In California, a joint effort will oversee a multi-stage, four-year plan to help Behren’s silverspot butterfly return in numbers to the coastline of Northern California.

Vitalized by a $1.5 million grant from the State of CA Wildlife Conservation Board, the Mendocino Land Trust (MLT) is planning to plant 35,000 early blue violets, the only plant which the caterpillars of these blazing orange butterflies can eat, along with a mixture of supporting native plants.

Invasive grasses have greatly decreased the footprint of these small purple flowering plants along Northern California’s Mendocino coastline—from Salt Point Park in Sonoma County to the Mendocino Headlands, Anna Bride—and the conversion of these plants back to native wildflowers will cover 53 acres.

Continued below.

Again, we have another passage of Scripture where what is being taught by Jesus is the opposite of what so many humans are teaching today as the truth. For the popular “gospel” being taught in America today indeed tells people that they can just say, “Lord, Lord,” and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and that heaven is guaranteed them and it can’t be taken away from them, but regardless of how they live. And so many are teaching that we don’t have to repent of sin and obey God.

For they take Romans 10:9-10 out of context, and they give people the impression that they can just make a verbal confession of Christ as Lord, and they can just claim to believe in their hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that now they will be saved, end of story. But we need to read this in context and we need to read it in the context of the whole book of Romans, for Paul did not teach that we can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now we are saved, regardless of how we live.

For in Romans 2 we read that God is going to render to each one of us according to our works, and for those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury (see Romans 2:6-8).

And then if you skip over to Romans 6, we read that by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified and buried with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Thus, we are to no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its passions, for if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, it will lead to death, not to life eternal with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

And Paul taught the same thing in many other passages of Scripture where he taught us that if sin is what we practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we have confessed with our lips, and regardless of what we say we believe in our hearts. For true belief is obedience to the Lord and it is divine persuasion to do the will of God. It is not a free license to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord while we claim Jesus as Lord and heaven as our eternal destiny.

[Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 15:1-11; 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 3:5-11; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Tit 2:11-14]

So Paul taught the same thing that Jesus taught. He taught that we are not saved and all our sins forgiven based on lip service or an intellectual assent to who Jesus was and to what he did. He taught that we must die with Christ to sin and that we must now walk in obedience to his commands and no longer in sin if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And he did teach that works are required of us by God and that we need to live our lives to be pleasing to God if we want eternal life with God.

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 5:9; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6; Gal 6:8; Eph 2:10; Eph 5:10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 1 Thes 2:4; 1 Thes 4:1; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:4,21; Tit 2:11-14; Tit 3:8; Heb 11:6; Heb 13:6]

So, please believe Jesus’ words, and please know all that Paul taught, and read what he wrote in context so that you don’t come away with the wrong idea about what he taught. For so many preachers today are teaching lies because they are taking Scriptures out of their context, some of them knowingly and willfully, and they are twisting the Scriptures to say what they do not say if they are read in their appropriate context. So many of them are teaching no works, no repentance, no obedience, and lip service only.

But what did Jesus say? He said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” is going to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven. And he said that many will confess him as Lord and will claim the things they believed they did in his name, but his response to them is going to be, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” And this is because they had the idea that obedience to our Lord was not required and that a once in their lifetime confession of faith in Jesus Christ was all that was required of them.

So, please read the Scriptures in their full context, and stop believing other humans without even testing their words against the Scriptures to make certain that what they are teaching is actually the truth. For far too many people are accepting this idea that they can just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now they are good to go to heaven regardless of how they live. And so many of them are continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, but according to the Scriptures, they will not inherit eternal life with God, but the wrath of God is what they will be facing instead.

Broken Cord

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior
And your testimony is separate from Him.
Your words not matching your actions today.
Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.
Live what you testify in truth always.

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,
For you profess one thing, but other you do.
Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.
Not living in truth to what you confess.
Lying about it puts you in a mess.

