"1984" is the name of a work of fiction. Its author is George Orwell (deceased). It is the story of a man living in a totalitarian state, called Oceania. A state that re-writes history, redefines words, controls all of the media, oversees everything and everyone all of the time, ruthlessly controls every thought and every action and every emotion and every facial expression and every bit of body language. In short from a free man's perspective Oceania is doubleplusungood but for those inside its influence Oceania is the salvation of humanity.

George Orwell intended his work to be a warning against Soviet communism, but he also intended it to be a warning against the tendency to control others by the use of force. J R R Tolkien also wrote a book, it is called "The Lord of the Rings" and it too is a warning against the tendency to control others by the use of force. Tolkien's book offers a gospel message of societal salvation by means of destroying the means of forcing others to submit (unwillingly) to control.

Now, what I am wondering is if Christianity is always or only sometimes on the right side of this existential question? In this question I intend "Christianity" to be understood of churches and denominations here on Earth.

When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith in him, it is not just so that we can have our sins forgiven and so that we can go to heaven when we die. The reason that Jesus died on that cross was so that we could die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. It was so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we would be crucified with Christ in death to sin and 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.

[1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24].

So, all these people who are telling you that no works are required of you at all, and that God does everything, and that you do nothing other than to “believe,” which is rarely biblically define, they are lying to you. Yes, we are not saved through human effort. I agree! Yes, our faith, the grace of God, and our salvation are all gifted to us by God and they are not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. But that also means that we do not get to define what that faith looks like. God does. His word does!

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]

So we need to know that Ephesians 2:8-9 is followed by Ephesians 2:10 which says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” And Titus 2:11-14 lets us know that the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

And we also need to know that Jesus Christ said that if anyone would come after him that 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 the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have eternal life in him. 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 the Father.

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21; 1 John 3:4-10]

So, when we read instructions in the Scriptures written to the body of Christ, the church, which are intended for the church of all generations, we are not to dismiss them just because they don’t fit with a particular theology which is telling you that God requires nothing of you other than some innocuous “faith” in him, which is of yourself because it is not according to the Scriptures. All throughout the New Testament we who believe in Jesus are being instructed in what we are to stop doing and what we are to be doing.

And these instructions are not optional. They are to be taught as required of God, not as mere suggestions or recommendations (see Colossians 3:5-11). So, when we are instructed here to put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, etc., this is what we are to do, not in our own strength, and not of the flesh, but in the power of God as being led by the Spirit of God. But we are first of all to put off all that is earthly in us – sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, evil desire, idolatry, and the like.

But so many people are following a false gospel message which is an adulterated version of the true gospel which is giving them the impression that how they live will not alter their relationship with the Lord and that it will not impact their salvation and eternal life. Just not biblical! And so we have a massive amount of people here in America professing faith in Jesus Christ and heaven as their eternal destiny who are still living for self and for the flesh and who are still walking in sin and not in obedience to the Lord.

But we are to be people of God who are putting off the flesh, who are dying daily to sin and to self, and who are putting on love and compassionate hearts and kindness and humility, and who are forgiving one another, and who are loving one another with agape love which prefers what God prefers. And what God prefers is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to God and to his commands. So we will do for others what is for their spiritual good and not just to please them.

So, yes, the word of God is to be dwelling within us, not just in our intellect, but as part of who we are and of what we do. We are to be daily putting that word into practice, which is for us who are followers of Christ. And then we are to be teaching the word of God to one another, and we are to be admonishing one another in accord with that word. And we are to be spreading the truth of the gospel to the world around us. We are not to be living for ourselves doing whatever pleases us, but what pleases God.

[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 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]

Broken and Contrite

An Original Work / May 13, 2012

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.

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Genesis 6

1Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.

3So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”

4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.

Well first we must find out who the sons of God were.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among us job 1:6

So the sons God were Angels.

There were 200 fallen Angels who landed on Mount Herman that day, this is Mount Herman today.



In order to carry out its mandate, UNDOF maintains an area of separation, which is over 75 kilometres (46.6 miles) long and varies in width between approximately 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) in the centre to 200 meters (0.12 miles) in the extreme south. The terrain is hilly and is dominated in the north by Mount Hermon, which is the location of the globe’s highest permanently manned United Nations position at an altitude of 2,814 meters (1,75 miles).


What does the UN know that we don't ?

WHAT IT MEANS TO FOLLOW CHRIST IN NORTH KOREA:​

Christians are sent to prison and labor camps, where they are starved, overworked and tortured. The government’s requirement that all North Koreans act as informants applies even to families, as children are taught to spy on their parents from a young age. Therefore, North Korean Christians must be extremely careful in what they say, what they do and even how they pray. When a Christian is discovered, the government punishes the entire family in order to encourage reporting on family members. Despite the threat of persecution and heavy social pressure, Christians in North Korea hold firmly to their faith. Christian and secular analysts estimate that about 30,000 Christians are currently suffering in prison and labor camps.

