Chinese-linked firm building near US military bases: Report​

A new report claims a firm owned by a Chinese company that is planning to construct a manufacturing facility near multiple U.S. military bases in the Midwest has well-established ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

According to a report by The Daily Caller, which is based on research by Heritage Action and The Heritage Foundation Oversight Project, Cnano Technology USA Inc. (Cnano USA) is planning to build a 333,000-square-foot facility located in Johnson County, Kansas. The facility will be used to manufacture parts used in electric vehicles batteries and other products.


The Daily Caller reported that the new $95 million manufacturing facility will be located roughly 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth and about 70 miles from Whiteman Air Force Base.

Cnano USA is owned by C-Nano Technology Co., Ltd., which was launched by Cnano Jiangsu Technology Co., Ltd. (Cnano Jiangsu), a China-based organization, according to an annual report published by Cnano Jiangsu in 2022.


The Daily Caller reported that Cnano Jiangsu’s 2022 social responsibility report shows that dozens of CCP members are employed by the company. Additionally, the company’s website shows it has “undertaken a number of national 863” projects, which The Daily Caller said is a reference to a program by the Chinese government that has been accused of being used to steal U.S. technology.

Merry Christmas and the peace of our Lord to you all! Love and blessings from Japan.

A black rhino looks like it has found a mate in time for the holidays—and, in time to help save a species.

The 4-year-old, which was born on Christmas Eve in 2019, has just reached maturity after being moved from a zoo in Lansing, Michigan to a newly designed home in Palm Desert, California.

Newly captured videos shows the triumphant day when Jaali was first introduced to Nia—a female black rhino from the Cleveland Zoo that was also moved following a match-making appeal from the Association of Zoo and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.

Their first interactions are precious, but also critical. African Black Rhinos are classified as critically endangered and the pair’s new caretakers at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens are devoutly committed to the conservation of this species.

“This first introduction between Jaali and Nia is the culmination of 4 years of habitat design research and construction to build the perfect home for this pair of endangered black rhinos,” said Allen Monroe, the zoo’s president.

The California team hopes that, with a little luck—and after a 15-month gestation period—they will have at least one more to add to the species’ diminished numbers.

Continued below.

Something that happened- Years ago while I was still living in my parent's house I was in my room sitting on the bed praying and the cat was sleeping on the bed behind me. Suddenly I felt a paw tap me on the shoulder, I turned around and the cat looked right at me and said a loud "RAAARR!" I think God was trying to get my attention! I think God spoke through the cat! Maybe this was God's sense of humor?

Hi everyone, something interesting- apparently Iran, the islamic republic of Iran, has very high rates of clinical depression, something like 15%-20% of Iranians have symptoms ranging from mild to severe depression. In contrast rates of depression in the USA are around 8.3%, much lower. There is a good reason for this! I think a spiritual force may be responsible for this, Iran is one of the most evil places in the world, also they adhere to a very radical form of Islam and Islam is the official state religion and the country is something like 99.5% muslim, conversion from Islam to Christianity carries the death penalty. Also the Iranian government hates Israel and that also may be a cause for this!

This is an example of something that annoys us gets twisted when the news isn't really about black people, but the media wants to make it about black people. It makes look weaker and more like victims of society than we really are. I've seen recent articles on lung cancer (because of the recent, surprising death of popular black actor Andre Braugher) and even how bicycling is "racist" because black people riding bicycles in the inner city suffer more from crime than white people riding bicycles in the suburbs.

So, here we have a headline:

A disproportionate number of Black women are ‘kinless’ as they age. Advocates say they deserve a social safety net, too​

But when you get into the story, even though they keep throwing in references to African-Americans in general and African-American women in particular...it turns out the headline is, in fact, 180 degrees wrong. Not only does the article fail to show that older black women are disproportionately kinless, it shows that those who are kinless are more likely than white women to have taken steps to create their own social safety nets.

Does this matter to anyone? What can we do to stop this nonsense?


