As fire is passion, as some would say,
What sets your heart on fire today?
What lights that fire of zeal within?
What makes you happy, causes you to grin?

What gets you up before the dawn,
Drives you to go, e’en though you yawn?
What do you do when time is free?
What do you watch? What is your spree?

What do you talk ‘bout to your friends?
What interests you? And never ends?
What gets your heart pumping twice its speed?
What do you take in? What’s your feed?

What do you share without a qualm?
Ne’er shy away, and ne’er disown?
The answers here will surely tell
What is your passion, what rings your bell.

An Original Work / February 20, 2020

Not exactly, but they knew Jesus was the Son of God, and they were learning what that meant.

Gabriel spoke to Mary in Luke 1:

35b “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God

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After John baptized Jesus in Matthew 3:

17 a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

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The disciples began to learn that Jesus was the special, unique Son of God. What does that mean?

John 3:

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

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They learned that the Son of God would save the world.

Before Jesus resurrected Lazarus in John 11:

4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

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The Son of God shared the glory of God.

Jesus spoke to the antagonistic Jews in (NIV) John 10:

32 Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

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These Jews thought Jesus claimed to be God. Jesus did not say, "I am not God."

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’ ? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

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The Son of God was God. It was a divine mystery.

Jesus walked on water in Matt 14:

32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

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The disciples began to see that the Son of God was God. They did not say, "Truly you are God".

Did the disciples know that Jesus was God before his resurrection?

It was a divine mystery. Because of that, they were somewhat ambiguous about it. After the resurrection, John 20:

27 [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

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The apostles became increasingly assertive that Jesus was God. Jesus was a man, the Son of God, and God. It was a divine mystery.

Hydrated lime can be used to store eggs without refrigeration. If this is the first that you have heard of this; I would strongly recommend that you fully understand how to do it, before you attempt it.

Here is a good place to get started:

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Last week I bought a 50 pound bag of hydrated lime, a vacuum sealer, and some paper lunch bags.

I did some more research on water glassing eggs, and was advised that using a 3 gallon bucket for storage makes it easier to gather the eggs on the bottom for use first. FIFO. A 3 gallon bucket will hold up to 80 eggs.

Sources told me that 5 quarts of hydrated lime solution will be sufficient to cover a 3 gallon bucket full of eggs.

I also did some research on the shelf life of hydrated lime. As I suspected, like concrete, it doesn't last all that long when exposed to humidity; so I thought out a practical way to store it for long term use.

I started by writing the following on each paper lunch bag:

HYDRATED LIME
5 OZ BY WEIGHT
MIX WITH 5 QTS WATER
FOR 3 GAL BUCKET

I didn't want to take any chance that I would forget those ratios over the years, should the internet be down for any reason.

I then weighed out 5 OZ
.
I then transferred that to a measuring cup. For the product that I purchased, it worked out 1-1/4 Cups.
I then put the powder in the lunch bags, and neatly rolled them up; so the the text that I had written on them was all visible.

I found that it was useful to wear a mask during this process, as I found that was was inhaling some of the dust that was being stirred up with all of the motion. Hydrated lime is caustic; so I could have worn gloves too. I just rinsed and dried my hands from time to time. I'm not worried about getting a little bit of wet concrete on me; but extended exposure can cause severe chemical burns. I kept my my fingers away from my eyes; but eye protection might not have been a bad idea either; but I'm not all that cautious.

The paper bags will help protect the hydrated lime from light; but more importantly it will help to prevent the fluffy powder from being drawn into the vacuum sealer, which would cause damage to the machine.

I bought two 8 inch X 20 foot rolls of the vacuum bag plastic. The full, rolled, lunch bags fit the 8 inch dimension very nicely. With a little bit of experimentation, I found that an overall bag length (before sealing) of 7-1/4 inches worked nicely. This will yield 66 bags of finished product. I started my bag cutting process by marking my first 7-1/4 inch bag as a template. Through transference I didn't want my measurement to deviate. I then took that bag and aligned it with the edge of the remaining roll. I marked the roll with a felt tipped marker, and made my cut with a paper cutter, for a nice clean, square, edge. Then I repeated that process, being sure to work off of my template each time.

