Jobs report recap: US added 130,000 jobs in January, beating expectations​

"It was a January job surge. The surprisingly strong job gains in January were driven mainly by health care and social assistance," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in a statement. "But it is enough to stabilize the job market and send the unemployment rate slightly lower.

‘Um…Lemme Think’: Trump’s Pick For Top State Department Post Sputters When Challenged On His Belief in the ‘Erasure of White Culture’​

In the video, [Senator] Murphy asked, “Tell me how you define white identify and white and what you think is being erased about white identity.”

--later--

CARL: I would say the white church is very different from the Black church in terms of its tone and style, on average. Um, food ways can often be different. Um, music —

MURPHY: And those are being erased?

CARL: Music can be different, if you look at the Super Bowl halftime show that was not in English this year.

MURPHY: So, our ability to access white churches or white food or white music is being erased?

Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) said in a statement Thursday, “After reviewing his record and participating in today’s hearing, I do not believe that Jeremy Carl is the right person to represent our nation’s best interests in international forums, and I find his anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people unbecoming of the position for which he has been nominated.”

--
In the past, Carl has appeared to endorse the “great replacement theory,” slammed the Juneteenth holiday and called for the execution of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, according to CNN. He deleted nearly 5,000 social media posts since before his nomination, the outlet reported in September.

“We are essentially moving,” he told conservative media commentator Tucker Carlson in April 2024, “to what is effectively, a post-White America.”

Screenshoot speaks for itself, comments aren't needed.

Ephesians 2:19-22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:4-6 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."

How did God's dwelling evolve to become what it is today? What happened?

Dave

Pope Leo XIV urges Catholics to listen more closely to God and others — and to “disarm” their language by fasting from words that wound — in his message for Lent 2026.


Continued below.

NAYEREH ARJANEH​

IRAN​

On July 7, 2025 Nayereh Arjaneh and her husband Qasem Esmaili were arrested at their home for attending a Christian seminar in Turkey. She was initially released on bail and later convicted of “promoting deviant propaganda and teachings contrary to Islamic law” and “providing financial and material support to groups affiliated with Zionist Christianity.”

Nayereh received five years in prison for each offense, plus two years internal exile in Kerman province and a two year travel ban. She is serving both sentences concurrently. Her husband received a prison sentence of three years and six months but has been given permission to delay his prison term as he is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Nayereh began serving her 10-year sentence in December 2025.

Click to expand...

Semnan Central Prison
Semnan Province
Region 1
Iran

SAMPLE LETTERS TO PRISONERS


Please DO
Write in English and write as neatly as you are able to. Your letter must be legible to be translated (Many people study English, so there will often be someone to translate your letter).

• Express your Christian love and tell them that you are praying for them (then do!) They, in turn, will be praying for you!
• Keep your letter brief and loving – one page is enough.
• Include Bible verses.
• Hand write the address on envelopes accurately and mark it AIRMAIL; make sure the postage is correct.
• You may include a snapshot of yourself, your family or your prayer group if you want to make your letter even more personal and special.

Please DON'T
Do not write about politics or criticise the government.

• Never mention the source of your information or the name of any organisation such as Voice of the Martyrs. It is not dangerous for a prisoner to receive letters from an individual, but if an organisation is mentioned, they may be accused of links with “foreign organisations” and receive even harsher sentences.
• Use words that might imply some kind of hidden activity e.g. “thank you for the Christian work that you have done in Vietnam” might imply that the prisoner had done some covert work for a foreign organisation to subvert the government.
• Build up hopes and expectations of prisoners – and likewise, don’t make any offer of help unless you intend to act on it!
• Use religious jargon, sermonize, or be presumptuous about the prisoner’s situation, needs or feelings.
• Quote verses which refer to war, fighting, armour, weapons (eg ‘the sword of the spirit’, ‘fighting the good fight of faith’, ‘the armour of God’ etc).

Click to expand...

President of all Americans my foot.