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I hope so for everyone. I am not a shopper, and my gauge of inflation is when my wife complains about prices. My wife is like a quantum computer when it comes to prices, she even got on me for buying spark plugs that were cheaper at another store.

Well, she's on the ground now. Getting from roof to the ground, though....

It started with me taking off trash. I had come out with several bags and glanced up and saw her on the edge of the roof, acting proud of herself. I made comments like "I see you up there. You're a big cat, up on the roof." I don't think this cat is even half a year old - she showed up with her mother one day and stayed every since - and to her getting on the roof was quite an achievement. She basked in the praise, rolling on the edge watching me - until she saw me carry the trash to my truck.

Now, this cat is a little strange. This cat likes to play in water, even in the winter. She also thinks she wants to ride. Had a battle this week with her getting in the cab of my truck when I leave, sitting on the floorboard of the passenger side and looking up at me like "Let's go." I have to be careful because she's started running after the truck when I leave. Yesterday she figured out that she could slip behind my truck seat from the door, likely hoping I wouldn't notice. So when she sees be heading to the truck, she starts to protest.

I for one was relieved. She was still on the roof when I took out the rest of the trash, and I thought "I can leave without her trying to follow." I assure her than I can get her down if she needed me to.

Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. I look back from the truck and there she is, trying to get down off the roof. No, not on the shrub that she used to jump onto the roof. At the end of the gutter, where I have a downspout going down the wall, and which is closer to the truck.

Now, usually gutters have the end piece sort of spring clipped onto the gutter itself. This one is no different. As I go to retrieve her, she slips down. Now she'd hanging from the bottom of the end piece. Before I get there, down goes cat and end piece. She runs a short way, shaken but unharmed, but then the downspout falls right on top of her.

Fortunately, gutters and downspouts, at least here, are lightweight aluminum. She immediately streaked off, which let me know she was alright.

Took off the trash, came back and found her inspecting the gutter. She watched me put it back up, then wandered off.

Saw her as I was going back inside. "Now you know why you don't play with gutters," I said. She meowed something in reply. Somehow I don't think she was in agreement.

I am talking about the initial repentance when you first become a Christian.

Jesus commanded everyone to repent, Mark 1:

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

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Acts 17:

30b [God] commands all people everywhere to repent.

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God wants everyone to repent, 2 Peter 3:

9b he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

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1 Timothy 2:

4 [God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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However, people choose not to repent, Revelation 2:

21 Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.

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Do we choose to repent?

Yes, we choose to repent and not to repent. If we can only choose not to repent, then it is not a choice.

Now, there is a spiritual warfare going on, 2 Timothy 2:

25b God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

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There is a bit of controversy about this, but I see the original Greek as a potential subjunctive: God may or may not grant them repentance.

Acts 11:

18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

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Does God choose to grant repentance?

Yes, God grants repentance to some and not to others.

Yes, people choose to repent or not to repent.

Yes, when people choose not to repent, God can choose not to grant them repentance.

All are true. This is the concept of Co-Reality.

See also

• Do we choose to be born again?
• Do we have freewill?
• Did Esau repent?

This is my understanding of what this is teaching:

First of all, the question was asked as to why, if the Pharisees and John’s disciples fasted, Jesus’ disciples did not fast. I believe this fasting, in a sense, could represent the old system, which the Pharisees and their scribes thought Jesus and his disciples should follow. Yet, Jesus was bringing in the new system, i.e. he was the fulfillment of their prophecies of old concerning the promised Messiah (the Christ) of the people. He was the embodiment of the kingdom of heaven, and he had arrived.

He was bringing in the new way of the cross, and the new way of God’s grace and redemption through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins. I believe he was telling them that he was not an addition (like the patch of un-shrunk cloth) to the old system, but he was a new way all by itself (new wine in new wineskins). For it is not the Old Covenant law plus Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. For it is by God’s grace that we are saved, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, and it is not of our own doing.