Excluding the cost of the vacuum I managed to put these bags together for under $1 a piece. We will see over the years how well this method works. I'll try to remember to post an update from time to time.

Hopefully it works well, and even if the grid goes down; and the trucks stop running; I can hopefully store eggs year round without refrigeration (from anywhere from 8 months to two years) for many years to come.

Again, be sure to fully understand how to properly water glass eggs before before you start that process. When it comes to what I eat, I'm very cautious.

Not sure where to put this. I have someone i know that is into this healing. I feel like they are constantly doing things to trigger me.

I know I have issues, and I'm working on them with the Lord, but she keeps ignoring boundaries I have put up for my sanity. I don't get it. She's a faithful Christian and has been for years, and i cannot understand what is she thinking continuously crossing my boundaries.

Anyone know about this type of healing?

Who is going to adjudge that God is unjust?

The matter of concern is more than a common feature of soteriological debate… and can be summarised as follows.

“That would make God unjust…” - is a typical concise example of how many theological discussions concerning a vast array of subject matter inevitably conclude…and upon that statement..that adjudgment…many weighty matters are determined...incorrectly in my estimation.

Those who make such statements, and they are many, find it so incredibly easy to arrive at that place…it seems as such a natural flow of deductive thought that it is inescapable and so rightly determinative in regards reaching a final and decisive conclusion.

Does it ever cross their minds, even for a brief moment, that in doing so, they have merely transposed themselves into the exact same position, theologically, and personally, of the man adjudged by God to be the most righteous man alive Job?

And what was the result for Job?

That will inevitably be the same result for you... head down with mind and body in subordinate acceptance...of what is inevitably, your unjust adjudgment of God.

Does that thought ever cross your mind when you say - That would make God unjust?

The American two-party system is built around the old British principle of a party of the “court” that is in power and a party of the “country” representing those who wish to replace those currently in office, not to overthrow them. A loyal opposition, which wishes to extract concessions or shift the balance of power within the system, is tolerated. A revolutionary opposition, which threatens to shake up the entire system, is not tolerated. Candidates with the support of only a minority of the American elite such as Richard Nixon, Teddy Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan, are tolerated, though often undermined. Those who are viewed as a threat to the entire system – i.e., Donald Trump – are a different matter.

Since the founding of the United States, a loose alignment of professionals, businessman, politicians, and local elites who hold social power has proved remarkably effective at uniting to prevent candidates who do not accept the premises of the system, or, more often, do not understand them, from reaching the presidency. From Alexander Hamilton to Patrick Henry, Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, Ron Paul, Pat Buchanan, and Ross Perot, these candidates are isolated and painted as a danger.

Occasionally, however, they will win a major party nomination. That happened in 1896 when Williams Jennings Bryan captured the Democratic nomination and in 1964 when Barry Goldwater won the Republican nod. In both cases, the candidates found themselves crushed under the weight of a financial and social mobilization unprecedented for decades.

This was precisely what was supposed to happen in 2016 when Donald Trump won the Republican nomination. Had the 2016 election resulted in the expected victory for Hillary Clinton, voters would have been reminded that going against the preferences of college-educated professionals is fatal.

Democrats, too, would have been reminded that with the support of that constituency, a candidate as flawed as Hillary Clinton can become president. The Republican Party would have obediently nominated a moderate, pro-business, pro-establishment candidate in 2020, and by strategically swinging between the two parties, white college graduates would have maintained their control of both.

That is not what happened. Donald Trump won, and in doing so, he risked doing something more. If he showed that it was possible to win without the approval of elites, then it was possible politics would polarize along educational lines. If he succeeded in winning again after having done so, it would potentially break their power permanently.

