feeling really down and in a slump I am struggling to get out of, i would say depressed but then some people tell me I'm not, so I will simply say I am really down and struggling to get out of it, so i'm asking for prayer. its exhausting and I really dont like where I'm at.

Sure, I'd use their preferred pronouns. When I talk to them, for the sake of personal communication, I don't mind assuming their definitions. Any communication requires agreed definitions. Definitions are assumed to be true by both parties. Definitions do not require belief.

I thank the tolerant Canadians when they talk to me and I often misuse "he" for "she" and vice versa. Also, I often drop the plural "s" at the end of a noun. In Cantonese, "he" and "she" has the same pronunciation and there are no singular or plural nouns. It's all the same

"It’s the middle of winter in South America, but that hasn’t kept the heat away in Chile, Argentina and surrounding locations. Multiple spells of oddly hot weather have roasted the region in recent weeks. The latest spell early this week has become the most intense, pushing the mercury above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while setting an August record for Chile."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/08/02/southamerica-record-winter-heat-argentina-chile/

An Arizona county has decided not to hand-count its ballots in next year’s elections, after discovering that it would cost more than a million dollars and leave it with inaccurate results.

The test run took place in late June, when elections workers spent three days hand-counting a batch of 850 test ballots from the 2022 election, bringing in seven part-time staffers eight-hour days of counting and four full-time staffers who monitored the process.

Elections Director Allen Tempert told the Board of Supervisors at a Tuesday meeting that the group was a “dream team” of experienced staffers, but the feasibility study nonetheless went poorly. They made errors in 46 races.

https://orthochristian.com/155240.html
Those who have been “affiliated with Orthodoxy” have tended to move in one of two directions: to become active practitioners, or to stop associating themselves…

I was like that in my first few years after I prayed the sinner's prayer:

Heavenly Father,
Have mercy on me, a sinner. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to die for me on the Cross and raising him from the dead. I repent my sins. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Install your Spirit in my heart for eternal life. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

I don't think it is healthy to experience frequent doubts. It has to do with spiritual growth and maturity. For more than a decade, I haven't felt any doubts. I can sense the Paraclete in me at any time all the time.

They killed my grandmother all and my dogs all and my crush my wife’s friend. My cats my birds. My Guinean pigs. My friend lost her baby. My wife and I were fighting so hard and they stole my memorial blanket. MY notebooks. My art work. My music technology all burned busted. If you want to tell me you can but I just need prayer for losing my loved ones. I want to leave this place but my wife too and it’s hardbecause my parents and I’m finally healing. Please pray for us to make a way. A job. A house. Kids. Travel. WE have no one. We have nothing. We are Benoit’s.

Short story, neighbour, sat and picked the out-area apart, I guess in loneliness, so I painted it white again, and hung up lanterns, I also hung up a hammock now, the idea was for people just to have fun, but be usually barbeque instead, which is okay, doesn`t matter really, just wanted to show you how it looks now, what do you think:

From my earliest days as a Believer, I've had horrible anxiety about the End Times that I've never been able to get a handle on, and it's only increased in the last few years with everything that's been going on...I believe it is imminent and we are closer to it than ever.

I think a lot of it comes from knowing that I'm not ready for what will be coming. My relationship with God has never been a very strong one because of trauma in my past before coming to faith, and my first couple of years as a Believer were ones where a lot of additional trauma in addition to what I already came into adulthood with happened, which has sadly made God and a lot of things associated with Christianity triggers for me. Even after almost 3 years of intense pastoral counseling, which has helped a great deal, I have not been able to get past my early experiences.

I know it's coming faster than we realize and I know I'm not ready for it...but at the same time, the thought of getting close to God again like I was when the most traumatic things happened to me triggers some pretty bad things and I don't know if I can do it. I'm stuck, how do I get unstuck?

Heb 10:29 reads ,,Of much worse punishment , do you suppose , will be be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot , counted the blood of the COVENANT by which He was Sanctified a COMMON THING , and insulted the SPIRIT of GRACE .

#1 Who was the book of HEBREWS written too ?

#2 WAS it written to GENTILES ?

#3 Or was it written to JEWS ?

#4 Many see 4 parts here , Worse Punishment ?

#5 Trampled the Son under foot ?

#6 Counted The Blood a COMMON THING ?

#7 Insulted The Spirit of GRACE ?

Who then wants to be under the Law of Moses .

