"As Christians celebrate the Holy Week, they do so with varying beliefs depending on their sect. Evangelical Christians are the most likely (92% say yes) to believe in life after death, while Roman Catholics express more doubt (67%). Among the other Abrahamic faiths, Muslims (87%) strongly believe while Jews predominately doubt the existence of life after death at a majority level (60%). Hindus (71%), who celebrated the arrival of spring with Holi this week, and Sikhs (67%) are also firm in their belief of life after death."
Is there life after death? Majority of Canadians believe they may have more than one life to live - Angus Reid Institute

The apostle Paul felt confident enough in the Lord and in his walk of faith, by the grace of God, that he could encourage other Christians to imitate his walk of faith and to use him as a model or as an example of what genuine faith in Jesus Christ really looks like. He never claimed to be perfect, but he walked the walk, and he did not just talk it. He took God and his word to heart, and he obeyed the Lord in doing what he said to do, and he did not walk in sin, but he led a holy and a godly life committed to Jesus Christ.

For, although he had not yet finished the race, he was running the race every day, fighting off the lies of the enemy, opposing enemy forces, proclaiming the truth of God’s word, and exposing the fruitless works of darkness and the liars and the deceivers who were trying to lead other Christians astray. He was committed to truth and to righteousness and to leading other people to do the same. And he continued on this path despite being hated and persecuted and falsely accused, and all for the glory of God. Amen!

But then he also encouraged the Christians to keep their eyes on those who walk according to the example that they had in Paul and in the other apostles. And this is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to speak, i.e. this is the most important point, i.e. the moment of truth. And this is where it is critical that we know and understand the truth of God’s word and what a genuine follower of Christ should look like. So we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context.

For the image being presented to us today of what a “good Christian” looks like is often the opposite of what the Scriptures teach us, and the opposite of what Paul and the other apostles modeled to us. For in today’s world we have this image of a good Christian as someone who is just a “good deed doer” and who is “nice” to everyone and who goes around just making people feel good about themselves. And this, too, is the image that many today are painting of Jesus Christ, which is not the truth.

Was Jesus kind? Yes, he was. And kindness is being willing to tell people the truth even if they end up hating you and murdering you in return, which is what they did to Jesus Christ. For they didn’t like it that he told them the truth about their lives and that he told them that they needed to change and that they needed to surrender their lives over to him to make him Lord of their lives. And they didn’t like it that he did not conform to their worldly standards and to their religious hypocrisy and to their human traditions.

So, it is critical that we follow the model that Paul provided for us as to what it means to be a Christian. And Paul, contrary to what many people are presenting of him, was not someone who was “struggling” with (regularly giving in to) sin. For he taught that if sin is our practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, that we are not in true fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we will not inherit eternal life with God unless we repent and we obey our Lord, in practice.

So, be very careful about who you are listening to, and who you are following, for not everyone is of true faith in Jesus Christ who claims to be. Not everyone tells the truth. Liars and deceivers abound these days, in and out of the gatherings of “the church.” So learn to be those who test everything you read and hear against the teachings of the Scriptures, but do so within the appropriate context, and not out of context. For many lies are being perpetrated today via teaching Scriptures out of context.

Take for example, Ephesians 2:8-9 is being taught absent of verse 10, and so many are teaching that we are to do no works at all. But verse 10 dispels that by telling us that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. And John 10:28-30 is being taught absent of verse 27 which tells us that Jesus’ sheep listen (adhere) to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him, and they have eternal life, and they will never perish.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we 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 him in obedience, in practice, then we have the hope of eternal life. For he also said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 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 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

VOICE OF TRUTH

By Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth..

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I honestly don’t know what I’m going through. But it does feel like I’ve been cast out. I’m a faithful Christian who lives the typical Christian lifestyle. Bible, sermons, church, etc. But I know I sinned earlier this year and I honestly seek to change. I’ve already asked for forgiveness of my sin. However the circumstances of my situation are confusing as I had a biblical vision that lasted several days. It was awful. It went about as wrong as one could go. With that said, I was painting a car for several days straight. I don’t know if my vision was from paint fumes or some form of failed spiritual attack. I know my ventilation was poor. Plus I read online that it takes about 5 days for one’s body to rebound from paint fume exposure. But also Christians frequently have spiritual warfare. So I’m very unsure what I experienced.

