Please pray that Jesus Christ miraculously completely heals Teddi Mellencamp of cancer so that she lives well into her 100s:

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Obviously, I know Ben's no popular with half of the public, but I thought he did a good job of providing a "non-liberal critique" of Trump's tariff plan

I have the video queued up to the part where he goes into detail with regards to both

A) The fact that Trump was using the wrong metric with regards to how he was coming to the conclusion that "America is getting ripped off"
B) How even if that was the right metric, it's still hugely inaccurate

Hopefully even for those of the progressive ilk, it's an interesting listen for the 10-15 minutes he covers that in great detail.

So after I lost 20 pounds and got down to 420 pounds I gained 10 pounds back and I'm back to 430 pounds. Can people please pray for me please? I see the bariatric clinic and my nutritionist tomorrow. I almost know she is going to try to push bariatric surgery on me tomorrow morning when I go see her since I gained weight again. I was doing so good too...

But basically what happened was I haven't been exercising and I've been eating a lot of subway. Like... a LOT of subway. Like 2 to 3 times a week a lot. So... I've been packing on the pounds. But spring is almost here so I can start walking again. Maybe people here can try encouraging me to walk everyday and support me? Lol!

Anyway... keep me in your prayers please. I still want to lose 150 pounds before I have a heart attack or stroke and die. I'm trying my best to lose weight before it's too late but it's really, really hard to lose. Thanks for your prayers and support!

When the Hoover Administration passed tariffs on response to the Great Depression, here were the results:
In 2 years, unemployment increased from 8% to 25%.

Imports fell by 66%, but exports fell by 61%.
That's what happens when you elect a man with six bankruptcies and half a billion in legal judgments for tax fraud.

The group The Resurrection Project has been representing Gonzalez since his detainment last month.

The group said his brother, Jose Alfredo Pacheco, has end-stage kidney failure and needs a kidney transplant.

Supporters said a year ago, that detained brother sought asylum in the United States from Venezuela with the goal of donating his kidney and was allowed, up until last month, to care for his brother in Cicero, while under an order of supervision, which required him to wear an ankle monitor.

We knew who this guy was, where he was, and why he was here. But ICE needs to hit those quotas.

Share a bible verse or personal prophecy that has inspired you, and, if you like, why, and what its meaning is to you.

Mine is: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and perfect you, and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:10)

This encourages me that God will return me and everything to how it was before the suffering, and then it will be so forever. This comforts me.

There are at least 3 kinds of tariffs.

PROCTECTIVE TARIFFS - the idea is to increase prices and protect US workers (the proposed policy of Sanders and Democrats for years)
1) steel
2) aluminum
3) auto and auto parts

ACROSS THE BOARD TARIFFS ON ALL IMPORTS (Trump want to collect these taxes and reduce the reliance on US income taxes, as was the case over 100 years ago)
There could be exemptions (perhaps on electricity and oil). The immediate effect will be that food costs more (e.g. bananas, coffee, and avocados and other produce from Mexico. Canada and Mexico might get some exemptions if Trump continues to allow the terms of our agreement signed 4 or so years ago to stay in place. It seems likely that Trump will negotiate a better deal after the Canadian elections.

"RECIPROCAL" TAXES - these are taxes to tax/tariff those countries who sell more to us than they buy. It has nothing to do with their actual tariffs by these countries.
So, Vietnam purchases from us are only 10% of what they sell to us. This 90% deficiency will result in a 45% tariff. We simply want to punish those who don't buy a lot from us.
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EXAMPLE CONSEQUENCES - SHOES AND SNEAKERS (lots are produced in Vietnam)
1) Prices can go up 45%
2) Manufacturers can absorb some of the tariffs (prices will still go up)
2) Production can move to the US over time. After this happens, the jobs can be low pay jobs, higher than in Vietnam but still very low. This certainly isn't the goal. Or the jobs can be what we pay in the US, much higher. In that case the prices will be much higher than now. Say the labor cost plus delivery is now $25; that cost would likely go to $5) or more. As economists have said for year, if Americans want to have US made shoes, then they need to be prepared to pay more for shoes (and also for electronics)

If Trump is successful, many of the jobs of Vietnam and other Asian countries will move to the US.