Is this the OLD COVENANT ?

Could this be the NEW COVENANT ?

dan p

I notice that with social media so prevalent that Christian leaders are presenting themselves to the public with slick professional 'Hollywood' style images that supposedly represent Christlikeness.

Jesus chose at the pinnacle of His earthly ministry to ride into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey.

Is this modern trend a misrepresentation of what is real success ?

Are we being encouraged to judge by appearances ? (which Jesus didn't do)

Or do we feel safe in a church with plenty of flash cars as if true spirituality reflects in possessions.

Sadly it seems that salesmanship and upbeat promotion is being used to attract folks to church and they can completely miss the real Jesus who is more likely to be found with the poor, blind and lame.

The idea of a debate between the two governors first emerged in June when Newsom expressed his readiness to engage in a three-hour standoff with DeSantis during an interview with Hannity.

[On Hannity's show recently] DeSantis responded positively, stating, ”Absolutely I’m game, let’s get it done, just tell me when and where. We will do it.”

Newsom’s team has proposed November as a potential time frame. In their letter, they outlined specific rules for the debate, including a 90-minute format aired by Fox News, moderated by Sean Hannity, and without a live audience.

I am not Catholic, but I am not here to argue. But seeking information.

Does anyone have an online link of an English translation of....

In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarii,

I would like to read it. Thanks.

All national channels?

article said:

The Biden administration will begin enforcing a nationwide ban on various types of popular light bulbs Tuesday as part of its aggressive energy efficiency agenda.

Under the Department of Energy's (DOE) regulations, manufacturers and retailers will be prohibited from selling incandescent and similar halogen light bulbs which represent a sizable share of current light bulb supplies. Instead, manufacturers and retailers must sell light-emitting diode, or LED, alternatives or risk substantial federal penalties.

Click to expand...

First it was oil pipelines. Then it was fracking. After that it was gas stoves. The latest was hot water heaters. Now, it's light bulbs. Apparently this man and his handlers are not going to be satisfied until we're all living in mud huts and using smokeless candles for illumination, eating insects raw because cooking fires contribute to climate change.

Here it is

A testimony- I have a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. I have been seeking the mind of Christ as a cure for my condition, years ago I did received the mind of Christ supernaturally for several minutes, for that short time I no longer had any mental illness! I was completely normal! It left after several minutes and I have not managed to get it back but if I did get it back it would change everything for me, I would not longer need to be on any meds and I would no longer have to see a psychiatrist! The mind of Christ is available to any believer in Christ! I have started saying "I claim the mind of Christ today in the name of Jesus" every morning when I wake up, if I keep claiming it it may come!

There are several lawyers (not named) mentioned in the latest indictment of the ex-president of the U.S. as co-conspirators. If defense claims that the defendant acted on advice of counsel, which one of these lawyers will likely take the fall. It is a speculative question I know. but what do you all think?

Psalm 14:

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
2The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

Click to expand...

The verse does not assert that no one seeks God.

3They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Click to expand...

Psalm 14 is poetry. It is not written in the language format of modern systematic theology. From the context, I gather that people are fools. They don't want to know God because they don't want to do good. By nature, people do not want to seek God.

Paul cited this psalm but changed the wording slightly in Romans 3:

10b For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; 11no one understands; no one seeks for God.

Click to expand...

Paul asserted that no one seeks God in the sense that Jews and Greeks are under sin. We are all sinners. Fortunately, Jesus seeks us. Luke 19:

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Click to expand...

Moreover, Deuteronomy 4:

29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Click to expand...

Matthew 7:

7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Click to expand...

From my own personal experience, I remember that when I was a little kid, I was seeking God whoever he was. That was before anyone told me anything about Jesus. When I became an adult, I became more materialistic and wanted proof and stopped seeking God. I was studying in a university when I called myself a Christian. Finally, God stopped my running away and found me

Does no one seek God?

Some people do seek God. Even if they do, they are still sinners because everyone sins. For those who seek God, they will be not disappointed.

In the second year of king Charles III of England, and in the third year of President Joseph Biden of the USA the Word of the Lord came to Xeno the son of Zeno the son of Nils in the city of Perth in the country of Australia, saying, "This is what the Lord says, the day is coming and is now here when few will abide sound doctrine but rather will they seek teachers who speak words that flatter and deceive. They will desire signs and miracles but will settle for ..."