Secondly, I believe the old garment and the old wineskins not only represent the Old Covenant Law, but I believe they also represent our old lives of living in sin and for self. Therefore, we cannot put Jesus Christ, in the person of his Spirit, into our old sinful lives. He is not an add-on to our old lives. He is a replacement for our old lives of living for self and in sin. That is why he died. He died so we would die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him (See 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

For when we become Christians by faith in Jesus Christ, he doesn’t just clean up our old lives a little at a time, as many people would like you to believe, but he radically transforms (via metamorphosis) our lives. He delivers us from slavery to our old lives of living for self and in sin, and he sets us free to walk according to his Spirit, living lives which are given over to God in submission to his will, and living to please him. But this doesn’t mean we will never sin again but that sin should no longer be our practice, our habit.

So, I believe there is a caution here to make sure we have not just added Jesus on to our old lives, because if that is what we think we have done, it won’t work. For, in reality, we cannot just add Jesus on to our old lives of sin. We have to die to our old lives of living in sin and now live for our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, in living holy and godly lives, or else we don’t have genuine faith nor salvation nor eternal life with God.

I also believe there is a caution here against following religious practices which we think are going to make us more spiritual, but then for us to still end up living our lives for ourselves. For what good is it to deny yourself food for a period of time so you can pray and draw near to God if, once the fast is over, you go right back to business as usual? God doesn’t want that kind of fasting. He wants the kind of sacrifice to him that is there all the time, and that doesn’t just add him on to our old lives, but which allows him to put our sins to death so that we can now live new lives by faith in him.

Letting Go

There are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ, though, who don’t want to let go of the old system or the Old Covenant or the old traditional religious practices which are not of God. And there are many of them, too, who don’t want to let go of their old sinful lifestyles and practices, many which they may have been living according to for many years. For them, having to let go of their sinful addictions is like having to break up with someone they want to be with for forever, like a love/lust relationship.

Just the thought of having to get rid of those sinful practices out of their lives is heartbreaking for them, and so they are holding on for dear life hoping that somehow they don’t have to let go but that they can still believe in Jesus and still have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But it doesn’t work that way, even though many people are teaching it that way. But the Scriptures teach that we have to die to sin so we can live for God and for his righteousness in obedience to his commands, in his power.

The one who won’t let go of his old sinful lifestyle is kind of like the person who wants to be married to his spouse but who also wants to be able to live as though he (or she) is still single. That is a failed marriage even before it begins, but sadly many marriages are just like this. They want the best (what they perceive is the best) of both worlds. But Jesus makes us make a choice – him? Or them? We can’t have Jesus and the world and the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life all in one big happy package deal. It is him or them! We must choose!

[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]

Walking in The Light

An Original Work / November 16, 2011
Based off 1 John 1-2

When I lift up my voice, and
Sing praise unto God,
I will fellowship with my
Lord and Savior, King.
In Him there is no darkness.
He is in the light of truth.
If we walk in His light,
From sin He purifies.

If we repent of our sins,
He’ll forgive us now,
When we humble ourselves, and
Before Jesus bow.
The man who says, “I know Him,”
But does not obey His truth,
There is no truth in him.
In darkness still he’s found.

Do not love the world of sin,
For it is hell bound.
If you follow the world, you’ll
Not in Christ be found.
The world and its desires
Will not last; they’ll expire.
The one who does God’s will,
Receives eternal life.

See that what you have heard from
Christ remains in you.
Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and
In His Father, too.
This is what He promised us –
His eternal life with God.
So, continue in Him, and
You’ll receive a crown.

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Something amazing- I have a mental illness called schizophrenia and am on some very powerful medication for it. I was at a church called Legacy Faith Church in Harrisburg on Tues night, I went up and got prayer at the end of the service and they prayed for me, I felt God touch me but did not feel anything change. I got back to my apartment and suddenly noticed that I no longer needed my medication (antipsychotics)! I took it anyway and it no longer worked, it did nothing, not a thing! If you wouldn't mind say a quick prayer for me, this is going to be a huge adjustment psychologically, I have been on it for 20 years and it did help me alot and kept me out of the hospital and all of a sudden it no longer works when I am not completely healed yet. Thanks!