I know the various Bible quotes about salvation is forever and also not being left or forsaken. But it doesn’t explain what I’m feeling. This is why I’m asking for prayers. Thank you.

Psychologists tell us that the practice of lying is universal (or nearly so) amongst humans. They also tell us this practice begins at a very young age. Parents with toddlers, or with long memories of having had toddlers, may well be able to relate to that. However, the object of this thread is not to debate the truth of these assertions. For the purposes of this discussion I would like you to take these as true. I wish to discuss whether the practice of lying differs between participation in forums such as this and how it is practiced in "real life".

In the real world I periodically lie. I do not know to what extent my lying compares with human norms. Do I lie more frequently, or tell much bigger whoppers than the average human? I don't know. I like to think that my lying is less intensive than average, but I would like to think that wouldn't I? (I reviewed my interactions yesterday and the closest I can come to a lie was in omitting to truthfully tell a high pressure salesman that I was not making a decision today because I did not entirely trust what he was telling me.)

And finally I get to the point. I have, as far as I am able to recall, despite telling lies in the real world from time to time I have never told a lie on this forum, or on any other forum several of which I was active on for over a decade and a half. I find this odd and am uncertain as to what compels me to be scrupulously truthful online, but not elsewhere. I have some thoughts, but I would welcome suggestions as to what you think might be the cause. Also, if you feel comfortable doing so, comment on whether you have had similar experiences. And if any of you can identify an instance in any of my posts where I demonstrably lied that would be helpful, as it would remove the anomalous contrast.

Every single story I hear goes something like this.
Someone grew up in a family that was religious, they went to Church and did Church activities, they never took it seriously or wanted to go to Church but went because their family made them, and now as they got older, they no longer go.

So now according to them they left the faith, even though in the beginning they seemed to want nothing to do with, and they have no mention of having a life changing spiritual experience or believing in God or Jesus with all their heart at one time, it all centered around "Church activities" whatever that means, and them no longer wanting to go.

We must ask, what does it mean to be a Christian? Does it mean to go to a Church one time, and be raised in a family of people who say they are Christians?

Now if they said they believed in Jesus and God with all their heart at one time in the past and no longer do, then that's a different story. But they never imply or claim they did, only that they went to a Chruch building.

I try to be kind to everyone, even when they don't speak kindly to me. But the toughest thing is to speak with non-believers because as soon as I mention God or Jesus, they no longer want to speak. That's not what they want to hear, but as it is a huge part of my life, it's mostly what I talk about. And so I'm finding it difficult to make friends and find a romantic partner because of this. Now I don't want a non-believer as a romantic partner anyway, so that doesn't really matter. But it's so difficult to find faithful people. People who actually know the Bible and live by Biblical principles. The same thing goes for friends. And I'm not sure where to look, so all I feel like I can do is trust God that the right people will cross my path at the right time. Any advice is welcome. Thanks for listening, my fellow believers. May God bring you blessings and joy.

“He was ordered removed by an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review Sept. 24, 2020, and was removed to Mexico Sept. 29, 2020,” the immigration rep said.
“At an unknown date and location Ortiz-Vite reentered the United States without inspection by an immigration official.”
Ortiz-Vite has now been charged with felony murder, open murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon, and felony use of a firearm after Garcia’s bullet-riddled body was found on US 131 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, around 11:40 p.m. Friday.

Border policies have consequences.

Hi, I'm Ingrid Guerci. This is my first post here. I hope to participate in some interesting discussions. I enjoy gardening, hiking, watch movie, photography, and an am avid reader.

The Venezuelan TikToker who went viral last month after defending illegal immigrant criminals and urging migrants to squat in U.S. homes is now on the run from immigration authorities, according to a new report.

