Dear brothers and sisters in Christ bless you in the new year.

i would like to hear your opinion on when a preacher is preaches.
Sometimes i experience when im a service the preacher repeating himself example the first 15 minutes are really good the message he trying to pass on is good.
But then he repeats himself on and on the message is the same but the words are different.

I think that when you have said your message there is no need to say the same thing again. When your a preacher you must be prepared and also guided be the Holy Spirit.

I have used the KJV Open Bible for as long as I can remember. I can remember the Free Will Baptist church awarding me my first KJV Open Bible at the age of 18 for teaching a year of Sunday School there and have delighted in it ever since.

But... There are sometimes I quote out of the KJV and must go back and make sure that the point was well understood and that I did not speak alien to newcomers .

Astronomers have worked out when most of the water on Earth probably formed and it's older than you think.​

Someone I know is going through marital issues. Their spiritual father and parish priest both concluded one spouse needs psychiatric help but they feel it would be inflammatory to bring this up to the spouse so the individual does not appear like he/she will be recommended to get help for some time. The problem is lasting for years at this point. Obviously the other spouse and their child suffer.

On that note, the other spouse was given the advice from the priest along the lines of "if you are really bold/faithful, be like Christ and bear your spouse's burden and pray to God that He would give you the burden of your spouse's mental illness in order to free your spouse." This is not an exaggeration.

Now, what is the worthiness of this advice? In the lives of the saints there are examples of a desert father or whatever willing to bear the penalty of someone else's sin. However, is this unrealistic for family people living in the world? Is it responsible to even be giving this response unless the priest would pray that his own family and spouse suffer all the problems in order to liberate the family whom he is counseling?

I ask this question because it seems that in Orthodoxy, the life advice given is so idealistic and impracticable that it is no wonder people aren't going to confession. The priests are being filled up with what may be good doctrine at seminary but not being taught any sort of practical discernment. So obviously this is my feeling on it.

Updated: the poll didn't publish in the original thread.

I'm interested to know how many Christians believe in an afterlife? I thought it would be interesting to spin-off from my thread Here

My Grandmother was Christian and believed when we die we go to the grave until resurrection. I was taught this, but I've had too many experiences to accept this is 100% accurate. The Hebrew word Sheol has different meanings that was the result of changes over the centuries.

P.s. if you think I need to add another answer to the poll let me know. I put down the most relevant.

Why god set up the life where men lose the hair?
My dad has just a few hair. He is a pastor...

Dear friends here,

I have a question. I am a patient of Bipolar Disorder. Recently I had an experience from Mania to Depression. I felt I was abandoned by the Lord because my sins are serious enough. In 1997 when I was mad I felt I was the heavenly Father in flesh. I doubt whether I have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and lost salvation forever.

Would the blood of Jesus Christ wash all my sins away and live in my body?

Thank you very much.

Poll didn't publish: updated thread 》HERE

I'm interested to know how many Christians believe in an afterlife? I thought it would be interesting to spin-off from my thread Here

My Grandmother was Christian and believed when we die we go to the grave until resurrection. I was taught this, but I've had too many experiences to accept this is 100% accurate. The Hebrew word Sheol has different meanings that was the result of changes over the centuries.

I was thinking about the human  soul and how the hebrew word Sheol is very similar....so similar infact, if you abbreviate the word Sheol you get S'ol.

"The implications of Sheol within the texts are therefore somewhat unclear; it can be interpreted as either a generic metaphor describing "the grave" into which all humans invariably descend, or, it may be interpreted as representing an actual state of afterlife within Israelite thought. Though such practices are forbidden, the inhabitants of Sheol can, under some circumstances, be summoned by the living, as when the Witch of Endor calls up the spirit of Samuel for Saul.[3]" Source

I looked up the etymology of the word "soul" and found something interesting:

Gothic saiwala), of uncertain origin.