• The Trump administration is seeking to cut $600 million in federal grant funding for HIV programs in California and three other states.
• The cuts targeted a slate of programs aimed at tracking and curtailing HIV and other disease outbreaks.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked a Trump administration order slashing $600 million in federal grant funding for HIV programs in California and three other states, finding merit in the states’ argument that the move was politically motivated by disagreements over unrelated state sanctuary policies.

U.S. District Judge Manish Shah, an Obama appointee in Illinois, found that California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota were likely to succeed in arguing that President Trump and other administration officials targeted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for termination “based on arbitrary, capricious, or unconstitutional rationales.”

"plaintiffs have made a sufficient showing that defendants issued internal guidance to terminate public-health grants for unlawful reasons; that guidance is enjoined as the parties develop a record.”

The White House said the cuts were to programs that “promote DEI and radical gender ideology,” while federal health officials said the programs in question did not reflect the CDC’s “priorities.”

see also:

Target has been a focus of protest since they pulled some of the LGBTQ+ Pride items displayed prominently in their stores a few years ago. Parents complained their children should not have to see that stuff and once Target scaled back it did not go well with that community. The anti-ICE people are very much the same crowd.

Pray Bangladesh's Newly elected Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, views Christians in favorable light, & appoints Christians to government positions:

Pray The Holy Spirit Protects "Righteous" protesters in Iran Against Digital Surveillance by the oppressive Islamic Iranian government:

Let’s break this down biblically. Who is God? He is Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit, our triune God. He always was and he always will be. And Jesus Christ always was God, and he was with God in the beginning, and all things which were made were made by him. Jesus is our creator God. And Jesus Christ left his throne in heaven, came to earth, was born as a human baby to a virgin woman (Mary), but was conceived of the Holy Spirit, so he was not born with a sin nature as we are. And all the time Jesus lived on the earth he was God incarnate (God made flesh) who lived among the people.

[Genesis 1:26; Genesis 3:22; John 1:1-36; John 8:24,58; John 10:30-33; John 20:28-29; Romans 9:5; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8-9; 1 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Peter 1:1]

God so loved.. This word “love” means “to prefer,” “to choose,” “to prefer to love,” which is centered in moral preference and in what God prefers, which is all that is holy, just, morally pure, righteous, godly, honest, faithful, and obedient to his commands. This is the kind of love he had/has for the people of the world, that they/we would, by faith in Jesus Christ, live holy lives, pleasing to God, living morally pure and upright lives for the glory of God. From the source of this love he sent Jesus Christ to put our sins to death with him so by faith in him we will now die to sin and obey our Lord.

God gave us his only begotten Son (conceived of the Holy Spirit, birthed of a virgin woman), in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension back to heaven, where he then sent the Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, that whoever believes in him… that whoever (actively, ongoing) believing in him…which is continuous, active faith, ongoing to the very end… a faith which means to be persuaded, i.e. to be persuaded by God. And God persuades us as to his righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and to now walk in obedience to our Lord, empowered by God.

So God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – loved us humans enough to send himself, in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world, in order that he would put our sins to death with him so that, by obedient (ongoing) faith in our Lord, and in the teachings of his word, via submission to him as Lord, we would now die with Christ to sin, and be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of the Lord in holy living in walks of obedience to him and to his commands. This is what it means to believe in Jesus, to have our lives belonging to God.

For 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).

For 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 to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

Unless You Are Born Again

Based off John 3:1-21
An Original Work / November 3, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Nicodemus came to Jesus.
He acknowledged God was with Him.
Jesus said, “You can’t see heaven
Unless you are born again.”

“How can a man be born when he’s old?
Can he enter into his mother’s womb?”
Jesus answered, “Flesh is flesh,
So of the Spirit, you must be.”

Jesus said to Nicodemus,
“You’re a teacher, and yet you don’t
Understand of what I tell you,
Because you will not believe.

“For God so loved the world that He gave
His one and His only Son for your sin.
So, whoever believes in Him
Has eternal life in heav’n.

“Light has come into the world,
But human beings love the darkness,
Because their deeds are so evil,
So in truth, they stand condemned.

