Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

Colossians 3:
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

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Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying,
I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

John 12:
35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you:
for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.

John 3:
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Proverbs 10:17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction goes astray.

Hebrews 12:
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou
the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not
much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jeremiah 21:8 Now you shall say to this people, Thus says the Lord:
Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

Hebrews 5:
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

2 Peter 2:
20 For if, after they have escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it,
to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

Most American media is controlled by Democrats.

So we need some Democrats in the Catholic Church.

We need women priests.

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Establish-[G2476] histemi=set, stand, make stand, establish

Romans 5:
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 10:
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Ephesians 6:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.

I posted this in a "Christians Only" forum because the idea is not to incite Bible bashing. We, Christians, love the Bible and frequently give Bibles to non-Christians. The Gideons have done this for decades. Is this the right approach? Or are non-Christians likely to misunderstand and reject the Bible based on that misunderstanding?

Nearly 4 decades ago, Despite my academic success, I felt there was something missing in my life. But I didn't know what it was. There were a few Christians on campus who kept bugging me about Jesus. Initially, I was polite and ignored them. But one guy, my housemate, Will, was persistent, so I told him, "There are two kinds of Christians: the dumb kind and the ugly kind. You are the exception: you are both." That didn't stop him and my insults on him and Christianity continued daily.

After many failed attempts by Will to convince me of Jesus, one day he said to me, "Tony, this is the last time I am going to talk to you about Jesus."

(I was thinking in my head: Why? I was just starting to enjoy my superior intellect over your puny arguments.)

I replied, "Why? Failures haven't stopped you before. Most Christians are either dumb or ugly and you are both." He ignored my insults as usual and said, "because I am leaving on Monday."

"Where are you going?"

"To Toronto to marry my fiancée"

I knew about her from talking with him before. I said to him, "Friend, don't do it. She doesn't love you as I told you many times before. She is not even really your fiancée. A couple does not have an engagement for 2 years without seeing each other. You're a landscape worker. She is not interested in you. You will be disappointed. Don't go, my friend."

"I don't want to talk about that with you. I want to talk to you about Jesus. Before I leave you, I'd like you to go to church with me."

"Will, I feel sorry for you. If it makes you happy, I will go to church with you Sunday evening."

We walked to Brunswick Street Baptist Church. We sat down. Someone started to play the piano. To my great surprise! Yes, great surprise! She was playing my village-school school-song. What! How! At 23 years old in Canada, I was listening to the tune of my school song that I sang every weekday in a village in Hong Kong when I was 7 years old. What the heck was going on?

No surprise during the sermon. After that, Will and I attended the College and Career program post-service. Nothing unusual.

Next week, Will left for Toronto. For some strange reason, I kept going back to the church every Sunday morning and evening. I guess the girls weren't as ugly as I thought after all

Why is the age of the earth an important matter to you (if it is)?

What is the most important thing that knowing the age of the earth will tell you?

There is a physical kind and there is a spiritual kind.

The first kind of Sabbath rest was periodic, Exodus 34:

Every Sabbath day (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown), the Israelites were commanded to cease physical labor.

The second kind of Sabbath rest is quite different, Hebrew 4:

It is a permanent spiritual resting state of being, Psalm 95:

They knew the first kind of Sabbath rest. They practiced it every week. Yet,

But they did not attain to the second kind of Sabbath rest.

Strong's Hebrew: 4496. מְנוּחָה (menuchah or menuchah) — 22 Occurrences

Brown-Driver-Briggs:

1. resting-place …
2. rest (from enemies) = peace 1 Kings 8:56 (compare 1 Kings 5:18), ׳אִישׁ מ 1 Chronicles 22:9 a man of peace (compare הֵנִיחַ vb);

H4496 can mean peace and rest. It is a state of being, Isaiah 28:

It was not a resting time.

Jeremiah 6:

That's different from rest for your physical body.

Jesus spoke in Matthew 11:

The physical Sabbath rest is only a type of the spiritual true-type of Sabbath rest. We come to the true Sabbath peace and rest by coming to Jesus.

Mark 16:

The great commission is the context.


Is water baptism optional?

No, believers are commanded to be baptized. Belief and baptism go hand in hand together. Jesus commanded us to spread the good news and baptize people who believe. Looking at baptism as an outward sign of salvation accompanied by inward repentance and faith, then baptism does save.


