ESV, 1 John 4:

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

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I interpret the Spirit more specifically as the Paraclete. The Paraclete dwells and abides in believers. Before John wrote that verse, Jesus spoke of the Paraclete in John 14:

26 But the Advocate [Paraclete], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

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A few verses later, he spoke on the concept of abiding in John 15:

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away,

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That's a grave warning to those in Christ who have the Paraclete.

and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him,

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It is a mutual relationship on our part and on Jesus' part.

he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

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Again, the grave warning: Believers who have the Paraclete beware. But there is good news:

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

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Believers, demonstrate that you are Jesus' disciples.

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

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Our joy is in abiding in Jesus and growing into mature faith by keeping his commandments.

Warning! You can lose the nascent Paraclete in you if you do not abide in Jesus.

If you abide, you will obey Jesus' commandments.
If you obey, your spirit will grow.
If you grow, you will produce fruit.
If you produce fruit, you have demonstrated that the Paraclete abides in you.

Can you *imagine* what would happen if the United States were attacked, and fast, clear, decisive choices had to be made for the safety of the nation---and we have this doddering old duffer who can't even speak intelligibly in the White House? God save us.

Im starting not to think highly of most people and have a neutral view of them even if they proclaim they are Christians until I see enough to verify them a long period of time is that the right way to view people ?

I have someone telling me that the earth is only 6,000 years old. Now I understand that a little bit but I wonder where the dinosaurs came from? I know there is a YEC who calls himself Dr Dino but I can not research why he uses this name because his videos have been removed.

I learned Florida's House passed a measure that would ban children under 16 from joining social media platforms. There is research illustrating how social media is "an important driver" of our "national youth mental health crisis".

I have mixed feelings about this. I agree social media is fueling many problems in our society. And I do support efforts to protect our children. But this situation seems better suited for federal application on a national level. Maybe Florida will inspire our federal government to take up the issue. Either way any bill seems destined for litigation in court.

Presently I am leaning toward supporting these protective bills being created. We need to do all we can to protect our kids, especially if America isn't willing to implement any gun violence mitigation legislation. I feel like we can have a civil discussion on this topic. I am not confident we will, but that rarely stops me from trying. Anyone have thoughts on banning kids under 16 from social media? It seems like a fresh, relevant issue we could wear out like we do with the popular wedge issues .

3 million directly work for the federal government.

where do you go to get away from your depression? I’m 30 years old, only male with 3 sisters. In my opinion the world has been declining so much lately. I’ve lost my desire to get married and have kids. My sisters are all married with kids and some on the way. I can’t see a reason why you would want to bring another person into this world. Work is a struggle just to make money so you can support yourself in a longer lifespan. It feels like things are always “one at a time”.. Only one person can do something and if you do the same thing someone else gets offended. Feels like you have to tiptoe around. Waking up is always burdensome. The thoughts are always spinning around in my head and i don’t know how to process them to find a positive outcome. I feel like if you ask deep questions (like I’m doing now) it’s just bringing negativity and toxicity into the world for other people to be burdened with but I can’t escape it myself without processing it myself. Not sure what you’re supposed to do? Can someone see a way out of this. Appreciate it

...for months (actually years), we've been hearing the study drumbeat to "secure the border". Three US Senators have been negoitiating for several weeks to craft legislation that would pass the Senate. So when it appears they are close to a deal, what does the leading candidate for the Republican nomination do? He blows up negotiations with a post on Truth Social:

"I do not think we should do a Border Deal, at all, unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people, many from parts unknown, into our once great, but soon to be great again, Country!"

Punchbowl News and others reported that McConnell specifically cited a desire not to “undermine” Trump and the fact that the former president would like to campaign on immigration in the 2024 election.

2018: Trump killed another bill:
“Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November,” Trump tweeted. “Dems are just playing games, have no intention of doing anything to solves this decades old problem. We can pass great legislation after the Red Wave!”

