Jesus said that we are to go into all of the world and to make disciples of him of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey all that he has commanded us (See Matthew 28:18-20). He said that when the Spirit of God comes upon us, whom we receive when we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior, we will be his witnesses throughout the world (See Acts 1:8). And he said that we are the light of the world; a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are, thus, to let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (See Matthew 5:14-16). As well, we read in Romans 10:14-15 (NIV):


None of us should be negligent in sharing the full gospel of Jesus Christ with others, for it speaks to them the words of life. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself (his self-life), take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self), and follow (obey) him. He said that if we hold on to our old lives of living for self and in sin that we will lose them for eternity, but if we die to sin and to self, we will gain eternal life (Luke 9:23-26). This is what we are to teach, calling others to turn from their sin, and to walk by faith in Jesus Christ their Lord.

Should I Not Preach Jesus

An Original Work / July 4, 2013
Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.
I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.
I make myself a slave to ev’ryone
To win their hearts to Christ.
All this I do for my Lord Jesus,
And for the sake of His Name;
Do it for the sake of His gospel,
So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;
Written down for us as examples
To keep us from setting our hearts
On evil as did those of old.
Do not worship other gods of man;
Do not give your hearts to them;
Not partake in immorality.
Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are
Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.
God has given his word to warn us,
So through faith we will not fall.
No temptation has o’ertaken you
Except what is commonplace.
God is faithful to not let you be
Tempted past what you can bear.
He gives the way of escape.

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If you have heard about Jesus Christ, and if you are at that point of wanting to believe in him as your Lord and Savior, it is critical that you understand what it means to believe in him. For first of all the word “believe” means to be persuaded, and if that belief is in Jesus Christ, it means to be persuaded of God, for not one of us can come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to him. And we also need to understand that faith in Jesus Christ comes from God, and it is gifted to us of God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man.

[Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]

Therefore, we do not get to define faith nor to decide what that faith should look like. God does, and his word does, and so we need to read the Scriptures to see what they say (IN CONTEXT) regarding what faith in Jesus Christ looks like. And this passage of Scripture here in Mark is one of the primary passages of Scripture which tell us what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and what it means if our faith in the Lord is not of God, and so it is not genuine faith. For there are many people who have been taught wrongly about what it means to believe in Jesus, and they need to hear the truth.

So, if we are desiring to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and to have him as our Lord and Savior, and to be saved from our sins, and to have the hope of eternal life with God, then the first thing we must do is to deny self, to give up the flesh and living according to the flesh and to die with Christ to sin and to be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are to no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but obedience ends in eternal life.

Now this death to sin and these walks of obedience to our Lord are something that we are to put into practice in our lives every day. This is not saying that we will be absolutely perfect in everything that we do from this point forward but that sin should no longer be our habit, our practice, but now holy living and walks of obedience to our Lord should be what we practice, instead. For if we try to hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have eternal life.

So, don’t buy into the lies which are so popular these days, at least here in America, which are telling people that they can make a one-time decision to believe in Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and heaven is secured for them, and it can’t be taken away, but regardless of how they live. For the Scriptures teach that we must no longer walk (in conduct) according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit, and we must no longer make sin our practice, but righteousness and obedience to our Lord must be our practice, if we want eternal life with God.

And if we deny Jesus Christ by how we live, then when he returns he will deny that he ever knew us. For it is possible to profess him with our lips but to deny him by our actions. And we deny him whenever we are ashamed of him and of his words, and whenever we refuse to obey his commands and to follow him wherever he leads us. And if we do not share him and his gospel message with others, but we withhold the truth about Jesus from others, out of fear of their rejection of us, that is being ashamed of him and of his gospel message, and it is preferring the approval of humans, instead.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 15:7-9; Luke 9:23-26; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 1:4]

For, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in taking the message of the gospel to the people of the world. And we are to proclaim to others the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. And we are to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations, teaching them to observe all that our Lord has commanded us to do as his followers. And we are to be his witnesses to the people of the world, but not just with our lips, but with our lifestyles, by how we conduct our lives in walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]