Leonel Moreno has claimed that his family, which includes his wife and young daughter, has received $350 a week in government handouts since entering the U.S. illegally.

On top of that, he had claimed to be making $1,000 a day as a TikTok influencer. However, his account, which at one point had more than 500,000 followers, appeared inactive Wednesday morning. His verified Instagram account, however, has about 17,000 followers and posted two videos Wednesday morning showing him waving a stack of $100 bills as he posed with his baby girl.
Moreno allegedly cut off his ankle monitor after receiving border parole and is now listed as an "absconder" from immigration authorities, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moreno reportedly received border parole in April 2022 as part of the government's Alternatives to Detention program, which is supposed to track catch-and-release migrants when there is not enough room to detain them.

Moreno previously told his audience he planned to make a business out of "invading" abandoned houses and taking them over with squatters' rights laws, then selling them for a profit.

Most of us should be aware by now that we are in the middle a war against the globalists and that Trump and his team are the tip of spear in this war , along with over 200 generals in over 30 countries all helping to destroy the globalist infrastructure.

Anyway one part of that infrastructure is underground tunnels that are all around the world used for child trafficking and other evils , and from what i'm hearing , the soldiers fighting in these tunnels are not just fighting against humans but non humans as well , some say they are chimeras.

Also I am hearing that the globalists through their puppet governments have been hiding things from us like cures for cancer , alternative energy etc.
And that they have also been hiding from us people that they call non human entities or off worlders. Apparently there not calling them aliens because the entities are telling them that they have always been here , even before us and that they live underground , also in Antarctica I believe.

Now the point is , the talk out there is that once Trump is back in office , and he will be , then all of this stuff that has been hidden from us is going to be revealed , including the non human entities that are going to share their technology and lots of other wonderful things with us.

The majority of secular society are exited by all this and can't wait for us to begin OUR NWO once this war is won.
And many of them are into new age thinking , tarot cards , crystals etc.

Obviously what looks good to them is not looking too good to me , because i'm thinking bible prophecy. So what are your thoughts on the matter?

I have changed a lot in the last several years, which is not a shocker, I know. Most people do, but I have changed somewhat radically.

I once got deep into studying my Catholic faith.. not a bad idea at all. I recommend all Catholics do this. But the problem is, you have to be careful what your sources are. I happened to serendipitously run into a book written by the late archbishop Lefebvre, who whole heartedly disagreed with the changes of Vatican II and wrote books on this. Then from there I studied Sedevacantism, which I have no problem with, to speak of. However, it seems to me that most professional Sedes are more into mocking "new church" and Francis than they are into.. well, works of charity or what have you. I know I shouldn't even say this because I do not know these people well. I just know that I went to this site once that was run by Sedevacantists and all they ever seemed to post were articles or videos on how awful new church is. The thing is, though.. It really IS awful.

So what am I trying to say here? I don't know... I mean, I am just disturbed, is all. I feel confused because the Catholic Church is divided into 3 parts: novus ordo, SSPX and Sedevantists. I can't say I whole-heartedly endorse the NO (new) church, but on the other hand, I just don't believe that Jesus would allow His Church to utterly fail, as they seem to think, just because anti-Christs took over the buildings (1958). He said that He would never leave us (Mt 28:20) He said his Church would not fail (Mt 16:18).

I feel very alone and misunderstood a lot of the time. It seems that priests in the NO don't want to talk about V2 (and why would they? it doesn't make them look good). I liked a SSPX priest I confessed to years ago.. very good in confession, acted interested in what I was saying. A Sede priest I went to for confession was OK but didn't seem half as interested. Maybe I shouldn't have expected him to be like the SSPX priest, and I do realize that... OK, never mind. I was going to go into some other things but I'll leave things @ that for now.

Please pray that those who are now in my life will be forgiving, open their minds and allow certain truths to be revealed. Truths that maybe will help us to form a better, more authentic friendship with one another.