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.
Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.
Your heart is not given to your Lord God.
Because of how you live, you are a fraud.
Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

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I think one of the main stated differences between Protestants and Catholics is the notion of faith and works. From a Catholic perspective, are you in disagreement with the statement below:

"But in Christianity, good deeds are the necessary concomitant or outflow of sincere faith, not meritorious deeds done for the sake of salvation. Good deeds are the evidence of genuine, living faith, and in the absence of such deeds so-called faith is dead (James 2.17).

A person who lives a life of immorality while confessing Christ is a hypocrite whose faith is dead and useless. Good deeds are a necessary condition of salvation in a logical sense, in that, necessarily, if someone has saving faith, then he will do good deeds"

I have been studying Church History of late, and the lecturer is a Reformed Presbyterian (I have nothing against Presbyterians). I am really enjoying the course, but find my mind stirred by the doctrine of predestination. I had a similar experience last time I studied theology (20 years ago), and so would really love to have an honest discussion with someone who follows reformed theology. I guess part of my problem is that I don't really know what I think with respect to predestination, and so I'm wanting someone to try to convince me that Augustine and Calvin were right ...

Original sin is the idea that every human being is born inheriting a state of sinfulness from Adam and Eve. The terms are not in the Scripture. When it comes to doctrines, I prefer to adhere to the wording of the Scripture. People who like to generalize tend to overgeneralize in a doctrine. I know the following:

Romans 3:

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

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We are all guilty of sin, whether original or not, and we all need Christ's blood to redeem us.

Ro 5:

18 As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

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Paul didn't use the word inherited. Paul was careful with his wording.

19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

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Paul didn't say "all".

Did Jesus inherit the original sin?

I don't think so. No human inherits the original sin, but we all sin except Jesus.

Regarding babies in the womb, Romans 8:

10b when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad

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Why do babies die?

We all die, 1 Corinthians 15:

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

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We all die because of the consequence of the first sin, not because we have inherited the original sin in our bodies. Even Jesus died. Adam and Eve fell and brought the first sin into the world. As a consequence, everyone is subject to death. Babies are born into a sinful world. They could physically die at birth, but they are not automatically condemned to eternal death because of Adam's or Eve's sin. They do not die for the first sin itself. They die because of the consequence of being existing in a sinful world.

Did Adam and Eve have a sinful nature?

Everyone has a sinful nature to more or less extent. After the fall, sin affected the environment. Sin increased and became prevalent. There were more opportunities to sin.

Because humans are created in God's image, our consciences contain a righteous nature to some extent.

Adam and Eve had a better chance not to sin in their pure environment than we are today in our sinful world. We inherited a sinful world.

So lets take a look at the Little Horn power we find in Daniel starting in chapter 7 and break Daniel into parts:
Daniel 7:2-4
7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

Most everyone agrees this is Babylon.
Daniel 7:5
7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

Same agreement that this is Medi-Persia
Daniel 7:6
7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Pretty much agreement this is Greece
Daniel 7:7
7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

Here we see Pagan Rome with the ten horns, which are the nations which came up with it. We also get a description in Daniel 2..
Daniel 2:33 &41-43
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

We see how the nations of the empire progressed and become Western Civilization in Europe, and still have not been able to unite in the manner of the Roman Empire..
Daniel 7:20 &24
7:20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

So the ten toes mixed with iron and clay are of the fourth Beast who subdues three of the kings, and the Little Horn also comes out from the fourth Beast:
Daniel 7:8
7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

This is Papal Rome, we see much agreement in history..

"Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the 'giant form' of the Roman Church." – A.C. Flick, "The Rise of the Medieval Church," 1900, p. 150.

We see the three of the first horns...

The three kingdoms were to be plucked up to give place for the Papacy. This prediction found the exact fulfillment in the destruction of the three Arian kingdoms: the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths.

"I might cite that three that were eradicated from before the Pope out of the last first given; viz., the Heruli under Odoacer (AKA Odovacar), the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths."- 'Hora Apocalyptica, Vol. III, p. 168, Note 1, London: 1862.