So, please take this to heart, for our salvation depends upon not only God’s grace but on us believing and putting into practice the truth, by God’s grace.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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In other Bible translations it says, “not even be named among you,” or “not even be mentioned among you,” or “must not even be hinted at,” or “should not even be heard of among you.” Or as one commentator stated, “must not even exist among you.” So, this isn’t just about blatant and obvious sexual immorality, but this is about secret sins and delving into anything of a sensual or sexual nature, no matter how miniscule it may appear to be. For it doesn’t take much to get our minds and emotions in the wrong direction.

But this isn’t just about professing Christians being engaged in acts of sexual immorality and/or in being entertained by anything of a sexual or a sinful or a seductive nature, though it is that. But this has to do with the gatherings of the church and what goes on within those gatherings in the name of Christ, and in the name of Christianity, and in the name of trying to get the world into “the church.” There should not be even a hint of sexual immorality nor sensuality, et al, within the gatherings of what are called “churches.”

Sadly, though, so many of these gatherings have been incorporated under the state and turned into businesses, and thus are being marketed to the world just like other businesses, and so they have also been incorporating much of the world into their gatherings and into their sermons and music and videos and plays, etc., to where many of these gatherings are very similar to what you might find at a local bar and not something that should be within the gatherings of the body of believers in Jesus Christ.

But let me give you some examples of this. Twice we have attended “church” services where the singers were singing like bar singers with very sensual inflections in their voices while they were swaying their bodies to the music also in sensual manners and/or were dressed inappropriately for being up on stage while singing and moving their bodies in such a manner. And then in other gatherings they have showed video clips from secular movies that, if you saw the movies, you would find they had sexual situations in them.

And then you have preachers wearing T-shirts with the names of some secular Rock Bands on the shirts. And if you look up the lyrics to the songs that these bands sing, you will see very clearly that their lyrics are against Jesus Christ and his morals and his values. But the preacher is trying to relate to the people he is trying to reach to come to his place of business. And so he tries to become more like the world to reach the world with what is a compromise with the world in order to draw in people from the world.

And then you have some preachers telling jokes, which sometimes are mocking the Scriptures and making people laugh at what should be taken seriously, because they want to entertain the world. And then there are praise bands where the music sounds like bar music and where the lyrics are so repetitive and shallow that they do nothing to stir the human conscience and to convict of sin and to teach repentance and obedience to our Lord and to lead people to holy living. But what they do is stir human emotions.

But our gatherings are not to be mimicking the world in order to attract the world to our gatherings. And we are not to be unequally yoked together (partnered) with the ungodly. And we are not to turn our gatherings into places of business, being marketed to the world like other businesses. For the purpose of our gatherings is that the people of God might be strengthened and encouraged and exhorted in our walks of faith and in obedience and in surrender to our Lord, as we encourage one another.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

But so many of these modern gatherings of what are called “churches” are all about becoming like the world to attract the world to their gatherings so that they can grow in physical numbers and build their earthly kingdoms. And so what they also do is that they dilute and adulterate the character of God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – and of his church, and of the message of the gospel of our salvation, so as not to offend the world and so as to appease human flesh, so people will come to their meetings.

But what does this Scripture (and many others) teach us is the result if we become more like the world and if we live like the world, and in sinful practices? If sin is our practice, i.e. what we do deliberately and habitually in direct disobedience to God, we will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God, regardless of what we profess with our lips. So we are not to be deceived into believing that our sins no longer matter to God or that he will not judge those who live in deliberate and habitual sin.

For what did Jesus say? He said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. And he said (in summary) that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to living in sin, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience, in practice, then we have eternal life (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26).