After Trump's posting, some Republican US Senators pushed back:

"Only in Washington is our southern border political gamesmanship instead of a national security crisis."
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford)

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called it “appalling” that Trump “would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame [President] Biden for it.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told USA Today, “Is it really better to have 10,000 people crossing a day illegally or 5,000? Clearly it’s 5,000. So somebody who is trying to defeat legislation, all in the name of running for office? That is irresponsible.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called it a “historic moment” and assured the GOP that it “won’t” get a better deal with Trump as president. “To get this kind of border security without granting a pathway to citizenship is really unheard of,” Graham said.

The No. 2 Senate Republican, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), offered similar comments, calling it a “unique moment” and arguing that there’s “absolutely no way” to get such a deal under Trump unless Republicans get a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority.

Reportedly Senators are still trying to get a bill passed, but with the former President seeking to kill it, that may not happen. As I have written on these forums before: The far right doesn't want to solve immigration. They only want to blame the other party

As WaPo's Aaron Blake writes:
"It’s becoming increasingly difficult to dispute that Trump and some Republicans see political value in continuing the border crisis and declining to cut a bipartisan deal that could help Biden politically. GOP lawmakers are now talking openly about that.
A comment I keep coming back to on this is one from Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Tex.), who just came out and said it early this month: “I’m not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating.”

A Japanese man has been sentenced to death for an arson attack at a Kyoto animation studio in 2019 which killed 36 people and injured dozens more.
The incident, one of Japan's deadliest in recent decades, killed mostly young artists and shocked the anime world.
Shinji Aoba, 45, pleaded guilty to the attack but his lawyers had sought a lighter sentence on grounds of "mental incompetence".
Judges rejected this however, ruling that Aoba knew what he was doing.

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When a phrase begins with the word “if” it is usually an indication that what follows is conditional. So it is not assuming here that everyone reading this has, for certain, died with Christ to sin and has been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23). So when it says, “For you have died,” it is speaking to those who have genuinely been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him…

But this is also speaking to those who have not died with Christ to sin, and who have not been raised with him, which is why we have the “if” clause at the beginning. For this goes on to let us all know what the life of a follower of Jesus Christ should look like, in truth, which is for the benefit both of the real Christian and the one professing faith in Christ but who has not died with him to sin and has, thus, not been raised with him to walk in newness of life in him. For both of them need to hear this.

Now, the genuine believer in Christ Jesus is one who has been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, not like the old life. So, we who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ should not still be living like we did before we believed in Jesus. We should not still be holding on to the old life of living in sin and for self, but we should be dying daily to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord and living holy and morally pure and honest lives to the glory and praise of God.

Thus, we who believe in Jesus with genuine faith should be those who have put to death what is earthly in us, but if we have not, this is a command to us that we must put out of our lives all that is of our sinful flesh, such things as sexual immorality, impurity, passion (lust), evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Why? On account of these the wrath of God is coming. And how does that apply to us? Well, read more of the Scriptures and you will see that if we make sin our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[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 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 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]

So, this is not a gentle suggestion or a recommendation. And it is not saying what I hear some preachers say, “Well, we should live holy lives but…” For if sin is what we obey and not obedience to our Lord, then it will lead to death, not to life eternal. And it doesn’t matter what faith we profess with our lips. For Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (see Matthew 7:21-23; cf. Romans 6:1-23; 1 John 2:3-6, etc.).

So we must put them all away, and then the list continues with anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk, and lying to one another. But so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ here in America are being convinced that they can believe in Jesus, be on their way to heaven, and still deliberately and habitually and premeditatedly sin against the Lord and against other humans as a matter of practice. And sexual immorality is at the top of the list of sins now permeating the American church at large.

And sexual immorality is usually a sin that is done in secret, and it is heavily addictive, and those who practice it thus hide it from others, especially from their spouses. And so lying is a big part of this sin. And statistics have it that about 2/3 to 3/4 of “Christian” men (including many pastors) are engaged in regular sexually immoral practices, and that is just the porn statistics, and that doesn’t cover everything, and that doesn’t include the women and children, who are at a lesser amount, but still the stats are astounding!

