From Genesis 1:1 to Apocalypse 22:21 there are some constant themes in the sacred scriptures. What do you believe they are? Some say that these are the grand themes of the holy scriptures:

1. Who God is and his claims on his creation.
2. Who man is and what is his place in God's creation.
3. Is God true and faithful always and everywhere, is he fit to rule, is he fit to judge all the earth?
4. Man is in sin and in sin he is enslaved to wickedness, who can save him, who has the power and who is willing to save?
5. The coming of Jesus Christ as God the Saviour and Lord of his people who rescues them from their sins and opens the way to heaven for them.
6. The establishment of the church as Christ's body, through which his people receive life and nourishment, until Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead.
7. The consummation of the ages and the beginning of the eternal state in which the faithful dwell in God's presence forever.

You may want to express your views differently, but do they cover the same territory?

"Musk outlined a theory whereby Democrats, he said, are expediting the process for residents who immigrated illegally to the U.S. to become citizens and gain legal voter status. Musk suggested those new voters would support Democrats in elections, and, according to him, Democrats would eventually dominate American politics."

They didn't allow all of the murderers and human trafficking into the country for no reason. It is to fundamentally change America, to seize control of the country with the elitists in power.

Hello folks. Most of us know that Halloween is a holiday before All Saints Day. However, Halloween celebrations can be laced with dark or even demonic imagery, such as excessive violence and gore. In the 21st century, Halloween has become a multi-billion-dollar industry that peddles fear, gore, and the occult. Horror movies, haunted houses, and even children's costumes often feature demonic imagery, desensitizing us to the reality of evil. This normalization of darkness can lead to a diminished understanding of the spiritual realm and the very real presence of evil in our world. Here are some methods that we can use as Christians to take Halloween back from the devil.


Celebrating Halloween with a Christian Twist
While Halloween's modern interpretation can be concerning for Christians, there are ways to redeem the holiday and celebrate it in a manner that honors God.
Here are some ideas:

1. Focus on Light over Darkness
Emphasize the triumph of light over darkness, reflecting the victory of Christ over evil. Use candles, lanterns, or glow sticks to symbolize the light of God.
2. Host a Harvest Party
Organize a harvest-themed party, highlighting the bounty of God's creation. Enjoy food, games, and fellowship without the need for spooky or occult elements.
3. Dress for Truth
Encourage costumes that reflect biblical characters, virtues (e.g., kindness, courage), or Christian values. This helps shift the focus from darkness to righteousness.
4. Share the Gospel
Use Halloween as an opportunity to share the Good News with neighbors, friends, and family. Distribute gospel tracts, Bibles, or invite others to a church event.
5. Create a "Light the Night" Event
Host a community gathering, featuring music, food, and activities that celebrate God's light in the darkness. This can include worship services, prayer walks, or outreach initiatives.
6. Emphasize All Saints' Eve
Celebrate the eve of All Saints' Day (November 1), honoring the lives of Christian martyrs and saints who have gone before us.
7. Practice Hospitality
Open your home to others, offering a safe and welcoming space for those seeking an alternative to traditional Halloween activities.
8. Engage in Service Projects
Organize service projects, such as food drives, clean-up initiatives, or visits to nursing homes, to demonstrate God's love in practical ways.
9. Create a "God's Not Dead" Haunted House
Develop a haunted house experience that shares the Gospel message, highlighting God's presence in the midst of darkness.
10. Pray and Seek Discernment
Most importantly, pray for guidance and discernment as you navigate Halloween celebrations. Seek to honor God in all aspects of your observance.
By embracing these ideas, Christians can redeem Halloween and transform it into a celebration that honors God and shines His light in the darkness.

I haven't tried Primonti Bros yet. There is a store in my area. The comments are blowing up on their Facebook page. Weird.

As Christian’s we are supposed to minister to others and make Christ followers of all the nations. It sounds great but some people like me are not gifted in speech that way. I’ve always been kind of socially awkward. So I’ve been pondering how to open tiny doors so God can use that to open flood gates.
(Plus it’s said that you get a crown for bringing someone to Christ, which would be awesome)
In my previous attempts at ministering I was told by someone that if God showed Himself to him then he would believe. This troubled me greatly.

So I wanted to share a thought that I had and see what other Christians thought of it.

Consider this:

Science claims that most human thoughts are lies. The Bible also mentions this same claim in different ways like Paul talking about taking every thought captive, etc.

Every criminal act began as a thought in someone’s head. Every shooting, vandalism, robbery, etc began with a lying thought. This is evil. Criminal acts are evil.
If evil exists then God exists. Because God is love.

I tried using this rationale on someone today as a method of ministering to them. I got an even more thought provoking response back. He said, “yes that’s true, and the other thing is that evil has never been so obviously seen as it is today.”

