• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

living in the wilderness

This is the story and my testimony of my wasted years, one thing, you will get from me, is my honesty. May this testimony inspire and challenge you. My name is Keith Hobkirk, I am a simple Christian servant of the Only true God, who redeemed from sin, death and hell. I hope my story touches you life.



MY STORY

I am going to be sixty-five soon, just before my sixteenth birthday, trusted Christ as Saviour, but he never had total control of my life. My wilderness years were between 1986 and 2001, from the ages of 27 to 42.
我快要六十五岁了,就在我的十六岁生日前,我信靠基督作为救主,但他从未完全掌控我的生活。我的旷野岁月是在1986年到2001年之间,从27岁到42岁的时候。

Life wasted, why because I did not obey God, I went my own way, did my own thing.

生命被浪费了,为什么呢?因为我没有顺服上帝,我走了自己的路,做了自己认为好的事情。

Life lived not being obedient to God for the Christian is wasted. You have him as saviour, but never as Lord.

对基督徒来说,生命若不顺服上帝就是被浪费。你有他作救主,但从未把他当作主。

Next year in 2025, it will be fifty years since I trusted Christ, most of it sadly fighting against him, rather than living for Him.

明年2025年,将是我信靠基督的五十年,其中大部分时间都在与他对抗,而不是为他而活。

Has he restored me?

他是否恢复了我?

Yes, and he is my everything, I owe God everything, without Him, I am nothing.

是的,他是我的一切,我欠上帝一切,没有他,我一无所有。

My story is a warning, to any of you, follow God with your whole heart, never take your eyes off Jesus.

我的故事是一个警告,对于你们中的任何人,全心全意地跟随上帝,永远不要移开目光,专心跟随耶稣。

The devil comes to kill steal and destroy, he has taken some of the best of my life, deceiving me that I could live witbout God.

魔鬼来要偷窃、杀害和毁灭,他夺走了我生命中最美好的一些时光,欺骗我以为我可以在没有上帝的情况下生活。

Don't let him fool you Christian, keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

不要让他愚弄你,基督徒,保持你的目光注视基督。

I cant change the past, but I can do two tbings.

我不能改变过去,但我可以做两件事。

I can warn others of the mistakes I made and then live like never before for my Saviour and Lord.

我可以警告别人不要犯我犯过的错误,然后像从未有过一样为我的救主和主而活。

I am redeemrd restored and complety forgiven, but the sadness still remains.

我已被救赎、恢复,并完全蒙赦免,但悲伤仍然存在。

William borden once said

威廉·博登曾说过

No reserves

无留余地

No regrets

无遗憾

May you live for HIm, without reserve and having no regrets

愿你为他而活,毫不保留,毫无遗憾。

In Christ

在基督里

Kk

Failed climate predictions from false prophets

"April 1970, Erlich in Mademoiselle: “Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.”

Erlich was not alone. In the early 1970s, a host of voices supported his beliefs.

Harvard biologist and Nobel Prize winner George Wald, speaking at the University of Rhode Island in November 1970: “Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.”

-- in July 2009, then-Prince Charles chimed in, asserting the planet had 96 months to avoid decimation: “…irretrievable climate and ecosystem collapse, and all that goes with it."


Knowing the religion of climate change is full of false prophets helps us to remember the actual future prophesied in the bible. Since the false prophets of climate change claim science for their false prophesies, that tells us something important as well.
Yes climate will be affected by the nuclear bombs and other machinations of wicked men and most of the population will die because of this same wickedness as well as the judgments of God. Meanwhile when they steal our jobs and wealth in the name of the climate we can know that it is a deception.

A Wearying Pontificate Nears Its End

I think I speak for a lot of Catholics when I say that the whole circus surrounding Pope Francis has become wearisome.

We are approaching eleven years since Jorge Bergoglio was elected Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. While most of us knew almost nothing about the man when he walked onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, now most Catholics wish they knew less than they do. From pedophile-enabling Cardinal Danneels joining Francis on that balcony to the pope’s recent endorsement of same-sex couple blessings, controversy has surrounded this pontificate from beginning to end; a week doesn’t seem to go by without the pope stirring the pot with some papal appointment, document, or off-hand comment.

I think I speak for a lot of Catholics when I say that the whole circus surrounding Francis has become wearisome. Probably nothing Francis could do or say at this point would surprise us, although he still desperately makes every effort to do so. We repeat a tiresome cycle:

Step 1: The pope says or does something controversial.
Step 2: Conservative and Traditional Catholics criticize his actions (traditionalists directly, conservatives more obliquely).
Step 3: Progressive Catholics rejoice and take the pope to mean exactly what he says.
Step 4: Non-progressive popesplainers storm social media to explain that the pope doesn’t actually mean exactly what he says.
Step 5: Return to Step 1.

