This shadowy group is undeniably calling forth Satan and the Antichrist to lead the world. But what is this group doing at the United Nations?

The Lucis Trust, which has a long history of working with the United Nations, will be celebrating the World Invocation Day tomorrow (May 23). This event has been consistently observed on the “day of the Gemini full moon since 1952”, according to the Lucis Trust website. The annual event has to align with astrological cues. Last year, the World Invocation Day was held on June 3 which naturally featured a Gemini full moon. (Tomorrow also happens to be the Buddhist holy day of Vesak).

An integral part of the event is the Great Invocation which summons the “spiritual energies of Light, Love and Purpose”. The following mantra, appealing to the “Mind of God” itself, will presumably be chanted by adherents worldwide in order to accelerate the “evolution of human consciousness and the elevation of the Planet.” Here it is, in all its claptrap glory:

Psalm 110:

1 Of David. A psalm. The LORD says to my lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

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The LORD
יְהוָ֨ה (Yah·weh)
Strong's Hebrew 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

to my Lord: לַֽאדֹנִ֗י (adoni)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 113: Sovereign, controller

David distinguished H3068-LORD from H113-adoni-my-Lord. Who else did David call adoni in the Bible?

David addressed King Saul as his Lord, 1 Samuel 24:

6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord [H113], the LORD’s anointed**, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.”

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1 Samuel 26:

17 Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is that your voice, David my son?" David replied, "Yes it is, my lord [H113] the king."

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There were other instances. The only times David called someone adoni-my-Lord were all addressed to a king.

The Jews at the time of Jesus knew this usage of the word adoni-my-Lord. Then Jesus presented the conundrum to the Jews in Matthew 22:

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

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His listeners would hear "my lord said to my lord" in Aramaic.

“Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” The Pharisees knew:

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1. The Messiah King was supposed to be a descendant of David.
2. Psalm 110 was messianic.
3. David called the Messiah King adoni-my-Lord.

It made no sense to the Pharisees. How could David call one of his own descendants adoni-my-Lord?

The Pharisees didn't know what to say afterward. So they shut themselves up.

46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

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Jesus resolved it by the following:

1. He is the Messianic King.
2. He is the Son of David in the fleshly lineage.
3. Only the Son of God can sit at God's right hand.
4. He is the unique Son of God in the divine lineage.

This Lord is not just a human descendant son of David but also the Son of God.

Jesus was the only person who could resolve this connodrum. He spoke to the Jews earlier in J 5:

39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me".

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Mt 22:44 was about Jesus.

Finally, to confirm the prophecy of Psalm 110:1, near the end of the Book of Mark, Mark 16:

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

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The LORD says to my Lord: The LORD says to my son (the Son of David) and the Son of God.

Right off the bat, I wanna say that whatever you watch is your business. I'm only speaking for myself.

I have 200 channels and only watch 2 - sports and the game show channel. I've grown progressively disgusted with the rest. Sex, sex, sex. Immoral situations. Worldly values. And just in general, I'm just losing interest all together. I think Ive gorged on sitcoms long enough. I really wish I got a nature channel, I would really dig that. Just one Christian channel (won't say which one) but it's all prosperity preachers and mega-churches. No thanks.

I spend most of my time posting here and elsewhere online and watching Christian video shorts on YouTube. Really enjoying it.

As for sports, I'm eager for football season, been a fan since the days of Roger Staubach with my Dallas Cowboys.

Lately I've been evaluating whether I really should watch football though. Even though the protection has improved, there are still a lot of serious injuries, especially concussions. So it can rightfully be called a violent sport - like boxing - which I definitely dont watch.

And the player's salaries are obscene (as is all entertainment). There's something, I dunno, unbiblical about fans paying huge ticket prices just to watch their sports gods (ie, literal idol worship) running around tossing a pigskin this way and that way. Ya know?

But pro ball, on the other hand, does have The Fellowship Of Christian Athletes. And players who give testimonies and pray on the field before the cameras.