So, this is a warning of God to all of us to not take him and his word lightly, but to take the warnings of God seriously, for he means what he says. If we live in sin, we will die in our sins. But if we die to sin, and live to righteousness, and we obey our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), and we live holy lives pleasing to him, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. It is what Jesus and his NT apostles taught, if read in CONTEXT. So, let there not be even a hint of any deliberate sin taking place in your lives.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; 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 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Beautiful Lamb

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

By Gary Miller

Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow,
Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God.
Sent from the Father’s love,
Sent from the throne above,
Sent to redeem us with His blood.

Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow,
Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God.
Behold the Lamb of God
Suff’ring great pain for us,
And by His wounds we all are healed.

Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow,
Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God.
Like sheep we’ve gone astray,
Each turn to his own way,
But Jesus will take our sins away.

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This is from Theopedia - a site I'm referring to for shorter theology definitions. It seems fairly helpful. I think below is a fairly gospel focussed message of eschatology - without all the details we all disagree on. Can we agree that this is what we agree on - in the most basic language - in the most general sense?
---

The Second Coming or Second Advent of Jesus Christ is seen as a yet future event by Christians. Jesus Christ's first coming, about 2,000 years ago, was to deal with sin. Before He ascended to heaven, He said, "if I go away, I will come back"; and His Spirit is given as a "guarantee" of His return and of our salvation in Him,^[1]^ to sustain the Church until His return.^[2]^ His return or Second Coming is sometimes called the Parousia (Greek: coming presence, arrival)^[3]^ and will be for the judgment of his enemies and the salvation of those who await his return.^[4]^ The many denominations of Christianity vary widely regarding the details surrounding Christ's return in relationship to the Great Tribulation and the Millennium. Because of the many false prophecies of man regarding His return, over the past 2,000 years, few dare to claim complete and authoritative interpretation of the many related prophetic biblical passages. However, it is commonly accepted that:

• Jesus Christ died on the cross.
• He was resurrected bodily.
• He ascended into heaven.
• He will return to earth, judge the world and establish his kingdom,
• No one knows the day or hour of Christ's return.

Daniel, the Gospel of Matthew and the Revelation are considered to be the most fruitful sources of study, although many parts of the Bible are sprinkled with references to the "last day(s)" and the "second coming" of Christ. A specific reference to it is contained in the early ecumenical creeds.

Multimedia

• The Basis of the Second Coming (MP3), by Arnold Fruchtenbaum

Testimony of the early creeds

The second coming (or return) of Christ is contained as an article of faith in all the ancient creeds:

• "He ascended into heaven. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead" Apostles' Creed.
• "He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead" Nicene Creed.
• "From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead, at whose coming all men must rise with their bodies and are to render an account of their deeds" Athanasian Creed.

Hello. I'm new.

I personally believe that Issaiah 53 points to Jesus. But Jewish person says that it is pointing to the nation of Israel as a whole.

What do you say to that? Thanks.

That's the mantra from Klaus schwab and WEF , and all to be achieved by 2030.
So let's see how their going so far.

How is your CD collection going?...ANSWER: - Oh I don't own CDs anymore , I get all my music on line , Spotify etc.
How is your DVD collection going ?..ANSWER - Oh I don't own DVDs anymore , I get all my movies online.
How is your book library going?....ANSWER - Oh I don't own books anymore , I do all my reading online , Kindle etc.

We own none of the above , Spotify , Kindle etc , some one else doe's , and we are happy ...
Wonder what the next 6 yrs will bring..? More happiness I guess....lol

The latest act by Just Stop Oil was quickly condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “disgraceful act of vandalism.”

Wiltshire Police said the pair were arrested on suspicion of damaging one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments.

Stonehenge was built on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain in stages starting 5,000 years ago, with the unique stone circle erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 B.C. Some of the stones, the so-called bluestones, are known to have come from southwest Wales, nearly 150 miles away, but the origins of others remain a mystery.

Just Stop Oil is one of many groups around Europe that have gained attention — and received a lot of blowback — for disrupting sporting events, splashing paint and food on famous works of art and interrupting traffic to draw attention to global warming.


