Don't tell me GOP is still going to run on debt for reelection, they've been talking about it for the Last 15 years. The loons on the left and right better come together and budget. Something not mentioned is "if or when" we have a recession will we have the tax receipts to service the interest on the debt. I still need my entitlements!

"Though our level of debt is dangerous for both our economy and for national security, America just cannot stop borrowing," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Even more worrisome is that the spike in interest rates over the past year and a half has made the cost of servicing the national debt more expensive."

Thought this was worth watching. The video demonstrates how Lucaris was in fact a Calvinist and signed his confessions in Greek by hand.

Embarrassing "Orthodox" history is often rewritten.

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Idk what to do.

‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9:5‭-‬6‬ ‭KJV‬
[5] Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. [6] Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Answer: I worship and bless the LORD .

‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:4‬ ‭KJV‬
[4] Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

I am loved and precious in God's sight as I live.
‭
Psalm‬ ‭145
Answer:
‭Psalm‬ ‭145:9‬ ‭KJV‬
[9] The LORD is good to all: And his tender mercies are over all his works.

For me the LORD has and will be mighty to save!

Worship God because he is great and worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.

Islam=beast of earth
Catholicism=beast of sea
Saved by grace through faith only, not of works, so no man can boast
No transubstantiation, just proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes
No priests
No confession
Pray straight to Jesus Christ
No women pastors
Bible only authority on spiritual matters

I never reported it. I thought he was my friend. But when he told me when people kill themselves for allah they get 72 virgins in heaven. I told him thats stupid. Then I was choked out for a little while, I was in shock, and I did not even hit back, I just kept backing up and i felt a wall. I am not into violence. I could have done something, but i think not doing something, was the better choice. It will stick with him more, conviction wise.

Stories that set the record straight about election innuendo are not typically broadcast in right-leaning media, which means that millions of people receive no information to help them make a more informed decision about what happened in 2020.

Click to expand...

Seems many of those millions are here. Straight from the guy hired by Trump to investigate election fraud

Should we just be slient or respond in a way that is not sin ?

Another high tide, and retired Navy Capt. Terry Bragg wades from his office into a flooded parking lot in the rain boots he always keeps close at hand.

In barely half an hour, it is a foot deep or more in places. The water has consumed hundreds of parking spots and created an obstacle course for anyone trying to navigate to the visitor’s center of the historic Battleship North Carolina, which for more than six decades has been anchored here, across the Cape Fear River from downtown Wilmington.

“This is climate change,” Bragg, the site’s executive director since 2009, says as he stands ankle deep in floodwaters that inch higher by the minute.



The hulking battleship behind him is many things: a floating museum and one of North Carolina’s most iconic and visited tourist sites; the most decorated U.S. battleship of World War II, with 15 battle stars; and an enduring memorial to the more than 11,000 North Carolinians who served and died in that war.

The museum’s leaders have documented a more than 7,000 percent increase in tidal flooding at the site since it opened to the public in 1961. The changes in the past decade or so alone have been dramatic. In 2011, the battleship site recorded about 20 flood events. In 2022, ... the site experienced nearly 200 days of flooding.

“If I can’t sell tickets and provide parking, I can’t keep the battleship open,” Bragg said of the site, which is overseen by a state commission but receives no regular government appropriations for its operations.

[Since 1935] sea levels at that spot have risen roughly 9 inches, although the rate of rise has accelerated over the past decade. Scientists project that they could rise another foot by the middle of the century.

...

Instead, they would look for a way to live with the changing landscape around them, even if that meant doing what many places are not willing to do: surrender land back to nature.

There are plans to restore much of the flood-prone parking lot to a tidal creek and wetland similar to what would have been there generations ago. That will mean tearing out acres of pavement and other impervious surfaces and replacing them with a more natural landscape meant to capture, hold and ultimately direct tidal floodwaters back to the Cape Fear River.

[A living berm... marsh plants.... planting trees...]

A man was arrested early Tuesday after he broke into the Colorado Supreme Court overnight and opened fire inside the building, state police said in a news release.

Tuesday’s incident began unfolding around 1:15 a.m. and ended nearly two hours later, when the suspect surrendered to police, according to the news release.

“There are no injuries to building occupants, the suspect, or police personnel,” the release said, adding there was “significant and extensive damage to the building.”

[It doesn't appear to be related to the recent decision to keep Trump off the ballot.]