I like college football much better than pro. No salaries (supposedly), a little more green and less polished thus more exciting.

And just two examples where God sure seemed to involve Himself. Colt McCoy of my Texas Longhorns getting sidelined by a concussion in the National Championship and the rest of the team getting stomped without him (whimper). At the press conference the next day he said (paraphrasing) that football was not his top priority in life, that Jesus is. And that he'll get over it pretty quick. He was just happy for such an exciting year. Humbled all us fans.

And finally there's Tim Tebow who wore John 3:16 under his eyes. Google reported millions of searches of that verse that day. A year later somebody asked him if he'd seen his stats for the game that just finished. He showed Tim that just about every stat was 316. Cool, huh?

So... I dunno. Thoughts?

There is a dual context in this passage of Scripture and in the verses following after these, and there are many misinterpretations of some of these passages of Scripture, as well, but if read and studied in context, those should be cleared up. For context is critical to correct biblical understanding and interpretation. And there are many false teachings among us which stem from Scriptures taught outside their context and thus are made to say what they don’t say if taught in the proper context.

The primary teaching in the book of Galatians, I believe, has to do with the subject of the transfer from the Old Covenant laws and customs and religious practices to the New Covenant relationship God now has with his people Israel, both Jew and Gentile, who are his by faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. For if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we do not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And to deny Jesus is to deny the one and only true God.

And the problem that they were being faced with at that time is that there were Judaizers among the Christians who were trying to convince them that they still had to be circumcised, and that they still had to obey some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, and dietary laws and restrictions. And so Paul set out to correct this error and to let them know that if they believed that they had to be circumcised in addition to their faith in the Lord that they were basically as though they were still living under the Old Covenant.

So “the law” being spoken of here is not God’s moral laws, but it is the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, including the requirement for circumcision. These were done away with via Jesus’ death on that cross. But he did not do away with God’s moral laws nor with God’s requirements for the forsaking of our sins and for walks of obedience to his commands, in his power, as required as part of saving faith in Jesus Christ that promises us eternal life with God.

But we have a lot of people today misinterpreting these passages of Scripture, because they are not looking at the whole context, and they are teaching that we are not required to forsake our sins (to repent), and that we are not required to obey our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant. And they misinterpret “faith” as just some confession of Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, and while they tell them that no works are required of them at all, because they leave out Ephesians 2:10.

So, as followers of Jesus Christ we do not have to adhere to the liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions of the Old Covenant, nor is circumcision required of any of us. But we are not now lawless. We are still required to obey our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant, which are primarily (or completely) his moral laws. For faith in Jesus Christ requires death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. So if we walk in sin, we do not have eternal life with God.

And Paul made that quite clear in these verses and in the verses following this. For we are not to use our freedom from the Old Covenant as an opportunity for the flesh, to do what is sinful and evil in the sight of God. But we should agape love our neighbors as ourselves. And this kind of love prefers what God prefers which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord. So when we love with this love we will want to forsake our sins and obey our Lord.


So, what’s this saying to us? It is not teaching that faith in Jesus Christ forgives us all sin so that we can go on living in sin, only now without feeling guilty. And it is not teaching that there are no more commands that we must obey. It is teaching us to walk (conduct our lives) by the Spirit, in walks of holiness and righteousness and obedience to our Lord and no longer in walks of obedience to sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, and idolatry, and the like. For if we obey sin, in practice, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Nails Were Pounded

An Original Work / June 4, 2011

Nails were pounded when
He hung on a tree;
Suffered for us so
we could be set free.
He died for our sins;
rose up from the grave,
So we could be forgiven;
by His grace we’re saved.

A spear pierced His side;
His clothes they’d divide;
A crown on His head
to mock Him instead
Of honoring Him
as our Savior, King,
Who gave his life for the world
to be free from sin.

Forsaken by friends,
though He’d not offend.
He lived perfectly;
our High Priest to be.
He calls us to see,
and by faith believe;
In repentance receive Him;
live eternally.