Now we see in verse 8 and 25 that the little horn had eye`s like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things and it "he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time." or 1260 prophetic years.
Daniel 7:8
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Daniel 7:25
Dan 7:25. He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

But at the end the Little Horn power or Papal Rome will be destroyed at the coming of Christ...
Daniel 7:26
Dan 7:26. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

So we see several points of history which show who the Little Horn power is as it came to power from among the ten divisions of Europe which were the ten horns. It began as "a little horn" or a little power at its beginning then after the three uprooted horns, the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths were taken out of the way as history shows us. So is we look at the little horn, we see it has a man at its head and it is different than the others.
Daniel 7:8
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

The little horn, not only had temporal or "state" powers, but we see it starts to blaspheme 'mouth speaking great things', so the little horn was a "church-state" combination, and we see more.
Daniel 7:25
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

The Little Horn would speak 'great words against the most High' or blasphemy. And we see the definition of blasphemy from the Bible is to claim to be God and/or to claim to be able to forgive sin. The Little Horn power would persecute or 'wear out the saints' and kill many of the faithful. And we see this in the Dark Ages, during the 'time and times and the dividing of time' or 1,260 years this Little Horn entity's persecutions brought the death of millions and the Little Horn power would think to change times and law. We have to study and discern what scripture tells on this Little Horn entity, and understand..

delete plz

a Google search on what herbs would be helpful with stress showed me this

"Herbal medicines such as Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Passionflower and Lavender provide a safe, effective and easy-to-use method for mitigating the stress response with extensive research for their use."

I was wondering if any of you have tried these and found them helpful?

Exclusive Data: Thousands of Schools at Risk of Closing Due to Enrollment Loss


I see this as yet more proof of a developing subculture.

We live in a day and time here in America where the majority all appear to be teaching the wide gate and the easy way as the true path to salvation from sin and to eternal life with God. And so they are refuting the idea that we must enter by the narrow gate, and that we must walk in the way that is hard as the way that leads to life everlasting. And they are refuting the notion that the wide gate and the easy way will lead to destruction, decay, and death. And so they have flip flopped these to appease human flesh.

So, if you are one who is teaching the narrow way, which is hard, versus the easy way, that is wide (broad), you are likely to be taken to task and accused of teaching works salvation and legalism, and of being hateful, judgmental, intolerant, and negative. For the easy way is what is being pushed as the true path, and those who are promoting this have managed to convince the masses to believe them and to reject those who are teaching the truth that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught, which is hard.

For this has become all about what makes people feel good who are still habitually and deliberately sinning against the Lord, whether what is being taught is the truth or not. And this has become all about not offending the ungodly and not making them feel bad about themselves and about their sins. So they encourage the ungodly, but then they reject, cast out, slander, and mistreat those who are truly on the path of righteousness, which is the narrow way and the hard way which leads to life with Jesus Christ.

So, what does this mean exactly by these terms narrow and hard and wide and easy? I think we can probably guess the easy one, as it signifies that there is no effort on our part required, which is what is largely being pushed as the truth these days. But they take Scriptures out of context to try to prove their case, too. And the one they often use the most is Ephesians 2:8-9, but they leave out verse 10. And so they teach “no works required” when verse 10 clearly states that works are required (see Ephesians 2:8-10).

But this is where we need to differentiate between works operated in the flesh and works commanded of us by God which are of the Spirit and which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them, as those who are his workmanship. So we must know that 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, the works he prepared in advance that we should walk in them (see also Titus 2:11-14).

So, what did Jesus teach about the way that is hard and narrow? He taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) 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 to his commands, then we have eternal life in him. But if we deny him by how we live our lives on this earth, then when he returns for his bride one day, he will deny us, and we won’t have eternal life in him (see Luke 9:23-26).

