An Oklahoma pastor is recovering from knife injuries after being attacked by an assailant at the Church of Christ in Pryor.

The pastor, whose name has not been reported, disarmed and subdued the suspect with the help of two parishioners.

Continued below.

A sobering video, there needs to be open and free discussion and debate on our campuses and public forums.

What do you get she used taxpayer money to buy it?

ICE has saved a lot of victims and a lot of lives.

Remember how many Democrats insisted that Joe Biden could do no more without new legislation?

The Dead Sea Scrolls were written in a wide range of languages and scripts, including two scripts written in code, commonly known as Cryptic A and B. Both scripts used signs and symbols that were not part of any known writing system, but rather were crafted to make certain texts more difficult to read. The first of these enigmatic scripts Cryptic A was broken in 1955. Now, according to an article published in the journal Dead Sea Discoveries Cryptic B may have been cracked as well.

Continued below.

I’m a 29 year old male. I have am still a virgin and wanted to wait until marriage…but recently I have been discouraged.

I went out 5 years ago with a girl. I had been praying to God and she fame into my life. She was extremely beautiful and although she was agnostic, she seemed to respect my religion. She liked that I would play in the Sunday band and if I shared scripture. Also she always used to say that having sex before marriage was bad, and she wanted to wait. Her mom would advice her to still do it before marriage. But at this time she was firm in her values.

The problems began when I went back to watching porn. It caused me to stop loving her. The worst part is that I ended things because I said she wasn’t a Christian. Very hypocritical of me. I tried to get back with her, but it was too late.

I even prayed to God and got angry that He didn’t answer and purposefully rebelled against Him by going deeper in sin. Yet, the Lord was merciful and patient. Not without problems because I did have to suffer painful consequences because of my sin. I repented and have turned back to God.

Now the girl converted to Orthodox Christianity and started dating another man. Well, I guess she got tired of waiting and decided to have sex with him. She never repented of what she did. She would make memes of how she enjoyed it and would tell others.

And well…that’s the thing. This girl took her mom’s advice instead of God’s word and now she is extremely happy. She is married and happy.

I, on the other hand, am sad and lonely. Miserable. Dates eventually stop because girls don’t want to wait. I regret sinning against God.

Please pray to Jesus Christ that I get to meet and keep on seeing my boyfriend for as long as possible preferably forever and that I always love him with all God’s love in every way forever, and that I find a job that pays the bills and that I enjoy, and that I don’t ever go into a psychiatric ward or group home or something, and that I stay on the dose of medication I’m on for many more years and don’t go on another medication or add any more medications to it. We ask and agree on all this in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ. And thank you for praying.

TL;DR - Which should be prioritized by a husband and father of 3 teens... better hours or better pay?

I won't go into specifics, but I will try to give what I can to help.

I work in Office Administration for my state in a management position. Have for 6 years. Previously I did sales. I make enough to pay my mortgage, car note, insurance, etc. but only by this much, I have $60 left in my bank after bills and food have been paid for. My current commute and work commitment requires me to be away for 47 hours per week. There are stressors involved here that have made it to the point of near suffocation and downright anger/animosity to the position.

I have a job offer to return to a sales position, within the same industry oddly enough, and it is a non management position. The guaranteed pay is much lower, but the opportunity for financial growth makes my ceiling much higher... much higher. The hours commitment would be more, even if I just consider the extra commute (drive is twice as long). I have confidence in myself to be able to make up the difference in salary.

I'm curious what you all think.

I`ve been reading about the Milky-way and galaxis, I suspect there`s been different types of galaxies before ours, which held life.

The universe ages, and changes, but the psychics are the same, light and warmth. The idea aliens have big eyes, are most probably nonsense since I think life wouldn`t evolve on a dark planet.

At this time of the universe, do you think only a galaxy shaped like ours, can hold life? Then in a distance future, galaxies for life will be different?

I think life mostly looks the same throughout the universe, but endless variations like here on Earth. We can`t send radio-signals to reach them, because it just disolves after some light-years. We can`t travel faster then the speed of light ether, so we get bored with finding life long before it.