Continued below.

Prayer for my situations

Please pray God will help me get through the trials I face. I am needing Gods help so desperately to overcome some obstacles in my life. I am self-harming and struggling to get relief from the thoughts causing me to desire to do so. I have struggled for several months with suicidal thoughts. I’m tired of a roller coaster of emotions. One minute I’m making it and the next I’m overwhelmed and defeated.
Life has washed me up. I gave my full testimony at church yesterday and started up some STINK but at least I don’t feel like I’m hiding anything from them. I think the old ladies want to stone me with the hymnals lol!!
Anyway they can think what they want. I give up trying to protect my reputation… it is what it is. I Give!! I GIVE!!! I GIVE!!!!
It’s Just another problem out of MANY….

Please pray for my mom and dad. My dad just got put in jail recently. Please pray for his salvation. My mom is on her way to “home of grace”. Please pray for her salvation also.

Please also pray for my entire family. My close and distant family is all into some dark creepy stuff. They need salvation desperately!!

On the positive side of things my little sister fully gave her life to Christ yesterday!! :clap:
As I write this she is singing, playing the piano and praising God in the living room.

My Top 10

Hope this is the right forum for this! This is definitely deeper fellowship with the LORD:

I do a lot of reading. Don't worry, I spend a lot of time in the Bible too. But I love reading the old preachers: the ancient preachers, I call them; especially from the Great Awakenings back in the 1700s and 1800s. So I compiled a list of my top 10.
The reason I love these guys (and trust some day I will meet them all in the Kingdom of God), is because they preached an uncompromising Gospel. So much of the preaching today is watered down, or just plain false doctrine. These guys pretty much stick to the basic tenets of faith (I don't agree 100% with some of them also), and they go deep, which is something lacking in so many churches today.

This is roughly the order of my favorites (and yes, I realize they were MEN, and it's the Word of God they preached that is what draws me.)

1) Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758 was born in East Windsor, Connecticut, and was converted as a child, the only son with ten sisters of a Congregational Church pastor. He graduated from Yale College with highest honors, and studied divinity there. In 1726, Edwards accepted the call from the Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts, where his grandfather pastored. There he married the daughter of a minister and founder of Yale College. The Lord blessed his labors with revival in 1734-35 and 1740-42. These included many conversions and a change in the town. Through unusual events later, Edwards’ own congregation voted him out of the pastorate. He then became a missionary to the Native Americans. He became the president of Princeton College, but died only five weeks later. Through his writings, Edwards is recognized as the most capable Reformed theologian in American history.

2) Horatius Bonar 1808-1889
Scottish Presbyterian, brother of Andrew Bonar. After university, he pastored in village churches before serving many years at the main Presbyterian church in Edinburgh, which became known for its solid Bible teaching and revival. He was a great winner of souls, preacher, hymn writer, and writer, gifted in putting great truths into understandable language.“Unlike many writers of the Evangelical school, Dr. Bonar is not content with baling out milk for babes, but gives us real thought and teaching…We say to all our friends, read and be refreshed.”—Charles Spurgeon

Arthur W. Pink 1886-1952

English independent Baptist. Pink studied briefly at Moody Bible Institute, pastored churches in the USA and Australia, and returned to England in 1934. His last 12 years were in Lewis, Scotland, writing the Studies in the Scriptures, his monthly expository digest, issued from 1922 to 1953. His focus was on the great themes of grace, justification, and sanctification. Arthur W. Pink was born in Nottingham, England, in 1886, and born again by God’s Spirit in 1908. He studied for only six weeks at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, U.S.A., before beginning pastoral work in Colorado. He later pastored churches in California, Kentucky, and South Carolina before moving on to preach and teach in Sydney, Australia. In 1934, he returned to his native England, moving to the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, in 1940, where he remained until his death in 1952.