We are also taught that the life of one who follows Jesus Christ is the way of righteousness and holiness and moral purity, and honesty, and faithfulness, and obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And it is also the way of suffering for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of righteousness and holiness. Especially if we are out there in the public sharing the narrow way as the right way, and if we are refuting the wide and easy way, which leaves people still in slavery to sin, then we are bound to be persecuted and rejected and falsely accused of wrongdoing.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

But Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him and no longer for self. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now honor God with our bodies. And he was crucified on that cross and resurrected from the dead that we might be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience, we will not have eternal life.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

So, if you are teaching the narrow and the hard way, and not the easy and the broad way, don’t be surprised and don’t be afraid if you are rejected and accused falsely of teaching lies and not the truth. Just keep speaking truth.

Why Are You Afraid?

An Original Work / December 5, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures

Do not be afraid.
Your Lord is always by your side.
Serve the Lord in righteousness
Before Him all your days.

Those who hate the light
Will not come to the Lord.
They fear their deeds
Might be noticed.
So, they hate the light,
And they embrace the night.

Do not be afraid,
Although your enemy attacks.
Dare to share your testimony
Of God’s saving grace.

Do not fear their threats,
But honor Christ, your Lord.
Be prepared to give an answer
For the hope you have,
With gentleness; respect.

Why are you afraid?
For all that’s hidden will be shown.
What I tell you, speak in daylight.
Let the truth be known.

Do not be afraid
Of those who’ll take your life.
Fear the Lord with understanding.
Trust Him with your life,
And give not up to strife.

Do not be afraid.
Take courage, it is I, your Lord.
Bow before Me; now adore Me.
Oh, why do you doubt?

Listen to the Lord.
Get up and bear His name!
Run and tell the world He loves them.
Jesus came to save.
Give Him your all today.

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he also went to theis church more than anyone

Till March 2024.
Rep Chip Roy sums up my feelings.
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How ambitious should a man Christ be in his career and when is his ambitious too much ?

Genesis 16 Hagar and Ishmael

Before Sarai had given Hagar to bear a child there was peace between the wife and slavegirl. Deep emotions were stirred when the order was displaced. Hagar began to despise Sarai and then Sarai mistreated her and Hagar ran away. Isnt that the way emotions are? We run from them, submit to the emotions and refuse to think reasonably. When the Angel of the Lord found her in the desert He told her to return to Sarai and submit to her. In the same way we are to submit our emotions to reasoning with the Lord. Emotions are so numerous that it's impossible to know what they are about unless we do the work to untangle ourselves from their bad effects. In general they all come out as fear and there is no fear in perfect love.

After The Angel of the Lord instructed her back to her mistress He went on to explain who she would give birth to after hearing of her misery. Ishmael was to be wild and like a wild donkey with his hand against everyone, living in hostility to all. Emotions that are not under the controlling force of the Holy Spirit are just such offspring. Wild and untamed. But thanks be to our Heavenly Father that He sees all that and is able to lead us back to where we belong. In love and not in fear. Like Abraham this often comes with old age but certainly the experience is well worth the intimate relationship that results.

It's happened in real life:

Chinese scientists 'create' a mutant coronavirus strain that attacks the BRAIN and has a 100% kill rate in mice - as they admit there's a 'risk it spills over to humans'
Eight rodents infected with the pathogen 'surprisingly' died within eight days
Critics of the study said: 'This madness must be stopped before [it is] too late'
Chinese scientists have been experimenting with a mutant coronavirus strain that is 100 percent lethal in mice — despite concerns such research could spark another pandemic.
Scientists in Beijing — who are linked to the Chinese military — cloned a Covid-like virus found in pangolins, known as GX_P2V, and used it to infect mice.
The mice had been 'humanized', meaning they were engineered to express a protein found in people, with the goal being to assess how the virus might react in humans.
Every rodent that was infected with the pathogen died within eight days, which the researchers described as 'surprisingly' quick.
The team were also surprised to find high levels of viral load in the mice's brains and eyes - suggesting the virus, despite being related to Covid, multiplies and spreads through the body in a unique way.
Writing in a scientific paper that has not yet been published, they warned the finding 'underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans'.