What should I do in order to be set free from these deplorable conditions once and for all? I allegedly have schizophrenia (according to my doctor) and also a very irritating skin rash that is not being healed despite prayers. I think that the skin rash is a side effect from the disgusting antipsychotic medication that doctors gave me. I have no trust in doctors because they hurt me in the past, I was brutally assaulted for no reason by 5 psych nurses and they caused me extreme pain. I have tried every medication under the sun and I'm sick of this fruitless search for the "right medication". If God exists, why won't he heal me? My condition is untenable. I have heard an interior voice that I mistakenly believed to be the Holy Spirit, this voice told me to do things that make no sense, like walking outside in the nighttime in the freezing cold. I thought I received private revelation, however in retrospect, I have begun to question this narrative because the things that I experienced proved to be false. I think I have been deceived when I look at the events of my life in retrospect. I try to pray and to "have a relationship" with God, but it's like he is completely deaf to my prayers and he hasn't sent the Holy Spirit for me to set me free from this deplorable condition, which I suspect is spiritual in nature. I have gone to confession for all of my sins, yet I am not healed. I long to be set free and restored. When will God intervene in my miserable life? What the hell do you do in this abominable condition? I thought to myself that maybe the cause of my illness is spiritual in nature, in that case I need deliverance ministry and/or exorcism. Life was not supposed to be this way. My suffering is untenable, and I need advice on what to do.

Takes me back on God's Past faithfulness in my life working in my profession and today walking by faith not by sight trusting more fasting, praying, doing ministry in how Jesus Christ is the only God giving me liberty

Exodus 20:3 KJV
'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
giving me liberty.

Liberty- Fairness and integrity Civil liberty, is on exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is second by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring, & controlling another.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV
'To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: '

My Respond:

God has blessed me to obtain the fullness of God in season, time, every purpose under heaven. Giving me the ability to prove & reprove.

Published and Word spoken by Reginald Taylor Jr

Repurposed peonies, ready for delivery in Harrisonburg – credit, Friendly City Florals
A pair of Virginians who found themselves habitually dismayed by the amount of floral waste they saw over a series of weddings and funerals decided to launch a small nonprofit to reuse them.

Friendly City Florals delivers flowers to hospice care homes, hospitals, and other events like funerals and weddings to make sure that the joy and special feeling a vibrant bouquet inspires can continue to do so as long as there is color in the petals.

The story begins when Rebecca Shelly, an experienced wedding industry worker, was cleaning up in the aftermath of a wedding reception in North Carolina last year, and was agonizing over stuffing hundreds of perfectly perky peonies into black garbage bags.

Continued below.

I'm David and I am 61 years old. I have been a born-again Christian for 40 years. I am not of any particular denomination but if I had to choose one it would be the Baptist movement. I have attended a Methodist church for 8.5 years, a Pentecostal church for about 2 years, and a Baptist church for 5 years, and of these three I liked the latter one best. I have also frequented a Christian message board for about 10 years.

I read my Bible each day and I attend the Church of X, formerly Twitter, where I interact with a number of strong Christians who tweet various things.

I have spent the last 40 years writing and I am currently trying hard to get an agent. And I like to listen to Classic FM.

I am diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia but I have some medication that is very good for me and which I thank God for.

I have been single all of my life. Then I became aware of a condition called asexuality and I realised that it applied to me. And now I am celebate until the second coming of Christ. And it is bliss.

Excuse me. Apparently the point in my previous thread went over peoples' heads and was removed.

I was simply making the point that the buildings that are occupied as temples and centers of worship by all mayor religions today have not been built be the claimed builders. However now I am going to be so mean as to not even tell you where I got that info.

I think the obelisk in St. Peters Square is a good clue though.

Good luck.

There is All Saints Day
and All Souls Day

Should there be a
All Priests Day ?