“Everyone who practices evil
Fears that the Light will expose his sin.
Yet, whoever lives his life by the Light
Does so through his God.”

Login to view embedded media
Whoever Believes in Him
An Original Work / February 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Can someone help me with the difference between Theism and Pan-en-theism, usually defined as All is in God. Pan-en-theism is different from Pantheism (everything is God and therefore no Creator / creature distinction). Does Pan-en-theism recognise a Creator / creature distinction.

Any help appreciated.

Just a brief introduction about myself. I am not sure if I was a previous member or not? But anyways I was saved at the age of 19 - but have attended Sunday school since I was about 6 years of age. I first acknowledged God at the age of 12 when I beheld his creation one morning walking along the footpath with my sibling brother. From there I held bible studies at home at the age of 17 but realized they were JW's and stopped them from coming in time. The Jesus facto however became reality a few years later! and I am now approaching 63 years of age. By the grace of God I still stand today; and my background is i have served in evangelism, and on the the mission field, and have openly preached behind pulpits in Sunday services and prayer meetings also, I have conducted open air evangelism on the streets and in high schools to the unsaved. I am a graduate ✔️ of full-time Bible college and graduated with paper in hand and I feel by Gods grace i have somewhat to contribute and share my experiences and also my current understanding of the scriptures. Sometimes I write with great sharpness, but that is intended for edification and never to anyone's destruction! Anyways a brief introduction and hello to every one

Please pray for our church's finances, we have very little money left, and 2 more bills to pay . Our high cost of fuel is our biggest expense. We just paid over $3500 for fuel and in about 3 weeks they will fill up the church and rectory again (fuel is for heat) Last year an organization who used our property gave us a credit at the fuel company but this year they did not as they are no longer using our property. Thank you for your prayers. God bless.

I'm trying to figure out the lettering on this icon.
It's an icon of St. Christos, but the lettering looks like it says ΧΡΗςΟς. From Wikipedia it looks like the Greek spelling is Χρήστος, so what looks like an ending-form sigma in the middle must be a ligature of Σ and Τ, but I just can't see it.

Police identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as the suspected shooter

A 12-year-old girl is clinging onto her life after one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history in the small British Columbia town of Tumbler Ridge.

“We were warned that the damage to her brain was too much for her to endure, and she wouldn't make the night,” her mother wrote in a post on Facebook. “Our baby needs a miracle.”


The girl was reportedly trying to lock the door when she was shot by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who police say killed six people at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, after killing her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at a nearby home.

Six people were killed at the high school: a 39-year-old female educator, three12-year-old female students, a 12-year-old male student and a 13-year-old male student.

Students and staff spent hours barricaded inside classrooms and other corners of the school after the principal directed everyone to lock their doors.

Continued below.

Jews First, Jews Only, Covenant‑Bound Rituals. From John's Baptism to Cornelius.

No Gentiles Until God Breaks the Pattern. Until God Himself flips the baptism script with Gentiles (Acts 10).

John the Baptist's Ministry was 100% Jewish.
John's baptism was in Judean wilderness, in the Jordan & was for Israelites only. He called Jews to repentance, preparing Israel for their Messiah, using categories rooted in Jewish purification. No Gentiles are ever baptized by John. Not one. Because Gentiles were outside the Mosaic covenant. (See Eph 2:12). Jesus Himself affirms this covenant divide when He calls the Canaanite woman a dog (Matt 15:26). Not an insult, a covenant reality.

Jesus' Ministry Still Israel‑First, Israel‑Only. Jesus sends the Twelve: Do not go to the Gentiles, go only to the lost sheep of Israel. (Matt 10:5–6)
Jesus affirms: Salvation is of the Jews. (Jn 4:22)

From the Gospels all the way to Acts 10, Gentiles remain: unclean, outside the covenant, not part of Israel's baptismal or purification rites.