This part:
The group said it acted in response to the Labour Party’s recent election manifesto. Labour has said if it wins the election on July 4, it would not issue further licenses for oil and gas exploration. Just Stop Oil backs the moratorium but said it wasn’t enough.

In a statement, the group said Labour, which is leading in polls and widely expected by pundits and politicians to lead the next government, needs to go further.

...so when the Labour party (who already said they wouldn't issue further oil and gas licenses) isn't quite "progressive enough" (but let's be honest, no matter what the Labour Party committed to, these doofuses would've found a reason why it's not enough in order to have a reason to do something like this, (being radical protestors is 90% of their personality after all...without that, they'd literally have nothing interesting to say about themselves), it's time to start vandalizing to virtue signal how radical they are. Because as we all know, there's a direct correlation between how orange you're wiling to stain something completely unrelated to the environment, and how much you care about the environment. It makes perfect sense!. They do need to raise awareness after all. Because nobody had ever heard of the issue of climate change until they started spaypainting and throwing soup at random things.

He has been active on Twitter/X just involved in politics and with some controversial figures (isn't he a monk?) and he posted a tweet calling out "miscegenation"/mixed-race marriage because Candace Owens is married and has children with a white man.


Doesn't he have an abbot/bishop to be reported to? He is making Orthodoxy look bad.

She is back in the hospital. Her blood pressure has spiked, serious headache, dizziness, and numbness in her arm. They've ran all kinds of tests last night and today, and have yet to determine the cause. Thank you so much. The last time you all prayed for her was very effectual!

That is a pretty simple goal. Of course, probably not many miracles.

But truly listening to others, being generous with time, showing genuine kindness.

We can do that.; If he lives in us and we get out of the way.

The actor best known for his roles in the Ant-Man and Ghostbusters franchises didn’t hesitate when recently asked which historical figure he would most like to meet. It’s Jesus Christ.

Paul Rudd answered as much while discussing his latest film, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. He said people sometimes laugh when he answers “Jesus,” even though he believes it’s an obvious reply. His answer came during an interview with IGV Presents, which noted that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opens with a trip back in time.

“If you guys could go back in time and spend a day with anyone in history, who would you choose?” Simon Harkness asked Rudd and co-stars Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard.

“Anyone from history, who would we choose?” Rudd replied. “I know my answer:

Jesus Christ.”

Grace and Wolfhard, already laughing from one of his previous answers, started giggling again.

“Laugh all you want,” Rudd said, standing firm.

Wolfhard then questioned if Jesus was real.
“He existed,” Rudd said. “Wouldn’t you want to spend some time with Him and go, ‘Jesus, what’s the deal?’”

“It’s genuinely a great answer,” Wolfhard acknowledged.

“Fantastic answer,” Grace said.

“You say this, and people are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t say that.’ And I’d say, ‘Why?’ That’s who I would choose,” Rudd said.

It’s not the first time Rudd has given such an answer. In 2018, Rudd told Vulture, “People say, ‘Who would you have dinner with,’ and I say, ‘Jesus Christ.’ And people laugh. They think that I’m kidding.”

Rudd is Jewish.

Continued below.

Sorry in advance because I know this topic IS talked about a lot but I really need help.

I feel that gods spirit will never draw me again or come back. At first god really did his best for me, he delivered me from many bad situations and he kept calling me to repent because he knew the possibly irrevocable damage my sins would have on me. At the time I thought I was saved and born again because the Holy Spirit was talking to me and god was revealing himself to me but I wasn’t even though I bore some fruits and I got comfortable and started rebelling.

I didn’t listen though and never had much change , even after the Holy Spirit gave me some knowledge and awareness surrounding my sins. I’ve always been rebellious and have always been stubborn anyway.