ACCESS TO BIBLES:​

Owning a Bible or even portions of Scripture is extremely risky in North Korea. Nevertheless, bold Christians work to bring God’s Word to the North Korean people, few of whom have ever had access to Scripture because of the regime’s unceasing efforts to restrict access. Most of North Korea’s underground Christians have found that memorization is the safest and most effective way to keep God’s Word.

Voice of the Martyrs – Praying for Persecuted Christians in North Korea

VOM's Global Prayer Guide was created to help you pray more specifically for our brothers and sisters in Christ who risk rejection, imprisonment and even death as they obediently serve the Lord on dangerous and difficult mission fronts.

www.persecution.com

(Last night at Bible study we were discussing how the seed gets spread around the world, and one young man said his church has missionaries in S Korea that they pray for all the time. I said it's possible they might even reach North Korea, because the South Korean believers sometimes floated scriptures on balloons the North calls "propaganda balloons" However, then South Korea stopped the balloons 2 years ago!

"However, in 2020, the South Korean government officially passed a bill to criminalize the flying of propaganda balloons toward North Korea, despite criticisms by activists that the attempts of improving ties with the North with such a ban would suppress the freedom of expression for South Korean citizens. The 187 lawmakers who supported the bill pledged that the new legislation was passed to avoid unnecessarily provoking North Korea, to ensure the safety of people living near the border and secure stable relations with the North. Under the new law, anyone flying leaflets, auxiliary storage devices or money towards North Korea without government permission is punishable by up to three years in prison or 30 million won (approx. $27,730) in fines."

North Korean Defector Indicted in South Korea for Floating Propaganda Balloons — Crossing Borders - Helping North Korean Refugees and Orphans

In 2020, the South Korean government officially passed a bill to criminalize the flying of propaganda balloons toward North Korea, and in 2021, a North Korean defector was indicted for sending helium balloons towards North Korea. Park Sang-hak, an outspoken North Korean defector-turned-activist bec

www.crossingbordersnk.org

Now let's not ask if anyone is still flying balloons with Bibles & scripture. I also heard someone floated scriptures in bottles also, in hopes they wash up on N Korea's shores. Definitely ALL of this deserves much prayer, and ultimately this prayer, "EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!" - Revelation 22:20 )
Amen

I'm just reflecting on this complicated issue with my sister-in-law and relating it to an episode of a sitcom I used to love. Long story short, two of the main characters are married, the wife had an absentee father who is trying to reconcile with her and her husband naively invites him to Thanksgiving. After realizing her dad still hadn't changed enough, if at all, the husband kicked him out and went to find his wife who had left in anger. He tells her family's a privilege not a right, and her dad has to earn it.

Do you guys think that conflicts too much with the Church's teachings on marriage and family?

Reason I bring this up is my wife is trying her best to guide her younger sister who's unmarried, pregnant, and her boyfriend who's 11 years her junior isn't indicating any movement towards marriage. We would let this play out more on it's own and stay out of it if we didn't see all of the stress that his actions are putting on my sister-in-law and thus, presumably, the unborn baby. At first we were encouraging them to get married because we thought that'd be best for everyone, but we laid off that a long time ago and now my wife is wrestling with telling her sister she ought to leave this guy. She doesn't want to create a situation like her own kids were in where their parents weren't together, but she also sees the father's lack of "stepping up" or "manning up" and worries about how it could affect her sister and her unborn niece's health. Especially when her sister has a history of mental health problems.

I started thinking that the father/boyfriend is acting like he doesn't have to act cause she's already "stuck" with him, which led me to me remembering that line from the show.

I'm probably way off base from a Catholic standpoint but if I am then it really seems like a no-win situation.

G7 warns Iran not to support Russia with ballistic missiles​

G7 leaders on Friday urged Iran not to send ballistic missiles to Russia.
“We are extremely concerned about reports that Iran is considering transferring ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia after having supplied the Russian regime with UAVs, which are used in relentless attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine,” the statement said.
The G7 called on Iran not to deliver missiles, and said there would be consequences if they did.
“Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” the statement said.
A senior official in the U.S. administration said the country had not yet seen confirmation that missiles have moved from Iran to Russia, but noted that negotiations between the countries have been advancing.
The official reiterated that measures would be taken against Iran if it supplied Russia with missiles, including a potential ban of flights by state-owned Iran Air into Europe.