I may only disclose what I want to disclose right now. I'm starting to think that I'm not one of those who will endure to the end and hence be saved. I know that multitudes of people in history have endured the unthinkable and it has strengthened them but I rather feel weakened. I also have a great degree of concern that I have disgraced myself by not being in church for X weeks (it might have become months) now. If or when I'm able to come back, how will I explain the real reasons? Last night I wrote down as much as possible everything I'm going through for the past three months, that may shed some light as to why this is all happening. If I have to tell people the problems I'll just show them what I wrote in the journal. I'm tempted to write it here too but I would have to retype it all. I've never been this odd-feeling before even before I was a believer. I have mental and physical symptoms of not having been to Mass. It started off being "not my fault" and "not entirely within my control" but now it's becoming more of my own volition, which is bad. I know that I'm feeling mentally and even physically worse since not being at Mass, but every time I tell myself that the next weekend will be different, it's not. Once again, the crux of my issues are finally written down and I'm really apprehensive of laying it out right now. I'm also really worried that I could be disgraced among the parishioners if I tried to come back. The parish is really good though, and I don't think these parishioners are like that, but I still feel humiliated. Am I even a legit member of the church based on my actions?

My devotion this morning was on Isaiah 65:17-25.

Isa 65:20, if never again an infant will but for a few days; will there be reproduction on the new Earth?

I recently gave up alcohol and smoking and very confident I will keep it up. I've noticed that coffee messes with my nervous system and I get anxiety with it and might just quit that too as I don't need it. My treat drink is a coca cola or ginger ale with a nice meal but asides from that it's just water for me.

Seriously do, but charge him the cost of printed ballots.

She doesn’t just want to defund the police — she also wants to coddle perps who attack cops.

Vice President Harris supported pre-trial diversion initiatives to suspects who assaulted cops while she served as district attorney of San Francisco, a review of the public record shows.

Harris’ abandoning law enforcers stung all the more because she had come into office pledging to get tough on violent lawbreakers.

“This was Kamala’s first flip-flop,” said one former San Francisco cop who remembered the situation well. “We felt betrayed.”

Many Christians have come across Jehovah's Witnesses in various contexts. I believe that their leadership is aware they are guiding their followers astray. I am curious about the motivations behind their deliberate alteration of Bible passages to align with incorrect teachings.

An example that stands out is an extended passage with inserted words that alter its meaning to align with the doctrine that Jesus is a created entity.

And here is the same passage from the NRSV

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Bishop Robert Barron reflects on the 60+ years since the second Vatican Council started in 1962. What did it accomplish, has it failed, can it be undone? It's interesting.