"Sometimes said to mean originally "coming from or belonging to the sea," because that was supposed to be the stopping place of the soul before birth or after death [Barnhart]; if so, it would be from Proto-Germanic *saiwaz (see sea). Klein explains this as "from the lake," as a dwelling-place of souls in ancient northern Europe." Source

I then looked up the etymology of the word "spirit" (as soul and spirit are interchangeable) and it says this:

"Old French espirit "spirit, soul" (12c., Modern French esprit) and directly from Latin spiritus "a breathing (respiration, and of the wind), breath; breath of a god," hence "inspiration; breath of life," hence "life;" also "disposition, character; high spirit, vigor, courage; pride, arrogance," related to spirare "to breathe," perhaps from PIE *(s)peis- "to blow" (source also of Old Church Slavonic pisto "to play on the flute"). But de Vaan says "Possibly an onomatopoeic formation imitating the sound of breathing. There are no direct cognates."

It goes on to say - "Meaning "supernatural immaterial creature; angel, demon; an apparition, invisible corporeal being of an airy nature" is attested from mid-14c" Source

The hebrew word for the Holy Spirit is "Ruach" which means "breath" or "wind".

What does it mean God is a God of the living, not the dead? Perhaps because the living have the breath of life, the dead do not.

Mark 12:27

27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”

But just because we die and cease to have a "spirit" does this mean we no longer have a soul? Refer to the etymology of the word "soul" I referenced at the start of the post, and look at what the scriptures say:

Revelation 20:13

13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave[a] gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

Revelation 21:1-2
The New Jerusalem

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Is "the sea" symbolic for the realm of the dead? Our bodies go to the grave (the dust) and our souls go to another place awaiting resurrection.

Every time I read a Bible verse or passage in Scripture someone else wrote, I feel bad about not already knowing it. I hate being unable to memorize the book/chapter/verse references for everything I do know in it and name all 66 books in the correct order. But I know I am not alone. I also know other people are the opposite, thinking they know a lot more about the Bible than they do. I hope this is the right section to start tackling these issues, which are not unique to new Christians.

I ask that you give me, my people(Ha-young, Ye-young, Ui-seop, Jung-won, Hye-ok, Yul-bin, Suzy, Eun-tae, In-sook, Im-hak, Tan-ae), and all who read it and pray revelation by the will of God’s son and let us know the true father God. Please send us workers for the harvest. I desire for what you wish to gather as the following recorded Word be gathered through our lives, so Jesus, please come to us quickly with your sovereign power and take away all the armament of those who stole from us all this time and let us divide the spoil.

-

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:28-30‬ ‭

We are waiting for results. The youngest of her four children isn't even two.

I have just seen a 'Breaking News' item from the Glasgow Herald.

The death has been announced today, by the Vatican, of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI eat the age of 95

Eternal Memory !

Hey all,
Please pray for my mother Robyn. She was not feeling too well yesterday and was in bed all day. Then today as well. Suddenly she started throwing up and her husband rushed her to the ER. Possibility she will be admitted to the hospital. Thanks. I am worried for her.

This is exactly what I've posted earlier. Fani is very tough. She won't be intimidated.

Former prosecutor David Henderson revealed on Sunday the investigation into Donald Trump he believes the former president should be most worried about...

According to Henderson, Trump may face the most criminal exposure in an investigation conducted by Georgia's Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is looking into whether the former president's call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he allegedly pressed him to "find" enough votes to tilt the 2020 presidential election in his favor, violated state election inference law.

Former prosecutor says Trump has most criminal exposure in this probe

British food gets a bad rap, but I discovered Yorkshire Pudding this season and think it's one of the great contributions to world cuisine.

Question for folks from the UK: I don't know what the right flavor profile is for the sausages used in Toad in the Hole. I've used American breakfast sausage and it was good, but what would be closer to the real thing?

Last night I made a delicious roast beef and put up batter to sit overnight. You know what's on the menu today!

please pray I can find a new job. my current job is physically demanding and my joints and feet are not coping. I am also getting very tired. please pray I can find a less physically demanding job soon. thank you for any prayers.

Kontend for the faith? Build up, or Knock down?

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

R U kontent with kontentius Kristianity?

B a Barnabas instead.

Acts 4:36 NIV
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”),

Peace in Christ.

Which denominational Jesus being preached is the real one and which are the decoys?

The real One will reveal Himself (the revelation of THE Jesus who is the true Christ) by the opening up of the Scriptures to our hearing ears via the Spirit of Truth.

Jesus comes to deliver us from being captives to the many false prophets and their “synagogues” of Satan….that is, gatherings which are called “churches”. They have “captured”…deceived….many making them slaves to the serving and worshipping of their handwritings…thereby they are still serving sin.