Ukraine war updates: Russia heads to the polls; 20 dead in Odesa after Russian missile attack

Russians head to the polls on Friday in a presidential election that is all but certain to grant President Vladimir Putin a fifth term in power.

www.cnbc.com

(Escalate, escalate. Notice nothing at all seems to be going in the opposite direction of peace? The wars grind on, and when someone gets low on supplies, other nations pick up the slack. Except it almost seems calculated that Ukraine doesn't get enough to hold a stalemate, let alone win. Zelensky messed up by not looking way down the road, thinking his western allies would supply him with the means to beat Russia and drive them out, including the delusions of grandeur about driving Russia from Crimea as well.

Luke 14:31-32,
"Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace."

2022, Ukraine had approximately 700,000
Russia was 2 million personal, and 1.15 million troops.
But we also have the population pool: Ukraines of 39.7 million to Russia's 143.44 million in 2022

Ukraine gambled on foreign help, but only got enough to keep the war going, not make any significant headway to any sort of victory.

Please pray for me, I'm worried a brother in Christ is angry with me and I'm not sure why.

Had a really bad day, hurting right now mentally and physically. So depressed I can't even pray or get out of bed. Please pray for me.

Yemen’s Houthi terrorist group has obtained a new hypersonic missile and upgraded its current arsenal with warheads, Russian state media RIA reported on Thursday.

Citing an unnamed Houthi official, the terrorist group told RIA that they had tested a hypersonic missile “with high lethality” and are planning to add it to their arsenal.

“The group’s missile forces have successfully tested a missile that is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8,” the official said, adding that the weapon runs on solid fuel; Yemen intends to begin manufacturing it for use during attacks in Krasnoye. Arabian Seas and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel.

Mach 8 is the equivalent of 9878.4 per hour. The US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance categorizes a hypersonic missile as a missile that can “travel faster than Mach 5 [3800mph] and have the capability to maneuver during the entire flight.”

The unnamed official also reportedly claimed that the group had been upgrading their northern-based stock of missiles and drones, modifying them to have explosive warheads. ”

(OK, where did they get it from? Iran? Russia? Iran does have the Fattah Missile since last year [Farsi for Conqueror] that is hypersonic)

No Labels candidates can be announced soon per this article late yesterday:

Continuing of thread from Virtual Meeting of No Labels Common Sense Party with ?Haley Later This Week with cleanup of voting choices in this thread where you are at now.

What are your thoughts, comments, or updates of the No Labels party moving forward you come across?

Halo there,

for severeal years now I get vibrations through my feet when God wants to tell me something in the same moment with visions and thoughts put into my soul. So I did not take it serious at first but than I got it that God got angry about that so I started to obey.

for 16 years now I am in a secret relationship with an christian orthodox monk (we did not get sex yet), he comes to visit me secretly and we just hug and kiss and talk on my couch or I visit him in the monastery. Everytime earlier I spoke about marriage he always said I would demand to much. Until two weeks ago. God sent me signs through my feet and through visions to obey Him and to talk about marriage to my secret monk love again. And this time he did not feel under pressure. In the contrary he asked in every detail how do I expect our life together. And all the time he was playing with his feet with my feet. He did not feel under pressure at all. But there ist this one problem. God told me earlier through his signs that Jesus will come to me in the year 2027. And now God tells an other story of my life. So I am sitting here and waiting if my beloved monk will decide to move into my appartment with me together and to seek marriage at a "protestant"/evangelical church with me together.

Any tips how I can survive this hard time? Are ther other women who are secretly in love with an catholic priest or orthodox monk?

I really do not know if I really have a chance or I made myself stupid again.

Thanks for reeding. Prayers welcome! This is the love of my life! And he also wants children with me together.

• November 13–22, 2023: Additional 1000 rockets and mortar shells launched at Israel, amounting to more than 10,500 since the beginning of October, with the rate of failed launches that fell in the Gaza Strip and the sea back to 10%.

10,500 rocket attacks on Israel in less than 60 days. Rocket launch sites based in schools, Hospitals and neighborhoods -

Read here additionally -


Every one of those attacks were on civilian population centers - hospitals, homes, schools, market places -

The Palestinians have been offered and rejected a two state solution




They do not want peace - they want the destruction and elimination of the Jews -




They have been offered a two state solution numerous times - always rejected - they don't want compromise - they don't want peace - they want the destruction of Israel.

“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” Pence said on Fox News, in a stunning repudiation of his former running mate.

“As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s efforts to force a sale of ByteDance’s TikTok,” he added.

I could not decide whether to put this here or in ethics, but how do you feel about the fact that in many places a landlord may (legally) refuse to rent to those who rely on section 8 housing? This is so long as section 8 is the only reason they cannot use section 8 among with a protected class, but they may have a blanket policy to not rent to anyone who relies on a section 8 voucher for rent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate Democrats cited advances in artificial intelligence and automation Thursday in their argument for a bill that would mandate a 32-hour federal workweek.

