to offend the senses of the ungodly, which includes many who are professing faith in Jesus Christ.

And the people who are party to these alterations, and those who are following after these “libertines,” are people who are also opposed to followers of Jesus Christ who are actually following the teachings of Christ and the teachings of the New Testament apostles. And some of them are disputing with some of us who are sharing the truth of the gospel and who are exposing the lies of Satan. And if they cannot trip us up with our words or get us to back down from our beliefs, then they may try other initiatives.

Then they may make up lies against us, like the libertines lied about Stephen and accused him of things he did not do. And they may do this in secret where we can’t see what they are doing or saying about us. And they may be successful in turning others against us just based on their words alone. And they may be so convincing as to convince even people in positions of leadership and authority in the Christian community to shun us or to come strongly against us. And this is happening to some Christians.

And when and if they do, we are not to let this shake us, for the Scriptures tell us that this will take place, and that we are not to worry ahead of time what we will say, for if we are listening to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will give us the response we need to have at that moment. And we are not to fear these types of things happening to us, either, for God is in control. He is still completely sovereign over all he created. So nothing can touch us unless God allows it and he allows it for a purpose, and he will carry us through it.

“And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” (verse 15)

Now may we all have faces like that of an angel when we are being falsely accused of things we did not do and/or say, and/or when our words are taken out of context and twisted for the purpose to try to make us look bad.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907
Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907


Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!

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Another train wreck carrying ethanol

EDIT: Please tell me why Fox should have let Trump on the air on Jan 6th before the we love you go home speech

To me, the following incident suggests Trump has a severe character flaw, but it seems many think otherwise, please explain.


Trump did call up Fox News on Jan 6th and asked to be put on air before his "the election was stolen but go home we love you" message
In the Dominion Court case , Fox Executive Lauren Peterson said letting Trump on air would be irresponsible


1680500082592.png

image is from slide 161 of the long link at the bottom of the page, if you don't trust weird links go to
and select the "Dominion summary Judgement Hearing slides"

Artificial Wombs

I find this very disturbing and I'm opposed to it.
I can understand using them in the case of a premature baby, if possible.
But the article cheerily talks about designer kids.
Horrifying.
I think we've discussed this here before, but when a woman carries a child, there is such a benefit to the mother and the child.
This is truly the commodification of human beings, very dehumanizing.

Right and Wrong Judgments

Video Talk

Romans 2:17-24 ESV


“But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth — you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’”​

So, if we who are believers in Jesus Christ think we are doing all the right religious things, and so we go through the motions of religious practice, and we think we have all this knowledge that we can teach to others, but then we fail to teach ourselves, what good is all that knowledge and ceremonial religious practices? Not much, is it? And, if while we are preaching against certain sins, we are doing the same or worse, then we are being hypocritical, prideful, unkind, and full of ourselves, are we not?

But is this teaching that all judging is wrong? NO! It is not! But this is where many people take this and other passages like it, because they don’t really pay attention to what is being said, or else they don’t read the whole passage and thus they draw their own conclusions. This is not teaching that all judging is wrong. It is teaching that hypocritical and false judging is wrong. And so I am going to share here some other passages of Scripture that show that all judging is not wrong.

In Galatians 6:1 we read that if a brother or a sister in Christ is caught (in the act of sin, or entrapped, or has fallen back into sin) in any transgression (sin), we who are spiritual (in a right relationship with the Lord) should restore that person in a spirit of gentleness. But we are to keep watch on ourselves, lest we too be tempted. And in James 5:19-20 we read that if a fellow Christian wanders from the truth, whoever brings that wanderer back to walking in obedience to the Lord, he or she will save his soul from death.

And in 1 Corinthians 5 we read about a professing Christian in the church who is living in sexual immorality, and the church was commanded to make a judgment in that matter and to exercise church discipline in order that the man’s spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord. For, it says that we are to judge those inside the church. And we are to do something to change that situation, and to not sit back in our comfortable seats and point fingers and gossip. And we should be grieving over such situations to the point of action.