3) George Whitefield 1714-1770
Born in Gloucester, England; the best-known evangelist of the 18th century and one of the greatest itinerant preachers in the history of the churches of Jesus Christ. Whitefield worked together with John and Charles Wesley in establishing the “Holy Club” during his studies at Oxford University. By God’s grace, Whitefield experienced a genuine conversion and came to see that his “holiness” was only filthy rags. He realized that he needed to rest by faith in the finished work of Christ and began to fervently preach the necessity of regeneration.Whitefield was an ordained minister of the Church of England. When opposition to his preaching closed church doors to him, he led the way in preaching outdoors and in traveling wherever he could to air the message of salvation. He shared this work with the Wesleys. He was mightily used of God in England and the American Colonies during the “Great Awakening,” and ceaselessly preached the sovereign grace of God, the necessity of the new birth through faith alone in the Person and work of Jesus Christ

John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) began his service to the Lord as a minister of the Gospel. He labored in parish churches within the Church of England for almost forty years. He then became Bishop of Liverpool in 1880 and came to international prominence as preacher, Bible expositor, and author. Today he is best known for his plain and lively writings on practical and spiritual themes. He deliberately used this style to reach ordinary people. The great aim of his ministry was to encourage strong and serious Christian living.


Charles H. Spurgeon 1834-1892

English Baptist. Without formal education, Spurgeon was called to preach in London at 19. The church later became the Metropolitan Tabernacle, where he ministered to 6,000 people on Sundays and came to be much beloved. The 20-25 million printed words of his sermons stand as the most by a single author in Christian history.

4) Charles Henry Mackintosh 1820-1896, who preached extensively in the revival movement. The initials 'C.H.M.' became familiar in many pious evangelical households of the later Victorian and Edwardian years. No critical scholar, Mackintosh nevertheless had a marked gift for simple Biblical exposition, and his works on the Pentateuch had an enormous vogue as simple aids to devotional interpretation for the first five books of the Bible.

Dwight Lyman Moody 1837-1899, also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers

William Penn 1644-1718 was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era.

George Fox 1624-1691 was founder of the Quakers, so called because they trembled before God. In opposition to the obvious coldness and corruption of the church of his day, Fox chose to be guided by the inward light of Christ (fed by continual immersion in the Bible) and rejected the trappings of formal religion and undue respect to men, whatever their elevation. For this he suffered many imprisonments.

Finally, I can't leave out, Samuel Ward 1577-1640, Puritan Preacher. I especially love his sermon, "A Coal from the Altar to Kindle Holy Fire of Zeal, 1615,"
But a lot of his works are still in olde English, if you can read it. (I do)
This is from, "
Balme from Gilead TO Recouer Conscience. In a Sermon Preached at Pauls-Crosse, Octob. 20. 1616."
The time is now come vpon vs, wherein men affect and desire good Names, Estates, Wiues, Houses, good Cloathes, good euery thing; but content themselues with meane and vile Consciences, which ought to be the chiefe and onely good: Wherein men loue to exercise and shew, in Preaching, in Hearing, in Trading, and all manner of conuersing, their Memorie, their skill and cunning, and al other their good parts, as they ]call them, neglecting this which is the WHOLE of a Man; and despising Pauls Exercise, and Pauls Policie,
To haue a good Conscience before God and Man: Wherein men loue preaching indeede and knowledge, but not wholsome doctrine; Preaching to the Conscience and knowledge of themselues, which makes this Pulpit and Church-yard full of Polemicall and Schoole-diuinitie; while the plaine, practicall, and asketicall part lyeth vntilled and vnregarded: which maketh Citie and Country full of Craft and Cunning, but voyd and destitute, not onely of the power but shew of Conscience. All which maketh me to chuse rather with the Apostle to speake fiue words to the Heart,
then tenne thousand to the Eare; yea, one to shew you a good Conscience, then ten thousand to shew all the Science in the
world. Sermon you heare vpon Sermon, till this Manna [...]comes out at your nostrils: but as o [...]e said of Lawes; one is yet wanting for the practising of all the rest. Now Conscience is the spring of Practise, and the Wheele that must set all the rest on going: Is it not high time to speake to Conscience, that wee be no longer hearers onely, but dooers also?

U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, much better than expected

Job growth posted a surprisingly strong increase in January, demonstrating again that the U.S. labor market is solid and poised to support broader economic growth.

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 353,000 for the month, much better than the Dow Jones estimate for 185,000, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate held at 3.7%, against the estimate for 3.8%.

The report also indicated that December’s job gains were much better than originally reported. The month posted a gain of 333,000, which was an upward revision of 117,000 from the initial estimate. November also was revised up, to 182,000, or 9,000 higher than the last estimate.

----


The U.S. economy grew by a bustling 3.1 percent in 2023, shaking off recession fears and offering an upbeat picture of consumers and businesses ahead of a pivotal election year.

Gross domestic product grew even faster than many had anticipated in the last three months of the year — by an annual rate of 3.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis — offering fresh evidence that federal policymakers have managed to bring down inflation and secure a “soft landing” without major repercussions for workers or the economy.