A friend of mine (80 and in poor health), has been abandoned by his wife of 16 years. Her mother died, so she went to Mexico for the funeral and never came back. I feel so bad for my friend Steve. He's such a nice guy and he's had so many health issues. His wife was kind of confrontational, but I thought she was a decent person. I just can't imagine abandoning a sickly older man.
Also, he's an atheist and need prayers for salvation.
Thanks for any prayers.

Jesus Christ had to fulfill the purpose for why he was sent to the earth, and it wasn’t to remain in just one place. For he had to preach the good news of the gospel of the kingdom of God to other towns, as well. And when I read this the Lord had me stop here and to think about how that has applied to my own life, but not just to my life but to how this might apply to all of us, in reality. For God didn’t put us on this earth to stay in our own comfort zone or to remain necessarily with the same people all our lives.

For he sent us out into the world to make disciples of Christ of the people of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. And under the power of the Holy Spirit we are to be his witnesses in our local area but then extending out into other cities and then extending to the ends of the earth. For God did not put us on this earth for our comfort and for our pleasure and so we can enjoy the comforts of home and of the known, but we are to go out into the unknown.


For we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world who do not hide the truth of the gospel of our salvation from the people of the earth, but who are taking the truth of the gospel to the people of the world so that they can come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior and so that they can be free from their slavery to sin, and so that they can walk in obedience to the Lord in holy living, and no longer in sin, so that they can have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God. For we are also sent…


As followers of Jesus Christ this is our purpose. First of all it is to follow our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will, to leave our lives of sin behind us, and to walk in obedience to our Lord in holy living. For we can’t preach what we ourselves are not living. But then it is to take the truth of the gospel (make sure it is the whole truth) to the people of this world. And it is to minister to others within the universal body of Christ and within our local fellowships in encouraging and exhorting one another in holy living.

[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]

And what is this gospel message that we are to be sharing with the people of the world? It is that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands and in holy living. And he died that we might live for him and no longer for ourselves. And he shed his blood to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will honor him now with our lives. For if sin is what we practice it will end in death, not in life eternal.

For Jesus said 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 the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. But not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of heaven but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven.

[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]

All of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ are to be living this gospel message and we are to be sharing this gospel message with the people of this world and with the worldly church, too. And right now, at least here in America, the internet is still wide open for us to be sharing the gospel every day on social media and on various Christian discussion sites and on personal blogs and on YouTube and on various other internet locations where we presently have the freedom to share the truth of the gospel.

And where we have opportunity to share the gospel and to encourage the body of Christ in holy living with people in person, we should be doing that, too. For the purpose of the gatherings of the church is not so we can be spectators who sit through a weekly service and then go home and enjoy life to ourselves. We are daily to be encouraging and exhorting one another so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness and so that none of us are taken captive by false teachings coming from people who are deceitful.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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The Text: "The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them."

Here are some quotations I have gathered from Credobaptists concerning this verse:

• So are you saying we inherit Adam's sin even though God says we don't inherit our parents sins?
• If I cannot inherit my father’s sin, how can I inherit Adam’s sin? I cannot.
• The idea that human beings are born already guilty of someone else’s sin is not only false doctrine, it does dishonor to the God of the Bible. Ezekiel 18:19-20 says that the son does not inherit the sin of the father and the father does not inherit the sin of the son.
• I believe it would be unjust to punish you for my sin, or me for Adam’s sin. I am not morally culpable for the actions of others, but for my own, and that is plenty. Ezekiel 18 seems like a strong argument for this view.
• Ezekiel 18:20 says the son does not bear the guilt of the father but total depravity says all the descendants of Adam inherit the guilt of his sin. Sin is not something which comes by birth but is something one decides to engage in.

*********

Ezekiel 18 is a complex chapter. This chapter deals with the deported second and third generation Israelites who are suffering enslavement in the midst of the Babylonian captivity. The cause of this captivity was idolatry against God Himself.

