Can the relationship just work from shared values and beliefs or is interests and hobbies really important too ?

Gen 24:

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”

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Laban was Rebekah's brother; Bethuel was her father. Laban was listed first because of his prominent role.

52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. 53And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57 They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” 58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

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Who were they?

She said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

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“Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”

Gill explained:

This is to be understood of her brother Laban, and of other brethren and sisters she might have; though by the connection of the words with the preceding, they seem to design her brother and mother, who spoke last; and probably all her relations are meant, who call her their sister, because so nearly related to them

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Two chapters later, even her husband called her his sister in Gen 26:

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,”

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Did Isaac lie?

In a sense, he didn't. They were second cousins. In an extended sense, Rebekah was Isaac's sister. Also in Song of Solomon 4:9, "my sister, my bride" referred to the same woman.

for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

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Why did you lie to me? Why did you mislead us?

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

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Did Isaac lie about Rebekah being his sister?

According to the Hebrew usage of the word "sister", it allowed a degree of flexibility. However, in the case of Isaac, he deliberately used the term misleadingly to protect his safety. In his heart, he did lie; he did not tell the whole truth about his relationship with his wife.

Greetings to all members of this wonderful forum!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Miloš, I am 42 years old and I live in Smederevo, Serbia.

I have been in Christianity since 2016, but with a lot of ups and downs. I got acquainted with how important it is to read the Bible through a YouTube lecture previously given by the famous Serbian theologian and creationist Miroljub Petrović. I found out very quickly that he was a former Adventist, so I joined the Christian Adventist church in my town. But, after the initial enthusiasm, very quickly it all became very burdensome for me, and I left it. Later I realized that it was because then I still didn't believe in Jesus, I still didn't understand the essence. Then I joined a group of Protestant Christians in my town led by a pastor from the GGWO (Greater Grace World Outreach) church. It was good for a few months, we even had gatherings in my apartment, but very quickly we broke up, and I was very bad mentally. I have had mental problems since I can remember.

After a break of a year or two, I began to take an interest in Orthodox Christianity, which is the most widespread in Serbia. I was baptized in 2019 in that church. After that, I tried to go to church regularly, but after a few times I definitely gave up, because my psychological crises are very strong and frequent. Another reason why I gave up is that I realized that Orthodoxy is not in accordance with the Bible.

After several years of trying to get back to a fellowship Bible study with a group of Protestant Christians in my town, and a long wandering, I am finally leaving it all, and I realize that it is all burdensome for me. I don't know what it is. Maybe I have low capacity. Who knows. Maybe it's my mental illness. Who knows. Also, I recently realized that social media is also a very stressful thing for me. So I deactivated all social media.

For this reason, I decided to slowly read and study the Bible, every day, little by little. I got the latest edition of the book "NIV Life Application Study Bible" and slowly, every day a little bit, I read and study the Bible like that, with the help of that book. And I can say that he agrees with me, that day by day I understand the point of the story better and better, that our God is the only true God, he created everything that exists, everything starts from him. I have accepted Jesus into my heart, and I regularly practice prayer. I believe that the way of our God Jesus, the Lord, is the only way, and there is no other.

So, I have set some healthy boundaries as far as my life is concerned. I hope you understand me. But I still decided to join this forum because I think it's really good and valuable.

I have been treated for depression for over twenty years. And recently I started psychotherapy and I can say that it really helps me a lot.

That's all from me for this time. Thank God for everything and may God bless you all! Thank you for existing.

Proverbs 27 (select verses)


We live in a day and time, at least here in America, we do, when open rebuke, no matter how kindly stated, is frowned upon and subtly rebuked, but while the kisses of an enemy are being raised up and widely accepted. For the message is loud and clear that we are to “stay in your own lane” and not offend anyone with the truth but only say pleasant and smooth-sounding things that make people feel good. Nothing negative. Only what is positive.

So, we get this false idea that to speak out against what is evil and to call people to repentance and to call out sin for what it is and to talk of judgment are all to be avoided because they are negative and not positive, and so they are regarded as unloving and unkind. But what is truly unloving and unkind is to avoid speaking the truth in love and only saying what tickles people’s itching ears and saying only what makes them feel good.

So, the opposite of what they are saying is really the truth. For true love will speak the truth in love to those that they truly love and will not hide the truth out of fear of making someone feel bad. Now this is not about just going around and speaking the bold truth about everything to everyone, but it is about speaking necessary truth in order to save people’s lives from hell so that they can have the true hope of salvation and eternal life with God.