Pentecost (Acts 2) Still 100% Jewish

Pentecost, under Mosaic law every Jewish male 20 years & older was required to travel to Jerusalem & attend the festival. Jewish males from every nation (Acts 2:5) were there. The fulfillment of Joel's prophecy to Israel unfolds. The launch of the New Covenant begins with, Jews only.

Peter's audience: Men of Judea, All who dwell in Jerusalem, Men of Israel. No Gentiles. Not one.

Acts 2:38 is spoken to Israel, under Jewish covenant categories, at a Jewish feast, in a Jewish city, fulfilling a Jewish prophecy.

You cannot broad‑brush Gentiles into John's baptism or Peter's Acts 2 sermon. They simply don't belong there.

After Pentecost the gospel message is still Jews Only

Even after the resurrection & Pentecost: Peter says it is unlawful to enter a Gentile home (Acts 10:28). Jewish believers contend/dispute with Peter for eating with Gentiles (Acts 11:2–3). Scattered believers preach ""to Jews only"" (Acts 11:19). Jews try to kill Paul for allegedly bringing a Gentile into the Temple (Acts 21:28–36). Jews wouldn't enter the Roman judgment hall "lest they be defiled/deemed unclean (Acts 18:28). The Mosaic covenant wall is still fully intact.

Acts 10 God Flips the NT inclusion Script:
Cornelius is the 1st uncircumcised Gentile to enter the New Covenant & God does it in a way that breaks the Jewish pattern:

At Pentecost (Acts 2): Repent > Water > Spirit. At Cornelius' house (Acts 10): Spirit > Water. God reverses the order & Jewish believer witnesses cannot deny Gentile inclusion.

Peter's interpretation: (the only interpretation that matters)
The Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the beginning. (Acts 11:15). Then I remembered, You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16). God GAVE THEM the SAME GIFT as He GAVE US (11:17). God purified their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9). God made no distinction" (Acts 15:9). This is the moment God collapses the old covenant wall.

The Holy Spirit/Eternal life is a GIFT GIVEN thru Faith (Rom 6:23 & Jn 5:24)

The Gospel for the Body of Christ Today
The Acts 2 message "Repent & be baptized". Is not the gospel for the Body of Christ.

The New Covenant Body of Christ gospel for Jew & Gentile alike is:
1 Cor 15:
3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

4 and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],
(NOTE: First importance: Christ died for your sins (paying sins required wage/DEATH) was buried (proof He died) & on the 3rd day rose (Fathers receipt sins requited wage accepted)

Rom 10:
9 if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED [in his expectations].
(NOTE: Peter say's the same thing Acts 2:21 > 17 verses before Acts 2:38)

Titus 2:11 For the [remarkable, undeserved] grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
(NOTE: Grace has a name its Jesus the Christ)

Grace: Is a Given freely & received thru FAITH: (Rom 3:24, 4:16, 5:1-2, 15, "11:6" "Eph 2:5 & 8" Rom 5:1-2)

Eph 1:
13 In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God].

14 The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory.
(Note: Hear about Jesus sin atoning death & resurrection > Believe it > Receive Salvations Eternal Life Seal Jesus Holy Spirit baptism)

The strange and inexplicable footballing of Fr Peter Heers appears to be over.



This is several days old, but no one here appears to have noticed it.

Kirk Cameron spoke with ChurchLeaders about his recent roundtable discussion on hell, a conversation he titled “Hellgate.”

Cameron said he did not expect the controversy and was surprised that the sharpest criticism came from “his own team” in the church, not from atheists.

With the help of Christian apologist Wes Huff, Cameron gathered Gavin Ortlund, Dan Paterson, Chris Date, and Paul Copan for a two-and-a-half-hour theological discussion centered on the eternality of hell.

“Hellgate” was birthed out of a father-son conversation between Cameron and his son, James, on a podcast episode released Dec. 6, 2025.

Continued below.

Two pro-life organizations are suing Michigan over an antidiscrimination law that they contend will force them to hire employees who support abortion rights and don't live in accordance with the organizations' beliefs on human life.