Jobs will be lost for those who currently depend on exporting goods (primarily to Europe) but also agricultural goods to Asia.
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SO, how will the farmers like the new jobs on the assembly line making shoes and blouses and perhaps even TV sets? Will this work for the workers in the closed factories in Michigan which have long ago moved to ARK, TEN and TX? US workers produce lots and lots of cars in those states. IMO, MORE plants will move from Detroit as the costs of parts from Canada go up (or are not available) and the wages in the South continues to be lower. Make no mistake, the US will continue to make more and more cars.
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As an aside, the GOVERNMENT handout to farmers was $20B as part of the last set of tariffs under Trump (after China retaliated).

Poor Lesotho, with only 2.3. million people can't buy the amount of goods from America that comes close to what the US buys from Lesothos - with is epensive diamonds. They have no hope of buying more goods from the US because they are landlocked and poor.

One thing I see in the Trump administration - cruelty is the point. Meanness is the point.

We can finally all agree that free speech in America isn't really a thing right?

I mean before, it was private companies not allowing certain kinds of speech and people complained about private companies railing against hate speech. Something that some people feel it's REALLY important that racists have the opportunity to espouse the views.

Now we have a government pretty clearly trying to control a great deal of speech; both from within and without.

As an outsider, it's interesting to me for a few reasons. The first being I always thought that the first ammendment was present to stop the government from censoring speech. I didn't think that private firms and companies were beholden to the first ammendment and yet the kvetching was real, REAL loud.

And how we have a government that seems pretty interested in controlling speech. I mean, do we NEED links to discuss that?

I've been reading here more recently and there has never really been any meaningful justification by Trump supporters that indicates they are ALSO Pro-first ammendment.

I've been on record for a while that I'm not super pro first ammendment. My reasons for that are probably exactly the same as those Trump supporters who support him deporting protestors.

But I'm curious: If you support Trump deporting people for protesting, what is your reasoning for not supporting the First Ammendment?

Elon Musk's DOGE was behind a huge increase in U.S. March job cuts, according to a Thursday report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Employers announced 275,240 job cuts, a 60% increase from February. In the federal government alone 216,215 jobs were cut in March.

Only the COVID-19 pandemic in April and May 2020 caused more government job losses.

Total U.S. job cuts announced this year have hit 497,052. That's the highest year-to-date and quarterly total since Q1 2009. It's a 93% increase from the same period in 2024, when 257,254 job cuts were announced.

The cuts are having a strong impact on federal agencies including 10,000 job cuts at the Department of Veteran's Affairs, while the U.S. Army cut 24,000 jobs.

Other sectors beyond government are also shedding jobs. Tech companies cut 15,055 jobs and retailers have cut 11,709, consumer products makers have eliminated 14,619 and automakers 7,146.

The 2025 layoff rate is the highest since 2009 when more than 428,000 job cuts were planned over the same time period.

I don’t believe that angels ever fell. Or that demons are fallen angels. I believe that demons are creations of human witchcraft.
What is slandering celestial beings and blaspheming in matters we do not understand? (Jude 1:8; 2 Peter 2:10-12) Surely it is saying that angels are demons and that they sinned and blaming them for tempting us and causing us to sin. The bible never actually explains what demons are.
Did angels fall during the flood? As Trypho the Jew said when debating the Book of Enoch with Justin Martyr: “You have blasphemed, because you claim that angels would sin.” (Dialogue 1:79:1) In Genesis 6:4 the bible never says this is a sin. The next line (Genesis 6:5) refers not to the angels, but the sinfulness of mankind at that time.
I believe that Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:2-19 says it was not the angels themselves who fell, but the reputation of angels that fell among the pagans, as the pagans blamed angels for their own sins, when really mankind was sinful, this carried on from paganism into Christian religion when it came about.
I believe that 2 Peter 2:4 means when”they” sinned, meaning mankind, the angels were sent to be with those who suffered because of the sinful persecution in an earthly “hell”, to deliver them like God delivered Lot. The chapter speaks of how all these examples (2 Peter 2:4-9) describe examples of God delivering the righteous and holding the wicked for judgment (2 Peter 2:9). 2 Peter 2:4 contains no example of God delivering righteous men unless interpreted that way.
In Jude 1:7, angels are with us to deliver us from the sinful persecution committed by others. They are sent to be with us in our darkness, bound with everlasting chains of love to us. “In a similar way” (Jude 1:6) refers to the verse before, not angels, (verse Jude 1:5). All these examples refer to God delivering the righteous from sinful men.
The greatest evil is man.

According to Jim Cramer, "If the mills come back they'll be staffed by robots."
275,000 layoffs this month.
Any silver lining?
Hmm. 49.9% of Americans will have lots of time to ponder their voting mistakes and repent.