More importantly, pray that GOD will soften the hearts of Jake, Brandon and Daniel. Remove the spiritual blindness from their eyes, and help them to understand the truth about you. Bring them to repentance and salvation. Help me to let my light shine before men that they may see my good deeds and glorify my Father in heaven.

Glory to GOD

Can you please prayer that Jesus would fix this situation. So there is this girl at my work she used to say always hello to me when see me and she is from other departament. We barely spoke once she got my attention and i message her so we talked online and she was really friendly until i started to like her and became a bit nedy and asking her out for coffee,lunch when we talked on teams. She never said no,but also never said yes only saying thank you for invitation and she stopped replaying me and stopped showing interest talking. After this i started to feel that she rejected me and as she saw i am no value guy. Now everytime i see her i get so nervious i start feeling anexy and fear takes over.i didnt prayer to let her go ,but the feelings still come. I really wish Jesus could fix my situation that i would stop feeling anexy when see her and that God would provide me ways to fix the situation and let her get to know me. Her name is Andzela

See Which came first: the earth or the sun?

I was raised Catholic, except that we were not devout. We went to Mass on Sunday and the rest of the week we lived like... everyone else in the secular world. So it was not surprising that I ended up not doing well, spiritually. I had a big conversion experience as a teen, but as the years went by and my family made it clear they were not with me spiritually, etc... I fell away from Jesus, although I continued to love Him "my way." So anyway, my life became a colossal mess of sin, and several times I felt like ending it all... LONG story. Then I had a 2nd conversion 20 some years ago, began going to Mass, which I had not done since a youth. It was a holy experience, met an awesome priest... and I began studying Catholicism, history/doctrine, etc. I agreed with all that the ancient Catholic Church taught, yet the CC stopped teaching a lot of that, more/less, due to the modernizations that happened @ Vatican II. I didn't study V2 until just a few years ago, and boy, was it a shocker! All Christians should study up on the late Catholic archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who disagreed heartily with V2. He wrote books on the disagreements and etc.. and I could find no argument w/ him. But then I moved on Sedevacantism and.. well, I couldn't disagree w/ them either, except for one thing. Basically, the Sedes say that Jesus cannot be found in the new church, as they call it, since they do not have a valid Eucharist. I disagreed once w/ a Sede on this because the awesome priest aforementioned had told me about the Real Presence and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever experienced.. But the Sede said I was just imagining this Presence of Christ (in "new church") and just shut me out of his life completely--over THAT. So much for charity! I thought that was basically what Jesus focused on? If you can shut people out, stop communicating with them altogether, people who agree with you RE Jesus 99% of the time...(!). I mean, I don't get that.

So now I feel I am in this weird no-man's land. .. I have to say that I've had some very negative experiences in the "new church" also, problems that make that problem with the Sede (above) look like Heaven on Earth... SIGH. I can see why Jesus said that FEW find the narrow way to Heaven... It seems so many people are focused on religious beliefs and how right they are and everyone else therefore has to be totally wrong... rather than on what God requires of us.

By months?

The word I happen to be looking for rhythm with itch, to say I happen to be reacting like one is a great insult to them. It is much worse but after so many years of trying to believe God for His mercy and just being slapped with His justice I cannot any longer see Him as my Father just my Judge and Executioner so much for rejoicing in the Resurrection of Jesus this weekend. Because I no longer believe in pray(I should say I believe I will deliver my heart’s desire to Him so the reply will always be an Empathetic NO!) That is tough enough to swallow but boy can God really deliver on many of my nightmares.

So any advice for someone who is living in the old man now and so sure that if I desire it God won’t grant it but if I fear it, it is highly likely right around the corner heading my way as God gives me justice without mercy?

Mr Trump proudly crowed: “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible.”

The ex President is selling personally endorsed Bibles via CIC Ventures LLC (which he owns) for his own profit. Is this an example of Mr Trump's devoting to spreading the good news or is the 'God Bless the USA Bible' yet another grift with the same spiritual integrity as his Trump sneakers, steaks and bathroom towels?