----


see also

The End of the Wicked: Be Not Among them!

Screenshot 2024-02-05 4.42.02 PM.png

When you come to know you're a sinner, cry out to the LORD for mercy, and forgiveness. For all are sinners and all have sinned. There is no way around it or out from under it: we all have a sentence of death hanging over us, and the second death revealed in the Bible will be far worse than any gruesome execution man can carry out. It will be, first: complete exposure of every sinful act and thought you ever committed, and second: judgment pronounced in front of all you ever knew, and many you never knew. Extreme embarrassment coupled with the worst dreadful fear you ever experienced, is what awaits the lost soul: the damned, the condemned.

Luke 8:17, "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad."

Romans 2:16, "God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

1 Corinthians 6:2-3, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels?"

The following is by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), from "The End of the Wicked Contemplated by the Righteous"
(This is from when preaching was real: the sword of the Spirit cut deeply, as it is supposed to do. You would know your sin, and the dire necessity of a Saviour. Today, many sermons are designed to make you feel good, not to offend anybody, and many preachers have departed from the true preaching of the Gospel, to a watered down version - some so bad it is dragging people into hell, rather than draw them into a saving knowledge and experiential relationship with the risen Christ):

"God will exercise no pity towards you. If you might have his pity in any degree, that would be of more worth to you than thousands of worlds. That would make your case to be not without comfort and hope. But God will exercise no pity towards you. He hath often said concerning wicked men, that his eye shall not spare, neither will he have pity, Ezek. v. 11, and vii. 4, 9, and viii. 18. He will cast upon you, and not spare; you will see nothing in God, and receive nothing from him, but perfect hatred, and the fierceness of his wrath; nothing but the mighty falls or outpourings of wrath upon you every moment; and no cries will avail to move God to any pity, or in the least to move him to lighten his hand, or assuage the fierceness and abate the power of your torments.
Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, will have no pity on you. Though he had so much love to sinners, as to be willing to lay down his life for them, and offers you the benefits of his blood, while you are in this world, and often calls upon you to accept them; yet then he will have no pity upon you. You never will hear any more instructions from him; he will utterly refuse to be your instructor: on the contrary, he will be your judge, to pronounce sentence against you.

Consider what an aggravation what you have heard under this doctrine will be to your misery. Consider how it will be at the day of judgment, when you shall see Christ coming in the clouds of heaven, when you shall begin to wail and cry, as knowing that you are those who are to be condemned; and perhaps you will be ready to fly to some of your godly friends; but you will obtain no help from them: you will see them unconcerned for you, with joyful countenances ascending to meet the Lord, and not the less joyful for the horror in which they see you. And when you shall stand before the tribunal at the left hand, among devils, trembling and astonished, and shall have the dreadful sentence passed upon you, you will at the same time see the blessed company of saints and angels at the right hand rejoicing, and shall hear them shout forth the praises of God, while they hear your sentence pronounced. You will then see those godly people, with whom you shall have been acquainted, and who shall have been your neighbors, and with whom you now often converse, rejoicing at the pronunciation and execution of your sentence.

(And, when all those who told you the truth of Christ, and your dire need for His salvation), will declare how your sins are aggravated by the endeavors which they to no purpose used with you, to bring you to forsake sin and practice virtue, and to seek and serve God; but you were obstinate under all, and would not hearken to them.

Besides those things which have been now mentioned, some of you have a degree of the inward strivings and influences of the Spirit, which makes your opportunity much greater. You have Christ's internal calls and knockings. All the persons of the Trinity are now seeking your salvation. God the Father hath sent his Son, who hath made way for your salvation, and removed all difficulties, except those which are with your own heart. And he is waiting to be gracious to you; the door of his mercy stands open to you; he hath set a fountain open for you to wash in from sin and uncleanness. Christ is calling, inviting, and wooing you; and the Holy Ghost is striving with you by his internal motions and influences.
If you now repent, before it be too late, the saints and angels in glory will rejoice at your repentance.
If you repent before it is too late, you yourselves shall be of that joyful company. They will be so far from rejoicing on occasion of your ruin, that you yourselves will be of that glorious company, who will rejoice in all the works of God, who will have all tears wiped away from their eyes, to whom there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and from whom sorrow and sighing shall flee away. You yourselves will be of those who will rejoice at the glorious display of God's majesty and justice in his wrath on his enemies. You will be of those that shall sing for joy of heart at the day of judgment, while others mourn for sorrow of heart, and bowl for vexation of spirit; and you will enter into the joy of your Lord, and there shall never be any end or abatement of our joy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" - which is considered probably the most famous sermon of all time, outside of the Bible:

"2. Men deserving

They deserve to be cast into hell, so that divine justice never stands in the way; it makes no objection against God’s using His power at any moment to destroy them. Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins. Divine justice says of the tree that brings forth such grapes of Sodom, “Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?” (Luk 13:7). The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy and God’s mere will that holds it back.