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Hello folks. This analysis is about not dwelling on the past, as we must focus on the present as stated in the Bible.

The "prince to come." I've had a go at trying to interpret the "70 Weeks of Daniel" for about 50 years now. And I've tried to correct my errors with every legitimate argument that has come to challenge my positions. Here is how I see things today, after many views and many corrections.

Probably central to my view are a few major points.
1) The prophecy concerns the coming to fruition of God's Covenant, as it relates to Temple Worship.
2) The Prophecy is a period of 70 Weeks of Years that is completed with a Half Week in which Christ is cut off, leaving Temple offerings delegitimized.
3) The completion of the 70 Weeks is essentially an indictment against Israel, leading to the destruction of the Temple after the completion of the 70 Weeks.
4) The "prince to come" is the generic Roman ruler who determines to do things that from God's point of view confirms His promised covenant with Israel. In other words, this confirmation of God's covenant is not the prince's determined effort, but rather, the indirect effect of what he determines to do.

Dan 9 and the 70 Weeks. Daniel is shown a 70 Weeks of years period of time, encompassing the time from 457 BC to approx. 30 AD. The 70th Week is cut short into a half Week. The focus of this period has to do with the restoration of the Temple worship from the time of King Artaxerxes up until the time the Temple is completely destroyed by the Roman prince. But this 70 Weeks period also is designed to lead up to Messiah, who brings about God's Covenant.

So we are told about an initial 7 Weeks period of time, 49 years, in which the Temple worship is fully restored and Jerusalem built as an independently-run city. Ezra and Nehemiah contributed to this process. Then there is a long expanse of time up until the final Week, the 70th Week, which stops short of a full Week by the death of Messiah. This completes the promised Covenant of God. The old Temple is then destroyed, after Christ, the new Temple, has been established in its place.

We are told that the people of a prince to come will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. This prince, the Roman ruler, indirectly fulfills the New Covenant of Christ by putting him to death. He cuts Christ off after half the 70th Week, indirectly confirming God's Covenant to save Israel despite their waywardness. He signals the termination of Temple offerings by destroying the Messiah himself, for whom these offerings have been given. And he finishes the job by destroying the Temple itself in 70 AD.

The "prince to come," who was the Roman ruler, did not intend to fulfill biblical prophecy, but in effect that is what he did. By having Christ killed at the end of his 3.5 year ministry he in effect "confirmed God's Covenant of atonement with Israel."

He in effect put an end to Israel's offerings to God inasmuch as the God to whom they were offering these things was rejected at the cross. And the Roman ruler merely confirmed this rejection by accommodating their request to have Christ put to death.

Dan 9.The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.... 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ [That is, the Roman ruler will cause God's Covenant to complete the 70 Weeks.] In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. [That is, the Roman ruler will end Israel's Temple offerings by having Christ cut off.] And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on it. [That is, the Roman ruler will set up his people as an army to lay siege to Jerusalem, destroying the temple.]

This is just something for you to consider....

I've been down for the past week with a terrible virus. Not any serious ones that have been in the news; all tests for those have been negative, and not pneumonia. Simply a general viral infection. It feels awful, and it hangs on. According to my doctor, people have been taking three weeks to get better from it. That news did not make me happy. My throat and sinuses feel like they're on fire, and I'm dripping like Niagara Falls. My nose hurts from all the tissues. When I went to the doctor, I had to keep changing my mask because I was soaking the one on my face. I have an uncontrollable, spasmodic cough. My ribs hurt from coughing, and yet I cannot stop or control it. I can't sleep because the cough keeps waking me up. My temperature has been up and down, as high as 103 (39.4 for those outside the US.) Nothing they can do except treat the symptoms, and the cold medicines I am taking are not working. The doctor essentially said I've got two more weeks to go through it.