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I am in need of prayer for healing, I woke up with a cold this morning and I’m not feeling well. Please pray for me for healing and for blessings. Thank you.

This is the classic game of Cribbage but the variation that uses Christian principles. If there are any of you who are interested, I am forming a club here in Honolulu.

I have started reading a book by Paul Blair written in the 1800s that I downloaded from Google Books. It has this to say about the Sabbath.

There is an Exposition of the Apostles' Creed by the Wal-
denses and Albigenses, in which they quote, 1 John v. 7. in
defence of the Trinity, and they defend all the doctrines now
found in that summary except descending into hell and be-
lieving in the holy catholic church. Among the documents
we have by the same peoples, an explanation of the Ten Com-
mandments, dated by Boyer 1120. +
It contains a compend
of Christian morality.
Supreme love to God is enforced, and
recourse to the influence of the planets and to sorcerers, is
condemned. The evil of worshipping God by images and
idols is pointed out. A solemn oath to confirm any thing
doubtful is admitted, but profane swearing is forbidden . Ob-
servation of the Sabbath, by ceasing from worldly labours and
from sin, by good-works, and by promoting the edification of
the soul through prayer and hearing the word, is enjoined.
The fifth, sixth and seventh commandments are explained in
the ordinary way.
On the eighth precept, not only theft,
but fraud, coining base money, gambling for gain, and trifling
away time, are condemned. False witnessing, lies and slan-
ders, are severely censured under the ninth ; and covetous-
ness, with all internal lustings, are denounced under the tenth
precept. The conclusion states, that the two parts of the law
are the enforcement of our duty to God and to our neighbour,
and teaches that the use of the law is to convince men of sin,
in order to persuade them to confess it, and to plead for par-
don at God's throne of grace. p. 220

There are several other quotes showing that the Waldensees kept the Sabbath. Even their enemies were forced to admit they lived holy, just lives and took their doctrines from people who knew the apostles personally.

During the dreadful persecution of 1655, the churches of
Piedmont, in a Confession of Faith, publicly declare their
agreement, " in sound doctrine, with all the reformed churches
of France, Great Britain, the Low Countries, Germany, Swit-
zerland, Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and other places, being
ready to subscribe to that eternal truth of God with our own
blood, even as our ancestors, since the days of the apostles, and
especially in these latter ages."
In 1825, an English traveller asked Mr Pierre Bert, pastor
of the Waldensian church of La Tour :-" Was the church of
the Waldenses founded by Claudius, bishop of Turin ?" The
answer is :- " He was not the founder, but the Waldenses
being in his diocese, persevered in the Christian doctrine."
The next interrogatory is :-" If not by Claudius, by whom
was the church founded ?" Mr Bert replied :-" Tradition,
and the testimonies attribute the foundation to the apostles."
p. 11

So, all the arguments about the early church fathers such as Origen saying the Sabbath was changed by the apostles are not true.

This is a very interesting book on the history of Christianity. The Waldensees suffered the same persecution as the people during the Reformation. Having the scriptures on them, or even one book of the Bible, or even a few verses. was a crime worthy of death in Rome's eyes as the Bible is the enemy of Rome.

NPR​

Capitol Police Suspends 6 Officers, Investigates Dozens More After Capitol Riots​

February 19, 2021

"The investigation into the January 6 attack remains under investigation. Our Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the actions of 35 police officers from that day. We currently have suspended six of those officers with pay," the department said in a statement.

Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman further directed that any member whose behavior is not in keeping with the department's Rules of Conduct "will face appropriate discipline."

The department "has been actively reviewing video and other open source materials of some USCP officers and officials that appear to be in violation of Department regulations and policies," she said on Jan. 11.

Videos from the day of the attack appear to show some officers escorting rioters inside the building. In one video, USCP officers can be seen opening barricades allowing the mob to enter the Capitol complex without resistance.