And then in Matthew 7:1-5 we read, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” But don’t stop there. Keep reading. For it is talking about hypocritical judging. But then it goes on to say that we must first take the log out of our own eye, and then we will see clearly to take the speck out of the eye of a fellow Christian (or professing Christian). Then we judge rightly. And in John 7:24 it instructs us to not judge by appearances, but to judge with a right judgment. And in John 8:15-16 we are told not to judge according to the flesh, and in 2 Corinthians 10:12 we are not to judge others by ourselves.

So, the Scriptures do not teach that all judging is wrong, and in fact, they encourage judging in some cases. For how can we help a brother or a sister out of sin if we don’t first make a judgment that they need to be brought out of sin, and without us first confronting them in their sin and us encouraging them to repent of their sin and to obey the Lord? But we are to do this in love, and not hypocritically, and with the right motives. And we are not to judge others by ourselves, nor by our culture and traditions, nor by appearances, nor according to the flesh, nor unjustly, but righteously.

And the goal should always be to help others out of sin or to prevent them from falling into sin, or to warn about false teaching so that they are not led astray. For, the motivation should always be love and with the purpose to restore or to strengthen or to encourage, which we are all called to do.

[Gal 6:1-5; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Co 5:1-13; Matt 7:1-5; Jn 7:24, 51; Jn 8:15-16; Rom 2:3; 2 Co 10:12; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25]

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Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897


Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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I'm not supposed to feel this way about Holy Week but I do

Hi, I shouldn't feel this way, but I don't like Holy Week sometimes. I find it stressful. There is too much going on and I feel that I can't sleep well during that week or exercise because the only things that are going on are church (this should not be a burden). It's not the events themselves that are stressful, but as I said, I feel like I automatically can't sleep knowing that I'd be doing back-to-back from Thursday to Sunday. (Gee the priests do this every day and here I am "complaining")

I'm not trying to make everyone feel the same as me (why would I) but it wouldn't be a bad idea if there was a better way for me to look at all this. I think I got no more than 3 hours sleep (I don't feel like getting into that problem). Not only because of Holy Week because I'm worried/depressed about too many things. Also, any little "dent" can make me unable to sleep - I'm a very sensitive person. ("Dent" meaning an issue of some sort)

I give up looking for a church

I started a thread a couple weeks ago. Hard to find a new church
I already posted what I was going through. I never received a reply from that church. I'm tired of people forgetting me in church when Im trying to get plugged in or asking for prayer. I'm NOT giving up on God because He didn't do anything wrong. I'm just fed up with Church not being church.

Romans 2:12-An Equalizer Between Faith and the Law?

Next week or so is the time of Passover and Easter. One may suggest that Easter is a celebration of one’s faith in God through Jesus, and with Passover, one upholds the Law. Can our faith in God carry us to our Salvation without doing the things that the Law provides for? There are Passages in the New Testament that suggest we can. But that could mean achieving our faith in God without knowing what such faith entails. It would seem that those who can be saved without knowledge of the things associated with the Law can be said to have a natural talent, or be just plain lucky, and for the rest of us, well, we would need to know what the Law says to know if our actions will lead us to Salvation. It’s almost like comparing a person who can play the piano by ear, to someone who could not play the same piece without reading sheet music. If anyone believes that raw talent is all that is needed to achieve one’s Salvation, it seems the door to God’s Kingdom would be closed to many people.

What does Romans 2:12 say? It says that all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. Seems that if you know the Law, at least you would know what your sin is, and if you don’t know the Law you could be spending eternity in Sheol wondering what it was you did wrong! And it seems that without knowledge of sin, which the Law identifies, it would be a matter of luck that you happened to do the right things that would enable you to earn your Salvation. Take the condemned man on the cross next to Jesus in Luke 23:39-43. In Verses 40-42 he says to his comrade, who is on the next cross over, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong....Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus says in Verse 43, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

What a lucky man! Things like that happened to him once a week, to paraphrase a scene in the movie “Trading Places,” right? Disregarding the sarcasm, here is a man whom we may presume had no knowledge of the Law, yet by acknowledging God, he has, unknowingly, perhaps, done what the Law requires, which is to acknowledge God. Here is a man who may have spent his life sinning, yet that one moment on the cross has gained him Salvation. In a sense, it is a fulfillment of Psalm 32:1 which says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,” and paraphrased in Romans 4:7 which says “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven...”