I kept consciously persisting and hardening my heart. Similar to the Pharisees, I had a good knowledge of Jesus and the gospel but I kept consciously rejecting god even then. I don’t have that knowledge anymore though because I refused to retain god and respond to his calls like I was supposed to. I then willingly confused god and the devil thinking that I could taunt/test god.

I might’ve even done so to push the Holy Spirit and his convictions away so that I may commit the terrible sins I wanted to commit. I did everything I could to push god away basically.

I never once listened to him and I was stiff necked. I knew the path I was going down but I thought I could push still and find mercy because I was young.

There were moments where I took gods kindness as an opportunity to sin more. I know I’m to blame and everything but I really just want some hope and to return to god. In terms of the severity of my sins it’s pretty bad and has hurt others very badly. Spiritually and physically. I know god needs to bring his justice on behalf of those who I’ve hurt with my sins. I know I’m responsible for the actions I took and I should’ve resisted the temptations to commit these sins.

I know an unsaved person can commit this sin which is why I’m almost sure that I committed it. I have a small idea on what I can do to repent actions wise but I’m scared that it won’t be enough or it will be false repentance.



When I think about it I just pity myself or condemn myself or

be almost nonchalant about it like ‘what was I expecting honestly’ which is why I feel I might not even care. In the end I know the root is pride. All I have is remorse for my sins, not a repentance that could lead to real change.





I also recognize that with the wording- it could make god seem bad and like I’m blaming him- I could be unconsciously blaming god but I’m trying not to.



I welcome any rebuke or sternness because maybe that’s what I need.

It seems 2024-5 is the time for earth shaking to begin, no?? New Madrid...? California coast and tsunami....? I would take a wild guess and say by Dec. 24 there will be some earth changing calamities
and people need to be ready. We have had the easy times. They are ending. Be good to other Christians. Thats what Christ would do...or a lot of people have it wrong..

LINK

House Bill 71, approved by state lawmakers last month, mandates that a poster-size display of the Ten Commandments with “large, easily readable font” be in every classroom at schools that receive state funding, from kindergarten through the university level.

The legislation specifies the exact language that must be printed on the classroom displays and outlines that the text of the Ten Commandments must be the central focus of the poster or framed document.

In a joint statement prior to the governor’s approval of the measure, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation said that the bill was “unconstitutional” and that “many faith-based and civil-rights organizations oppose this measure because it violates students’ and families’ fundamental right to religious freedom.”

From the Bill:

The Ten Commandments
I AM the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."

Joshua 3:

3 They commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

Click to expand...

Did priests also carry the ark?

Not usually, Numbers 4:

5 Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

Click to expand...

15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

Click to expand...

The priests packed up the holy objects. The Kohathites had the responsibility to carry them. It was a special occasion of a miracle in Jos 3:

13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.”

Click to expand...

Link to Table of Contents​

Continued from Hebrews It! (Legal Study, Chapter 3) Pt. 13b​

12 Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.



13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.




I've been exegeting like a madman. I'm going to leave these sets of verses taken from first and second Corinthians without Exegesis, so they can be evaluated at face value. They are frequently quoted apart from the order that Paul wrote them out to be evaluated by. This was a very awful drama that occurred within the church of Corinth. We will exegete this set of verses tomorrow. Today, if you so desire. Evaluate this set of verses from the standpoint of MERCY vs. JUDGMENT. This is a seriously intense passage to do this with. It's complicated and Paul left some "BREAD CRUMBS" within his repetitious words. There's a lot going on here. I'll leave one more hint before I sign off for today's OP.

Galatians 2:9,10,11,12,13,14
1 Timothy 5:20
2 Corinthians 5:16
Acts 15:1
Jude 1:3

I will close with this final thought. Tomorrow will be a difficult Exegesis. It is what one could consider a very difficult scriptural matter to process. I look forward to seeing all of you there. All Love in our most Compassionate and Merciful Jesus Christ to All of you.

OP Pt 13d to be continued tomorrow.