Right to Life of Michigan and Pregnancy Resource Center filed the complaint last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, objecting to a state employment law that defines sex discrimination to include the choice to have an abortion. The groups also object to the law requiring employers to cover abortions if they provide pregnancy coverage for staff.

“Michigan’s law thus requires them to recruit and hire those with pro-abortion views, restricts these groups from explaining their pro-life requirements to applicants, and requires these groups to offer abortion coverage in their insurance plans because they generally offer insurance to their employees,” claims the lawsuit.

Continued below.

Hello, im just looking for some advice and guidance on some issues ive been struggling with.. My life has been on a consistent downward spiral for probably the last 6 years. About 10 years ago i actually had a pretty decent life and was looking forward to the future. But 6 years ago very slowly life just started falling apart bit by bit. I had a good friend group from church and would socialize at church and was involved in weekly young adults group. But when covid started my friend group fizzled out and my friend got busy with their own lives. The friends i had started finding partners and getting married. Slowly I started getting more and more isolated. Was spending a significant amount of time alone. Then work started getting more and more stressful (ive already asked for advice about this here). But about a year and a half ago i changed jobs (that i genuinely believed God was helping me out) because my old job was getting to stressful. Turns out my new job is not much better then my old job. Boss lied to me about wages. Im forced to work with a selfish condescending coworker. Every day my mental health is struggling just to process life. Work feels empty, then i go home and sit alone in a house watching tv and drinking everyday. I basically drink till my brain shuts off and im able to fall asleep. My house is a mess from depression. I desire so much to find a partner for myself and find some kind of hope for the future again. I know that im not in a place right now to emotionally support another person in my life. Plus finding a compatible partner feels like im looking for a needle in a hay stack.. Im just so frustrated with how I ruined my own life, and how events outside of my control have turned out.. Ive tried going to a new chuch but couldnt seem to get conected with new people. Also the thought of trying to mke new friends right now seems mentally overwhelming.. I really have no clue how I should proceed with life to get some kind of structure back again. I would really appreciate if theres something I should/ could do diferently to move life back into a more christ centered life. If youre still reading this I appreciate you taking the time to read my rambling rant.

I'm curious, I've never heard of that happening so I assume no. But just for the hay of it I kind of want to write His Holiness and ask if he'd designate my parish a basilica. Assuming it wouldn't be impertinent to do so or completely misunderstanding procedure.

My diocese doesn't have a basilica, and I'm hugely biased, but I think my parish is pretty special. The community's been around since the late 19th century and the church itself was built in 1908. Nothing extraordinary in historical terms but I think it stands out in all sorts of ways, it seems to defy the norm of a novus ordo parish that's dying. As long as I've been there it's been thriving and growing, we regularly confirm about 30 converts a year, which is not bad for a region of the state that's very protestant. I dunno, I just think every aspect of the parish is doing so well and it deserves that kind of status.

I used to think basilica status was only given to cathedral-sized churches but after Pope Francis designated Mission San Buenaventura a basilica I thought maybe that wasn't the case. Though that might've just been for the historical significance more than anything else.

Acclaimed Christian singer Sandi Patty exhorted President Donald Trump to apologize to “America, especially Black America,” for the “inexcusable” video posted to his Truth Social account that depicted Barack and Michelle Obamaas apes. Patty said she gave herself 24 hours before posting her thoughts, and she called upon the president to “do the right thing.”

“Mr. President, my name is Sandi Patty. I’m a follower of Jesus, a registered Republican, and I’m very proud to be an American,” she said. “After a very thoughtful 24 hours, I wanted to share with you some heartfelt thoughts.”

Continued below.

More on the MAGA war on the judiciary. Once again, Donald's choice , John Sarcone, for a US attorney's term was not extended by the district's federal judges possibly because he had no prior prosecutorial experience before being appointed as top prosecutor for the district. There seems to be a little bit of a pattern with this.


Fidelity above all! Little wonder this lawless administration is doing so very badly in its prosecutions.

Impeach Bondi, Blanche and Donald!