Seems that without a knowledge of the Law, only those who are lucky enough to not have broken it, or are forgiven for breaking it, will be saved. It’s like going into a town and not knowing its laws and aiming to do what’s right, and getting a ticket for illegal parking. You ask the cop giving you the ticket, “Where’s the sign?” The cop answers, “It’s the law in this town...you can’t park there.” On the other hand, you go into another town not knowing the laws, and you are fortunate that you park in an area where it’s perfectly legal to park, though you don’t know it’s legal to park there. In that town, you were lucky.

The Old Testament is based on the Law, but it seems that the New Testament, whose foundation comes from the Old Testament, struggles with the idea of abandoning the Law, and of needing works to justify our faith. James 2:17 says that faith without works is dead. You can look it up, and one must presume that it is true, or else it wouldn’t be in the Bible. But what does Romans 3:28 say? it says, “...we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Why the carveout of the Law from the matter of works? In another sense, Romans 3:28 seems to acknowledge that the Law has works of its own, that could be seen in other quarters as part of the works referred to in James 2:17.

Can you show your faith in God through Jesus without being mindful of the Law? Seems you can, if you’re lucky like the condemned person next to Jesus in Luke 23:39-43. But it seems that with every passing generation it gets harder for people to focus on what faith in God through Jesus would entail, without some form of directive such as the Law. And the rest may achieve Salvation while being blissfully unaware that they hit the jackpot, whether they either were lucky enough to not sin, or they do something at the last minute of their lives that causes the Lord to look upon them with favor.

Visiting 7 Churches on Holy Thursday? The Origins Behind This Ancient Catholic Tradition...

Following the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, there’s an ancient Catholic tradition to make a pilgrimage to seven churches.

Each of the seven churches mirrors the final seven places Christ visited – from the moment he entered his Passion to His Death at Calvary (listed at the end of this article).

We can trace the origins of this Lenten tradition to the mid-16th century in Rome.

Saint Philip Neri (1515–1595), also known as the ‘Second Apostle of Rome’ after St. Peter, led many devotees in a walking pilgrimage through the cobblestone streets of Rome, visiting the seven basilicas of Rome.

Born into a noble working family in Florence, Italy, Saint Philip was destined for a much greater purpose. He left everything behind to start a life in Rome as a missionary and healer of broken souls.

Continued below.

Watch: Andrea Bocelli wows fans with ‘Amazing Grace’ in Times Square

A new video of world-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli singing “Amazing Grace” to fans in New York City’s Times Square has attracted more than one million views.

Bocelli, a Catholic, delivered his performance on March 23 as part of the official launch for the movie “The Journey: A Music Special from Andrea Bocelli,” which hits select theaters during Holy Week, April 2-9. He later shared a video of the performance on his Facebook page.

Why ‘Amazing Grace’ was chosen

His wife and executive producer of the upcoming film, Veronica Berti Bocelli, shared why “Amazing Grace” was chosen for the launch with Our Sunday Visitor.

The song “is a classic of the musical tradition worldwide, it is one of the most engaging songs of all time: a timeless prayer, composed in the 18th century but which is still able to speak to the hearts of all of us today, with unchanged intensity and emotion,” Veronica, who is also Catholic, said.

Continued below.
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Pope Francis and the Search for Solutions to the Bad Sermon Phenomenon...