The incident began with a two-vehicle crash at 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street in Denver, near the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, which houses the state supreme court.

[One driver shot at the other driver and then shot out a window in the building, accosted an unarmed security guard and continued shooting in the building.]

Hi everyone!

I know it’s been a minute since anyone’s seen me post here,but I wanted to give an update on how I’m doing.Personally,I’ve been phenomenal,no anxiety,no apostate-anxiety,I have had general worried about ignoring my conscience because I cannot decipher it from Gods voice,so I feel worried and guilty Everytime I ignore my conscience on basic tit for tat things,and this worries me because I don’t want a seared conscience.

Regardless I wanted to thank everyone who has helped and aided me in 2023,I hope 2024 can be a stepping stone forward with Jesus;my advice to anyone who is struggling with OCD,do not ever give up,Do not stop loving Jesus,Do not stop having faith in him;if anyone has an general struggles,I can be of help!

Once again thank you all for helping me in 2023!

Hi there,
I have been meaning to ( legally) burn DVDs of a testimony of a pastor and distribute these DVDs in my neighbourhood.
My question is - do people even use DVD players anymore?
If they don't I might need to find a way to print a QR code on the back of a tract which leads them to his website but will be needing some help doing this.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Yeah so I had some experiences a while back that I do not really know how to interpret. I am torn between believing I actually have a mental illness (psychosis or schizophrenia), or believing these events actually were like a sign from God. Does anyone on here have experience with these sorts of things? Cheers.

"Zelensky is done" desperately begging for those men who left Ukraine to return and fight, he needs 500,000 troops for the front lines, Dec 21, 2023 "DESPERATE"!

Soon Zelensky will be flying off into exile, with his $Billions$ of US taxpayer dollars in offshore bank accounts IMHO

BBC​

Ukraine war: Male citizens living abroad to be asked to join army​

21st December 2023, 07:14 PST

President Zelensky told journalists on Tuesday that 450,000-500,000 new soldiers were needed but achieving this was a "sensitive issue".

This comes as Ukraine's recent counter-offensive appears to have stalled.

Kyiv has also seen setbacks in provisions of aid, with US Republicans blocking a $61bn (€55bn; £48bn) military package and Hungary stopping an EU financial deal worth €50bn ($55bn; £43bn).

In an analysis of figures from EU statistics agency Eurostat in November, BBC Ukrainian found that some 768,000 Ukrainian men aged 18-64 had left the country for the EU alone since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The following song speaks of us dwelling in Beulah Land. And the word “Beulah” means “thou art married.” And, it is often considered a symbol of our heavenly dwelling with our husband, Jesus Christ. We are his bride, and he is our husband. The word is found in Isaiah 62:4, which says, “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”

So, who is this speaking about under the New Covenant? It is speaking about all who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, who have been crucified and buried 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. We are those who are pursuing our Lord daily, who deny self, who are dying to sin daily, and who are following our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).

[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-32; Luke 9:23-26]

For when we believe in Jesus Christ, we enter into a marriage covenant relationship with him. He becomes our husband and we become his bride (male and female), and now we live to please him and no longer to please our sinful flesh, in practice. And now he lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit and we are to be in fellowship with him. Sin is to no longer be our practice, but righteousness and godliness and obedience to our Lord are to be what we practice, as his followers. For this is the life of a Christian.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 5:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

So we want the Lord to teach us to number our days that we may get hearts of wisdom. We must not take God and his word lightly, but we must take every promise, and every condition for every promise, and every warning given to the church seriously and to act accordingly. We are to consider that none of us knows how long we will live or if tomorrow will ever come for us. We can’t just assume that we will live to our old age and then die. And I am getting up there, for I just turned 74 years of age the last day of the year.

We must accept the disciplines of the Lord in our lives as for our good, even though painful. For when he disciplines us with trials and tribulations, they are ultimately for our good to teach us wisdom, and to teach us his ways, and to train us in righteousness and holiness and to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (Titus 2:11-14). For we were created in Christ Jesus for good works God prepared for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).

So, we are to walk in the ways of the Lord in obedience to his commands. And we are to be the people of God he created us to be, and in good times and in bad times. We must not let our faith falter just because we are called upon to suffer for the sake of righteousness. For through our suffering we learn obedience and patience and steadfastness. And we learn to rely on God and not on ourselves. And we grow to maturity in Christ and we develop godly character and wisdom so that we can walk in his ways and not in sin.