4. Objects of wrath even now

“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”—Psalm 7:11
They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell; and the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in Whose power they are, is not at present very angry with them—as He is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth—yea, doubtless with some who may read this book, who, it may be, are at ease—than He is with many of those that are now in the flames of hell So it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and does not resent it, that He does not let loose His hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such a one as themselves, though they may imagine Him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared; the fire is made ready; the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whetted and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.
O sinner, consider the fearful danger you are in! It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God Whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it and burn it asunder. And you have no interest in any mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself—nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you have done, nothing that you can do—to induce God to spare you one moment."

Flee to Christ

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open (Luk 4:17-21), and stands calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners (Pro 8:1-11), a day wherein many are flocking to him and pressing into the kingdom of God.
Many are daily coming from the east, west, north, and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state with their hearts filled with love to Him Who has loved them and washed them from their sins in His own blood (Rev 1:5), and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God (Rom 5:2). How awful is it to be left behind at such a day and see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and to howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? Are not your souls as precious as the souls of those who are flocking from day to day to Christ?

Avoid Central Penn College

If you are looking at picking up a bachelor's degree I would strongly advise you not to go to Central Penn College near Harrisburg, PA! It may be a scam! I went there and I did not realize what was happening at first, by the time I realized what was happening I was committed and had to finish, it was too late to transfer. Had I transferred I would have been out of like $20,000. There are a number of things wrong with this place. First of all the school is very expensive, it is like $25,000/year but the facilities are a dump, not up to par. Academically the school is a shoe-in, a cakewalk, a walk in the park. My dog could make it through there! Also all of the professors are incompetent, at first I thought I just got a bad professor but later on I realized that they were all like that! Another thing- the only dining facility on campus is a little cafe, the quality of the food there is good but the cafe is almost never open! It is totally shut down on tuesdays and thursdays, closed the whole day, on tuesdays and thursdays students are expected to buy their own food at the grocery store and prepare it themselves! On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays dinner is served from 4:00pm-6:30pm, if the students are hungry after 6:30pm they are on their own, they have to either go to Sheetz or raid the vending machine! Another thing- if you go down there you will get bad vibes from the campus, there is something off about the atmosphere. Also you will notice there is something suspicious about the way some of the faculty are acting, they may be in on the scam! I would avoid this place like the plague, you may want to warn everyone you know not to go there! Thankfully I was able to go to RIT for grad school after Central Penn and that made up for Central Penn. Had RIT known what Central Penn was like they might not have let me in but they did let me in and I did make it through. I did not learn anything at Central Penn, not a thing, but I did learn alot at RIT. The only reason I went to Central Penn was that I would not have been welcome anywhere else, I might have gotten beat-up by the younger students at other schools, people not of traditional age are not welcome at many schools, alot of people work and go to Central Penn part-time, older students are welcome there.

Christian parents say daughter removed from their care after refusing to affirm gender identity

Montana's Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said officials followed state policy in a case concerning Christian parents who claim they lost custody of their daughter after they refused to allow her to undergo experimental trans medicalization.


Apparently, you can now get your child taken away by CPS if you refuse to let your kid go through so-called "gender affirming care" if they come out as transgender. This is definitely another huge threat to religious freedom. Nobody should feel compelled to let their kid go through that.

5 key details in controversial Senate border deal


Here are the main parts of the immigration deal:
‘Border Emergency Authority’
Work permits for illegal migrants
Changes in Asylum rules
Additional funding for Border staffing and infrastructure
Increased legal immigration pathways

Separate from the border, the bill includes work permits and temporary visas for 250,000 "documented dreamers" – children of immigrants on temporary work visas who have since become adults. The bill also raises the cap on the number of green cards by 50,000 a year, the majority of which will be family-based. It also establishes an expedited pathway for Afghans who were evacuated to the U.S. to get green cards.

  • Poll
19-20 year age gap

Is a 19-20 year age gap too big?

  • Yes

    Votes: 2 18.2%
  • No

    Votes: 3 27.3%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Depends on the individual

    Votes: 7 63.6%
  • Heck No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Of course, what are you, a dirty old man?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

(Please read this before voting) For context, in this situation the male is 45, almost 46 and the female he is interested in is 26, turning 27 later in the year.