Thailand’s Senate voted Tuesday to pass a marriage-equality bill, putting the country on track to become the first in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

The legislation, which passed with 130 senators in favor, four opposed and 18 abstaining, allows any two people, regardless of gender, to get engaged or married. It was approved by the House of Representatives in March and now must be endorsed by King Vajiralongkorn, which is considered a formality. Once it is published in the official journal of the Thai government, the law will go into effect after 120 days.

A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 60 percent of adults in Thailand supported legalizing same-sex marriage. Thavisin, the prime minister, has emphasized that the Thai government is committed to marriage equality and touted Bangkok’s Pride parade this month.

The legislation that passed Tuesday also swaps out terms such as “husband” and “wife” in Thai marriage law for gender-neutral language, such as “spouse.” One member of the Senate fought against that change. Retired army Gen. Worapong Sa-nganet said cutting those terms would be “a destruction of the family establishment in the most violent way.”

He added that “if there’s no term ‘husband’ or ‘wife’ in the law, it would disappear from the Thai language."

Seems unlikely.

but after suffering all day from kidney stones.. I prayed before peeing and passed one (and it wasn't that painful surprisingly), hopefully now I don't need the meds or any further intervention
So I'm thankful, it may seem small but just.. I need small things like that to attribute to God and be thankful for

What I am asking is how if one has a non-christian spirituality what can they do to become a christian spiritually. Lets say someone was a christian at one point, but started to explore outside of biblical spirituality, and eventually lost their way spirituality - what is refered to by some as spiritual adultery. What if they really embraced another spirituality eg. some sort of neo-gnosticism / New age spirituality and eventually was no longer a christian spiritually (can that happen?) How does one repent in that case if they really have embraced another spirituality?

Column: This GOP-leaning political polling firm has turned into a purveyor of anti-vaccine propaganda​

It’s true that Rasmussen [always] had a detectable pro-Republican “house effect,” in polling parlance — but one that was consistent enough to compensate for in published polling averages.

But something has happened to Rasmussen in recent years. Not only have its results become more sharply partisan, favoring Republican and conservative politicians, but it also has increasingly promoted right-wing conspiracy theories on topics such as race relations, election results and — perhaps most troubling — COVID vaccines and COVID origins.

538, now owned by ABC News, dropped Rasmussen from its polling averages in March. ABC took that step after Rasmussen failed to respond suitably to a questionnaire 538 submitted asking Rasmussen to explicate its polling methodology. Rasmussen published ABC’s query on its website under the headline, “ABC News: ‘Answer Our Questions -- Or Else!’”

[Understanding the methodology is obviously crucial to putting the results in context.]

Earlier this month, Rasmussen tweeted the results of polls it conducted in June 2023 and last month, claiming to find that 1 in 5 Americans believe they know someone who died from a COVID vaccine.

[OK, that's a poll result. I have no reason to doubt it, but it's as meaningful about the truth of the matter as polls about the validity of the 2020 election.]

But Rasmussen has doubled down on its findings. In a series of tweets on June 9, it declared, first: “If the numbers implied by our COVID polling are correct, the vaccines killed more people worldwide than Jews killed in the Holocaust.”

Then it tweeted: “China lied. Fauci lied. People died.” And followed that with: “The government take over of medicine was as deadly as always predicted.”



Make no mistake: Rasmussen is responsible for these tweets, and deserves blame helping to foment a mass delusion about the vaccines that may have cost the lives of vaccine resisters. If it ever had a reputation for trustworthiness, it doesn’t have it any longer.

I saw some tweets from different Catholic personalities yesterday all suggesting that they had credible sources telling them the Vatican was preparing to ban the TLM wholesale once-and-for-all.

I don't really have a dog in the fight, I've never attended one regularly and don't have one within 100 miles of me. I think what's happened since TC sucks and is wrong and pray that justice will rectify the situation with the next pope, but who knows what God's plan is?