Which leads to wanting God's protection for my husband. It would be bad, not awful, if he had to miss work, but oh, this bug is such a doozy, I don't want him suffering from it. I don't want ANYBODY to get this sick. Please pray for my healing, and his protection. Thank you.

My husband and I owned our own home for years. We raised our children there. Then we sold it and moved back to my hometown. My dad bought four lots in the country and offered to sell us one and my sister and her family one. We took him up on the offer and acquired a two-acre lot, put a garage on it and converted it into a little three bedroom home to serve as a temporary space while we build a house here. We've been making the payments on this land and paying the property taxes for three years now and we still haven't built a house for various reasons. Then dad decided he didn't want to sell it or put in our name (even though mom insists that when/if we build he will). My parents live next door and they are getting on in years. We've been able to help them a lot which is good, but I feel like whatever grace I had to live in this "temporary" home is wearing thin. Things are falling apart as this was NEVER meant to be permanent. We NEED a house and are financially in a better place to buy one. We miss having more independence (all they have to do is look out the window at our driveway to know if we're home or not) but I want to help my parents as they continue to get older. I believe very strongly in honoring your father and mother but I feel equally strong about leaving father and mother and cleaving to your spouse. I feel stuck in this place and I'm miserable. I hate it here. I love this city and don't want go back where we came from but living in this tiny place on this big lot, and basically feeling like I'm renting it, well...I cry a lot. We have some options. Build a house here, which could take a year (I do trust them to put the land in our name first). Or just go buy a house that's already built and hope we can get some of the money we've invested into this property out if and when it ever sells. And we might not be able to get this much land again as rates have gone crazy since we moved here. We also have the option of renting a house while we build here. We've been praying and seeking God for direction and so far have no real leading in any direction. The kids are older and will probably only live with us a few more years. I really wanted that time to be in a real house together, like we had when they were growing up. Sometimes I wish we had never sold it and moved. My sister is paying for her lot but hasn't done a thing with it. We just want to be settled again! Looking for advice and some prayers too. Thanks.

What is the gospel? The predominate position seems to be “Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.”


Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. NKJV


People are saved by God's grace through faith. The faith they have is a gift from God. Just before Jesus died on the cross, He said “It is finished”, He meant that everything needed for man to be saved was accomplished by Him. The things needed for salvation are a sinless sacrifice for our sins, repentance toward God and saving faith. God gives all three when people believe in Jesus.


Since faith is a gift from God and God wants everyone to come to repentance, why isn't everyone given faith? First, the person hearing the message must believe the message. Next, to receive a gift one must want the gift. How do people show that they want the gift? When people hear the gospel, they must want the gift of life eternal in heaven. If that is appealing to them and they hear that all they need do is believe in Jesus, hope springs to life in their heart for an eternity in heaven with Jesus.


Colossians 1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope, which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, NKJV

The saving faith all believers have comes from the hope they have for going to heaven. People who hear the gospel message and do not want to go to heaven will not get hope from the message. People who want to go to heaven will hear the message and hope will well up in their heart. The moment they believe they get the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of the Father in their heart. Jesus gave them hope which gives them faith. Therefore, Jesus gave them faith.


Saving Faith: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. NKJV


The substance of things hoped for is Jesus.


Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. NKJV


The Spirit of Jesus is also the evidence of things unseen in the definition of faith.


In the gospel message they are told the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, died for their sins. They are also told that Jesus was resurrected from the dead for their justification, proof of their forgiveness. When they placed their faith in Him, believed that His sacrifice was for their sins, they repented toward God by believing that He sent Jesus to die for them.


John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. NKJV


Because they believed in Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, they admitted they were sinners, and their sins were forgiven.


Acts 5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. NKJV


Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." NKJV


Because they believed Jesus was the Son of God, they knew that He would expect his children to behave like sons of God. If they agree to His discipline God grants repentance of their sins.