A Senior Moment?

Was out and about not all that late last night, and atmospheric conditions were such it was easy to see the glow of distant towns on the horizon. I started picking them out, recognizing the towns from where I was on the road, but then I came to one glow, I drew a blank. I could see the town in my mind, have been through it, but could not think of the name. That led to another community between the town and my location, a community that didn't have street lights and wouldn't have a glow on the horizon, and couldn't remember that one, either. It was really disconcerting.

After a few minutes I remembered the first town by going through my mind of the towns I could remember on that highway. The name of the other community, on a different highway, came up maybe less than a minute later. That was a relief, but it bothered me. Still does.

On the way back I noticed a glow on the horizon that at first I couldn't place, then realized it was a town distant enough I didn't know it would be visible, but I could easily recall the name of the town, so that was something different.

Anti-government extremist kills and decapitates federal worker (his father) and displays head during online rant

Man accused of beheading father ranted against government in violent video


The Pennsylvania man charged with beheading his father, a federal employee, shot the victim with a legally purchased gun before dismembering him and posing with his head in a YouTube video that called for the torture and execution of federal workers, the Bucks County District Attorney said Friday.

Justin Mohn, 32, is being held without bail on charges of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and possession of an instrument of a crime for killing his father, 68-year-old Michael F. Mohn, on Tuesday.

Mohn legally purchased a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun gun the day before the killing

Though Mohn recorded a violent, rambling 14-minute manifesto, he had “no history of diagnosed mental health issues” or any record of inpatient psychiatric treatment, Schorn said. [roommates and coworkers have left some hints that he may have been a difficult personality to deal with.]

Mohn’s manifesto called for government workers such as FBI agents and federal judges to be executed and railed against the LGBTQ community, immigrants, the Black Lives Matter movement and “antifa.”

Who is Justin Mohn? Man Decapitates Father, Shows Head on YouTube—Police


In the video—which has since been taken down—he said his father was a longtime federal employee and "is now in [Hades] for eternity as a traitor to this county," according to LevittownNow.com.

Mohn also ranted about President Joe Biden, federal officials, ... He also called on people to attack federal workers, federal law enforcement and journalists.

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When trying to find like-minded people in church, false gospel is prominent?

I saw this in another topic, where a woman in her 20s was having a hard time finding other single, that she felt isolated without coming across other like-minded genuine Christians at her church, people were suggesting trying out other churches and their organizations, then someone chimed in...feeling for her as he said he's tried like 10 + churches in the area, but they all taught "false gospel".

Whenever I went to church, this was a non-issue. In fact, it never even entered my mind...not sure why this person just up gave up on churches in the area? How does HE know they are teaching "false" gospel? What makes him /her an expert?

Isn't it weird it that these outliers think this of churches locally? It's almost like they are the flat earthers of the church community.

It's Passing Away

The world as we know it is passing away.
Corrosion, corruption have come here to stay.
The lies and deceptions are plain as can be.
They capture the multitudes; few are now free.

They kill and they trick and they lie through their teeth.
They think they’re above, but they’re really beneath.
So many believe them, who fall for their tricks.
They give them their loyalties, to them affix.

They get so convinced that they cling to the lies.
They don’t use good judgment, so they are not wise.
They fall for the platitudes, all the smooth talk.
When presented with truth, then to that they balk.

So, what is the answer to all that’s afloat?
It’s Jesus who separates sheep from the goats.
Believe him and his word, do all that he speaks,
Believe not the messengers whose lies they sneak.

An Original Work / February 4, 2024

The Counsel of the Lord

“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.” (Psalms 33:10-17 ESV)

“The nations” may refer to literal physical nations of people here, but sometimes it is used in the Scriptures as a general reference to all who are ungodly. Sometimes the term “Gentiles” is used in the same sense, depending upon the context. And so a “Gentile” today, in a spiritual sense, is not a non-Jew, but a Gentile is one who is ungodly, who is lacking in genuine God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, and who is still making sin his practice, and not obedience to the Lord, and not godly living.

Now the Lord doesn’t always bring the counsel of the nations to nothing. For he allows evil to exist. And he allows (not condones) evil people to continue on in their evil, sometimes for their entire lifespan. And he allows evil people who are heads of nations to plot evil against people of other nations, and even against their own people. But sometimes God allows this in order to get the people of the world to look to him for their salvation instead of them trusting in other humans for their support and for their rescue.