So all these people who are saying all these “feel-good” messages are not doing you any favors if they do not speak the hard truths of the Scriptures to you in order to save your souls from hell. For the Scriptures are clear that if we walk in sin, regardless of what our lips profess, we will die in our sins. We will not be saved from our sins and we won’t have eternal life with God. But hell is what awaits us on the other end, not heaven. So love speaks truth!

And this is especially necessary in our present world where evil is being spoken of as good, and good is being spoken of as evil, and lies and liars and deception and manipulations and alterations of truth abound everywhere you look, pretty much. For we live in a day and age when sin is being glorified and accepted as normal or is called a sickness that people can’t help. And so the sinners are being coddled in their sin, not rebuked.

The Destructiveness of Sin

And sexual immorality is at the top of the list of the most predominant and the most offensive of all sins which are permeating the American church, for it is destroying people’s lives and their marriages and their families and the minds and hearts of young children and the church family, including the lives of many people who call themselves pastors. And not many are doing anything about it, and most do not want to address the issue at all.

And I will hear people say that is just a matter between husband and wife, but no, it isn’t! The Bible makes it a church matter if one professing Christian is deliberately and especially habitually sinning against another without genuine repentance. Or they will advise the wounded spouse to leave the marriage. The Bible doesn’t teach that, either, and that may put an unnecessary hardship on the wounded spouse who can’t afford to live alone.

Or in some cases the wounded spouse is treated as the enemy while the offending (unfaithful, adulterous) spouse is treated with kindness and respect. And this should not be! Are we not to bear one another’s burdens? Are we not to confront those living in deliberate and habitual sin who are hurting others within the body of Christ with their sin? And if they will not change, is the church not responsible to exercise church discipline?

They will be okay with wounding and offending the one already being wounded but they will not risk offending the one who is doing the sinning against another. Everything is all so backwards from what it is supposed to be and thus the church, as a whole, is on a massive moral and spiritual decline and is ripe for the judgment of God. For we are supposed to be speaking the truth in love to one another, not ignoring blatant sin.

For the Scriptures teach that we, as the body of Christ, are to speak the truth in love, one to the other, so that we are not taken captive by false gospels taught by men in their deceitful scheming, and so that we can all grow to maturity together in our walks of faith in Christ. And we are to exhort one another every day so that none of us may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. And we are to stir one another up to love and good works, etc.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Becoming Christ-like

So, as followers of Christ we are to be like Christ. Jesus Christ spoke the truth in love to the people and they ended up hating him for it and so they called for him to be crucified on a cross, although he had done no wrong but only good. And we should be willing to follow his example of love and kindness in speaking the truth of his word to others even if we are hated and mistreated in return, and even if one day they put us to death.

But it was for our good that Jesus should die on that cross, for in his death he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God, not in status only, but in practice. For he died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness and live for him and no longer for self. He shed his blood to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so we will now honor God with our bodies.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him 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, then we have eternal life. For it is not those who give lip service to God who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ones DOING the will of God.

[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; 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]

What a Savior

By Marvin P. Dalton

Once I was straying in sin's dark valley
No hope within could I see
God sent from heaven a loving Savior
To save a poor lost soul like me

He left the Father with all His riches
With calmness sweet and serene
Came down from heaven and gave His lifeblood
To make the vilest sinner clean

Death's chilly waters I'll soon be crossing
His hand will lead me safe o'er
I'll join the chorus in that great city
And sing up there forevermore

O what a Savior O hallelujah
His heart was broken on Calvary
His hands were nail-scarred
His side was riven
He gave His lifeblood for even me

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The baby who was born in this manger is none other than Jesus who is Christ the Lord. He always existed with God, for He is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. He was in the beginning with God and he is our creator God. Without him was not any thing made that was made (created). So he is all knowing, all powerful, and in the Spirit he is present everywhere, for he is God.

So he was in heaven with God, and as God, before he left his throne in heaven and came to the earth and was born as a baby to a human mother, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, and not of man. So God the Father was his birth father, and thus he was not born with a sin nature in the image of Adam like we are. And so when he walked this earth he was fully God and fully human, tempted to sin like we are, yet without sin.

[John 1:1-36; Philippians 2:5-11]

So, when people celebrate the holiday called “Christmas” and they focus their attention on Jesus as a helpless baby in a manger, while “all powerful and all-knowing and omnipresent” Santa is all over the world flying through the air delivering presents to children near and far, and he is big and bright and powerful and jolly and fun and has the hearts of children, that is a purposeful misrepresentation of who Jesus is and of who Santa is, too.