Could you write a Prophet's book of 'revelations' from God? Evidently some can. Joseph Smith did, some recent "apostles" have. And if they craft their work well, with the right tone, and biblical vocabulary, and words to flatter many will accept their works. Ellen White wrote of her visions and many believed she was speaking as a prophet of God. Charles Taze Russell wrote his teachings down and convinced many to follow. Should it surprise us that others have written apostolic epistles in the name of God and led many to follow them.

But why have so many taken this road and why do so many follow?

Co-Conspirator 1: Rudy Giuliani​

Co-Conspirator 2: John Eastman​

Co-Conspirator 3: Sidney Powell​

Co-Conspirator 4: Jeffrey Clark​

Co-Conspirator 5: Kenneth Chesebro​

Co-Conspirator 6: An unknown 'political consultant'​

The date can be pushed back by embracing changes like 15-minute cities, low-carbon energy and reforestation.


Humanity has burned through Earth’s annual budget for resources in under eight months.
Known as Earth Overshoot Day, 2 August marks the date on which we’ve used up all the resources that the planet can regenerate in one year.
“Persistent overshoot leads to ever more prominent symptoms including unusual heatwaves, forest fires, droughts, and floods with the risk of compromising food production,” says Steven Tebbe, CEO of the Global Footprint Network - the organisation which produces the estimate.

Click to expand...

The title of this thread is intentionally provocative. But it's not untrue.

Most of my life I've heard "Revival is coming" and "what we need is revival".

The idea being that there's going to be something like what happened in the Anglosphere in the 18th and 19th centuries. The First Great Awakening of the 18th century affected both Britain and its colonies in America. The Second Great Awakening was more America-centric. Some have argued that the Charismatic movement of the mid-20th century was a kind of Third Great Awakening.

I won't get into here why I actually don't think those movements were necessarily the great spiritual boon that they are sometimes spoken of. Instead I do want to talk about the idea of revival itself and why I think what we should be praying for isn't revival, but something more.

Revival, generally, speaks about a religious fervor sweeping through a population, non-religious or nominally religious people becoming more religious generally. And I'm not against that obviously. The Lord said "make disciples of all nations", I think we need to be preaching the Gospel and seeing lives transformed by God's grace.

But I'll be honest. My present concerns are not with the fact that there are millions of people who are not yet Christian. It's the millions of Christians who don't know Christ.

I'm not talking about Christians who aren't really Christians, or who aren't saved. I mean there is a spiritual sickness in the Christian Church that is more concerned with what non-believers are doing rather than on how we are living as disciples of Jesus. The promotion of religion that is, at its core, without Jesus or the Gospel.

Have you ever attended a church or experienced a service that talked a lot about spiritual stuff, morality even, but the name of Jesus wasn't really mentioned. Or perhaps Jesus was mentioned, but no mention of His life, His death, or His resurrection. Perhaps there was a lot of teaching and preaching about what you should do or what you should want, but not based on any commandment of God, not based on what we actually read in Scripture. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about.

A sort of generic spirituality, a kind of moralistic pietism that talks about God, but if it wasn't for the fact that the preacher said they were a Christian minister, you wouldn't really know that it was a specifically Christian service.

A service that maybe didn't concern itself much with, say, repentance of sin, or forgiveness of sin by God's grace. Or the commandment that we should love other people. But, instead, was about how you can be a better person, or have better success in your job, relationship, or finances if you live a more moral life. Or perhaps it focused on just how bad all those people over there are, but not really any focus on the sin right here in you and me.

Anyone else notice these things? I have. I've noticed them for a really long time. Other people over there are sinners, but we're the righteous. I don't need the Gospel, I already am a Christian. I don't need to be reminded of the fact that I have to take up my cross and follow Jesus, that applies to the pagans, the homosexuals, the atheists, etc. Not me. I'm a Christian. I'm saved.

That's what I'm talking about.

A lot of the "revival" talk I hear tends to be focused on "all those people over there coming to Jesus", and the implication is that our society/culture is going to become a more moral one, however we define that "morality".

But what about you and me, taking up our cross, getting uncomfortable by associating with the people forgotten and unloved. Or you and me being reminded that we're the sinners that need to confess our sins, we're the sinners that need to take up our cross and follow Jesus. That Jesus died for us.

There's a lot of things "revival" is supposed to bring. But what I fail to hear about when I hear about "revival" is the Cross.

Where is Jesus Christ in all this talk of revival?

-CryptoLutheran