Romans 7:25 I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. NKJV


Romans 8:6 in order for a person to agree to be disciplined a person must be spiritually minded. Romans 7 a spiritually minded person agrees that God's laws are holy, just and good. They want to serve the law of God. Unfortunately, all spiritual minds are in a body of flesh. All humans are sold under sin. This means all people are slaves to sin. Christians have a choice to walk in the Spirit and put to death the sins of the flesh or to be disciplined to physical death. If they are disciplined to physical death they die and go to heaven.


2 Timothy 2:11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him,
He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. NKJV


People of little faith under discipline do not have the faith to face withdrawal from sin. They want to walk in the Spirit because they have a spiritual mind, but they do not have the faith to face withdrawal from sin. Their spiritual mind pleases God and keeps them in Jesus. Jesus cannot deny them.


1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. NKJV


The purpose of discipline is to keep us from losing salvation.


John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. NKJV


As long as people have hope in Jesus, they believe Jesus is their savior. The only people judged with the world are people that do not believe that Jesus is their savior.

A while back, I was debating with a nominal Catholic relative of mine about why same-sex marriage was sinful.
My nominal Catholic relative said that she felt that it was wrong to reject same-sex marriage because Christian can Not enforce their Christian view of marriage on others who are Not Christian. She essentially felt that homosexuals' rights should be respected, and Christians can Not criticize the LGBTQ+ approval and acceptance of same-sex marriage because their perspectives are Not the same as Christians.

My immediate response was more aligned with "fire and brimstone preaching" by passionately criticizing the LGBTQ+ culture by using the following scriptures:

Leviticus 18:22
New American Standard Bible 1995

22 You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

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Genesis 19:4-38
4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people [a]from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly......more scripture.....more scripture......12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

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Even though the aforementioned bible verses and passages are correct in condemning LGBTQ+ culture, I was Not satisfied with how I debated with my relative. The reason being is that I was quick to condemn by resorting to "fire and brimstone preaching"

It made me think by asking the following question:

"How can Christians graciously & compassionately argue against homosexuality, adultery, perversion, sexual assualt, rape, abortion alcohol and/or drug addiction?"

Please do Not misunderstand me. The use of "fire and brimstone" biblical passages and verses certainly have their place in defending Christian values. However, "fire and brimstone" biblical passages and verses should Not be the sole approach, and in many cases Not the first step in arguing against homosexuality, adultery, perversion, sexual assualt, rape, abortion alcohol and/or drug addiction.

"How can Christians graciously & compassionately argue against homosexuality, adultery, perversion, sexual assualt, rape, abortion alcohol and/or drug addiction?"

I work in a Catholic hospital with crucifixes in every room. Some people seem offended by this and rip the corpus off leaving the empty cross.

The crucifix is a reminder of the ongoing solidarity of Christ suffering with us and our sharing in his suffering.

Why do people find this offensive enough to take this action on property not their own?.

Perhaps most shockingly, the FBI team included a medic to tend to anyone “injured” during the raid. The operations order identified a nearby trauma center with directions how to get there:​

Not a two-tiered system of justice?

I'm going to combine 2 reports here:

Russia-Ukraine war – latest: Zelensky calls on Nato to shoot down Putin’s missiles amid glide bomb attacks​

Volodymyr Zelensky called on Nato allies to shoot down Russian missiles if they are not prepared to provide Ukraine with more air defence systems.

The president issued the plea as he called on Western allies to boost military aid to his country as Russia puts Ukraine under pressure along the frontline in the northeast, east and south of the country.

“You can’t provide that right now? Ok…returning to the planes that you have on the territory of neighbouring Nato countries: raise them up ... shoot down targets, protect civilians,” he said.

Elsewhere, Germany’s foreign minister on Tuesday visited Kyiv in the latest display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners, although deliveries of promised weapons and ammunition from Nato countries like Germany have been slow and have left Ukraine vulnerable to a recent Russian push along parts of the front line.

Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defense systems, as Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and rockets.