When I go to meetings of a local pro-Israel organization, I notice that most of the people there fervently believe that Donald Trump is good for Israel. I long ago decided that Trump simply doesn’t understand Israel or the Middle East.

Yesterday’s Jerusalem Post quotes Dr. Michael Oren, who was the Israeli Ambassador to the US until recently. Oren: “Trump also hates Netanyahu and does not forgive him for congratulating Biden when he was elected.” Given President Biden’s criticism of the war with Hamas and Israeli settlements, he concludes, “There is no pro-Israeli option here.”

Oren also points out that Biden has sometimes stood up to Congress and to many in his own party to stand with Israel. Biden does pay a political price for this, and he has used the veto power in Israel’s favor.

This is not a clear cut case of good versus evil. There are no simple answers.


Story:

Michael Oren: Trump unclear on Israel;​

Biden is supportive​

Link
Michael Oren: Trump unclear on Israel; Biden is supportive

Back when he first announced, the prevailing theory among Republicans was that he'd split the democratic vote.

Democrats, at that time, largely rejected/downplayed that notion, and suggested that due to his stances on Ukraine and vaccines, he'd pull more away from Republicans (and cited selectively chosen polls to support that theory)

It now appears that the script has flipped, and some left-leaning strategists and outlets, are now expressing concerns about RFK Jr. spoiling the election for Biden due to his selection of running mate.


Per the NY Times:
This week, the Democratic National Committee formed a unit to push back against third-party candidates and independents. At the same time, a number of Biden allies have formed a super PAC called Clear Choice, which plans to do the same, signaling the seriousness of the potential impact of an outsider candidate.

One such candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is polling above 10 percent in national surveys and is well known for his family lineage.

Per Vox:
Kennedy is currently averaging about 12 percent in the polls, according to RealClearPolling. Celinda Lake, a pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign who continues to work with the Democratic National Committee, said that’s a worrying signal for Biden, based on polling and focus groups her firm has been conducting that suggest Kennedy will pull voters from Biden.



And it would seem those concerns were amplified by his running mate selection. He picked a philanthropist, former Democratic donor, and wealthy activist who's focused on causes of women's reproductive rights, criminal justice reform, and environmentalism.

The fact that Biden's PAC and DNC operatives are forming task forces to squash independent candidates, and putting out websites to smear RFK, it doesn't sound like the DNC is quite as confident in their earlier assertion of "nothing to worry about, he'll pull more votes away from Trump"



I think my original theory still holds up...which was that the farther and farther removed we get from the covid pandemic, the less of a deal-breaker the anti-vaxxer aspect becomes, and at the end of the day, despite his vaccine attitudes, an anti-war, pro-gay rights, environmentalist is going to pull more votes from the left than from the right. (even more true now that he has a wealthy women's reproductive rights advocate at his side as his running mate during a time when abortion is quite the hot button issue)

What is really the point of marriage besides having kids ?

Hello. I’m told there are some Greek speakers here.

Does anyone have insight about Revelation 9:21 which in most English translations is “sorcery” but when I look at a lexicon the word pharmakeia is the word is says is from the Greek.

To an English speaker the word pharmakeia obviously seems like the word pharmaceutical and that is also what it seems to mean. I even found a modern Greek bible online and pasted the text into google translate and it translated the word to “drugs”.

I can find very little online or in commentaries except that drugs were often used in connection with witchcraft. If that is the case, why was the word for drug used but not the word for witchcraft?

Was the modern Greek bible I found typical in that it used the word “drugs” and if so, do the Greeks have a different understanding of the verse than English speakers?

Do the Orthodox Church have a universal teaching on it?

Please offer advice I’m struggling

E I bought black glasses, they don't have any brand, they're all black. A while ago, Espírito Santo bothered me about piracy and I stopped using them, so I didn't see these glasses in the store.There was a counterfeit model, so I feel bad, but I didn't buy the counterfeit. But for selling a counterfeit I feel bad. Someone tell me Help, I have OCD so my mind can't reason sometimes. Sorry for my English, I'm from Brazil, thank you