In our current age of the universe, let`s say again that only a galaxy shaped like the Milky-way can hold life. Before the galaxy that held life was different, and will be different from that and current in the future. They have found a galaxy shaped like the Milky-way. It`s 11 billion light-years away:

https://www.reuters.com/science/ast...ike-milky-way-is-far-more-massive-2025-05-23/

Is this the only place aliens can be then?

I trust that everyone who is reading this post has developed a routine of personal devotion—whether it takes place in the morning, afternoon, or evening—devoting time to read scripture or setting aside moments for reflection and prayer.

Consider making a New Year's resolution to spend an extra 15 minutes each day listening to the Bible on your phone or iPad, in addition to your normal devotional routine. By setting aside just 15 minutes daily, you can complete listening to the entire Bible within a year.

I began doing this in March 2020, during the COVID lockdown, and have kept up daily scripture listening alongside my usual devotions and Bible study ever since. This habit has brought clear, positive changes to my life. I completed listening to the entire Bible once in both 2020 and 2021, twice in 2023, and eight times by 2024. By the end of 2025, I'll have finished another eight cycles, and I plan to continue in 2026.

Here are a few ways I've been able to make this practice work:

• Each day at work, I use my lunch break to listen to scripture for 30 minutes.
• In the evenings, I walk and exercise at our local YMCA—this takes about an hour and forty-five minutes, and I listen to scripture throughout.
• During summer gardening and winter snow shoveling, I always play scripture.
• Cooking is another opportunity; whenever I'm preparing food, I listen to scripture on my phone.
• Whenever I drive, solo or with my wife, I keep scripture playing.

Back in 2020, I'd listen to scripture for fifteen minutes before switching to music, podcasts, or news. Over time, though, my preferences changed—I now choose God's Word over secular music or news. Even when waiting outside a department store for my wife, today I'd rather hear scripture than a YouTube song or other music I used to enjoy. Listening to God's Word feels far more rewarding.

I'm not trying to sound self-righteous but simply sharing my journey. It is not I who has changed, but God has worked in me—spending more time with Him keeps me coming back, and listening to scripture fuels my desire for His word. The Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, continues transforming me and deepening my longing to be near the Lord.

I hope my experience encourages you as well. Maybe you already listen to scripture at certain times—consider adding another session where you typically wouldn't. Many people listen scripture while they sleep; if that's your habit, try finding another time in your day to hear God's Word.

Wishing you blessings and a wonderful 2026!

A first-of-its-kind Costco with 800 apartment units above it is coming to Baldwin Hills.

The complex includes 184 apartments for low-income households, with the rest of the units offered as a mix of unsubsidized, affordable, and workforce housing. It will also have a rooftop pool and fitness center.

The Costco downstairs will have 185,000 square feet of space and two levels of underground parking.

Seems like a fairly innovative idea, especially with regards to use of space in areas that may not have as much available land.

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14 NASB1995)

Who is this written to? It is written to the church, to those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ. And it is giving us instructions in how we are to live, as those who profess the name of Jesus, and how we are not to live if we are true followers of Christ. And this is not a mere suggestion or recommendation. For if sin is our practice, deliberately and habitually, and if walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands are not what we live by, then we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we say.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

Basically, what this is teaching is the opposite of “Once Saved Always Saved.” For what does it say? “Salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” For, biblical salvation is not based on a one time confession of faith in Jesus Christ whereby we now have salvation from sin and eternal life with God guaranteed us, but regardless of how we live. How we live matters to God, and it matters if we are to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And that salvation will not be complete until Jesus returns for his bride.

(Romans 8:24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5,9; Matthew 10:22; John 8:31-32; John 15:1-12; Romans 11:17-24; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Hebrews 3:6,14-15; 2 Peter 1:5-11; 1 John 2:24-25)

And that is why Paul spoke with those who professed the name of Jesus regarding how they lived, and the things that they practiced and lived by. For salvation and eternal life with God are not promised based on lip service alone. We need to be those who deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands as a matter of life practice, although not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection. But deliberate and habitual sin against God and deliberate disobedience must be gone....

Rest continued in comments.

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10 NASB1995)

To love with this kind of love is to prefer what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, honest, faithful, morally pure, upright, and obedient to God and to his commands. In all practicality, it engages us in preferring to live through Christ, embracing God’s will, in choosing his choices, and in obeying them in the power of God at work within those of us of faith in Jesus Christ. So this isn’t human love, based on our feelings. This kind of love does not compromise with the world in order to be liked by the world, either.