The final part of my coverage of the Release International Apr-Jun 2025 will take me to an article worth mentioning in and of itself- the mention of Afghan brothers and sisters in Christ finding refuge in Brazil- what a way of showing God's work around the world!

1. Ahmad- Ahmad was a police officer in Afghanistan, his entire team were taken out by a bomb blast in Afghanistan- he was the sole survivor. He had previously seen a documentary about Christ and for the first time after surviving the blast, called on the Lord!

Despite living in Afghanistan, Ahmad was still bold enough to share the Gospel, but then the Taliban came into power and he fled with his wife and children.

Ahmad began his journey with his wife, 10 children and 10 others in the back of a a pickup truck. The truck broke down and they spent 3 days walking in the freezing cold to Pakistan. Can you imagine having this kind of memory and all that it entails in your memories of your walk with Christ?

Of course, Pakistan is hardly a safe haven for Christians but in due time, a pastor got them a visa to Brazil- Ahmad and his family are now well settled into a local Brazilian church and they can now speak Brazilian Portuguese and are accustomed to Brazilian culture- wow, what a story to share!

2. Luke and Grace (not real names) Like Ahmad they initially sought refuge in Pakistan. When settled in Pakistan, they even used their time to help other Afghan refugees in the Country!

Two years later they then had the opportunity to go to Brazil, so they took it. They are well settled into a local church in Brazil too and love their Brazilian family in Christ.

To conclude, in my Bible reading this morning Luke 7:24 tells us that the OT prophets desired to hear what we do as Christians and stories like these , really add to this theme.

Is the Church of the Lord declining?

This is a common theory in this day, as if the raw head-count was a priority of God. But here are some elements that I'll suggest we should take with great joy:

• We do not anymore have nations of this world claiming themselves to be "christianized" while making war against each other.
• We do not anymore have nations of this world claiming themselves to be "christianized," while stealing from, killing, and torturing those of the mission fields within them.
• We do not anymore have thousands upon thousands of church-leaders trying to help build a Kingdom of Jerusalem of this world, against the would-be inhabitants.

[Deleted - already discussed in other threads]

Wow those bloomin Penguins competing unfairly with the states!

Tonight at the Church prayer meeting we had a prayer request I'd like to share with you.

Previously they spread the Gospel to a Country where they risked death, they obviously made it back and imminently they will be going to a dangerous Country to spread the Gospel, where if discovered doing so, they will be jailed.

Think about that- if caught not only will they be jailed, they'll be seperated from each other too. This couple aren't playing Church games.

Please pray for the couple's ministry and pray for their safety .

But what did he accomplish?

It was NOT a filibuster - it was 24 hours of Trump bad...

Who was there through the night as he blathered on?

Construction of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, a 169-foot-tall Christian monument celebrating answered prayers, is set to begin this summer after delays caused by inflation and design complexities.

The landmark, located near the M6 on the outskirts of Birmingham, is now expected to open in autumn 2027, according to The Telegraph.

The project in Coleshill, which will feature an infinity-loop design inspired by a mathematical Möbius strip, aims to represent the eternal nature of God. The wall will be made of 1 million white bricks, each digitally linked to a story of answered prayer.

Continued below.

The Bible says to love your neighbour as yourself. Does that mean to split your money in half - half for you, half for your neighbours? Are starving people overseas your neighbours? Should the government give money to starving people overseas?

It seems that Trump is willing to negotiate with Canada, Mexico, the UK and Ireland. The tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto parts, and the base 10% tariff are likely to stay. For example, drug companies in Ireland seem ready to absorb the tariffs and not raise prices this year. We import more drugs from Ireland than from any other country. Also, the drug companies are definitely planning to move some production facilities to the US.
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There is almost no reasonable scenario where there are not significant increases in prices on imported goods. Electronics should be most notable as well as energy in the North (much of which comes from Canada).
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As a side issue, Japan tried to do what Trump is doing a couple of decades ago. Tariffs were oin place on almost everything. There was NO increase in the number of manufacturing jobs.

What will be interesting will be how long it takes before the administration realizes that with unemployment so low, there is a worker shortage even now, before the tariffs.

My 30 yr son asked it I would denounce Christ if a man said he'd shoot him if did not and I said I would not. What do you all think? My son says he's saved, and I know he'll go to heaven, but he said I basically murdered him.

Tesla (TSLA) has released its Q1 2025 production and delivery numbers. The automaker confirmed it delivered 336,681 electric vehicles during the first three months of the year — far below expectations.[/quote{

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