Zelensky calls on Nato to shoot down Putin’s missiles - Ukraine-Russia war live

Annalena Baerbock, German foreign minister also calls on Nato allies to provide Kyiv with more defensive weapons

www.independent.co.uk

#2)
UPDATED TUE, MAY 21 20241:49 PM EDT

Kremlin says Zelenskyy ‘slipping into hysterics’ wanting the West to get directly involved in the war

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest appeal for more Western aid and involvement in the conflict is due to Ukraine’s “extremely unfavorable” situation on the battlefield.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that new arms supplies will not change the dynamic on the battlefield either.

Russia begins exercise with tactical nuclear weapons​

Russian forces on Tuesday began the first stage of training in the “preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the Ministry of Defense said in a post on Telegram.
“As part of this stage, the personnel of the missile formations of the Southern Military District are practicing combat training tasks of obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, equipping launch vehicles with them and covertly advancing to the designated position area in preparation for missile launches,” the post read.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the drills earlier this month in a move he said was designed to deter military involvement in Ukraine by the West.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/21/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html

Hi everyone, I would greatly appreciate your prayers. I have alot of things wrong with me at the same time. My eyes are blinking uncontrollably, my foot is twitching constantly, and I am in severe pain in my body constantly, all at the same time. Please pray that all of this stops. Thank you!

Police say the former Atlanta police officer who admitted to shooting and killing his Lyft driver thought the man was a member of a “gay fraternity” and was trying to recruit him and kidnap him, according to a witness.

Minor said Folks [the victim] began talking on the phone through the car’s Bluetooth radio in a language he didn’t understand.

Minor said he asked Folks to stop the car so he could get out, but Folks did not stop. Minor said when the car stopped at a red light, he tried to unlock and open the door, but it would not open. Minor then told police that he did not know if Folks was gay or not, but when Folks reached into the back seat, he shot at him approximately three times.

At the time of his arrest, he was on unpaid leave after being arrested in Milton in December 2023 when police found 20 Xanax pills in a bag after he crashed his car.

[Following this arrest, he resigned.]

We often discuss the shortcomings of churches and how they fail to meet the expected standards. While it's true that there are times when we need to make tough decisions about churches that consistently act contrary to God's teachings and His will, we should also consider how we demonstrate love for our neighbours within our families and workplaces.

How have we treated and supported our fellow community members over the years, especially considering that the people themselves make up the church? What about this forum? How have you contributed to your brothers and sisters in Christ over the years in this place, the sons and daughters of your Heavenly Father? Have we forgotten that we are married to Christ before anything else?

There were occasions when Jesus had to slip away from the crowd because they were only seeking him for the bread. “Jesus replied, Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life" John 6.

Are we seeking God and the Church like that crowd, to fill our needs and our wants? I'm asking that we learn to love our neighbour as ourselves and show ourselves worthy in the tasks already assigned to us before seeking a partner. In Christ we are all married to one another. He offered us His fullness. Himself as The Bridegroom and His Holy Sprit, Your Sister, Your Bride, Your Church, Your People, Your Home. We are not alone or hopeless.

In a place with a history of hate, an unlikely fight against GOP extremism (gift link)​

North Idaho has beaten the far right before. Now renegade Republicans are seeking to root it out of their own party, with a crucial test in Tuesday’s primary.

For much of the two decades since [an Aryan Nations compound was bankrupted and destroyed], civic leaders have focused on moving beyond the image of North Idaho as a white-power fiefdom.

This time, activists say, the threat is no longer on the fringes of society, dressed in Nazi garb at a hideout in the woods. Instead, they see it in theleadership of the local Republican Party, which has mirrored the lurch to the right of the national conservative movement during the Trump era on matters of race, religion and sexuality. The bigotry of the past, they say, now has mainstream political cover.

In this ruby-red state, the pushback is being led from within the party. A group of disaffected, self-described “traditional” Republicans has spent the past two years planning to wrest back control from leaders who they accuse of steering the local GOP toward extremism, a charge the officials vehemently deny. A crucial measure of the challengers’ efforts comes Tuesday, Idaho’s primary day.