Yes, Jesus was a helpless baby at one time, but he was also God incarnate. And we were helpless babies at one time, too, but when we celebrate our birthdays, our relatives and friends do not post a picture of us as a baby up in the room while they then spend their time and affections in giving each other presents and playing games and eating food and watching movies together while we get altogether ignored. But that is how Jesus is treated.

Now, I am not saying that everyone who celebrates Christmas absolutely ignores the real Jesus Christ and that no one gives him genuine honor and glory for who he is now. But placing a manger scene in your home while you focus most of your attention on buying gifts for other people, and while you focus your attention on Christmas trees and decorations and holiday parties and food and games and movies, is not honoring to Jesus Christ.

Jesus didn’t asked to be celebrated in that way, and he doesn’t want to be celebrated in that way, for picturing him as a helpless baby now while all powerful Santa steals the show is not how Jesus wants to be celebrated. He wants to be celebrated for who is he now and for what he did for us in dying on that cross for our sins so that we can be free from our slavery to sin and now walk in obedience to him in holy living, until he returns.

And he wants us to see that the image of Santa being presented to the world is not only a fairy tale, but it is a deliberate deception and a deliberate attempt to give Santa (Satan) the attributes of Almighty God and to make him out to be like God, at least in the minds of young children, while Jesus is pictured as a helpless baby in a manger doing nothing for us at all. And that is because Satan (alias Santa) wanted to be God.

So, if you truly want to celebrate Jesus Christ and who he is, then celebrate his whole life on this earth, and celebrate his death on that cross and his resurrection and his ascension back to heaven and his sending of his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers. Celebrate who he is and what he did for us, and what that means for us who believe in him as Lord and Savior of our lives. And celebrate him every day and not on the same day with Santa.

For Jesus was born in order to die for our sins. That is why he came. And he died for the sins of everyone (Jew and Gentile), for the Good News (the gospel of Christ) is for All People. And he died so that we will now die to sin and live to righteousness and live for him and no longer for self. He shed his blood to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so that we will now honor and obey the Lord in holy living and no longer live in sin.



So, if you truly want to celebrate Jesus Christ, surrender your lives to him, leave your lives of sin behind you, and follow him in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) daily, in practice, and no longer walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin. For sin should no longer be your master. For if sin is what you obey, and not obedience to the Lord, you will die in your sins. You will not have eternal life with God, regardless of what your lips profess.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; 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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

What a Savior

By Marvin P. Dalton

Once I was straying in sin's dark valley
No hope within could I see
God sent from heaven a loving Savior
To save a poor lost soul like me

He left the Father with all His riches
With calmness sweet and serene
Came down from heaven and gave His lifeblood
To make the vilest sinner clean

Death's chilly waters I'll soon be crossing
His hand will lead me safe o'er
I'll join the chorus in that great city
And sing up there forevermore

O what a Savior O hallelujah
His heart was broken on Calvary
His hands were nail-scarred
His side was riven
He gave His lifeblood for even me

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Hello folks. Here is the preview of my war fiction. Have never done this before. The story is set on a pre-space age alien planet with 1940s level tech in the 1910s. This entire war fiction plot covers the issues with populist leaders, propaganda in media, as well as more fictional issues such as weather control in war. Though, in real life, the US used cloud-seeding in Vietnam from 1967-1972 in a project dubbed Operation Popeye to slow down Vietnamese troops with mud caused by rain triggered by lead or silver iodide salts dropped into the clouds. The middle part of the fiction story will have parallels to this real world event: Operation Popeye - Wikipedia

799|1|25 (May 23rd, 1917)
Lerwel, Yonar
Western Pujanian continent, Planet [Not gonna say planet's name]

The year is 1917 when converted to the Christian calendar. The dictatorship of Valrenty is invading Yonar, and has taken the western city of Lerwel. Tomorrow, on the first of the second month of 799, the Valrentian dictator declared victory, albeit temporarily, over Lerwel.


799|2|1 (May 24th, 1917)
Parliament Building in Lerwel, Yonar

“Corporal Mazurak, get to your station”, yelled the commanding officer Gregor Kyselo. Officer Kyselo is the leader of Delta squad, a division of the Yonish military. He was known to be tough on privates who became new corporals. Mazurak became a corporal on 798|15|1, just under 50 days ago. This was Mazurak’s first day at war. Mazurak, Kyselo and nineteen others of the Delta squad loaded weapons, provisions and themselves onto an armored truck headed towards the center of Lerwel. Lerwel was an old city, dating back at least 1,298 [Planet X]-years ago with a legal document detailing the founding of the city located inside a church.