The genuine Jesus the Christ comes to preach the true good news. He comes to enlighten the eyes of our understanding….recovering the sight of the blind. He comes to set at liberty them that are bruised….bruised by Satan and his "ministers". He preaches in the Spirit of Truth. We are to hear the voice of the Son of God and "awake"...

Luke 4:18-21 KJV
(18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
(19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
(20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
(21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

There are many different decoys of Jesus being preached. There are many “jesuses” the antichrists being preached by many false prophets (the deceivers) and many have been deceived into receiving their particular “another jesus” who is not the true Christ but is an “antichrist”….the instead-of the true Christ.

The false prophet (the deceiver) and the false Christ (the antichrist) that he preaches in his words work together in accordance with the power of Satan to deceive those who do not receive the love of the truth and be saved. They perish in their mortal bodies without knowing the true good news of our salvation now in this mortal body.

All of their “Jesuses”….the decoys…. are being served with an “image”…..the church handwritings of ordinances (dogmas). A "dogma" is what one thinks/believes is true.

Those who do not worship their particular “image” of their “jesus”…..their particular handwriting…are “killed”….that is, being judged via their handwritings of their church scribes. Their congregations are all still serving sin by doing so. They are serving another “jesus” who is a “murderer”.

There were 2 Jesuses to choose from in the New Testament: Jesus the Barabbas (meaning “son of the father) or Jesus THE Christ. It is the same today.

Barabbas was a murderer, insurrectionist, and a robber. He was a “wild beast” of a man while our true Jesus is the Lamb.

When we serve the real Jesus the Lamb, we always die to sin (the keeping of His daily sacrifice).

When we serve their “another jesus”….the wild beast, we do not die daily to sin as we judge others via their church handwritings of ordinances. The “deadly wound” is healed as the keeping of the daily sacrifice of the Lamb ceases out of our lives.

We are to kill/mortify the sins…the deeds of the body… through the Spirit (the sword). If we cease this, then the “deadly wound” is healed. The false prophets promise us freedom from dying to sin….and so the keeping of the daily sacrifice ceases when we follow after their “ jesus”.

Rom 8:13 KJV
(13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

They promise us "liberty" from dying to sin by having us entangled into the serving and worshipping of their codified written handwritings of ordinances. They turn from the holy commandment to have love for one another as they judge (being judge, jury and executioner) others via their handwritings that they are in bondage to keep.

2Pe 2:19-21 KJV
(19) While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
(20) For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
(21) For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

The real Jesus is being traded for “another jesus”….the decoy that is being preached by the “chief priests and elders”.

Mat 27:17 KJV
(17) Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude to desire their “jesus” the son of their “father” (the meaning of “Barabbas”) rather than THE (definite article) Jesus the Son of the Father in Heaven. This is still going on today.

Mat 27:20
(20) But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy THE Jesus.

The eternal life of THE Jesus is then cut off from this earth as His life is never made manifest in the outer mortal flesh of those who are tricked into serving “another jesus”. The daily sacrifice ceases.

The Holy One and the Just is being denied if we choose to serve another jesus rather than the true One.

We then “kill” the Prince of life from ever being made manifest in our own mortal flesh by doing so.

The manifestation of His eternal life is being cut off from this earth when God has already raised Him from the dead so that we might have His eternal life NOW. Salvation is NOW. NOW is the acceptable time.

Act 3:14-17 KJV
(14) But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
(15) And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
(16) And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

But we do this in ignorance of the Truth….as do our “rulers”. We are forgiven for we know not what we do.

(17) And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

Many reckon that the true Jesus is being preach among them…the thieves….the transgressors. Many “reckon”….that is, estimate, suppose, think…that THE Jesus is being preached among them.

Luk 22:37 KJV
(37) For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

It was at the “place of the skull” (cranium) where He was crucified….and it still is as His eternal life is being actively cut off.

It is in our own minds (located in the cranium) where we decide to receive the “another jesus”…being persuaded by the feigned words of false prophets that the true Jesus is being preached among them….the “thieves”.

By doing so, we then kill off the Prince of life. The true Messiah is cut off.