For God called us to himself so that we will serve him with our lives and not self. He has an assignment for each one of us to fulfill who have trusted in him as Lord and as Savior of our lives. And we are to be fulfilling that God-given assignment in his power and strength and wisdom. And all of us are to be sharing the truth of the gospel with other people, and we are all to be encouraging one another daily in our walks of faithful obedience to our Lord, and we are to caution one another against falling back into sin.

[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]

Dwelling In Beulah Land

By Miles C Austin (1911)

Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling;
Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand;
Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling;
None of these shall move me from Beulah Land.

Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating,
Sons of men in battle long the enemy withstand;
Safe am I within the castle of God’s word retreating,
Nothing there can reach me, ’tis Beulah Land.

Let the stormy breezes blow, their cry cannot alarm me;
I am safely sheltered here, protected by God's hand;
Here the sun is always shining, nothing there can harm me;
I am safe forever in Beulah Land.

Viewing here the works of God, I sink in contemplation;
Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned;
Dwelling in the Spirit, here I learn of full salvation,
Gladly I will tarry in Beulah Land.

I'm living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,
I'm drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;
Oh, yes! I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

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Hello, I pray you are well. My questions are based on what might be universally agreed on, on the subject of the unpardonable sin. This is NOT a post asking what the unpardonable sin is; this post is different.

I have a decent understanding of what I believe the unpardonable sin may be at this point, but I am also very aware that this sin has been interpreted in many ways throughout the centuries, and still is interpreted different ways throughout the Church. To be honest, I understand why there are different interpretations, as this is not a clear verse. What has helped me in my understanding of what the unpardonable sin is, is Biblical hermeneutics. For instance there are SO many verses that make it very clear, that someone can’t believe in Jesus as their Messiah, or even want to be a Christian IF they had committed the unpardonable sin. Scripture also shows that God will never turn anyone away, so this means someone would not seek Jesus as their Savior IF they had committed this sin.

This leads to my questions.

1. Is it universally agreed by theologians, pastors, priests, scholars, that someone could not want to become a Christian, follow Jesus, repent of all their sins, and want to devote their entire lives to Him and leave everything at the Cross, if they had already committed the unpardonable sin?

2. Is it universally agreed upon that you can’t want to be a Christian and believe in Jesus as the Messiah if the unforgivable sin was committed?… and authors of articles just don’t always add that into their interpretation explanation?

I just need to know if I am missing something, because if I’m not and the experts are in agreement on this aspect, then it seems this should always be the route we take to help those who really fear this sin.

New member!
Hi everyone, I was baptized in a Southern Baptist church circa 1960 but I did not experience a spiritual conversion until I had a Road to Damascus experience in January, 2018. That same month, I began an ongoing layman's study of church history. My main interest cover what I personally refer to as the Apostolic period from circa 50 AD to 200 AD and the Reformation period circa 1517 up to Bill Bright. I particularly enjoy learning about 1) what those early Christians believed and taught and 2) the origins of certain Protestant beliefs and phrases. I became a Latin Rite Catholic, Easter, 2019. I look forward, in charity, to learning new things and sharing things I've learned along the way. God bless.

A new surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border is overwhelming already-stretched resources and prompting urgent talks with Mexican officials as December border crossings reached a record monthly high.
Border authorities encountered more than 225,000 migrants along the US-Mexico border this month, marking the highest monthly total recorded since 2000, according to preliminary Homeland Security statistics shared with CNN. Over the course of the month, authorities dealt with more than 10,000 migrants crossing daily until more recently, when the numbers began to drop.
More than 11,700 migrant children are also in federal government custody, according to data released jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security.
The number of migrant children in Health and Human Services custody has jumped 6.5% since December 1, prompting the department to issue a news release Friday saying additional capacity is “urgently needed to manage the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children” arriving at the US southern border.
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is heading to Eagle Pass, Texas, along the southern border January 8 for an “operational visit” regarding immigration enforcement efforts, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday. He will meet with officials with Customs and Border Protection as well as US Border Patrol and local officials.
Since last year, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has bused more than 92,000 migrants to cities across the country, according to his office. Those cities include Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, DC – all of which are led by Democratic mayors.