---

Transcript:
Welcome back to the word on fire show I'm Brandon Vaught the host and the senior publishing director at word on
fire we just passed the 60th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II the second
Vatican Council six decades later however can we say that the council was
a success or was it a failure or was it something in between lots of people are
discussing the relevance and the continued impact of the second Vatican Council and we'll continue that
conversation today with Bishop Robert Barron Bishop good to be with you hey Brandon always nice to see you I
want to ask you something that I always love to ask you but I haven't done it in a while namely what books are you
reading tell us any good stuff you've been into lately wait I read a lot of books at the same
time uh I'm reading Matt loveren's book that we just published we're on fire on Newman on doctrinal corruption uh
typical lovering book really good thorough serious scholarship and then he
and I both love new men's I'm reading that I'm continuing with um what's his first name is it Peter Adamson the
historian of philosophy uh you ordered a lot of those books for me uh I think I'm I'm still on the ancient philosophy I
read as one on medieval philosophy it's a history it's called philosophy without gaps so he's like covering absolutely
everybody but I'm enjoying that um I just finished John mcgreevy's book on the history of Catholicism from the
French Revolution to uh modern times and it's good it's a it's a very common
wheel Notre Dame sort of Center left take on on those issues so read them in
tandem let's say with uh George Weigel on Vatican II and you'd get you know it's kind of Center left versus center
right just finish that um what else I'm I'm going to get to
Chesterton on Aquinas and Francis because I'm getting ready for the Chesterton a meeting next summer they
asked me to speak on the uh on Saint Francis book right so you sent that to me I'm going to bring that with me to
um uh Chicago my next trip anyway those are a few things I'm reading how about I know when you were in California you
were driving so much and one of the things you would do is listen to audible books you got anything going on Audible
these days I'm doing that less because I I haven't had as many of those super long trips
but there was what was it there was something I was listening to oh I know I know um I got the Diary of a country priest
by George bernanos which I had tried to read many years ago and kind of got
bogged down in it frankly so I've got that in my car and and I was uh uh
plowing oh and also I got the constellation of philosophy boethius which I I will confess to you I'm a
master's degree in philosophy love but I had never read boethius I never read the constellation
philosophy so I'm listening to that in the car it's got the whole Wheel of Fortune thing which you talk about right then
that comes from boethia yeah yeah indeed right all right well let's turn from books to
the second Vatican Council again the the second Vatican Council opened officially on October 11 1962 which means we just
passed the 60th anniversary of its convening as expected there have been lots of Articles commentary reflecting
back on the council both pro and con and its continued relevance but I have
noticed within the past year a surprising number of these Reflections questioning whether the council was in
fact a net positive for the church whether it was better than worse for the church and I'm thinking in particular of
two recent articles that have gotten a lot of commentary by our friend Ross douthit Ross has been a friend of Word
on Fire for years and he uh actually appeared in one of our films right the new evangelization documentary years ago
but Ross is a op-ed writer for the New York Times and he recently had two op-ed
pieces one titled how Catholics became prisoners of Vatican II and then a
follow-up piece titled how Vatican II failed Catholics and Catholicism and I
wanted to talk through both of those articles with you all right and the first piece delphit
says this quote the council poses a continuing challenge it creates intractable intractable seeming
divisions and it leaves contemporary Catholicism facing a set of problems and dilemmas that Providence has not yet
seen fit to resolve he then lists three of these three statements that to him
encapsulate the problems and dilemmas of Vatican II the first one is this the council was necessary he says the Church
of 1962 needed significant adaptation significant rethinking and reform these
adaptations needed to be backward looking so getting away from throne and
alter Politics the rise of modern liberalism and the horror of the Holocaust all of which required response
from the church but they also needed to be forward-looking in the sense that Catholicism in the early 1960s had only
just begun to reckon with globalization and decolonization and the information
age and social Revolution touched off by the invention of the contraceptive pill
so let's stop there and get your thoughts on that that first statement would you agree that the council was
necessary in the first place why I say yes and relying not so much to my own judgment but that of those who
are involved um almost everybody who mattered around that time thought the church needed
something I go back to uh words Von Balthazar and the famous raising of the
bastians book he wrote in the 1950s that sums up the attitude of a lot of people
at Mid mid 20th century Catholicism that we were too defensive that we were kind
of crouching behind our own medieval walls that our our philosophical system
was sort of Arcane and outdated and that to engage the modern world which is a
major concern of Vatican II to engage the modern world certain adjustments and
so on in our in our thinking and in our practice had to happen you know I had the privilege Brandon
when I was a young priest there were still a number of priests around who uh
knew Vatican II very well one of them was a good friend of mine senior Bill Quinn of happy memory bill was was at
Vatican II I won't go into all the reasons why but he was a liaison between the Latin American Bishops conference
and our Bishops conference so Bill knew all the players and he was there for the obsessions of Vatican II and and Bill
would have been raised completely in the pre-conciliar church he was ordained about 1940.
knew it loved it loved all the truth and goodness and beauty of Catholicism love
Dante Aquinas Shard Cathedral the whole bit right but Bill would have said to me
you know we desperately needed changes we had to make adjustments so
the church could do its Mission second sort of empirical observation look at the votes
whenever people kind of either question the legitimacy of Vatican II or the needfulness of it here's by far the most
ecumenical council in the history of the church meaning the the one that represented the largest swath of
populations and countries ever you know you got east to west all over the world people are there Africa Asia Latin
America Europe North America they're all there look at the votes look at the votes
overwhelmingly in favor of a conciliary document obviously the vast vast majority of the
key leaders of the Church of that time felt that these changes in tone in
Behavior at some degree in thinking had to happen right so there I would say
yeah the empirical evidence is clear I trust the people who were there at the
time they judged that it was necessary so Delta continues that
um just because a moment calls for reinvention doesn't mean that a specific
set of reinventions will succeed and he says we now have Decades of data to
justify a second encapsulating statement and here it is the council was a failure
so that's doubt that's second claim he adds this isn't a truculent or reactionary analysis the second Vatican
Council failed on the terms that its own supporters set it was supposed to make the church more Dynamic more attractive
to Modern people more Evangelistic less closed off and stale and self-referential it did none of those
things the church declined everywhere and the developed world after Vatican II
under conservative and liberal popes alike but the decline was swiftest where
the council's influence was strongest would you agree with that claim that the council was a failure
no I wouldn't put it that way but I I want to give him his full do there
um I think it was George Weigel some years ago raised that question about any Council that you can say okay there's
the council the documents and the teachings and of course you know we believe in the guidance of the holy
spirit so you can't say these councils are saying you know heretical things but nevertheless you can ask was it
successful think of the famous lettering Council just before the Reformation that's everyone holds up as the most
famous example of a council that clearly failed because what followed immediately after was the Protestant Reformation you
know so yeah a council can fail it can fail to achieve what it wanted to
achieve and I'll give Delph that his his full do there uh I've said it for years following
Cardinal George and others it was a missionary Council meant to bring us out into the modern
world in an evangelically compelling way it wanted to bring more people back to
mass it wanted to revitalize the mass it wanted to bring people to the source and
Summit of the Christian Life moreover it wanted ecumenical Unity that's a major
concern Reed kongar's Diaries read delubach read all the major players at fatigue read rotzinger they they wanted
desperately to bring the the Riven Body of Christ together uh all good and Noble things articulated
beautifully in the documents yeah I would say now here's delphic giving him his do did any of that happen
...

