Please pray I have an event which makes me anxious today, thank you

Q: In watching “The Chosen” I noted a couple of demoniac episodes were included, as are in fact depicted in Scripture. No CGI effects were done to show the demons either going in or coming out of the victims, making the healed person seem to simply be someone with personality disorders. What does the Church say today about demons? Are they real or were they ancient superstitions and misidentifications of what would today be called “mental issues?”

A: The Church teaches that demonic possession, while rare, is certainly something that can happen.

Continued below.

Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 59, also obtained welfare benefits, a REAL ID and eight other state ID’s, the Justice Department said.

We can save a lot of taxpayer money by deporting such criminals.

As an alcoholic I repeatedly, for YEARS, prayed and begged God to let me stop drinking, yet I continued drinking. Now I'm not saying it was God's fault that I drank. However, I do believe that God may delay one's ability to repent (change). Why would God delay our repentance? Perhaps for us to learn. Maybe God was thinking "Beth, you chose this path and I'm not going to let you change until I know that you have learned a bitter lesson".

I looked up scriptures regarding repentance and it seems that repentance is indeed granted and withheld by the Father.

Acts 5:31
Verse Concepts
He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 11:18
Verse Concepts
When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

2 Timothy 2:25
Verse Concepts
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

Romans 2:4
Verse Concepts
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

2 Peter 3:9
Verse Concepts
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A male priest can represent Jesus at the Last Supper on Sunday.

A woman priest can represent the Holy Spirit on Saturday.

Sunflowers show adoration because they turn to follow the Sun.

A woman priest at Saturday Mass,
can hold up a Sunflower and say

We adore you Jesus.

We love you Jesus.

This is some fascinating stuff if it's a future event. Is it?

Zephaniah 2

English Standard Version

​

Judgment on Judah's Enemies​

2 Gather together, yes, gather,
O shameless nation,
2 before the decree takes effect[a]
—before the day passes away like chaff—
before there comes upon you
the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;[b]
seek righteousness; seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 For Gaza shall be deserted,
and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,
you nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,
with meadows[c] for shepherds
and folds for flocks.
7 The seacoast shall become the possession
of the remnant of the house of Judah,
on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will be mindful of them
and restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab
and the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
and made boasts against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become like Sodom,
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride,
because they taunted and boasted
against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and to him shall bow down,
each in its place,
all the lands of the nations.
12 You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
and he will make Nineveh a desolation,
a dry waste like the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst,
all kinds of beasts;[d]
even the owl and the hedgehog[e]
shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
devastation will be on the threshold;
for her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city
that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!
Everyone who passes by her
hisses and shakes his fist.

Even without providing scripture I feel confident in stating that I believe that all people who die as infants are in Heaven.

Is there any good argument to the contrary? Thanks in advance!

I love this! We see so many Christian church leaders who become wealthy and enjoy being praised and exalted while ignoring what Jesus commanded. We must humble ourselves and serve others, not the other way around!

Matthew 20:26-28: "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Video of Karoline Leavitt stating administration will continue to deport monster criminals.

Trump is keeping his promise.

A luxury jetliner gifted by Qatar is currently sitting on a tarmac at an airport in San Antonio waiting for a specialized overhaul to become the next Air Force One.

The United States officially accepted the Boeing 747-8 on Wednesday, and the Air Force has been tasked to upgrade it to be used as a new plane for President Trump, according to the Defense Department.

Democratic lawmakers and independent watchdogs say the gift violates the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans government officials from taking gifts from foreign countries. Trump says it would be a gift to the DOD and that he would not use it after leaving office, when it would be kept at his presidential library.

Continued below.

Columbia Violated Student Civil Rights With ‘Deliberate Indifference’ About Antisemitism, Federal Probe Finds​

An investigation from the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found Columbia University violated civil rights in its failure to address antisemitism on campus.

Even among those within the same faith community we find disagreements, debate and polemic. That, in itself, is not bad. We can actually help each other by giving voice to our own seeking and questioning.

The problem comes when we get locked into and extreme and it becomes a camp. "Left" and "Right", "Conservative" and "Progressive" seem the most common. And "Left" usually seems "Progressive" while "Right" usually seems "Conservative".