“Despite massive growth in technology and worker productivity, millions of workers in our country are working longer hours for low wages,” Sanders said after gaveling open a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

“The sad reality is Americans now work more hours than the people of any other wealthy nation,” the committee chair and Vermont independent said later."

Exodus 20:9-11
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Yes, they involve evil beings in the spiritual reality.

Does it work every time?

No. Satan is not omnipresent. when someone is practicing witchcraft somewhere on this planet, Satan might not even know about it. His resources are finite. He needs to allocate them effectively. The demons are just not always present when invoked.

Some people are more open to spiritual manipulations than others, e.g., Balaam and the fortune-telling slave girl in Acts 16:16. Others are difficult for demons to penetrate. Though the demons are there, they fail to communicate with the difficult witch.

Satan is not omniscient. When you ask an established witch a question, her associates/evil spirits may not know the answer.

Satan is not omnipotent. The witch and her evil associates can try to make something happen and it doesn't because of circumstances.

Finally, the good spirits may stop the evil spirits. This is spiritual warfare.

Banishing Rituals:

A banishing ritual is often performed at the beginning of a ceremony in order to rid the ritual area of negative or unwanted energy or entities that may interfere with magick or unbalance energies that will be raised or summoned during the ceremony. Most magical paths prescribe a banishing ritual of this type prior to any spellwork or magick of any sort.

Click to expand...

That's when the witch wants to get rid of the good guys.

How to get rid of an evil (voodoo) curse?

Proverbs 26:2b

2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.

Click to expand...

If you are innocent, the curse will not work.

You have been born of the Spirit/Paraclete. The peace of Jesus dwells in your spirit.

Isaiah 41:

13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Click to expand...

Romans 12:

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Click to expand...

Luke 6:

35a But love your enemies, and do good.

Click to expand...

Romans 12:

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Click to expand...

If you need to participate in spiritual warfare, contact your local church.

In a sweeping move expected to reduce the cost of buying and selling a home, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday a settlement of landmark antitrust lawsuits by agreeing to pay $418 million in damages and eliminating rules on commissions.

In November, a federal jury in Missouri found the NAR and two brokerages liable for $1.8 billion in damages for conspiring to keep agent commissions artificially high. The NAR had pledged to appeal the case, but other brokerages settled.

This settlement opens the door to a more competitive housing market. Realtors could now compete on commissions, allowing for prospective buyers to shop around on rates before they commit to buying a home.

I watched a movie called American Fiction. It made me think about the difference between empathy, sympathy, and personal visceral experience, and that made me think about wisdom in distinction from being learned about a matter, learned yet without personal visceral experience.

The movie is about telling people what it is like to be <substitute a subject here, in the movie the subject was "being black"> in distinction from actually being <same subject here>. And that lead me to think about the gospel.

Our Calvinist brethren like to emphasise God's grace in conversion, while Catholics like to emphasise human choice within the confines of God's grace in conversion. The two are not so different. There are differences, but not the obvious ones. And the Calvinist Vs Catholic perspective on salvation isn't my topic here but it leads to the topic I am addressing. That topic is:
I ask readers to respond prudently.

So as a US Citizen wondering what the rest of the World thinks of the Biden/Trump 2024 Presidential race? I think most Americans think no matter which one wins we lose. So disappointed with both parties.

There's a deep emotional attachment to Israel as an idea, as the called-out people of God, made incarnate through the act of remembering ancient scriptures in the 20th century and now in the 21st century and substituting the Israelite refugees of Europe's holocaust for the indigenous people of the British protectorate of Palestine. Thus, at its heart Israel is a religious-refuge state - a very poor apology for the holocaust - that has become a vengeful angel against terrible terrorists and millions of ordinary Palestinians.

Christians cannot come to terms with the reality of what is seen and heard in media reports today and the promises of God regarding his covenant people that are read in the Old Testament and echoed in some of the language of the New Testament.

Others, who read the Old Testament scriptures, have therein a rich mine of examples of vengeance meted out against the Canaanites, and by substituting for Canaan the people of the Levant today, easily justify the bloodshed. "Vengeance is Mine says the Lord", some who read those words will place great emphasis on vengeance. A Christian must place great emphasis on the Lord.

Her post came in response to a clip of Republican strategist Scott Jennings on CNN’s “NewsNight” in which he said he is “surprised, that in the year of our Lord 2024, there is a public relations agent for Hamas sitting in the United States Congress,” in response to an earlier interview with Omar.
What happened to freedom of speech?