But if we want to be genuine Christians and followers of Christ who have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God, then we must put these all away from us. But so many Christians are trapped in sexual sin and in other addictive sins and they are not willing to let them go, because that is still what they want. Their sin is the love of their life, and so it is the one they belong to and long for and desire and run to and want for life, not God, and not their spouses, and not walks of faith and obedience to the Lord.

And this is a very sad reality. And what is even sadder is that so many pastors are condoning this by teaching a cheapened grace and gospel message which does not demand the forsaking of our sins and walks of obedience to our Lord. Thus, so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are convinced that they can continue in their sinful practices and that God is just going to overlook them. But that is not what the Scriptures teach. They teach that if we live in (practice) sin, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

A love song to our Lord Jesus

You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of…
Ain't nothin' better

[Lyrics taken from a secular song called “You’re Still the One” by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain]

Ok. So im going to get personal here, just a warning.

I started masturbating at the ripe age of 6-7, dunno why, I didnt even have a sex drive yet, it just felt good. So I did it. I was raised in a pretty non believing home, so I never was taught anything against it. As I aged, this addiction became more and more over bearing. I was a hard core atheist so I didnt care about it. When I got turned on, I would touch. Wouldnt even think about it. As I reached my late teens, I finally turned to Christ. Theres a long story there, that I wont get into. As such I started cleaning up my act. I stopped swearing, I stopped saying things like "god" as an exclamation, I got better control over my anger and my impulsivity. Ultimately Jesus was cleaning up a pretty dark and sinful person. I also noticed that things I used to do and move on from suddenly really effected me when I DID end up doing them. I felt this deep sorrow. Looking back, that was the spirit working in me. God definitely was working his magic in me and I was in a much better place. Fast forward to now, there is one thing I still cant let go. Lust. I have built such an addiction, such a habit, that no matter what I do, I am powerless to it. Helpless to my sin. My life looks like this.

Sin

Repent

Sin again 2 days later

over and over and over again. Its a cycle and its been going on for years. I just fell again a few minutes ago. And for some reason this one feels way darker then the last however many times. This feels like ive become what Hebrews 10:26 is talking about

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"

I think I may have just sinned one too many times. Given in one too many times. The issue is I WANT to stop. Lord knows I want to stop. But I can't. I really think ive failed the race. I was too weak.

I'm sorry Father...

I've been asking God questions about my future, and everytime he says the same thing. Even when I'm not aware of asking the question, he says the same thing. Is it God or just my own overactive imagination? Is the little still voice i hear in my head really God? It's crazy that I can ask the still voice for advice and it actually gives me good advice? I can't believe it's God because that seems too lucky for me! Anyone has any opinion on this?

On the 4th of October, 2023, a high-ranking member of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, affiliated with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, participated in the "Interfaith Harmony Day" at a grand Hindu temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey. This meeting, part of the festivities leading to the consecration of the temple on October 8, brought together a plethora of erroneous theologies, including heretical forms of Christianity and the prelest religions that are Mormonism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. The venue, managed by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha organization, emphasizes the empty and soulless doctrine of universalism, echoing the dystopian and schizophrenic dialectic of liberalism (capitalist democracies), communism/socialism, and Origen's heretical teachings, which believed that the revealed truth calls all mankind to conversion and break down barriers real or imaginary.

Archbishop Elpidophoros, the head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOARCH) who also participated in a march held by the Marxistic and black supremacist hate group known as Black Lives Matter, was represented by His Grace Bishop Athenagoras Nazianzos, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, who attended the event in person. Misquoting the holy Apostle Paul, Archbishop Elpidophoros conveyed, “In the boundless tapestry of creation, we are called to recognize and celebrate the diverse ways in which humanity seeks to connect with the divine. As Orthodox Christians, we are continually reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words, for from Him and through Him and for Him are all things.” This sentiment echoes the stance of Archbishop Evgenios of Crete, another hierarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate, who perpetuated the lie that sexual perversion of gender dysphoria is not a sin.