I find myself pondering the question of how people that share so much belief in common can come to such polar opposite conclusions. It carries into politics as well as religion.


It looks like the "General Public" is not as polarized as political parties. Extremes are 100 & 6. 40 and 42 on each side of the middle "Stressed Sideliners".
Also, between Ambivalent Right, Stressed and Outsider Left we have 37%. That leaves 28% leaning red and 35% leaning blue.

I don't think, we are as polarized as the media portrays us.

I was just messing around on Facebook and I came across Freddy Clark's page. He talked about how the early church believed that your each of our angels (like a personal guardian angel) looks similar or identical to each of us. This is backed up in the scripture:

Acts 12:12-15: “When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” - Acts 12:12-15

Whether this is just their belief or it is actually true remains to be seen, though I have heard stories about believers being seen at 2 places at once. I heard of a report once of a man being in North Carolina, while at the same time he was seen by thousands of people at a conference in Texas. He smiled, waved, talked to people, even talked about how his kids were doing and he did not go! It might have been his angel!

• Business Insider has been covering stories of federal workers fired by the White House DOGE office.
• Some readers told BI they had limited sympathy.
• They said their private sector careers hadn't guaranteed job security or retirement.

In April, I wrote about a federal worker who was five months shy of eligibility for a full pension of $6,000 a month when she was fired in the DOGE cuts.

I received nearly 100 emails from readers, and almost all expressed how little sympathy they felt.

"Welcome to the real world," several said.

Continued below.

Biden’s cancer diagnosis fuels fresh doubts and distrust among Democrats

Former President Joe Biden‘s aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis has thrown a wrench in Democrats’ plans to move beyond his presidency and 2024 campaign.

Biden’s cancer diagnosis arrived amid heightened scrutiny of his cognitive health. The book Original Sin, set for release on Tuesday, details episodes of forgetfulness during Biden’s presidency and alleges that his aides sought to conceal these problems.

Former Biden diplomat says there’s ‘no question’ that ‘free Palestine’ slogan has become a call for violence​

A former Biden diplomat declared on Thursday that the "Free Palestine" slogan has become a "call for violence."

Following the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers earlier this week, former Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism under President Biden, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, told CNN that no matter what "Free Palestine" meant originally, it has become a slogan urging violent attacks against Jewish people.

"I think there’s no question, whatever its initial intent and whatever people were saying initially or meant it, it has become a call for violence, and not violence against Israelis — which is wrong — but violence against Jews," she told CNN "Inside Politics" host Dana Bash.

The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Senate votes to overturn California’s landmark ban on new gas-only car sales​

Because of its historically poor air quality, California has been an innovator in clean car policy, enacting the nation’s first tailpipe emissions standards in 1966. California was later granted the special authority to adopt vehicle emission standards that are more strict than the federal government’s under the Clean Air Act. But the state must seek a federal waiver from the U.S. EPA for any specific rule to be enforceable.

[California literally led the way, and when the federal government partly caught up in 1970, California was allowed to continue to do more for the last 55 years. IIRC, other states are allowed to use California's standards. A number of them do.]

In a 51-44 vote, the Senate overturned a Biden-era waiver that enabled California and a contingent of Democratic-led states to enforce zero-emission requirements for the sale of new passenger vehicles. After several hours of debate and testimony, legislators struck down a landmark regulation that aimed to drastically accelerate electric vehicle sales in California and nearly a dozen other states that chose to follow its lead, substantially reducing air pollution and planet-warming carbon emissions from tailpipes.

Republicans moved ahead with the votes despite the warnings from the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian that the waivers could not be overturned with the Congressional Review Act — a law that was meant to allow legislators to inspect and potentially block federal *rules adopted in the waning days of a previous presidential administration [and do so with a majority vote rather than the usual 60, thus making this move a crypto-"nuclear option"]. [*GAO and parliamentarian note the waiver is not a rule, but rather an order.]

If the measure is signed into law by President Trump and survives impending legal challenges, the vote would serve as a coup de grace to the state’s decades-long efforts to comply with federal smog standards in Southern California and meet California’s own ambitious climate goals. [That is, the state is still subject to smog standards, but its most effective regulatory tool for meeting them is being taken away.]