What I don't find believable about these claims is that seems to suggest the Vatican would squash the FSSP too after going out of their way to make sure they were set aside to continue offering the TLM.

So I'm not sure I would believe this, but even if it did happen I don't know think it'd last very long either. I mean, I may not see a resolution but I don't think it would last more than 1-2 generations. I mean the TLM disappeared and re-emerged with the indult in the 80s all within one generation so I guess we never know.

Link to Table of Contents​

Continued from Hebrews It! (Legal Study, Chapter 3) Pt. 13a​

We are going to hit this chapter with multiple OP's until it's meaning is so painfully clear that it is seared into our Souls! OP Pt. 13a complete. Chapter 3 is going to get some serious exegetical Love!

Types of Exegesis and study that will be applied to Chapter 3

1- Historical Scripture References from OT passages that are referenced
2- Cross Reference Exegesis
3- Repetitive Verse Inference Grouping
4- Contrast Diagramming

We diagrammed Hebrews Chapter 3 only to find that it reads in a very direct verse to verse way

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and companions in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession; 2 He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
Hebrews 3:3 For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house. 4 Now every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God.
Hebrews 3:5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.
Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works 10 for 40 years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.”


11 So I swore in My anger, “They will not enter My rest.”

OP 13b complete. OP 13c to come, soon!

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone else struggles with limerance.
Have studied it briefly and know that it is linked to trauma and childhood neglect.
How have you overcome it and how do you walk in purity towards others?
Thanks!

I want to ask about this, as I find it a bit of a barrier in my settling in a church (i am also not keen on "house groups" which some churches operate - basically a midweek fellowship / teaching session in some members house) In my experience with some churches these are often pushed and I get asked "Are you in a house group"?, and I feel like if I refuse to get involved, people regard me as not serious in my christian walk (well its possible I am not a christian anymore, but when I was going to these churches I was seeking get back. Not saying there is anything wrong with churches having these groups for those who want to go to them, but I don't like being constantly asked "Have you joined a house group?" when have started going to some churches. I am sure for many people they are good, but I seem to wreck the togetherness or sense of community in the group or something when I join (I was a told that once by one group member "I'd upset the group's sense of community", after i had ceased to attend the group) - not sure if I'd upset it by ceasing to attend, or when i was attending. But to me if you run one of these groups you got to be prepared for people joining and leaving. The leader was nice and tried to make me feel part of the group, but the others already knew each other and didn't often didn't speak to me when I attended social events the group was having. One in the group tended to keep posing the question What would Jesus do? WWJD? Well if he'd just have asked himself that in the quiet of his heart, and then gone and done it, he could have modeled what it meant to be a disciple of Christ? I wasn't at the stage of walking over to groups of people on the street and witnessing, I was to an extent postmodern and post-christian in my mindset, though going to church to see if might help me return to the Faith I'd grown up in.

Its quite likely that I am somewhat unteachable even unbelieving at the moment. Part of this is probably I have read widely on my own in various subjects christian and otherwise, so I have acquired a bit of knowledge. I believe some christians as well as being informed doctrinally also hold political and economic views of various stripes. When I was much younger and at school, I leaned somewhat left politically I think, and I couldn't abide direction from some older christians I who i believed supported certain political and economic policies at the time, that I wasn't sure i agreed with. I couldn't put myself in submission to them at the time. It might of course have been as much a teenage rebellion thing, but I also had been influenced by Kierrkegarrd's writting to some extent.

I am much older now. What exactly does teachableness entail / require in church context. How much is one allowed to debate, question, disagree, without becoming unteachable? And how teachable should teachers still be themselves?

Spiritually speaking I am not sure where i am at currently. I don't attend any church regularly.

Is it a solid piece of rock ?
Is it translucent/ transparent ?
Is it plasma ?
Is it a mirror ?

God tells us it is a light for night & for showing us times & seasons.

What do you Guys reckon it is ?

Here is video showing us a half moon during the day time.

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