From the very first moments of his pontificate—when he emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and famously asked the crowd gathered outside to pray for him—Pope Francis has garnered praise for his approachability and common touch. He has continued to win fans for displaying these same attributes throughout his pontificate, often making headlines for dramatic gestures of compassion. On more than one occasion, Francis has even managed to connect deeply with average believers by speaking to a topic that likely seems minor and basic to outside observers (but not to regularly-churchgoing Catholics): the quality of sermons. In 2015, 2018, and most recently in January of 2023, the Pope has said what most Catholics would likely say when asked about this subject—that is, that homilies are often bad, and unnecessarily long.

The need to reduce the length of homilies has consistently been a part of Francis’s message, with him repeatedly calling for priests to limit their sermons to ten minutes. Most recently, in remarks to a gathering of liturgical directors at the Vatican in January, he modified the standard to “eight to ten minutes” and was blunt on his assessment of sermon quality: “in general, the homilies are a disaster.” While the word “disaster” drew a fair bit of reaction (and concurrence) from outlets across Catholic media, the sentiment was nothing new from Francis. In the past, he has found it necessary to explicitly warn priests that “your homilies should not be boring” and stated outright that “sometimes there is reason to get annoyed about an overly long homily, one that lacks focus or that’s incomprehensible.”

Continued below.

We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body...

Peace in Christ.

Behold, NOW is the day of salvation. NOW is the accepted time.

2Co 6:2 KJV
(2) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)


Our “conversation”…that is, our citizenship…is in Heaven now in this earth.

We are to look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ to come from there and “change” (which is the word TRANSIFIGURE) our vile (humiliated) bodies so that it may be fashioned like unto His.

Salvation is NOW.

He transforms our mortal body into immortal NOW in this life that we are living in and not after we “die and go to Heaven” as popularly taught by those who are perishing to the grave and do not have this heavenly knowledge of the Lord.

Php 3:
(20) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
(21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.


The God and Father begets us AGAIN unto a LIVING HOPE and not a dying one as being preached by all.

He speaks to us from Heaven and we are to hear His voice. He comes to awaken us to the Word of Truth….the LIVING gospel….the good news of our salvation of our mortal bodies (the redemption of the purchased possession) NOW. We have all been led to believe by false prophets it comes after we “die and go to Heaven”. They sought to change the times of salvation.

Rom 13:11-12 KJV
(11) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.


The day is at hand. We must hear and cast off the works of darkness: the envy, the strife, the contentions, the hatred, etc. Let us not be found by Him behaving with evil towards the hearing of His voice.

(12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Again, He begets us AGAIN unto a LIVING HOPE….not a dying one. Jesus Christ has already died for us and is alive now forevermore so that we might live as He does in Heaven in this world. As He lives, we shall live.

1Pe 1:3-9 KJV
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,


The eternal life of Jesus Christ is incorruptible and undefiled and does not fade away. It is His life that will transform us now in this earth. It is not our lives but His that we await for to be made manifest in this mortal body. We are to believe in what we have not seen yet. We are kept by the power of God through our faith unto that salvation of our mortal bodies....the redemption of the body.

(4) To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
(5) Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
(6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations
:

We are to rejoice at the hearing and believing of the true good news…but EXPECT persecutions from nonbelieving “Christians” who will hear His Word of Truth and reject it and who will persecute any who will receive it. Our faith shall be tried with “fire” as they will “flame” us with evil words and false accusations.

We are to endure it so that we might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ whose eternal life appears in our mortal body. Our mortal bodies are to be transfigured to be fashioned like His body: incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away. The world shall then see and believe (like doubting Thomas did) and will praise God: "my Lord and my God".

(7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
(8) Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

We receive the completion of our faith....the redemption of our body. Our souls shall be saved also as they will trouble us as we believe in the Word of Truth and patiently await this transformation to occur.

(9) Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

We have received His Spirit and use it to slay the deeds of the body and now await the redemption of our body. If we continue to live after the flesh (after receiving the Spirit), we shall mortally die but if we live according to the Spirit we shall live as the life of Jesus shall be made manifest in our mortal bodies at the redemption of our bodies.

Rom 8:22-23 KJV
(22) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
(23) And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.


We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God unto the day of redemption that we are to await patiently for in this life.