"Your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes" - Matthew 5:20

There are accounts in the Bible that had strong parallels in historic astronomical events. It wasn't describing fallen angels with eyes and wings fighting mortal men but two galaxies colliding with one galaxy "victorious" over the other and completely absorbing it.

It seems to paint the picture that celestial bodies are alive in extremely long timescales that we are way too short-lived to observe any evidence of sentience.

If stars could talk, the entire thousands of years of human existence must have only existed with only vowel being enunciated, not even a word! Absolutely nothing to analyze and we'd assume, they're nothing more than lifeless matter in space.

That God and the angels are any one of those massive celestial bodies in space.....If we are created in His image then we'd also be like stars but we are not. We are flesh and bones and limbs then who are we?

Did we simply receive a copy of the scriptures for celestial bodies and decided to adopt it as our own that we humans are the ones it is talking about?

When we read a passage of Scripture like this it is always good if we can read it in context, asking ourselves to whom this applies. For it does not apply to everyone who makes a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It does apply to everyone who is in Christ Jesus, yes, but by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him (John 6:44; Ephesians 2:8-10), who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For if our minds are set on the flesh, the end result is death, not life everlasting.

So, for us to claim these promises of God, we must be those who are walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, who are walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living and no longer in sin, in practice, although not necessarily in absolute perfection. And we must be those who, by the Spirit, are daily putting the deeds of the flesh to death and who are now being led by the Spirit of God in how to live (see Romans 8:1-14).

For God is for us who are for him, and we show that we are for him by our submission to him to his will and purpose for our lives, and by our walks of faith in obedience to his commands and in holy living, and no longer in sin. And this isn’t teaching that no one will be against us, for that would be contrary to what Jesus and his NT apostles taught us all throughout the New Testament. For they taught us that we will be hated and rejected and persecuted for the sake of the name of Jesus and for his righteousness.

But the inference, I believe, is that those who are against us cannot take away from us what God has provided for us. They have no real power over us in light of our salvation and eternal life with God. Although they will oppose us and persecute us, the Lord is our strength, and he will sustain us if we are willing and obedient. So even if they bring charges against us, and even if they condemn us, if we are following the Lord in obedience to his commands, he will not bring charges against us, and he will not condemn.

Also, if Christ is Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and if we are walking according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, nothing and no one can separate us from the love of Christ. We can, if we choose to, separate ourselves from his love if we choose to walk in sin and not in righteousness and holiness, and if we turn our backs on him and we go our own way and not his way. For the Scriptures teach that if we claim to know God and to be in fellowship with him while we walk in sin and don’t obey him, we are liars.