Back in the truck, Officer Kyselo issued orders describing how to hold the Valrentian army at bay. The soldiers would form a line around the parliament building. After forming a line around the parliament, Delta squad would enter through a side door with gas grenades. Upon releasing the gas grenades, the squad will apprehend the Valrentian military inside the parliamentary chambers. A gas grenade is a cylindrical metal device which uses a pressurized gas, that when the pin is released by hand, triggers a bolt to break through a glass vial containing a nontoxic liquid that boils at 35°C. When the pin is pulled, oxygen enters the cylinder, allowing a zinc-air battery to power a heating coil at the base of the glass vial which boils the liquid. Volatile gasses are released, which can fill an entire room within moments.

The operation was carried out, and deemed a success, though Corporal Mazurak died from friendly fire when Officer Kyselo fired two shot at a Kezon guard, and the second bullet ricocheted off of the metal support beam behind the enemy guard, and hit Mazurak in the spleen. Corporal Mazurak was given a medal of honor by the Yonish government posthumously for his actions of delaying the Kezon’s advance into Yonar by a good few months, giving enough time for racially at-risk groups to evacuate.


That's all folks. Not going to post anything more about this war fiction plot, as it will be very dark, as the war on this fictional planet will be similar to WWII on Earth.

I have struggled with this for so long.

Hi, I am new here. I am a strong woman of faith, apt to learn and teach. I’m looking forward to connecting with the same.

Can't figure out where Christmas would fit on this forum. Is the Junk Drawer the correct place?

1 Not made for the trifling things of time,
But to live for eternity,
Created to know the things sublime
In the presence of God are we.

Refrain:
Made for a life that never ends,
Made for the home of love;
Made for a better land than this,
Made for the glorious world above.
Made to commune with God Himself,
With Him fore’er to be,
Not made for the trifling things of time
But to live for eternity.

2 Not made that our souls in sin should rust,
And God’s purpose forever miss;
Not made to be buried in the dust,
But to rise to the heights of bliss. [Refrain]

3 Not made as the flow’rs that fade and die,
When the bright summer days are o’er;
Not made as the mists that soon drift by,
But enduring for evermore. [Refrain]

4 Not made for the fleeting joys of earth
That will all quickly pass away;
Not made for the wealth of little worth,
But for riches that last for aye. [Refrain]



By Haldor Lillenas.

May we be encouraged by the words of this poem/song and its meaning.

As the world grapples with the existential crisis of climate change, environmental activists want President Joe Biden to phase out the oil industry, andRepublicans argue he’s already doing that. Meanwhile, the surprising reality is the United States is pumping oil at a blistering pace and is on track to produce more oil than any country has in history.

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The United States is set to produce a global record of 13.3 million barrels per day of crude and condensate during the fourth quarter of this year, according to a report published Tuesday by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

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Last month, weekly US oil production hit 13.2 million barrels per day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That’s just above the Donald Trump-era record of 13.1 million set in early 2020 just before the Covid-19 crisis sent output and prices crashing.

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The bill, known as A08336 makes absolutely no mention of the religious character of the Chick-fil-A policy at any point. Despite the Christian-owned restaurant being a frequent target of religious discrimination from various government bodies and municipalities for years, the purely religious motivation behind the policy is never considered. Nor is the notion that excluding Chick-fil-A from operating along the State Thruway could present illegal religious discrimination ever addressed.
They are not going to stop trying to seize control of the people.

In the Gospels, the 12 and others were called both.

There are many books on "Napoleon Bonaparte" and his invasion of Europe but almost none on the historical figures that defeated him; In addition, contrary to what Russia claims, they did not really defeat Napoleon themselves. There was a wide array of predominantly Lutheran principalities that fought alongside Russia and a lot of the times commanded their troops. This includes their generals that fought under the flag of Russia, but even today there is hate against protestants there, and also lies about Martin Luther --> "The Fabricated Luther: Refuting Nazi Connections and Other Modern Myths" , "Lutherans Against Hitler: The Untold Story".Some of these same figures fought also in 7 Years War , the same war as the "French and Indian War" basically.

German campaign of 1813 - Wikipedia Seen here Peter Wittgenstein and Barclay de Tolly were both Lutherans.
Wurttemburg, Prussia, and Mecklenburg-Schwerin all were Lutheran. I was looking for a biography on these guys but alas there are none but plenty on "Napoleon".