I was shocked to see someone relate to this.

I just wanted to share this as maybe it will help someone else find their way of ministering. Thanks

In just three weeks, arsonists burned down nine churches in Europe. The anti-Christian hysteria was noted by the Observatory of Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, the National Pulse reported Thursday.

Three of the attacks targeted Catholicchurches in the Netherlands. The recent spate of arsons started on Aug. 25 in Bad Wörishofen, Germany, where both the church and the altar cloth went up in smoke, creating damages of several thousand euros.

The fire at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, France on Sept 2 is being blamed on a suspect with links to both the extreme left and the Islamic State, sharing their material on his social media sites. The individual has allegedly tried to set fire to 15 other churches.

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I was talking to my sister about my belief in God. She goes to a church with about 15 people and the pastor/"prophet" says that most "Christians" are going to hell.
Here is a related sermon he gave: ("My Christian Grandmother Went to Hell | Shocking Truth Revealed") [no need to listen to this though]
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This is supported by the Bible:
Matthew 7:13-14

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

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I believe I'm in a simulation and there is a non-obvious intelligent force. I think this force guided the Bible but most of it isn't historical. My sister believes that to be saved I need to believe that Jesus literally rose from the dead. I pointed out that Bishop Shelby Spong and the pastor Martin Luther King Jr didn't believe this.

My sister quoted this:

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

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She also said that non-Christian Jews aren't saved because they are deceived.

Anyway I have a theory. The verse talks about coming to the Father. The verse doesn't say that only Christians can come to God. That means that Jews in the Old Testament could come to God even if they didn't believe in Jesus. They just came to God rather than specifically to the Father. Also the Jews are God's people so they should be able to come to God.

So I was wondering what Christians here think... After Jesus died and rose did that mean that the Jews could no longer come to God if they didn't believe in Jesus's resurrection? I also mean the Jews that were priests in the temple? I wonder what Christians think about my theory.....

In a recent interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, [Mark] Cuban explained why he believes some of Silicon Valley's wealthiest players are backing Trump – they think they can control him.

"I think they believe they can manipulate him," Cuban said during the interview. "I think they understand that he's so transactional and so devoid of core values that anything that they want, they can manipulate him to get."

1 Kings 1:

1 When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. 2So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”

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She was probably a chubby woman

3 Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her.

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Matthew Poole explained:

whose beauty might engage his affections, and refresh his spirits, and invite him to those embraces which might communicate some of her natural heat to him, as was designed.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:

a young virgin] This device, whereby it was thought to communicate vital heat from a young frame to an old one, was adopted by the advice of physicians long after David’s time

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She warmed him up physically and psychologically

Saying hello and honored to be allowed the privilege of sharing with this forum of the faithful. Hope to meet lots of likeminded folks. Later gator and peace and love to one and all.

Scientist claims we're simply characters in an advanced AI world - and says the proof is hidden in the bible.

Article on dailymail.co.uk

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Personally, I think maybe, but it wouldn't really change anything.

Any other thoughts?

Harris is fun raising
Biden is on the beach

Lately I've been troubled by fears that I have worshipped things other than God, or even people. A few times I have been thinking on my love for something or someone, and the thought turns to a sense, or feeling of worship, accompanied by a mental image of bowing down in worship to the person or object.
One time I purposefully summoned such thoughts/feelings toward something in an attempt to curb the fear, but that backfired and ended up being the instance that felt most legitimate, since I did it purposefully...

If it was just a matter of repenting, ceasing to make the person/object an idol, and moving on, then it wouldn't bother me nearly as much, but my main concern is that if I have worshipped something, then does that mean that I need to cut said object/person out of my life? In that case, I definitely need to figure out if these thoughts/feelings are truly idol worship.

I obviously deeply do not want to cut these things out of my life, but I want to be willing and ready to do God's will above temporal things.

I'm hoping someone here can give me some clarity on this, as it is really troubling me. Thank you

i have a temp of 100.5 degrees F and i have like achy joints etc i just want to recover from whatever sickness,,,,,,, i have

My suggestion is for them not to hold their breath. All the sudden these letters are increasing from various companies. I do not like it. Is there anyway to get off these mailing lists?

We’ve all heard about China and other foreign entities buying up land here and that’s my suspicion. The letters just keep increasing and it’s just disturbing. We bought all this land and built here and if anyone thinks we are just going to sell it to any old person or company, they got another thing coming!

It is a very serious question—a question of great interest to oneself, but yet a greater interest to the Lord Jesus. What are we here for? He was here for us. Now we are to be here for Him. It is a great moment for your soul when you apprehend that you are here for Christ as a member of His Body, that you belong to Him.