Even US cities far from the Mexican border are reaching a breaking point trying to manage the influx of migrants, several mayors told CNN on Friday.
“The international crisis that we are experiencing right now is being subsidized by local economies,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told “CNN This Morning” Friday.

This article says studies show it is.
According to multiple reports, research has shown that a secular upbringing may be healthier for children. According to a 2010 Duke University study, kids raised this way display less susceptibility to racism and peer pressure, and are “less vengeful, less nationalistic, less militaristic, less authoritarian, and more tolerant, on average, than religious adults.” But the list of benefits doesn’t stop there.
I'm suspicious of the study. While I think that the religious right might be promoting vengeance, nationalism, militarism, and authoritarianism, and while I think that all those character traits are negative, I think that a kinder, gentler, more progressive religious faith provides a good ethical framework for adulthood and beyond.
What do you think?

‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:19‬ ‭KJV‬
[19] Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

I write:
‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:12‬ ‭KJV‬
[12] I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

I have ears to hear and eyes to see and mouth to speak.

‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:4‬ ‭KJV‬
[4] Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

I am precious in his sight. I am honorable, I am loved.

‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:22‭-‬24‬ ‭KJV‬
[22] It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness. [24] The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; Therefore will I hope in him.

I write: Therefore for me the Hope will be sufficient therof.

‭Revelation‬ ‭21:5‬ ‭KJV‬
[5] And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

I write: my words are true and faithful on earth as it is in heaven.

‭Ask God to reveal himself in new, fresh, and powerful ways.

Did some religious people want a conservative supreme court so much that they were willing to vote for a deeply immoral political leader?

There was a slogan from long ago VOTE YOUR VALUES that meant Christians should let their moral principles lead them in their choice of a candidate for the house, senate, and presidency as well as governor, state legislature, judges and every other elected position.

Voting isn't a biblical phenomenon, so the voting question has to be decided by other teachings from scripture or tradition that link personal choices with religious morality.

The Bible uses this word “if” on purpose, for it means that what follows is a conditional clause. It is saying, “on the condition that…”. So we need to pay close attention to these “if” clauses. For this is not assuming that everyone reading this truly is “in Christ.” It is saying, “if anyone is in Christ” then the following is true. But not everyone who thinks he is “in Christ” is truly “in Christ,” for not everyone who professes Christ meets the conditions.

For the old to truly pass away and for the new to come, we must cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives in dying with him to sin so that we can be resurrected 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. Then we must cooperate with him in no longer allowing sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it ends in death.

For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might now 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 can now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands and in holy living; so that we now live morally pure, honest, and faithful lives in surrender to his will for our lives.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

For to be reconciled to God means that I decisively change, exchange, as when two parties reconcile when changing to the same position; usually used in a redemptive sense of a sinner reconciling to the Lord; to change from enmity with God to friendship, fellowship, and partnership with God. It is about exchanging the old life for the new life in Christ Jesus. For we die with Christ to sin and now we walk in his holiness in obedience to him.

[Ephesians 2:16; Ephesians 5:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:11-20; Romans 5:10-11; Romans 11:15; Colossians 1:22]

So, when this says that the old has passed away and that the new has come, this is not automatic based on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And it is not merely a status that we wear. It means that we have literally left our old lives of living in sin and for self behind us so that we can now follow Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands. It means we are no longer walking in sin but in holiness, moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness.

So, if we are still walking in sin, still deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord and against other humans, and if we are not walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), in practice, then we are not “in Christ.” For the Scriptures teach that if this is our condition that we are not in fellowship with Christ, we don’t even know God, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil, and 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]

But it is true that is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man. This is of God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God and is gifted to us by God and is not of our own doing. And this faith is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to forsake our sins to follow our Lord in obedience. But we have to cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives, in his power.

So, when Paul said that he and Timothy, as ambassadors for Christ, implored the Corinthian church to be reconciled to God, he was speaking of their need to forsake their sins, to deny self, to die daily to sin, and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. For that is the essence of the gospel message. For Jesus became sin for us on that cross in order to put our sin to death with him so that we will no longer live in sin but for righteousness.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Hello. I am in desperate need. I believe, based on scripture, that I have committed the unpardonable sin (Heb 10:26-29; Numbers 15:24-31; Hebrews 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:20-22). I am guilty of willful, intentional sin. I am under constant and obsessive thoughts of my condemnation. I don’t know how I can live this way without going crazy. I know I have no one to blame and God is just.