With the destruction of the Temple and the deportations, a very real crisis emerged. Prior to that event, it was held that the Temple in Jerusalem was God’s exclusive dwelling place on the earth, and that only in the Temple was it possible to commune with God. Furthermore, this communing was only through the Zadokite priesthood. So when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and exiled the Temple priests and seized the holy relics, there was a very real crisis. With the Temple gone and the priests unable to perform sacrifice there, how could the Jewish people commune with their God and follow his commandments?

We now see a drift into fatalism with the recurrent theme of complaining or murmuring against God by shifting-the-blame to the sins of their fathers instead of the exiles understanding their own sin. For those born in captivity, a smug self-righteousness overcomes them and an accusation will be leveled against God Himself…He is unjust (vs. 25-29). The exiles are blind to their own sin. It is not God who is unjust. God then rails down the condemnation….the exiles themselves are unjust (vs. 29).

The answer and comfort Ezekiel gives those in exile foreshadows the New Testament especially in the person of John the Baptist. God will tabernacle with his people wherever they are at in captivity. Through repentance and the preaching of Ezekiel (and Jeremiah in Judea), God will give them a new heart and spirit to commune with God himself (vs. 31). This is regeneration in the truest sense.

********
Chapter 18 begins with the exiles using an extra biblical proverb is a challenge to God’s fairness. “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” In essence, the proverb seeks to place the blame elsewhere for their captivity. The gist of the proverbs seems to be a comparison to a situation in which a child is born deformed, on account of the father eating bad grapes before conceiving the child. Thus, the child is punished with bad teeth because of the father’s bad judgment, or perhaps even his simple mistake. As stated before, Israel seemed to place the blame of exile at the feet of their fathers who had sinned and walked contrary to God. In doing so, they had failed to recognize the sinfulness of their own sin, were guilty of blame-shifting. God then commands that use of the proverb cease.

Ezekiel answers this false proverb and the exile’s own self righteousness by calling for repentance with his three generation illustration. The prophet uses civil transgressions with the judgment and penalties associated of Torah as analogous to moral transgressions. Therefore, the context of the second set of verses is dealing with the legality aspect within the Jewish court system.

• The third generation: The sinful but repentant grandfather is considered righteous (vs 5-9).
• The second generation:The sinful wicked unrepentant father (who commits capital offenses) as is worthy of death (vs. 10-13).
• The first generation: The sinful but repentant adult son is considered righteous(vs. 14-18).

God is not addressing here the issue of sin as related to spiritual death but as to one sinning unto a capital crime that will lead to them being put to physical death, such as by stoning. The unrepentant father is a robber, murderer and has committed adultery which are capital sins in the Torah. This does not have original sin in its cross hairs, rather we may add, the consequences of original sin’s corrupting influence.

In order for the exiles to stop blame-shifting the prophet states in vs. 20 “The son will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the son....” In other words, the Jewish legal system does not allow “guilt sharing” in its punishments, so neither should the exiles believe they are sharing in their forefathers guilt and blaming them for it. The exiles have true moral guilt because they are sinners and repentance is its only cure.

Perhaps Duet 24:16 as a parallel passages adds clarity here. “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Deuteronomy 24 is talking about how things should operate in civil society. It's not talking about God's dealings with man whether though the Law or Gospel; Duet. 24 and Ez. 18 are talking about capital punishment in the context of civil society. And in the context of society, sons ought not be put to death for the sins of their fathers. The right way to preserve justice in civil society is to punish those alone who have committed crimes worthy of punishment. So, this passage isn't dealing with imputation at all, it's dealing with capital punishment as it relates to civil society.

CONCLUSION:

1. Contextually, Ezekiel 18:20 has nothing to do with the fall, original sin or the imputation of guilt concerning Adam’s descendants. It is not a parallel text to Genesis 3. So it is a stretch for credobaptists to interpret it as such even though it is nearly uniformly believed to be about imputation by Credobaptists. This verse is part of a larger rhetorical message of the whole chapter, namely, if you repent, you will be saved – regardless of the sins of your parents or children.