But the Lord, as he determines, and when he determines, will bring the counsel of the nations to nothing, and he will indeed frustrate the plans of the peoples. And sometimes he uses other evil nations to do this, like he did with the children of Israel multiple times in their history, I believe. And he will do the same during the time of tribulation on the earth before he judges in finality the entire world, i.e. he will use that beast and his kingdom to bring judgment upon the people of the earth (see Revelation 13:1-18).

For nothing escapes God’s notice. He is not asleep. He is not being neglectful. He knows what is going on. He sees it all! But he is patient and longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), and that is why he has not yet returned to judge the evildoers of their evil deeds, but he is giving them a chance to forsake their evil deeds and to trust him to be their Lord and Savior and to now follow him in obedience in surrender to his will and in holy living.

But now I want to focus here on the counsel of the Lord that stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. And like the Lord does sometimes with me, he put the lyrics to a secular song in my mind, and the song is “The Gambler.” And those who remain in their sin, and who keep doing evil and not the good they know to do, are gambling with their own lives. They are taking a gamble that, perhaps, God won’t do what he said he would do if they kept on in their sinful practices and not in walks of obedience to him.

Now, although obviously not an exact parallel, in the song one man is giving counsel to another, for he could read in the man’s face and in his eyes where he was headed, i.e. his destiny. And if we are very spiritually discerning people, and there are people in our lives who are still addicted to sin, we, too, can read in their eyes and in their faces and in their body language and in their words and their tone of voice where they are living, in reality, though not necessarily what they are professing that they are doing or not doing.

Anyway, the one man’s counsel to the other man was, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run… the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep…” (and much more).

And in a non-secular sense, this is God’s counsel to us, as well. We have to know and to understand the truth of God’s word that teaches us that if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against him, and against other humans, and if we do not repent of our sins, in truth and in righteousness, and if we do not make righteousness and obedience to our Lord our practice, our eternal destiny is going to be hell, not heaven. It will not go well for us in the end, regardless of what faith we profess with our lips.

For the secret to surviving is in knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep. We need to throw off the sin which so easily entangles so that we can run the race God has marked out for us to run. We must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and we must walk in faithful obedience to his commands in holy living. Sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, faithlessness, and the like, must be put out of our lives entirely, and we must now walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the will of God.

But sadly so, many professers of faith in Jesus Christ have not thrown away their sinful practices, but they have continued in them deliberately and habitually. And instead they have thrown away the word of God, and God/Christ, himself, and they have embraced the world and godlessness and their sinful practices, instead. And for many of them they have also thrown away their spouses, their marriages, and their families in order to keep on in their sinful practices, because their sin is really what they want most.

So, they continue to gamble with their lives and with their destiny, hoping that somehow God’s word will not ring true, and that they will not be judged by him for their continual deliberate and habitual sinning against him. So they put their hope and their trust in a diluted and altered and cheapened form of the true gospel which does not warn them of hell if they continue in their sin and not in walks of obedience to the Lord. But in the end, God’s word will not return empty, and he will bring the counsel of the ungodly to nothing, just like he said he will. So, please believe God and his word!

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

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


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

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

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

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

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

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Bearing fruit in old age

My old brother in Christ and I were talking on the phone when he mentioned that when walking his dogs every day he always passes an old gnarled fig tree. He noted that he thought it was funny that of all the leaves Adam and Eve could have chosen to cover themselves with was the fig's because it itches like crazy! LOL!

Well a few days later I was flipping through video shorts when up popped a preacher making the very same observation about the fig leaf. I thought, 'well that's interesting' and moved on.

A few days later up popped ANOTHER preacher talking about some other aspect of the fig. So I thought, "Ok God, what are you trying to tell me?"

So I googled the fig tree to see what else I could learn. Of many fascinating facts, I learned that they can live well over a hundred years, especially in climates like the Middle East. And something unique amongst all species of trees is that the fig tree continues to bear fruit well into very old age. Okey-doke. But I still didn't get the point.

Well a few days later I was doing my morning devotional when I came across the following:

Psalms 92:13-15 NKJV

"Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."

God knew that I had been struggling with the growing limitations of advancing age and whether I was really that useful anymore. Isn't it great how He used a living metaphor to encourage me AND my friend (who I discovered had been having the same struggle) to keep on planting seeds for His Kingdom and trusting Him to bear the fruit?

Hope this blesses you too if you ever wonder. I just love when He brings His Word to life like this. I would love to hear examples of how He has done this for you too! God bless.

I Don't Know What to Make of This

Normally, this would be conspiracy theory nonsense. It appears these are facts though.