It seems that the Orthodox Church is going the same way as the Catholics who have clown masses and bless homosexual relationships. Perhaps the Old Believers and Old Calendarist are correct(see First-Second Council of Cannons)

*Affirm the soul has a journey after its departure from the body, and is related to the particular judgment. In its most general form, it refers to the idea that after death, the demons attempt to find a basis for taking the soul to Hades, while the angels defend the soul, taking the reason in the righteousness of the reposed person. Whether the soul is finally seized by the demons, or taken to heaven depends on the state of the soul at death and the intercession (prayers) of the living.
*Rejection off the adoption of the Gregorian calendar by some Orthodox Churches as it is a deviation from tradition, associating it with Freemasonry, heresy, and the "pan-heresy" of Ecumenism.
*The liturgical gestures of the Sign of the Cross, bows, and prostrations are meticulously performed in unison by the congregation according to established tradition, with the Sign of the Cross symbolizing Christology through a two-fingered gesture accompanied by the recitation of the Jesus Prayer.
*The Communion bread, known as prosphora, is meticulously crafted from seven pieces of leavened bread and paired with pure grape wine, both consecrated during the Holy Eucharist service.
*Affirm the seamless unity of Christ's divine and human natures, intricately intertwined without division or confusion.
*Both monasteries and parishes adhere rigorously to the St. Savas Typicon, ensuring the faithful observance of a full cycle of services, with liturgical homilies precisely delivered during Matins.
*In the appointed psalmody, the complete text of psalms is read, with the chanters responding with selected psalm verses.
*Utilize specific kinds of readers , especially the Canonarch and the Psalmist and always have readers receive a blessing before reading, and ask forgiveness of the priest and congregation when finishing their duties.
*Traditional liturgical singing consists of unison (monophonic) chant without
compositions – only ancient traditional chant melodies.
*Emphasis on silent prayer to touch the divine light within and illuminating the depths of God's unknowable presence.
*Separation from the world with plain dress, no electricity, and limited technology, promoting simplicity and community
*Affirm in the Creed that the Holy Ghost is the True Lord, the Giver of Life
*Immersed in communal prayer's "Mystery of Unity," find wholeness in Christ's Body, upholding decorum, reminding that order cradles grace, as children learn at their side

I have this same struggle, and for people who I have never met face to face, especially since the ministry that the Lord has given to me is one of writing, and of posting these writings on the internet, which are then going to people in many nations all over the world. For, although I do what I do because to this God called me, and because I love my Lord, and because I want to obey him, I do what I do because I love the people of this world and my fellow believers in Jesus, and I want for all of you to know Christ and to obey him.

For those of you who have made professions of faith in Jesus Christ, my hope for you is that you are hearing the truth of the gospel being taught, for so many people these days are teaching lies, i.e. they are altering the message of the gospel of Christ to make it more appealing and acceptable to the ungodly, which includes to many who call themselves Christians but who are still walking in sin and not in walks of obedience to the Lord. Thus, so many are not teaching on repentance and holiness and obedience to God.

I, as well, want to encourage your hearts with the truth of the Scriptures. But please understand that this word “encourage” is not all about saying only what makes people feel good. The word primarily means to exhort (insist, spur, prod), to beseech (implore, beg, plead), to entreat (request), to admonish (reprove, caution, rebuke, warn), and to urge with a holy urging. But if you are one who is encouraging with this kind of encouragement, here in America you might be chided for being “negative,” and thus to be ignored.

Now the encouragement here that Paul was offering was first of all that they (believers in Christ) would be knit together with one another in love (agape). And the word “love” means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, just, honest, morally pure, upright, godly, faithful, and obedient to the Lord. And for the believer in Christ it means to prefer to live through Christ, and to choose his choices, and to be obeying them through his power. The believers were all to be doing this together, helping one another to grow in Christ.