[1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Matthew 7:21-23]

But if we are walking in his ways and in his truth, and not in sin, then we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. We can have victory over sin, Satan, worldly influences, opposition, persecutions, and temptations, trials, and tribulations – all in His power, strength, and wisdom, and because of his grace to us. We do not have to cave to (give into) our circumstances or to how others treat us or view us. We can rise above it all and live for Jesus, and do his will for our lives, despite all else that comes into our lives.

Courageous!

An Original Work / December 24, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures

The Word of God throughout taught.
Some people heard but did doubt.
Still others had faith in Christ.
By grace He purified them.

They turned from sin
And they obeyed Christ.
He opened up their blinded eyesight;
Turned them from darkness
To the true Light;
Forgave their sin by His might.

He strengthened them in their faith.
He said, “Remain my faithful.”
He called them to obedience.
By faith, they were so grateful.

By faith, they were to follow Jesus;
To daily sit and listen to Him;
To have such faith
That mountains could move;
To love those whom He gave them.

Be on your guard; courageous.
Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.
Take up the shield of your faith;
Protect against all evil.

Do not move from
The hope that you have.
Your faith in Jesus let it endure.
Hold to the truth;
Your conscience be clear.
Endure with perseverance.

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To me it seems that many evangelical preachers that I have listening to (with extended loyalty to His ministry) do not have the confidence in Christ's once and for all atonement for our sins to preach it. They communicate that His work of justification may be negated or overturned by our lack of sanctification. I have often heard from then of Jesus's warnings in parable form about the bridesmaids' unfilled oil lamps or the workers of good deeds being told that "He never knew them". I take those warnings to refer to those who Jesus genuinely never knew, not those who had a saving faith but somehow missed the mark and took the Lord's rejection.
Much preaching seems to me to be compromised, intended to keep the people from antinomianism or worse keeping them through guilt committed to the pastor's ministry. It's playing the authority card rather than releasing the people with the Good News. When was the last time I was reminded of the wonderful saving plan of God, through His glorious son, to deepen my love for Him and walk with Him.
I am in a Methodist church now (we are in a rural setting) and even Wesley with his arminianism would be perplexed by the social gospel/legalism/ we are all on the same road theology we are getting now. But that's a slightly different problem, but again the atonement and the wonder of Christ is put so far on the backburner I am surprised it hasn't fallen off.

After the recent "right-wing" riots in the UK, there has been amazingly quick justice dispensed and a team was put together to find social media posts that "encourage violence and riot"
It seems to me that there may now be an easy slope to judging certain Christian posts as hostile and hateful to other religions or ideologies, solely by affirming what Jesus said. For example, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". No-one comes to the Father except through me.
Should this be a constraint on what we express about our beliefs. Is this a sign of the nearness of Christ's return?

Erickson Douglas Lee (inset), 25, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is accused of sexually abusing multiple minors connected to a youth group connected to MorningStar Ministries in South Carolina. | York County Sheriff's Office; Screenshot/Google Earth

A lawsuit filed against MorningStar Ministries earlier this month accuses founder Rick Joyner, along with several top officials of the organization and multiple other staff members, of gross negligence for allegedly engaging in the cover-up of multiple incidences of sexual abuse in the ministry.

A copy of the 40-page lawsuit, shared by The Roys Report, names as defendants: Joyner, MorningtStar Fellowship Church, Joyner's second in command David Yarns; the former volunteer, Erickson Douglas Lee; the volunteer's father and MorningStar Fellowship Church's head of security, Douglas Lee; Erickson Douglas Lee's assistant, Chase Portello; along with unidentified defendants James Smith 1-10 (any other agents and/or employees of the ministry associated with the complaint).

"The negligent, grossly negligent, reckless, willful, or wanton acts, omissions, and liability of Defendants includes that of their agents, principals, employees, and/or servants, both directly and vicariously, pursuant to principals of non-delegable duty, corporate liability, apparent authority, agency, ostensible agency, and/or respondent superior," the lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the minor victims, John Doe #1 and his parents listed as James Roe #1 and Jane Roe #1 charges.

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