Paul understood it when he said, “That I should preach . . . the unsearchable riches of Christ.” We are left here to be descriptive of Him in the place of His rejection, to represent Him here as a member of His Body. As children we are in the highest relationship; but as united to Christ we are in the highest position (believers are second only to the Trinity and higher than angels - Heb 1:14 - 1Pe 1:12—NC), and not only that, we are brought into the fellowship of the counsels and interests of God.

If I look into the Old Testament history I see that God always had a testimony on earth. With Noah it was power in Government; Abraham’s testimony was as the man of Faith—called out; Joshua to bring the people of God into the Land; David had the City; Solomon the Temple; Christ came, and He was on the earth a complete testimony. Every effort was made to get rid of Him!

Rejected here He is called to sit at the Father’s right hand; and what comes out now is the Mystery—that His Body is here. It was revealed only to Paul. It was made known to Him at his conversion in the question, “Why persecutest Me?” Until Christ was in glory the truth of the Body was not made known, but “hid” (Col 1:26, 27). He was fully rejected, as it was disclosed. If you get hold of the simple fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was refused a place here, and that His Body is here (to represent Him as if He was still here—NC), it will alter the whole complexion of your life.

They sent a message after Him in the person of Stephen (Act 6:3, 5). He said, “I see . . . the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” That is the Man to be maintained here. One believer or two could not set forth Christ down here. It must be the whole Body—all the saints; but the feeblest member is necessary to the full description of Him. All may not be walking consistently, but every member of the Body is necessary (every single believer testifies to Christ’s saving grace—NC) to set forth the exalted Man here where He was, and is refused!

It is an immense thing for the heart to get hold of. Paul tells us that he would have all men see what is the administration of the mystery (Christians are Christ’s Body - Eph 3:9—NC). It is a thing which should be seen here. He preached among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of the Christ—concerning the Head and the Body! What can affect our hearts like the fact that we are called to be descriptive of the exalted Man in the place where He is rejected—Christ in heaven, manifested on the earth through His Body—the Church (Col 1:18).

What can move your heart more than that this blessed Man should be manifested in all His beauty by His members here where everything is against Him? Would you like to be in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, testifying of the Lord Jesus and setting Him forth? It is the Father’s purpose for you. But you will not be descriptive of Him here if you are not in spirit with Him where He is (believers must know the definite assurance of gaining heaven, where He is—NC)!

—J B Stoney




MJS daily devotional excerpt:

"When we rely upon and cater to the old man, that ground produces "the works of the flesh" (Gal. 5:19–21). But as we abide in the risen Lord Jesus, that new ground of our position, His life will be manifested in "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22, 23). -MJS

"God’s Word declares that we are ‘dead indeed unto sin,’ but nowhere does it say that we are dead in ourselves. We shall look in vain within to find death there. We have died to sin; not in ourselves, but ‘in Christ,’ and our death with Him is as sure as His death, and since we died with Him it is impossible for His death to be certain and ours uncertain.

"We were crucified with Him because we were in Him (Gal. 2:20). We are raised in Him (Eph. 2:6); we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10); we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him (Eph. 1:3); the entire work regarding us is not done in us but in the Lord Jesus—the Father has done all in His Son. If you stand on the ground of what the Lord Jesus is (abide), you will find in your growth that all that is true of Him is becoming true of you; but if you remain on the ground of what you are in yourself, you will find that all that is true of the old man is true of you in life and walk."

"The purpose of Paul, in Romans Six, is to show how completely the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus when ‘He died unto sin.’ To enter fully into the meaning of that death is to see that He has emancipated us from any further dealings with our old master, sin. The believer is privileged thus to take his position in the risen Lord Jesus, who is now ‘alive unto God.’ From that ground he is henceforth to regard sin." -Eliza Hodges (1803-1867)

I’ve always had a bit of trouble with Romans 13:1-14. Maybe I am just rebellious. I have no problem with keeping God’s law above government law, nor do I have much trouble keeping the majority of government laws. The problems come with the vast quantity of laws and the laws that seem to make little sense. Where I live, there are sudden 50 km/h zones for pedestrian crossings on highways that have 90 km/h speed limits. To come to the pedestrian crossing at the proper speed, one has to brake suddenly, so most drivers slow down and look for pedestrians, but few go less than 60 km/h if nobody is at the crossing. It is particularly a problem when the driver behind is too close. If the warning between the 90 and the 60 was longer, it would make more sense.

Senator Tommy Tuberville calls for peace in Ukraine.

Like his predecessor Benedict XVI, Pope Francis is subjected to relentless scrutiny and critical analysis. Every word and action of his is examined with a fault-finding intent. He appears to be a man perpetually in the wrong, always criticized for something. Thus, we ask, what fault can be found in his words and actions today?