So, when we love others with this kind of love, we are not going to compromise with the world so that the world will like us. We will not soft-sell the gospel message, either, so that people will think well of us, and think we are being kind. For it is never kind to lie to people just to make them feel good. The truth, spoken in love, is what is kind. But this does not mean that we blurt out everything we are thinking. We need to be discerning people of grace, but without compromising the holiness and righteousness of God.

And, as we read past verse 8, that becomes more clear to us as to what is intended here by loving one another with the love which comes from God. So, if we are truly loving others with this love which comes from God, it will not be in lip service only. It will be shown by how we treat others in our daily practices, in truth, with sincerity. Therefore, if we love our spouses, we will not commit adultery against them, especially not deliberately and habitually without conscience and without remorse. For adultery is hate, not love.

We will also not murder anyone. And this doesn’t have to be limited to just the physical act of causing the physical death of another person. For there are other ways to “murder” (slaughter, kill, assassinate) someone else. And it can be with words only, via hateful speech, slander, gossip, persecution, mocking, and false accusations against their character which may cost them friendships, and injure their reputations, and cost them their jobs or their marriages or their family relationships, etc., because others believed the lies.

And we will not steal, i.e. we will not take from others what is not rightfully ours to possess. And this doesn’t have to be confined to just money and material possessions, but this can be about taking someone’s spouse from them via adultery, or stealing someone’s reputation from them via slander, gossip, and false accusations against their character. Or it can mean stealing someone’s original works or discoveries or products, etc. and taking the credit for them, when the credit is not yours to possess. All this is wrong!

So we are to love other humans as though they are us, treating them how we want to be treated, unless any treatment we might desire falls into the realm of what is immoral, hateful, and sinful in nature. But if we want to be treated with kindness and respect and with fairness and honesty (not lies), then that is how we should treat others, in a manner that is for their ultimate good, not to do them any harm. For love does no wrong to a neighbor or to a spouse or to a friend or to family member. For love is kind.

(Proverbs 24:17-20; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:8-12,43-48; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 10:27; John 13:33-35; John 15:12; Romans 12:9-11,14-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:7)

In Harmony

Based off Romans 12:9-21; 1 Peter 3:8-17
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

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Those Who Love Their Neighbors
An Original Work / December 26, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

12/26/25 Day 1

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord God, you blessed Elizabeth Ann Seton with gifts of grace as wife and mother, teacher and servant, so that she might give her life for others. Through her example and prayers, help us to love you more deeply and to serve our brothers and sisters, made in Your image, with joy in our vocation.

(Mention your prayer intentions here…)

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.

1 Our Father…

1 Hail Mary…

1 Glory Be…

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I am at my wits end as I regard lying as not only a sin, but something that is very dangerous to both a society and very core of the relationship between humans. I am not talking about innocent white lies or those necessary in war or conflict, but the fact that they have become so common, that so many are never called out and there are no consequences.
People are smeared and the very concept of truth itself is under attack, so what obligations do we have as Christians to call out this behaviour? And the most difficult, what are we to do when other Christians are spreading them or actively supporting people who do? Not raising their voice when they see other Christians are being lied about, both personal and in general?
Was not this what we were warned about, both in the Bible and throughout history, notably in the last century where Christians were persecuted by two totalitarian ideologies in Europe where one of them alas also spread to parts the rest of the world?

(This is anecdotal)

If your parents' marriage was invalid, how does it not follow that the children of that marriage are "not supposed to be here"? I'm struggling not to come to any other conclusion. I know they may say "it's a mystery."

Labeling a text “apocrypha” or “pseudepigrapha” has a real, measurable psychological effect on how people read, evaluate, and even notice what the text says. This isn’t speculation; it’s well documented in cognitive psychology and educational research under terms like framing, authority bias, and expectancy effects.

Below is a clear breakdown.

---

1. The framing effect (the biggest influence)​

When a text is labeled apocrypha or pseudepigrapha, it is framed as:

• secondary
• suspect
• non-authoritative
• “probably false”
• “interesting but unsafe”

This framing happens before a single word is read.