2. Contextually, there is no mention of repentance during the Fall of mankind. Adam endures God’s pronouncements and suffers the curse mediated to him. Adam is comforted with the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15. On the other hand, the exiles themselves are going to commune with God in a new and different way….through repentance: “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. (vs. 30-31) Repentance is not a matter of bearing guilt as a burden, neither is it the cultivation of remorse or regret. Instead, is the first step toward transformation — what Ezekiel calls getting a new heart and a new spirit. Repentance is an active, deliberate step in a new direction. It is a step into the future, into life itself.

3. If the context dealt specifically with the imputation of Adam's sin, why would the passage be dealing with actual sin? The passage actually deals with the idea that the unrepentant sin of the father should not be charged to the repentant children. The doctrine of original sin does not deal with repentance at all, but rather the guilt we have in Adam. The passage assumes both guilt and pollution since the subject is a wicked man who needs to repent.

4. Ezekiel 18 does not address the origin of sin or how sin is contracted.

5. There are no innocent individuals in Ez. 18. All are above the Age of Accountability even the son, who is considered an adult as he doesn’t require a pledge for a loan (vs. 16).

6. If one insists that the Ezekiel passage is a universal principle or law that states that no one can justly suffer for the sins of another, then it directly violates the gospel message that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross for the sins of human beings. And Christians are to affirm that Jesus suffered in the place of others. In other words, apart from Christ's imputed righteousness, the repentance in Ezek. 18 by itself is not able to cover our sins.

Apart from Christ's imputed righteousness, our sins-- even a single sin-- would outweigh any good that we did and there could not be forgiveness. The prophet can say that "none of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him" because of Christ’s substitutionary atonement.

I have a Catholic friend who is irritated by the use of computers to process "big data" and develop AI to replace traditional geometry and trigonometry. He thinks it is part of the overall pervasiveness of sin in the world a kind of sin of trigonometry. What do you think?

Trump legal news brief: Supreme Court rejects Jack Smith's request for quick ruling on presidential immunity​

Fri, December 22, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court rejects special counsel Jack Smith’s request to fast-track a ruling on whether presidential immunity protects former President Donald Trump from being prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, likely delaying the federal trial.

Hey everyone. I had posted here awhile ago during a very trying time with my wife. I have been mentally and physically going through one of the most stressful times of my life. My wife and I went through a living nightmare that almost caused us to divorce. My anxiety/panic disorder has worsened and I underwent several medication changes..I have been having swallowing issues that no doctor can fix, I have lost a total of 35 pounds from the relationship stress, and...somehow we are expecting a baby boy come March.
I am scared for my health. I'm afraid of my wife leaving. I have been so depressed...A child is supposed to be a blessing but it's honestly made things a little worse in my mind...if anyone could say a prayer for me in mental/physical healing, as well as guidance and comfort it would be greatly appreciated.

Fetterman’s comments come as he has faced attacks from the left wing of his party over his pro-Israel rhetoric amid the country’s war with Hamas and his support of the Senate immigration negotiations that progressives have rejected. Good for him for standing up to the systemic racism within his party. And more and more Democrats are admitting the border crisis is a true disaster.

That was the last time that Congress approved a declaration of war. Every "war" we have entered since then has been an illegal invasion of a sovereign nation. Whether or not you like or dislike the politics of the nations that we have invaded. We had no legal right to do so. That is why US troops were kicked out of Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The US hasn't won a "war" since the invasion of Berlin. The military has been kicked out of every country since.

No disrespect to the men and women of the US military. They were simply following orders thereby doing their job. It's the US government that should be blamed for risking the lives of these brave men and women by asking them to illegally invade other sovereign nations with no declaration of war.

It makes me proud of the individual men and women who chose to risk their lives but ashamed of our money and resource-grubbing government that invades other countries just to take their natural resources where big businesses like Haliburton make a few billion off the backs of our young men and women and our taxpayers.

Americans, how does knowing that make YOU feel?