Eph 4:29-30 KJV
(29) Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
(30) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption.

We groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our “house” which is FROM/OUT OF Heaven. This is a house that comes from Heaven. We do not go to Heaven for it as it comes from there. We look for the life of our Savior to come from there.

This “house” is the transforming/loosening of our earthly house unto the heavenly one….the one that Jesus is currently experiencing. Our vile bodies are loosened as we put on the eternal life of Jesus.

Notice here that this is not talking about death. Death is not a friend but an enemy to be defeated by the swallowing up of life….and that manifestation of life is the eternal life of Jesus and not our own life.

2Co 5:1-8 KJV
(1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
(2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
(3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.


We groan as we are still in this earthly body being burdened as we look forward to this MORTALITY (which means subject to death body) to be swallowed up of life. Being “mortal” means we are subject to death and not have actually died physically yet.

(4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

God gives us the earnest of His Spirit by which we slay the deeds of the body with and the Spirit causes us to groan towards the receiving of His promise of eternal life in this mortal body (which makes it immortal). We are to walk by FAITH in this coming transformation of our vile bodies unto His eternal one. We walk by faith and not by sight. Blessed (happy) are those who believe without seeing it yet.

(5) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
(6) Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
(7) (For we walk by faith, not by sight)


To be present with the Lord is to have His eternal life now in this world (as our vile body becomes transfigured/transformed like unto His glorious one). The word “present” (Greek: endemeo) means “to be in public”. We want to be “in public” with the Lord’s eternal life in this world as it will then cause those of the world to see and praise God above.

(8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

We are to be to the “praise of His glory” as this world will SEE with their own eyes the redemption of our mortal bodies from death. We then will be “present”….in PUBLIC….with the Lord…and not be seen still in our vile bodies after having been transformed.

Eph 1:11-14 KJV
(11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
(12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
(13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
(14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

What the brain is really for (get ready for this)

It all started with a will, so the soul was first, before the body, but what is the brain, really for, and why do children born without it, still look human? Well, when the body was made, the brainstem was first, it`s where the soul is, "you", and the body is shaped around it, but without an organ inside head, it`s just trap heat, and be in general, empty, so a an organ, the brain, was made to circulate the blood instead of just trapping it inside the head, it`s sort of an bonus-organ, it`s not really needed, so it got features that are benefical as something extra, the second feature, and get ready for this, is actually to make hormones, in nature, all isn`t just food you eat, but also things that makes you feel good, this is what hormones are, they`re in nature, and made by living organisms, to make us feel better and to nutrient us, the pinael-gland is where the result of this production is stored, the hormones, like a soup, that slowly nutrients us, that`s why when you`re young you feel better than when you`re older, because it`s new, you`re new to it, you`d always feel good if you lived a natural life in nature, of course, but since you`re in a society, you get more used to the same stuff, that`s why when you do different tasks, the different areas of the brain, light up, because it`s very complex, it gives certain hormones baced on what you`re doing, and get`s stored in the pinael-gland for slowly drip, if you live an unatural life also, and age bodily because of it, it get`s worse also with time, yes like if you`re holding onto a system like society, or something else, so the soul starts aging and affecting the body, that`s why people get bald also, and get`s cancer, an native wouldn`t get diseases ever, being born without a brain, it`s called a disease, but that`s not the point, the point, is that without it, you still look human and with a personality, and you can smile, move, eat, and so fourth, so the soul isn`t in the brain, so there you go, the brain has atleasts, two abilities, circulate blood, and to make hormones

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  • Poll
From what law did Paul set us free?

From what law did Paul set us free?