Sadly, though, in America, what is largely being pushed is that we are to “stay in your own lane” and to “mind your own business” and to stop being “judgmental” and “negative,” etc. And so many Christians (or professing Christians only) have gotten this mistaken idea that it is rude or prideful for one Christian to exhort and urge and warn other Christians based on what the Scriptures teach. Well, they might be okay with it if you have certain credentials or a title of “pastor,” but not generally for us without titles.

But the Scriptures do not teach that only people with certain credentials or certain titles in front of their names have the biblical right and authority to encourage one another as is defined above. All of us who profess the name of Jesus, if our faith is genuine, and if we are walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, are to be restoring fallen brothers or sisters back to a right relationship with the Lord. And we are to be those who are bringing back sinners from their wandering to save their souls from death.

And we are to be utilizing the Spiritual gifts given to us by the Spirit in the body parts assigned to us by God to warn other believers in Christ against false teachers and false teaching so that they are not led astray. And so we are to be speaking the truth of God’s word to one another to help one another to grow to maturity in Christ, as each one of us does our part. And we are to be teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

And then we are all to exhort one another EVERY DAY, so that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we should be stirring one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together (any day, any place, any time of day, every day) for the express purpose that we are encouraging (exhorting, urging, warning, comforting, lifting up) one another, and all the more as we see the Day of judgment drawing near. For not all who call Jesus “Lord” will go to heaven. Only those obeying him.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 3:4-10]

Draw Me Close To You

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire
And no one else will do
'Cause nothing else can take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way
Bring me back to You
Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want
You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want
Help me know You are near

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Hi all!

My name is Nick, and I've been convicted by the Holy Spirit to become more involved with other Christians and to pray more for people. I'm the introverted type so this is pretty new to me. I'm more of a reader than a poster on forums and for reasons unknown, I'm drawn to post! Maybe it's a phase, maybe not. All I know is, I don't have many friends in the outside world and I'm still looking for a church to be a part of. God is calling me, at least I feel, to meet other Christians, so here I am! God bless.

Once saved always saved.Bible verses for and against. Can you list all the verses that come to mind?

Pray The Holy Spirit comforts , heals & provides for the family, loved ones &friends of the Ukrainian Prisoners of War who were killed due to a plane crash:

How do I live the simplest Christian life? What should be my daily focus?

At times you may find a chance to talk with someone who has left a church, and isn't yet having returned to church somewhere, and so I think it helps to hear from some why, and there are different reasons of course, but some reasons are more common. So, becasue I heard a bit of this program below the other day, I found the podcast source so I could hear more, and some may want to hear more on why many churches have had less attending.
(yes, there is more than one situation and more than one reason, including both bigger reasons but also specific to a church reasons, and we can be ready for all of those)

Some who have left churches do believe, they have faith, and so that's different from someone that left yet says they don't believe (which may or may not be the reality deeper down below ordinary consciousness down in their heart, further down under the level of ordinary intellectual consciousness...). It can help though to be aware some people (not all, but many) have left for some specific thing that happens, even for a very good reason sometimes, and then how we talk with them will be different from someone who simply needs to hear the gospel in a more real way....

So, this is addressing many different aspects, including big picture things, and study/polling also:

This is from the NPR program "On Point", which is just a public radio general interest program that looks at various contemporary topics in depth, based in Boston, and this particular program below is an interview of 2 authors who have been studying why people have left churches.

About 40 million Americans have left churches and other religious institutions in the last 25 years.

For some, the decision is rooted in deep pain. But for the majority, their reasons for leaving are a lot more mundane than you'd expect.

“Most people have left for really pedestrian reasons. Like, I moved; attendance was inconvenient; or, say, family change," Michael Graham, co-author of "The Great Dechurching" says.

So, what does that say about the importance of faith in America?

Today, On Point: 'The Great dechurching.'

The link has both the recording of the radio program, and a transcript for those that prefer to read.