But not only that but it is never mentioned during the holidays about the actual origins of why Thanksgiving is on the 4th Thursday of November.

Does anyone from the LCMS have or know of anyone from the LCMS to have and use those olive wood prayer crosses from the Holy Land? They’re used for prayer, comfort and supposed to be a good stress reliever. Or is that a Catholic thing?

Also, pre war, did anyone from the LCMS visit the Holy Land or is that a Catholic thing?

Georgia Republican Party activists and election skeptics pressured the State Election Board on Tuesday to investigate Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the 2020 election, the latest effort to question the results three years after President Donald Trump lost.

The State Election Board deadlocked on opening an investigation of Raffensperger on a 2-2 vote, short of the majority required.

Maybe they'll try again. After all, it's easier to find 1 vote than 11,780.

Hi. This is watercolor over black ink on yupo. Just a quick low pressure paint to get warmed up after an unproductive lapse. Figured it would look cool with the CF snowflakes falling in front of it, like a snow globe

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the mental health forums.

I have struggled a lot with questions about reality for several decades, including trying to think it through "philosophically" as it were, like how can I be in touch with reality. I had a very bad time some years ago when I concluded there was no reality. I am not sure if these difficulties are psychological or philosophical, maybe the philosophical questions are rooted in psychological / spiritual issues I have? One of my biggest difficulties has been to turn my will over to God. I have been to counsellors who required this for progress in the counselling. But I felt I would just be saying the words not meaning them, that they wouldn't be coming from deep down so to speak, and that i didn't really believe anymore. I have wondered too if I might be autistic. Some of these counsellors were WOF christians, at least one gave me cassettes to listen to from a WOF pastor (Andew Womack) and a book by Ulf Ekman.

My problem is philosophically related I think in that I began to embrace postmodern ideas along the way. It was really like I no longer believed John 1:1, and I had no grip on anything, so was like I had neither Christian faith nor Enlightenment / modern worldview.

How does one get back from that?

I am trying to cope at the minute, but not sure what I really believe, or if I have faith.

Men and women work together in the Salvation Army.

Men and women can both hold high ranks in the Salvation Army.

It has been that way for many years.

Dress shoes with blue jeans. I have noticed that blue jeans are worn more and more in church services these days. I like to go in shirt and tie… But will also wear blue jeans along with a nice light weight jacket. I have been trying to determine the best shoes to go with blue jeans and have noticed that no two shoes are alike with this type dress. Dress shoes with blue jeans… Any ideas? Thanks!

hello,

Who is he who loves purity of heart? He (or she) is a person of integrity, decency, honor, goodness, honesty, faithfulness, and moral purity. He is also a person of faith in Jesus Christ whose desire is for God and for his word and for obedience to the Lord and to his word. So, he is not someone who is living in deliberate and habitual sin, but he is someone who is walking in holiness and in righteousness in the sight of God, in the power of God.

This is a person whose speech is described as gracious, or full of grace. And when I think of grace I think of God’s grace to us in how he gave himself up for us on that cross so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin and so we can now walk in his holiness and righteousness, in the power of God. For his grace trains us to renounce (say “NO!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives on this earth.

So, this would not be someone who just says what other people want to hear to make them feel good. This would not be someone who is charming, which can be totally fake and manipulative, too. But as a person of integrity and of purity of heart, this would be a person who would speak the truth in love to others because he/she knows that the truth is what will set them free and that the lies are what will send them to hell. For this person loves.

And who are those who are traitors? They are “double agents,” i.e. those who might act like they are your best friends but while they are conspiring against you behind your back in order to bring you down in order to destroy you. For they are the disloyal, fakes, liars, deceivers, manipulators, faithless, double-crossing, adulterous, two-faced tricksters and con artists. So they cannot be trusted for they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Now some of these traitors are also these sluggards (habitually lazy, indolent, apathetic, idle, worthless, useless, vain, frivolous, etc.). They don’t do anymore than they have to do, and if they can get away with not even doing that, they sometimes will. And that is because they are thinking of self and what they want rather than thinking of others and what is good for them. They are very self-driven even to the point of doing evil to others.

And they have all kinds of excuses for why they cannot do what is right and for why they continue to do wrong habitually. They often blame anyone or anything else instead of themselves, but even if they acknowledge that their failures are their own fault, they will still have a pile of excuses for why they are still living the way they are doing the same types of things they have been doing, some of them for a very long time.