In separate votes, Republicans also rolled back additional California clean-air rules that require the state’s heavy-duty truck fleet to adopt cleaner engines and a growing percentage of zero-emission vehicles.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta vowed to defend California’s rules by filing a lawsuit alleging Thursday’s votes were an improper use of the Congressional Review Act.

‘Make America Smoggy Again:’ Governor Newsom responds to illegal Senate vote aiming to undo state’s clean air policies​

Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced today the state will file a lawsuit as Republicans in the U.S. Senate target California’s clean vehicles program – a move that will “Make America Smoggy Again.”​

“This Senate vote is illegal. Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent. We won’t stand by as Trump Republicans make America smoggy again — undoing work that goes back to the days of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan — all while ceding our economic future to China. We’re going to fight this unconstitutional attack on California in court.”​

California’s climate leadership​

Pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 – even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period.

We need to come together as a nation.

I'd like to know who was the guy in the passage below that was casting out demons in Jesus's name and how did he become a follower and receive his ability.

Mark 9:38-41
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,[f] and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

I thought that I would share my story about the brain healing I received from God. My name is Rachel Obanubi and I live in London UK. I am a Christian and have been since I was a child and I am 52 today. This is the first time this happened to me in my life in April 025. I am more than ok having autism in my life and have never asked God to remove this from me and would not, it makes me who I am as well.

I have been struggling hearing my own thoughts in my head being played back to me repetitively and I was hearing what other people said to me being played back in a repetitive echo in my brain too. I never had voices in my head unknown to me, let that be known. As I stress it was my thoughts I was hearing what I had said or written myself or what others had said being played back on an echo so repetitively in my brain. This appeared to be due to my sensory condition and autism. I have quite significant repetition in the brain with autism which I am diagnosed with. It has appeared in a head scan to. There was no issue at this point or something that needed recovery-but it tremendously worse during an incredibly severe overwhelming episode when the members in one body fell out of cohesion.

I had been taking medication for this as well Serqouel that gave me no remedy. My last brain scan of my head showed likely potential issues with repetition which is a feature of autism for some people. What happened is that I was having say an autistic thought and a thought from my everyday life and they were like meeting in my brain together and cross wiring. It was a bit of a mess and like they would communicate back and forth to each other. It got quite bad and it was like different parts of my brain the signals were faulty. The repetition at this point was not usable-if I said one thought it could 20 minutes to hear in my mind at which point I forgot what it was all about. The members in one body that Psalm 139 notes in my brain also were out of sync and didn't feel to be in a cohesive body. I got recovery for it and now it is now usable thanks be to God.

The work to repair it lasted for about 4 weeks. Once a week after church on a Sunday I would sit at home and it felt like my brain would start lightly spinning and it like it was being worked on. One intervention came at Church in the final week. It just got cold around me-the breath of wind The Holy Ghost was present and my brain started to be worked on as I sat and the cross interchanging of my thoughts just ceased and it is so much better. I am so grateful. All members in Psalm 139 today are united praise be to God. I was praying for it a while.

I receive the Eucharist and blood of Christ at Church and I have been going regularly for a while now. I still have autism as I wrote but my head is now more usable. God has made me a better model of myself, my sensory hearing has increased even and the original code master in Psalm 139 “For I am fearfully and wonderfully made” has perfected his own creation on me. I am so thankful to God and I am so lucky.

I was joking with God that my codes must have existed in the under the earth as said in Psalm 139 for the original master himself to blueprint it back onto my head. God has supported me by the presence of the Holy Spirit when I have been overwhelmed with my autism. I can feel it around me. He knows how to care for us.

God can work miracles and even so today as well. I wish you all well in your journeys.

Below is the findings from my MRI report in 2022 before things deteriorated with my repetition in my brain. The findings were consistent with repetitive issues in my brain that were inherent with autism.

“There are a few periventricular and subcortical white matter signal abnormalities bilaterally which are nonspecific but more than expected for patient of this age”.

From research-

“Periventricular WMH volume was not associated with age but was associated with greater restricted repetitive behaviours. Thus, findings demonstrate that periventricular WMH volume is elevated in ASD and associated with a higher degree of repetitive behaviors and restricted interests.”