His eternal life is never then made manifest in our mortal flesh when we figure that the true Jesus is being preached by the false prophet who preaches “another gospel”.

John 19:16-18
(16) Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took (definite article: THE) Jesus, and led him away.

The Hebrew word translated “polls” is “gulgoleth” from which we get in the Greek “Golgotha”.

The Hebrew meaning of the word is “head, poll, skull” and usually associated with census taking.

In our own minds (the place of the cranium)…in our own “wisdom”… we number or count the real Jesus among them and we receive their “another jesus” instead of the true One.

(17) And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

By doing so, THE Jesus…the Prince of life… is crucified.

(18) Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

The Son of man goes away…..shrinks away…for the manifestation of His eternal life is cut off.

Mat 26:24 KJV
(24) The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

It is in our “minds”….the place of the skull… that we receive the “another Jesus” that the false prophets are preaching. They want us to and persuade us into receiving their decoy instead of the real Jesus which is then destroyed out of our lives.

They lead us away from the simplicity that is in Christ (who commanded us to have love for one another) into the serving of their handwritings of ordinances that are being used to judge others…continuing to serve sin.

2Co 11:3-4 KJV
(3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

‘She tenderly takes care — this is the language of Mary — to tenderly take care of the Child. This is Mary’s greatness,’ the Holy Father said Jan. 1.

Let Mary, the Mother of God, be your guide in the new year, Pope Francis said on Sunday, the first day of 2023.

In his Angelus address before a crowd of an estimated 40,000 people in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 1, the Pope said: “As we contemplate Mary in the stable where Jesus was born, let us ask ourselves: What languages does the Holy Virgin use to speak to us? How does Mary speak?”

“What can we learn from her for this year that is dawning?” he added. “We can say: Virgin Mary, teach us what we should do this year.”

The Pope’s message preceding the Angelus prayer was delivered on the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Pope Francis also celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica earlier in the day to mark the feast day.

Continued below.

As I keep posting in various places I believe Nuclear War is a possibility. I have been prayerfully asking God what to do if it occurs. So made a video where I talk about the Christain and Nuclear conflict, and what should we do. It does not talk about prepping but rather how to Spiritually prepare.

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【Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 】Matthew 16:16~17

Please pray for me(sangeun) and all of my family members(junghee dohan jieun hochul jeolja nosun zzomi) to know the Jesus and Gospel and the truth by Spirit of God and accept the Gospel and Jesus christ and believe in Jesus christ. and not to give up on Jesus christ and faith at any situation and repent of all our sins and be free from all our sins and be forgiven all our sins by Jesus and go to heaven surely.

Please pray for me(sangeun) and all of my family members(junghee dohan jieun hochul jeolja nosun zzomi) to believe that the Father is in the Son Jesus and that Jesus is in the Father. And to know the true father God. And Jesus Christ directly reveal the name of God the Father to all of us. And that God fulfil the Bible verses above for all of us. May God make impossible to make possible for all of us.

Does God have input in any occurrence of evil? There is a strong belief that evil happens without God’s input. So, it may seem that in the context of Romans 8:28, with God involved, evil things which happen may be part of the scheme of things which lead to things ultimately being good according to God’s Purpose.

Since God is our Creator, we accept as being good anything which God has a hand in doing, even things which, if done by anyone else would be seen as evil without a further understanding of the situation. Take the slaughter of newborn babies in Bethlehem, shortly after the birth of the Baby Jesus. Taken in and of itself, such an event is pure evil, since a) babies are presumed to be innocent, so b) to kill that which God created is evil.

According to Matthew 2:17, the slaughter of the babies is in fulfillment of a prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15 which says, “Thus says the LORD: ‘A voice is the heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.’”

From whom do prophesies originate? 2 Peter 1:21 says “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” So, prophesies that are recognized as such in the Bible, originate from God. And the inference of 2 Peter 1:21 is that prophesies are the Will of God. Which leads us back to Bethlehem with two questions...1) Is the slaughter of the firstborn males up to age two in Bethlehem an act of evil, and 2) If so, is such evil the Will of God?

After all, did God not command us to not murder? Since God permits us to reason with Him, as we were permitted to do in Isaiah 1:18, how are we to understand why God would will, as expressed in prophecy, the slaughter of those babies in Bethlehem, when we consider also that God stands for the goodness of His Creation, and for the goodness of his creation to go forth and continue.