In the Holy Scriptures, it's common for God to give legislation to protect the poor and to protect people who are called strangers living in the land. It is interesting to think how much of Scripture is devoted to this notion of just treatment for social issues. We are Christians, representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are called ambassadors of Christ in this world. Do we think of Justice in the same way that God does?

Another member of this forum has started a thread to explain why he is a continuationist. I have deep respect for those who do believe in the continuation of supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Scriptures give good reason to think that these gifts have continued. The Holy Scriptures also give good reasons to think that revelatory gifts have ceased. I am inclined to think that revelatory gifts have ceased because I have watched what becomes of churches that think that they continue. How quickly such churches can become a hotbed of insane ideas; doctrines that are harmful to people almost doctrines of demons.

When a friend came calling on Father Alfonso Benito López on Tuesday in the Old City of Valencia, the janitor of the building went looking for him, only to find the 80-year-old priest lying dead on his bed, in his pajamas.


With no signs of forced entry or of a struggle in the apartment, and no visible wounds on the body, it would have been easy to conclude that the priest had died of natural causes, at least a couple of days earlier, given the condition of his corpse.

So you can imagine how surprised the janitor must have been to receive a text message only a few minutes later, which was supposedly sent from the priest lying dead in front of him.

Police later ascertained that several other friends and acquaintances had received similar messages over the previous days, all seemingly sent after Fr. Lopez had died.

After the janitor received a text message from the dead priest, his death been treated by police as a homicide, to the shock of the good citizens of Valencia, an ancient and beautiful city that sits on Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

“People have been quite astonished”, said Lucia Ballester, a journalist with Aid to the Church in Need International, who is originally from Valencia.

“Everyone is finding it very strange, like something out of a movie. My grandmother even mentioned [the Umberto Ecco novel] ‘The name of the Rose’”.

Continued below.

At the Last Supper, Jesus said in Matthew 26:

29 "I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom".

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This particular wine was probably the celebratory wine (G3631 οἶνος John 2:3). G3631 appears 34 times.

At Golgotha, initially, Mark 15:

23 they offered him wine [G3631] mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

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Jesus did not drink this G3631-wine as promised.

Later, John 19:

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

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vinegar/sour wine
ὄξους (oxous)
Strong's 3690: Vinegar, sour wine mixed with water, a common drink of Roman soldiers. From oxus; vinegar, i.e. Sour wine.

H3690 occurs 6 times.

The Roman soldiers on site drank this sour wine to quench their thirst. Jesus drank this G3690-wine. This was not the celebratory type of wine.

Back then, people often drank low-grade wine instead of water for thirst because the alcoholic content kept bacteria from multiplying in plain water. It was safer to drink sour wine than water. At the Last Supper, Jesus promised not to drink the celebratory wine (G3613) until the kingdom of God materialized. He did not promise not to drink the usual wine of thirst. Jesus did not promise not to drink any liquid (G3690) for the rest of his life on earth.

My father abandoned me when I was a child and Ive only seen him twice in my life as an adult when he went to my cousin's graduation and my grandmothers funeral.

I do not like calling him "Dad" or "Father" as he never filled that role for me, it makes me cringe to call him that even in this thread. My father is in heaven. To this day I have abandonment issues, though I will credit him that he has made me the best father I know as I am the Dad I wish I had.

I pray for him nightly and thank God for him and his family using his first name. Ive been wondering if this is dishonoring him and have asked the holy spirit for guidance on this and while I do not feel convicted of it as I do other sins I feel uncertain. So just wanted to see what other people's thoughts are if it is not honoring your father by praying for them with their first name.

Funny story, when I was young I held alot of hate for him. I would say childish things like "If I ever see him again ill knock him out." When I was 19 I was visiting my grandmother and we were watching home movies and he was in some of them. That night I prayed and forgave him, felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. The next day I went to my other grandmother's home and they were like "come on in we have a surprise for you" and there he was for the first time in 10 years... Awesome how God works isnt it? "Oh you forgive him huh? Lets see!"