Hello,

So far I have found the Bible pretty tough going - and I haven't even finished Genesis! Regardless of what I have tried to study in the past, I have found group lessons to be most effective and fun way to learn. I see there are many online Bible study groups. Why do they tend to be sex-segregated? Do they welcome non-Christians who are simply curious?

Just popping in to introduce myself and say hello. I am a christian, I love Jesus and I enjoy fellowship with my siblings in Christ. I am almost 60 (still have a time saying age) and mother to three sons and ALOT of grandbabies. I had all boys and the boys multiplying the Earth! I love them all and always look forward to seeing them. I'm on the East Coast and all of them are on the West Coast so roadtrips are frequent and I love each one. I am a work at home worker and in fact am "working" now. I wanted to find a good forum to fellowship in between calls at work and am glad I found CF again. I use to be a member many years ago. So thats about it. Looking forward to posting and reading.

Jesus was the best person and he grew up talking to the elders. As a man he was learned and addressed people needing healing, body and mind, the lepers, those tormented by unclean spirits, adults and little ones, tax collectors and prostitutes and also the Pharisees. People today unwittingly become Pharisees. They hate sinners, see themselves as a better more classy people, dealing out rejection and harsh treatment, long sentences on sinners, laughing about their own faults. These are grand children of Christians who do not want to learn forgiving, loving enemies, counsel, ministry... it seems they'd like grace to come from the reputable to the reputable and they may not repent themselves, proud of themselves. Are they better people? What can one say to them? They hear a testimony of a life changed and they may be angry that a sinner gains grace and gets a good wife or husband...

With a view to Revelation 12. What scriptures are there that say the angels that belong to him cannot assume human form. I know the chapter doesn’t state they will take on human form, I guess I’m talking about ‘demons’ in general.

University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh after his team’s championship win last week said college athletes should be able to unionize, one of the biggest endorsements the idea has received in years.

Discussions on college sports unions are not new, but with the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals and revenue-sharing for athletes, some think it is only a matter of time before at least some student-athletes organize.

The basic idea of student-athletes sharing in the sometimes tremendous revenue they bring in has broad support, but how organized labor would work in university locker rooms is unclear. Some experts say the changes would have to start with the top.



While I 100% understand the motivations behind these efforts (the schools themselves make a lot of money off of the athletes, and their likenesses are even used in video games and advertisements)

I don't know if this is solving the right problem.

I often wonder if perhaps institutions of higher learning (that are supposed to be academically oriented) should just stop be in the business of being "pro sports launchpads" altogether.

With the idea of paying student athletes, while it does appear to correct one "fairness" problem between the athlete and the corporate side, I think it creates several others.
1) There's going to be a gender gap in pay (especially in a revenue-sharing model that the article mentions) so people need to brace themselves for that. NCAA men's football is always going to be a bigger fan draw than NCAA women's softball

2) It would open up the possibility of schools using their ability to offer a "sweeter deal" to draw all of the people to their schools (thereby potentially hurting enrollment at other schools that can't afford to keep up). Basically, legitimizing the very thing SMU got in trouble for a few decades back.

3) It could create some bad incentive structures in which enrollment openings at schools are being filled by people who are going there for the $$$, instead of the people who actually want to get (and more importantly, use) the degree they're getting. (IE: if a higher percentage of Duke's ~2,000 yearly acceptances go to people who just want perks of getting make some $$$ playing Duke Basketball, instead of people who are actually interested in studying Neuroscience or enrolling in one of their Engineering programs - and perhaps playing a little ball while they're there) -- I could see that impacting a student athlete's decision making process with regards to whether they're going to prioritize their athletics vs. education "Oh, well, I could either stay up late studying this and get an A... but, if I just do the bare minimum in class and focus on the sports, more people would be interested in using my likeness and I'll get a bigger revenue sharing check at the end of the quarter"...18-22 year old aren't always going to make the most prudent decisions when faced with those kinds of choices.