  • the law of Judaism

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • the law of God

    Votes: 5 62.5%

Brothers and Sisters, Paul assumes the listener knows what is written elsewhere and uses summary words like "the law" where the word has already been expanded elsewhere. When Paul uses the word law, unqualified, he is referring to the law of Judaism Jesus has freed us from as accepted in the Jerusalem council expressed by James. The Jerusalem council did not abandon Moses and everything that came before Moses when it provided a seed list to add to, allowing the adoption of Moses and everything before Moses by the gentiles who were turning to God free of the added human traditions of Judaism that Jesus was against in the following passage.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne. (Matthew 23:13-22 NLT)​

James was not limiting what we need to obey, he was giving us permission to adopt Moses without forcing the human traditions of Judaism on us Gentiles, as we turn to God by giving us a seed, a beginning to add to. James saw us as the fulfillment of the prophecy where God would "restore the fallen house of David" as we listened to Moses every Sabbath. What that means is the equivalent of continuing Judaism without human traditions. The human traditions in Judaism led to death by sabotaging God's Ten Commandments so as not to take away sin that would otherwise have been taken away if they had done what God asked, instead of replacing what God asked with their own rules, in their "human effort" to help them obey the law by sabotaging the law so as not to take away sin, which made the law easier to bear. For example, in order not to use God's name in vain, Judaism added the human rule not to pronounce God's name to help obey God's law by preventing them from having to learn not to misuse His name. Judaism managed to bypass the active part of taking away their sin by replacing God's law with their own rule not to utter God's name at all.

When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written: ‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, so that the rest of humanity might seek the LORD, including the Gentiles—all those I have called to be mine. The LORD has spoken—he who made these things known so long ago.’ “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses has been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.” (Acts 15:13-21 NLT fixed)​

Paul is against the "human effort" in Judaism, as in the story of Hagar, to sabotage the law of God to not remove sin, sin that the law of God is meant to remove. For example, Judaism obeyed not to misuse God's name by not pronouncing His name at all, when their human rule stops the purpose of God's Commandment to separate the sin of misusing His name from our character thanks to the practice gained by the cycle of forgiveness made clear in the animal sacrifices. God's Commandment is meant to separate that sin from our character, that Judaism prevented with their rule that leads to death, because they are preventing God's laws from separating sin from our character.

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law (of Judaism), does that mean we can go on sinning (lawlessness)? Of course not (don't misunderstand God's grace)! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey (sin or God)? You can be a slave to sin (lawlessness), which leads to death (like Judaism's example of sabotaging God's Ten Commandments to not remove sin), or you can choose to obey God (Eleven Commandments), which leads to righteous living (freedom from sin). Thank God (Jesus's many forgivenesses as our High Priest allowing us to grow in obedience through practice of the Eleven Commandments)! Once you were slaves of sin (lawlessness), but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you (Eleven Commandments). Now you are free from your slavery to sin (when you obey God's Eleven Commandments), and you have become slaves to righteous living (obeying the Eleven Commandments). (Romans 6:15-18 NLT)​

The sabotage of God's law found in Judaism, like the sabotage in the "human effort" in the story of Hagar, is expressed in the following passage.

Tell me, you who want to live under the law (the rules of Judaism that does not remove sin), do you know what the law actually says? (The law says what is sin) The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise (the promise to remove sin from our character). But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them (Judaism is enslaved in sin because they sabotaged God's law to not remove sin). And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery (slavery to sin) to the law (added by the translators, not found in the original). But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman (free from sin), and she is our mother. As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!” And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise (the promise to remove sin from our character), just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law (the rules of Judaism that does not remove sin), just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman. (Galatians 4:21-31 NLT fixed)​

Hagar's son to Abraham came from the human will and not from God's will to give Abraham a son through Hagar. Hagar is not the will of God expressed on Mount Sinai but the "human attempt" to fulfill the will of God expressed on Mount Sinai. Therefore, it is not God's laws that are tied to Hagar, but human rules found in Judaism that come from sinful "blind guides" to use laws to accomplish God's will expressed on Mount Sinai, that Jesus says in the following passage: "shut the door of the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces". It is not God's laws expressed on Mount Sinai that "shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces", it is Judaism's human replacement rules for God's laws that "shut the door of the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces".

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne. (Matthew 23:13-22 NLT)​

United in our hope for the soon return of Jesus, Jorge

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