The rebels have focused their efforts on precinct committee seats, the building blocks of local party power. On Tuesday, they need to win 37 seats out of 73 to force a change in local party leadership, but they’re hoping for a rout.

“I want a full sweep,” said Christa Hazel, 50, a Republican organizer who has been doxed and harassed since resigning from the party’s central committee in 2017 over concerns about extremism and a lack of transparency. “I want a full referendum on the ugliness, chaos and division.”

Hazel and her allies blame local leaders for ideological fights that have left North Idaho College on the brink of losing its accreditation. Doctors, especially reproductive health specialists, are leaving the area, with one local hospital recently shuttering its maternity ward. Extremism researchers and local media outlets have documented the ties between GOP officials and far-right figures.

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Other background:

Pregnant with no OB-GYNs around: In Idaho, maternity care became a casualty of its abortion ban​

Two far-right school board members recalled in far-right Idaho County​

MAGA-style GOP trustees take over North Idaho College Board; results in 5 presidents in one year, credit rating drop, and maybe loss of accreditation​

‘The beginning of the collapse of an entire system’​

Back in Idaho, Miller says five of the nine remaining full-time maternal-fetal medicine physicians in the state will have left by the end of this year.

...and does anyone really care anymore?


AP News story:

Trump's social media account shares a campaign video with a headline about a 'unified Reich'

The headline appears among messages flashing across the screen such as “Trump wins!!” and “Economy booms!” Other headlines appear to be references to World War I.

apnews.com

Newsweek has the ad (See the subhead lines at 5 seconds and 28 seconds)

"Overeager staffer" posts video to Trump's personal Truth Social account predicting “the creation of a unified Reich”
A video posted to Donald Trump’s social media platform featured references to “the creation of a unified Reich” along with hypothetical news headlines should the former president win the election in 2024.

In the 30-second video posted Monday, which was deleted from his Truth Social account Tuesday morning, mock-up headlines and newspaper clippings envisioned media coverage after a potential Trump victory.

Under a black-and-white photo of Trump, one all-caps headline states: “What’s next for America?” with text underneath that reads: “Strength significantly increased by the creation of a unified Reich.”

The video appears to feature parts of a sentence referring to a “unified Reich” three times alongside text saying Trump “puts America first” or “Law & order restored.”

In a statement, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the video was not produced by the campaign and that it was posted while Trump was in court in New York on Monday for his ongoing hush money trial. The video, she said, “was created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word.”

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ETA:
Posters have indicated the juxtaposition may be incidental. Without more info on the creator/creation of the video, I may just have to Emily Litella this one.

“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director, said in a statement to The Times. “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store[.] t belongs in a dumpster fire.”

[Fortunately, director Ali Abbasi knows his subject.]

“Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people,” he said Tuesday at the film’s Cannes press conference, to laughter and applause from many in the room. “They don’t talk about his success rate, though.”

“This is really not a movie about Donald Trump,” he said, calling the notion of a partisan divide between conservative and liberal elites in the U.S. “a fantasy.” “This is a movie about a system and the way the system works, and the way the system is built and the way the power runs through the system.”

Written by former journalist Gabe Sherman, “The Apprentice” tracks Trump’s rise to prominence in 1970s and 1980s New York, where, under [Roy] Cohn’s wing, he develops the ruthlessness that will make him a power broker and media darling.

(A Canadian, Danish and Irish co-production, “The Apprentice” has not yet sold for U.S. distribution.)

At this instant, 67% fresh on rottentomatoes

I think we trust Google with the final word. As if they'never make a mistake at least i just realized that i do.

I keep worrying that daydreaming is adding to revelations or that breathing is adding to revelations or that anything I say is adding to revelations. I feel worried I will sin and feel disconnected from God. Every time I try to read particular verses in the Bible that seem to disprove these thoughts I feel I cannot understand them and quickly forget what I read. I will read a word over and over until it makes no sense to me trying to make sure I understand it but I can't.