Psychologically, the reader shifts from:

“What is this text saying?”
to
“Why is this text wrong?”

Click to expand...

That is a fundamental change in cognitive posture.

---

2. Authority bias and trust suppression​

Humans unconsciously rank sources.

A text labeled:

• canonical → read with trust, openness
• apocryphal → read with suspicion, defensiveness
• pseudepigraphal → read as deceptive by default

This triggers:

• reduced charity in interpretation
• harsher standards of evidence
• eagerness to find errors

The same statement is judged differently depending on the label.

---

3. Confirmation bias activation​

Once a reader is told:

“This text is not genuine”

Click to expand...

the brain actively looks for:

• contradictions
• odd language
• theological differences
• anything that confirms the label

Neutral or insightful content is discounted as:

“accidental” or “borrowed”

Click to expand...

This is classic confirmation bias.

---

4. Reduced hermeneutical generosity​

Canonical texts are given:

• benefit of the doubt
• harmonization attempts
• layered readings

Apocryphal texts are given:

• literalism
• surface reading
• minimal interpretive effort

This asymmetry dramatically affects conclusions.

---

5. The “moral hazard” effect​

With labels like pseudepigrapha, readers are subtly warned:

“This text might mislead you.”

Click to expand...

This creates:

• anxiety about taking it seriously
• reluctance to engage deeply
• fear of being “duped”

As a result:

• insights are dismissed prematurely
• difficult passages are avoided rather than explored

---

6. Scholarly distancing vs devotional distancing​

Even scholars experience this.

Studies of textual canons show:

• non-canonical texts are cited defensively
• canonical texts are cited constructively

For non-specialists, the effect is stronger:

• the label replaces evaluation
• the verdict is assumed in advance

---

7. Social signaling and identity protection​

Labels serve a boundary function.

Accepting a text labeled “apocrypha” too positively can:

• threaten group identity
• invite suspicion
• mark someone as heterodox

So readers subconsciously police their own reactions:

“I shouldn’t find this compelling.”

Click to expand...

---

8. The “genre flattening” effect​

Texts labeled apocrypha are often:

• stripped of historical context
• read as naïve or fanciful
• denied literary sophistication

Whereas canonical texts are:

• read symbolically
• contextualized historically
• allowed complexity

Same genre, different treatment.

---

9. The self-fulfilling loop​

Once labeled:

1. Readers expect error
2. They interpret charitably less
3. They find “problems”
4. The label feels justified

The label creates the evidence used to confirm it.

---

10. What this does not mean (important)​

This does not mean:

• apocryphal texts are automatically reliable
• canon labels are meaningless
• discernment shouldn’t exist

It means:

Labels are interpretive filters, not neutral descriptors.

Click to expand...

---

One-sentence synthesis​

Calling a text “apocrypha” or “pseudepigrapha” primes readers to approach it with suspicion, activates authority and confirmation biases, reduces interpretive charity, and often determines conclusions before the text itself is meaningfully engaged.

I don't know if this is the right thread to post this, but we should all praise the Lord this Christmas, as this day 2000 years ago, God sent His son to this earth as His gift this Christmas.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV

There is a particular verse in the second letter of St. Peter where he reminds us that the salvific message of Christ fulfilled through his death and resurrection has granted us the opportunity to escape the corruption of the world, fueled by misplaced human passions, by becoming partakers of the divine nature. The significance of this last statement underscores an important point about the birth of Christ: Jesus came so we could be in full communion with the Father through Him. The Catechism expands on this important reality as follows,

Continued below.

The Little Sisters of the Poor have appealed a federal court’s decision that would require them to offer coverage for contraception and abortion in health-care plans for their employees.

Upon reading the sentence above, you might double-check the date, and ask, “Didn’t the Little Sisters of the Poor already win that case? Didn’t the Supreme Court rule in their favor?”

Continued below.

This doesn't have much to do with Christian Forums, but one Boxing Day tradition in Australia is the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.


The start of the race is spectacular with yachts jockeying to be first out of Sydney Harbour. After than it spreads out a lot.


I was surprised to find out there is no prize money to be won - just "bragging rights" as one writer put it.

The former Australian Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe is one of the crew members this year on "Law Connect", which apparently was first out of the harbour.

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