Words, Words, Words
嘉宾敬拜
话语，话语，话语

发件人：卡伦·帕里什（Karen Parrish）

“多言多语难免有过。禁止嘴唇是有智慧。……箴言书10:19。”
话语，话语，话语-我的话语有什么意义？有时候，我们在某人的陪伴中，沉默让人不舒服...所以我们开始用话语（通常是空洞的话语）填充这些沉默。我们都认识某个爱说话的人，不停的说话，却没有说什么有意义的话。然后，我们认识那些爱说话的人，他们常说可以以伤害他人的尖酸刻薄的话。我回想起那个时候，我的儿子和他珍视的家人因有人对他们说的话不友善就去寻找教会，这种事发生了不是一次，而是两次。
哦，亲爱的圣徒们，我们没有意识到我们舌尖上的话语会变得多么尖锐，我也将自己包括在内。我曾经祈祷，上帝赐给我要说的话，但现在我发现自己请求阿爸父亲帮我知道什么时候应该保持沉默！阿爸父对我们说：“请静下来，知道我是上帝。”沉默是金，因为在那些时刻，上帝如此清晰地向我们说话。
亲爱的圣徒们，在这个说“政治上正确的话”的时代，没有人说过“说政治上正确话的方式就是保持沉默”！我的祷告是，当上帝要我们成为我们时，我们所有人都会保持沉默，但是我们将充满智慧和真理。大多数人不喜欢沉默，但是沉默是一个金黄色的金块，它使我们的心灵、灵魂和思想安静下来。
让我们检视一下自身，看看我们是否沉默的时候够多，允许阿爸父向我们说话，并赋予我们向他人传讲神的话语的智慧！赞美我们神天上的父、耶稣我们的救主、圣灵我们亲爱的代求者！阿们，阿们





PASTOR MICHAEL WEIS
米歇尔-维思牧师

Ephesians 4:31-32
以弗所书 4：31-32


Ephesians 4:32 – Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor (loud quarreling), and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
以弗所书 4：32并要以恩慈相待，存怜悯的心，彼此饶恕，正如　神在基督里饶恕了你们一样。


One of the most difficult things anyone can do is forgive. We do not forgive for many reasons: 1) We think the other person should take initiative. 2) They hurt me. 3) They don’t deserve it. 4) We like our bitterness. 5) We “can’t” forgive. 6) They haven’t apologized, so why should I do anything? 7) I want to hurt them like they hurt me. 8) I need to prove I’m “stronger” and many more. One way to describe forgiveness is “release.” When we forgive, we release ourselves from the desire to “get back” at someone for hurting us. I won’t get into the numerous ways people “hurt” us or offend us. That’s not my point. My point is what we do with what is done to us.
人们能够做到的最困难的一件事是原谅。我们可以有很多原因不原谅人：1）我们认为对方应该主动寻求原谅。2）他们伤害了我。3）他们不在意我是否原谅。4）我喜欢这样的苦毒。5）我“不能”原谅。6）他们都还没有道歉，我该做什么吗？7）希望能够像他们伤害我一样能够伤害到他们。8）我希望证明自己很“强大”，以及各种更多的理由。因此，对“原谅”的一个解读是“释放”。当我们选择“原谅”，我们把自己从“报复”那些伤害我们的人的念想中释放出来了。我不想纠结于人们如何“伤害”我们的种种方式。那不是我所说的。我要说的是我们应该如何回应他人对我们所做的。

Paul tells the Christians in Ephesus what a Christian “looks like” in their character. Paul mentions bitterness, anger or malice, or things we do naturally when we get hurt, offended or if an expectation is not met. We want to lash out, hold a grudge and hurt who has hurt us. That is our sinful nature and it is evil! This means forgiveness is supernatural. Those who know how much they have been forgiven are more willing and able to forgive because they understand God’s grace and want to reflect that through the power of the Holy Spirit. While some may forgive, for those who don’t know Christ, they can’t truly forgive because the capacity to do so is not there.​