There's no stories in anything remotely resembling a legitimate source other than the one I posted. These look like actual motions and rulings provided by this "Freedom of Information Act Project" site....though I haven't heard of it before so....grain of salt.

Some undeterred lawyer filed for Seth Rich's laptop. Seth Rich was the DNC staffer after Clinton lost who was murdered in what was called a botched robbery with no known suspects.

Later, Assange would offer a cash reward for anyone who had Information on his murder. This fueled speculation that it was this DNC staffer who leaked DNC info about Hillary to Wikileaks...not a Russian hacker. This was widely considered a crackpot idea....and his death an unfortunate story. A robbery gone wrong. A PI would later claim he was shot twice in the back, wallet and belongings in tact....no reason to suspect robbery. He also claimed the FBI had his laptop, he said he had inside Information it was shut down as a case internally, and the FBI was hiding the laptop.

This was widely shut down as conspiracy nonsense. People were shamed at participating, and told to let his grieving family move on. Most of the conspiracy theorists agreed....they shut up. It was simply too thin. No evidence of any collusion beyond Assange's offer of a reward. No laptop in existence to speak of. No witnesses.

One of the few to continue to not drop this is the lawyer who filed a FOIA request for the laptop. The FBI decides not to turn the laptop over....apparently they have it. No explanation why.


The judge ruled the FBI turn over the laptop. That was back in November last year. This is essentially, a cold case, and there is no reason to not turn it over....it's dead....let the retirees have a look.

The FBI has apparently, defied the order. They've claimed there's some sort of confidential informant they have to redact from the laptop...and to do so....they would need to print out it's contents, redact them, at a rate of 500 pages a month or over 60 years.

I shouldn't have to say....this is nonsense. Unless some other crime that was extremely serious was found on the laptop....the possibility he spoke to some confidential FBI informant about his own murder is as close to zero as it gets.

The FBI, CIA, NSA, and other large crime enforcement agencies do this really only when they want to hide their own involvement. It's pretty simple...when people find out, it gets buried for so long everyone involved is dead and no longer subject to prosecution. Operation Fast and Furious was an old mistake by the ATF...and credit to Obama for not burying it. The ATF had been running guns to Mexican cartels under the guise of "figuring out the logistics of the firearms black market in Mexico"....a rather dumb proposal if true.


But it didn't damage reputations much. One dead federal agent was bad....but it was shut down and since Obama didn't start it, it was plausibly deniable. I'm only pointing this out to demonstrate that our government sometimes does pretty stupid or horrific things to us.

Seth Rich was murdered. It matters if he leaked that info about the DNC to wikileaks and not the Russians. It matters if the FBI knew. This is all speculation though...as no one knows what that laptop holds. Whatever it is, the FBI has pulled some weird stuff by not letting it go. No progress has been made, no suspects pursued.

Still, some basic logic can be inferred here...

Why does the FBI have his laptop? What possible information about a botched robbery could be on there? The only witness is an old lady already known...she doesn't provide much.

I guess I'm saying that as someone who "analyses data" I'm struggling to come up with any reason why the FBI wouldn't turn this over. A botched robbery wouldn't have any information on the culprits on his laptop. He wasn't on his way to buy something on Craigslist and got mugged at gunpoint. The most likely conclusion is pretty awful. It also explains why this isn't reported in any legit news media. You would be shocked what isn't.

Thoughts? Especially if you have any suggestions why this would be withheld that don't involve the promotion of the Russian hacking story and all it was used to justify. I'm struggling to think of any.

You can't be saved by works

You can only be saved by faith in Jesus to save you from your sins. That's it. Just believe and ask Jesus to save you. Believe He died on the cross for your sins, that He is the Son of God. Believe only. God alone can save you. You make no effort on your own to obey Him. He is the author and finisher of our faith, He does all the work. You only always trust Him to do the work in you, you can't save yourself, you can't save yourself by any amount of works. You can't do it, you never will, you will never be able to do it. Just trust God to work it all out for you through faith alone.

You need to be doing all the Bible says to do, that's true, and anyone who doesn't repent of all their sins, turn away from them, and confess your sins to the Lord, you are not walking the way God would have you and expects. But even repentance and obedience are gifts from God, you ask Him for them, and He gives them to you, freely. You can't ever save yourself.

Trust God alone to save you, no amount of trying to do what's right is going to save you.

Learn how much God loves you and you will do what He says. That is what God is after - your heart. Any kind of obedience is just meant to test your love for Him. And when you find out how much He loves you, you will love Him dearly back and want to do what He says. Find out deeply how much He loves you and you will want to obey Him.

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