Christian Nationalism would result in many more people hearing about the Gospel of Jesus. The gospel would shine through every major institution, instead of being mostly hidden or mocked as it is today, at best an historical relic.

According to Evangelicals, nothing is more important than this mission to have more people one earth hear the Gospel.

The nation itself would be a kind of witness about the reality of Jesus Christ, in the same way that we worship individual liberty and the spirit of democracy today, as the ultimate goods of mankind.

So what do evangelicals say in response to this?

I suppose they may disagree with the methods that the Gospel is preached, but who are they to resist the methods as long as Jesus is being preached?

The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. - Phillipians 1:17-18


This is where I see real tension between modern Christianity and the Gospel. There are idols in between them, idols that the leftwing and rightwing share. I always picture it as the Statue of Liberty holding the Cross. The idea is that they are not willing to sacrifice either of them, and give glory to both in a kind of syncretized secularized modern Christianity.

I find this song deeply touching

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Or we can get all answers here

I want to study theology in bible school because I think my faith is rusty now as not developing it and reading apologetics books again that I forget knowledge I had before that I think there is the danger of having a non big rooted faith that can not explain make good apologetics such as why all humans die because of adams sin. I know we need christ because we all sin and christ knows we all would eventually with long time but why God did not let everyone be born the same as adam not yet sinning and being big rooted I think may also help in one being more fruitful.

This guy did everything, a real modern-day Reneissance man. Rhodes scholar, professor, actor, military and civilian helicopter pilot, country-music singer-songwriter and an activist against Ronald Reagan's policies in Central America.

I remember him as the lead star in the 1989 sci-fi film Millenium, where he played an NTSB airline crash investigator that has a romantic involvement with a time traveller from the future. One of my favorite B movies, just for the concept alone (you may never have heard of it, it was largely unsuccessful at the box office). Kristofferson was competent in the role, but I've read he had better films in the 70's. I was never a big country music fan, though.

Analysis and Predictions 09.30.2024

All of this is just my opinion. It is in no way an attempt to sway anyone to vote for either candidate. Objectivity is hard to come by but I am doing my best to look at it from both sides.

The upcoming election is too close to call. The election is balanced on a knife edge and it could tip either way. There will be no landslide, and likely not even a clear winner on the close of the polls. There will be recounts and challenges to those recounts.

1. Mr. Trump has a very solid base of committed followers. He seems to be losing some ground among more mainstream Republicans.
2. Ms. Harris wide support in her party, but that may not be enough for the win.
3. This election, as always, will be won or lost in the center. Neither candidate can win without support from the independent voters in the middle.
4. Mr. Trump has difficulty appealing to the Black, Hispanic and Women voters.
5. Ms. Harris has staunch opposition from voters who will not vote for a female or a Black candidate. This means solid opposition to Ms. Harris as a Black Female.
6. If I were to place a bet, my money would go down on Ms. Harris pulling out a very narrow victory.
7. If Ms. Harris wins, I expect civil disorder on a much larger scale that that of 01.06.2021. The social upheaval will be massive and the wide rift between the two parties will grow ever wider.
8. If Mr. Trump wins, watch for attempts to get the 22nd amendment of the US Constitution to be repealed.
9. The House and Senate are also in play. Control of both of these bodies is by very narrow majority now. They could easily shift to one side or the other with the results of just a half dozen races each.
10. Just my opinion, but we need the checks an balances inherent in our system of government to work. For either candidate to win this election and gain a majority in both the House and the Senate would be a disaster that could effect our country for many years to come.
11. I will gladly discuss this post in a civilized manor.

I will leave this here and revisit it once the election is decided.

It is a bit ironic that the “bathroom wars” began in Charlotte, NC, my home state.[1] While we war over whether or not a man is a man, or just seems that way, North Carolina’s motto remains engraved in stones around the state: Esse quam videri, which is Latin for “to be, rather than to seem”.

Like I said – ironic.

Of course, I think both sides of the argument could use the motto to their liking.

But there is a more interesting note about the transgender issues of today: how often it is a matter of male identity – i.e. men wanting to become women.[2] While of course the data can be confusing, estimates put the desire for males to become female as nearly three times as prevalent as females wanting to be males. We have seen this played out in the actual movement. Long before Bruce Jenner presented himself to the world as a woman (after fathering multiple children with multiple wives and living the glory of an Olympic champion), there was George Jorgenson, an American GI that returned after World War II and began living as a woman and undergoing surgery to suit, becoming a media spectacle perhaps more sensational at the time than Jenner is now. You have probably also noted that Drag Queens are more prevalent than Drag Kings.

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