What happened in Bethlehem is not like what happened in places like Sodom, written in Genesis 18 and 19, where the Lord, contrary to Genesis 32, saw that not even ten righteous people could be found there, so He proceeded to destroy it as He said He would. There is no mention in the Bible of not even ten righteous people being found in Bethlehem when the babies were slaughtered, is there? Can we not presume there were at least ten righteous people there at the time?

Consider the place of Nineveh. God appointed Jonah as a prophet, to prophecy to the Ninevens that they will be destroyed because of their evilness. God very well would have destroyed Nineveh, but when the Ninevens atoned for their sins after being told by Jonah that they would be destroyed, God relented.

Was Bethlehem a place of evil like Sodom and Nineveh, that its babies were to be slaughtered? Where is the goodness in such an act? To be certain, God did not personally slaughter the babies; that was engineered by King Herod. Did God harden Herod’s heart, like He did the heart of the Pharoah Ramses II, enough to get Herod to slaughter those babies? We have that possibility, since the last Verse of the Book of John infers that not everything is mentioned in the Bible. Indeed, at least, what is the Bible but a selected collection of the Word of God, in which, upon the consideration of what is to be included in the Bible and excluded therefrom, there were things that did not survive the cut?

At the end of the day, our faith in God, as suggested by Romans 8:28, demands that, at the very least, God knows best, and the same standards of evil that apply to man does not apply to God. Indeed, in the realm of our faith in God, evil itself does not apply to Him. This seems to be the only earthly rationale that would make sense in terms of our faith in Him.

Not long ago i had posted here about my mom and her spine fractures. Thanks all for praying. I wanted to give update and hope that many will continue in prayer for her. She felt better at Christmas. We had a good time with all the family. But after that , most of last week she was in extreme pain. Shes dealt with spine fractures from brittle bones. Its caused her to compress and now arthritis. She has to have my dad help her out of the only chair she can sit comfy in just to go to the bathroom. She cant sleep in a bed. She cant cook anymore. She has lost a ton of weight and strength dealing with this. This week i saw her in pain and said enough is enough we gotta fix this now. I became angry at God. Saying why on earth are u letting this happen to my mom. She is one of the strongest Christians on this planet. Why must she suffer this way?! Seeing her spirits so down and fear in her eyes so scared of even moving the wrong way. Barely able to even move. And shes only 65. It just isnt fair. Hundreds of ppl have been praying for her daily. And THIS is what she gets??? Getting worse? If God loves us so then why watch one of your precious children suffer like this?? Its hurting me and my siblings also to see her in pain knowing theres nothing we can do. Its affecting my dad hes a very busy man, still working full time, deacon at church, on the board at local water assc, he has a farm, cows. I am helping out with whatever i can, feeding cows, getting groceries,etc. but this cannot go on. Why wont God heal my mom? Jesus healed ppl in an instant, all the time. Yet nowadays hundreds or thousands pray and nothing??? This is what has weakened my faith. How r we supposed to believe in God when it seems he wont even hear our prayers?? I mean cmon. Why did u heal all those ppl in the bible days but where are the healings today? Wouldnt some miracle healings help ppl in their faith more?? I dunno. Im just angry and frustrated. My mom does NOT deserve this. It took her 30 minutes to get in their SUV to go to hospital yesterday. It was difficult watching her scared and in so much pain just getting in a car. No new fractures on the xray they said they think its arthritis and gave her pain prescription and sent her on her way. So i guess now we pop pills and continue to just ride this out with my mom living in a chair.

Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, has died

Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (Maximilian Andreas Friedrich Gustav Ernst August Bernhard; 3 July 1933 – 29 December 2022), also known as Max von Baden, was a German businessman and the head of House of Baden. Through his mother, Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, the second sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, he was a first cousin of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.

Click to expand...

Most of you will not even know that he ever existed.
But he is not as un-important as all that.
King Charles III of the United Kingdom is his first cousin. Maximilian is related to most of the nobility in Europa.
It will be interesting to see how many of them will come to his funeral.

In Germany, all the nobility has abdicated after the First World War.
Else Maximilian would have been the Grand-Duke of the Grand-Duchy of Baden - until yesterday.