保罗教导在以弗所的基督徒们基督徒在品行上应该怎样。保罗提到了苦毒、忿怒和怨恨，这些都是我们受到伤害、激怒，甚至是希望落空以后的自然反应。我们想要回击、吝惜，并且去伤害那个伤害我们的人。但这是罪的本性并且是邪恶的！这也意味着原谅是超自然的。那些曾经被原谅的人更懂得和更能够去原谅别人，因为他们懂得这是神的恩典，也愿意通过圣灵来回应这样的恩典。当然有些人也会原谅他人，可是如果不认识基督，他们做不到真正的原谅，因为他们没有这样的能力。​

In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus tells a parable about how many times we are to forgive our brothers and the answer is 70 times 7, a Jewish way of saying, every time. When we forgive, it is not that we deny or forget what is done, but we don’t hold it against them. One who does not forgive does not hurt someone else as much as he/she hurts oneself. Unforgiveness is a poison that seeps into every area of life and affects those we care about most. Every time we don’t obey God and forgive, we add a “weight” to our life. As these weights add up, the baggage damages us more as time goes on. Though we forgive, it doesn’t mean things don’t need to change, nor does it mean we overlook sin or injustice. Those who sin need to repent (Luke 17:3), as that is part of the process. However, we should have the attitude of forgiveness and give them and the situation to God, rather than let bitterness arise in our hearts. But because we forgive or release someone doesn’t mean there will always be reconciliation. Reconciliation comes when someone repents and 2 people, groups, etc. come back together in fellowship. Think of how powerful this is for a married couple. If each forgives, their marriage will be very strong and able to get through any tough times.

在马太福音 18:21-35 耶稣说了一个比喻，论到我们应该原谅弟兄多少次，答案是70个7次，这是一种犹太人的表述方式，意思是每一次。我们原谅的时候，并不意味着我们否认或者忘记发生的事情，而是我们不再紧抓住这些事来对抗他们。不原谅他人往往伤害自己要比伤害他人更甚。不原谅是一种毒药，会进入到生命的各个方面，伤害那些我们最在意的人。每次当我们没有遵循上帝的话去原谅别人，我们就是给自己加重负担。这些负担越来越重以后，就会越来越伤害到我们。而当我们原谅，并不意味着事情不需要改变，也不意味着我们忽视罪和不义。有罪的人需要悔改（路加福音17：3），因为这也是原谅的一部分。当然我们应该有谅解的态度给予他人，并给予上帝，而不是在心中积累苦毒。这也不意味着原谅以后总是有和解。和解需要多个人相互原谅并回到团契里面。想想这对于夫妻关系意味着什么。当一方原谅对方，他们的婚姻就会变得更加坚固，并有力量走过任何艰难时刻。



How do I know if I have forgiven someone? One of my mentors said the way we know is if we can serve them with joy. In many ways, forgiveness isn’t “releasing” someone else from what was done to us, but releasing ourselves from the bitterness and sin in our heart and giving everything to the Lord. Sometimes it’s a process but it is ALWAYS a choice. It’s not that we “can’t” forgive, but we won’t forgive. How much have you been forgiven of? Have we put away the things that are the foundation of unforgiveness Paul mentions: evil, wrath, slander and more? Only when we understand God’s grace and forgiveness will we truly understand how to forgive.

怎么知道我已经原谅了别人? 我的一个培训师说有一个办法可以衡量，那就是我们是否乐意地去服侍他。通常，原谅并不只是意味着不再计较前嫌而“释放”某人，而是将我们自己的心从苦毒和罪中释放，并将一切交给主处理。也有些时候不一定要这样做但你总是可以选择这样做。所以并非我们“做不到”原谅，而是我们愿意不愿意原谅。你又在多大的程度上被谅解了呢？你是否已经弃绝了保罗提到的那些不原谅的基础思想了呢？苦毒、忿怒和怨恨，还有更多？只有当我们真正认识到神的荣耀和赦免，我们才能真正明白如何去原谅他人。


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