But this will be mixed in with declarations of love and care and concern, and they will claim that they don’t really want to live the way that they do and that they really do want to change. And they will talk about how badly they feel that they keep doing the evil that they do, and over the fact that they keep going in the same circles over again. But not badly enough to change, for there is always an excuse for why they can’t change.

But none of the excuses “hold water.” They are all “lame” excuses they repeat over again in order to excuse away their slothfulness and their idolatries and adulteries and continued sexual immorality and unfaithfulness and wantonness. It is like they want us to believe that they are somehow the exception to the rule, i.e. that God’s word doesn’t work for them like it does for other people, because, deep down, they don’t want to change.

And so they continue on in their deliberate and habitual cyclical pattern of lies, excuses, idolatries, adulteries, unfaithfulness, and disobedience to God, choosing their own way and not God’s way, deliberately hurting those they are supposed to love, and without conscience or compassion or true remorse. For there are always excuses. So God gives them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.

And he does this because they exchanged the truth about God and his word for a lie and so they end up worshipping and serving the creature (even themselves) rather than the Creator. And so they delve into all sorts of worldly passions and desires and into all sorts of sexual immorality, including homosexuality, pornography addiction, self-gratification, and all sorts of other deviant behaviors all of which are dishonoring to God (Romans 1:18-32).

So, don’t be like the one who is both a sluggard and a traitor who is full of excuses for why he can’t be faithful and pure in heart and mind and body. But surrender your hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus Christ in true humility and submission to Christ as Lord. And then in the power of God walk in integrity and in purity of heart and follow in the ways of the Lord in holy living from now to eternity, and you will have eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; 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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Lead Me Gently Home, Father

By Will L. Thompson, 1879

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.

Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.

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No one in modern history has been so unjustly persecuted as President Trump. The radical leftists and mainstream media unleashed an unrelenting campaign of lies and smears against him and his family. Their witch hunts and hoaxes were designed solely to undermine his America First agenda and the will of the American people who elected him. President Trump endured their slings and arrows with courage and grace, all while delivering on his promises to make America great again. What red blooded American would ever be against Making America Great?
President Trump is working to defend the integrity of our elections and uphold the Constitution. The 14th Amendment clearly states that representatives shall be apportioned among the states according to their respective numbers, "counting the whole number of persons in each State." I forgot who said, but early on someone on the left gave the number they need for a new electorate count (30 million) and the whole reason of opening the borders. They knew sense '20' they lost by that much and want that much illegal votes for '24' but what they don't realize is that MAGA is growing and the mass exodus from the Dem party, they will need much more. They have even said after '16' NEVER AGAIN!


They see the writing on the wall and know they cant beat him at the ballot box! They know and by my count 100 million Americans will vote for him in '24'; they see it, they know it and are in panic mode. If anyone thinks they have seen anything yet, buckle up. The fiery darts of Satan will come 24/7 non stop hoaxs and lies going after MAGA and the leader Pres. Trump. The global elite want everyone to do as they say not what is your constitutional right or civic duty to vote for candidate of your choice without repercussion. Thats the way a free society of America once worked.

Our Founding Fathers were guided by divine providence to establish the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known. The principles enshrined in the Constitution - freedom, liberty, limited government - are fundamentally aligned with Judeo-Christian values. As George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." The Constitution was inspired by God to protect the natural rights of man.

They not even hiding any longer that they want to give the right to vote to illegals. They are not hiding their unlawful warfare but full steam ahead no matter how many lives they ruin, they care nothing for any of us, nothing for America. The exact and total opposite of Pres. Trump who gives the power back to the American people not putting it in the hands of un-elected bureaucrats.They are so afraid of this one man who does not have all the media, big tech, or global big bucks like the Democrats; yet they fear him so much they use, and might add make up lawfare against him. Their propaganda and false charges are not working so now they trying to kick him off the ballot. Illegal immigrants should not be counted for the purposes of congressional apportionment and electoral college votes. That undermines the foundational principle of one citizen, one vote.

SCOTUS will side with the President Trump on this and prevent liberal states from gaining unfair political advantages by harboring illegal immigrants and trying to kick him off the ballot-WANT WORK; nothing they have done has worked and they are scared and will stop at nothing, and I mean nothing.. What are they so afraid of? they fear him because the deep state cant control him; the media hates him because he doesn't bow down to them and fall in line with their world views. The world view is "do what I tell you to do or you want be able to buy, sell or trade". Let the American people decide! I know of someone who has in your face committed the crimes they claim Pres. Trump did.

Is the holy spirit our Christian conscience? Is it just our soul ? Or both?