Periventricular white matter abnormalities and restricted repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorder - PMC

The white blotches are the repetition it is in the brain, a scan I had then things got worse then I got miracolous healing from God. Thanks be to God.

While President Donald Trump promised an end to drag performances aimed at children at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the theater's upcoming season includes multiple shows featuring men dressing as women.

The Kennedy Center announced its 2025-26 season on Monday, including "Chicago," "Moulin Rouge! The Musical," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and Monty Python's "Spamalot."

"Chicago," which happens to be the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, is scheduled to begin performances at the center next spring.

Continued below.

Under the Old Covenant that God had with his people Israel (the Jews) he had a very long list of laws which they had to follow and obey, which included many liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary and Sabbath laws, as well as God’s moral laws. But when Jesus Christ died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin, he did away with the Old Covenant law and he introduced the law of grace, instead. But this can be a very confusing subject if not read in full Scriptural context.

For…

The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

And…

By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

And…

Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

Therefore, under the New Covenant, God did not do away with all of his commandments so that we are now “commandment free.” And he did not free us from having to keep (obey) his commandments, either. And if you read these Scriptures talking about the Old Covenant vs the New Covenant, it will become very obvious that what is gone are all the Old Covenant liturgical, et al, laws, but not God’s moral laws. God does not require of us circumcision, dietary restrictions, and the keeping of the Jewish Sabbath.

Those are the three that are mostly mentioned in the book of Galatians and in other books of the New Testament. But circumcision seems to be the one he mainly focuses on as being wrong to do as an add on to God’s grace, and that if they feel they must be circumcised (in a religious sense), that Christ will be of no benefit to them, for they have been severed from Christ, for they are seeking to be justified by law, and so they have fallen from grace. And many people are trying to say, then, that God no longer requires obedience to his commands, but he does. Yes, this can be very confusing!

So, to what can we compare this? What was Jesus’ complaint against the Pharisees? It was that, although outwardly they were very religious, for they honored many of the Old Covenant liturgical laws, inside they were full of wickedness. They went through the motions of religious practice, but much of it was to be seen by others as being religious. But they didn’t obey our Lord’s moral laws, and they neglected justice and mercy and faithfulness. Outwardly they appeared religious but inwardly were full of self-indulgence.

So, you can go through the motions of religious practice to appear religious on the outside, but if on the inside you are given over to the lusts of the flesh and to sinful desires and to immorality and idolatry and all sorts of wickedness, all your outward performance means nothing. It is for show only. For we are not saved from our sins and on our way to heaven based upon outward performance, but on whether or not our lives are surrendered to the Lord to obeying his moral laws and to living righteously, in his power.

So, what is “faith working through love”? Well, both the faith to believe in Jesus and the love (agape) come from God, are gifted to us by God, and are persuaded of God, and are not of our own doing, not of human flesh. And both faith and love must result in us dying with Christ to sin and us obeying his New Covenant commandments, or it is not biblical faith and biblical love. For this love and faith prefer all that is of God, that is holy, righteous, and morally pure and obedient to our Lord, and not what is of the sinful flesh.

So, to sum it all up. God’s grace is not a free ride to heaven based on lip service only, and it is not permission to now live in sin in walks of disobedience to our Lord and to his commands. We do not have to obey a long list of ritualistic laws which have no impact on our human hearts, but we must obey God’s moral laws – no hating, lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, being sexually immoral, and the like. We must now live holy lives, pleasing to God, in walks of obedience to his moral commands.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Broken and Contrite

An Original Work / May 13, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.

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Faith Working Through Love
An Original Work / May 23, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Admittedly, I had to look this one up because this is a new one to me.

Anti-natalism is a philosophical position that argues against procreation, deeming it unethical or unjustifiable due to the inevitable suffering associated with life.
Definition and Philosophy
Anti-natalism posits that bringing new life into existence is morally wrong because it subjects individuals to unavoidable suffering, pain, and death. Proponents argue that since potential children cannot consent to being born, it is irresponsible to impose life upon them, especially when life can be filled with hardship and suffering