Belief is the key to salvation, not baptism. It does not say: He who believes and is not baptized will be condemned.

When a person believes, he should be baptized as soon as possible. Belief and baptism are a tightly knitted pair. If a person claims to believe but refuses to be baptized, then there is something wrong with his understanding of salvation.

Does baptism save?

Looking at baptism as an outward ritualistic work, it does not save anyone. However, looking at baptism as a sign of inward repentance and faith, then it does confirm salvation. God often uses external (physical) appearance to symbolize internal (spiritual) reality. In any case, you have to repent of your sins.

This past weekend there was a situation with in-law relatives that involved our daughter potentially attending a protestant church (covenant baptist?).
Our daughter was staying at the relatives for the week through Sunday, so naturally church attendance came up. We coordinated with a good friend of ours from that town who is Orthodox, to come pick her up to take her to my wife's old Orthodox parish.

Well, our sister-in-law (whom our daughter was staying the week with) protested that she could just take her to her (protestant) church. My wife informed her that we don't go to Protestant churches (I added that we can't even pray with them). She found it "very concerning" that we couldn't even go to a protestant church and accused EO of being a cult, etc.

At the time, I didn't know exactly why we couldn't attend hetero services, so I explained that it serves as a temptation for us to fall into pride by attending hetero services (because once you experience the Divine Liturgy, all other church services feel significantly lacking and less reverent). I explained using history of the church and how we don't even accept Protestant denominations as being "one of many expressions of christianity" and that EO is the church from the beginning and we never were a part of the Reformation, so their "invisible church" doctrine doesn't even apply to us, etc. She mentioned concern for pedocommunion and that she was worried about "wine" being given to infants, but thanks be to God we steered her away from further talk of the Holy Mysteries, whether we knew what we were doing or not. I later learned that we should try to prevent further blasphemies by the uninitiated by not talking about the Holy Mysteries with heterodox's. We didn't know that at the time, and thanks to God, He guided us to keep our explanations in the Church history realm.

I later read that the reason we can't attend hetero services or even pray with hetero's is because by doing so, we would tacitly be affirming their version of Christianity as "equal" to ours and this gives them a "good uneasiness."

Is there any other reason why we can't go to hetero churches?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official website published advice for trans and non-binary individuals on seeking guidance on how to “chestfeed” their infants.

In sections of the major health institute’s guidance on breastfeeding, it contained information for those who have had much of their breasts removed in gender-reassignment surgeries, or for biological men taking hormones to grow breasts, on how to feed their newborn children.

However, several doctors criticized the guidance, not simply because CDC has appeared to guide biological men in how to breastfeed children, but because they claimed the CDC has failed to gauge the risks posed to children drinking milk produced by chemicals used in gender-reassignment medical operations.

In the CDC website’s section on “Health Equity Considerations” – found under its “Infant and Young Child Feeding Toolkit,” the center declared that “Transgender and nonbinary-gendered individuals may give birth and breastfeed or feed at the chest (chestfeed).”

It also stated that “The gender identity or expression of transgender individuals is different from their sex at birth,” and that, “the gender identity of nonbinary-gendered individuals does not fit neatly into either man or woman.”

Under the CDC website’s section on “Breast Feeding,” specifically an entry covering breastfeeding for those who have undergone breast surgery, the institute mentioned “chestfeeding.”

Continued below.

My wife, Linda, is having pain in her teeth and she is concerned about a possible infection. Please pray for her.

L. Lin Wood, Lawyer Who Tried to Overturn Trump’s 2020 Loss, Gives Up License​

L. Lin Wood, one of the key lawyers who sought to overturn former President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 election loss and faced potential disciplinary action in Georgia as a result, opted to give up his law license in the state.

Mr. Wood officially requested that the State Bar of Georgia transfer his attorney status to “retired” on July 4, according to a letter he posted on the messaging platform Telegram. The request was approved, and two pending disciplinary charges against him were dropped, according to a letter from Georgia’s Office of the General Counsel that Mr. Wood also posted to Telegram.

Mr. Wood wrote on Telegram that the bar had “agreed to drop the disciplinary cases” if he retired from the profession. The letters Mr. Wood posted on Telegram specified that his request was “unqualified, irrevocable and permanent” and that Mr. Wood could not practice law in any state.

Trump's lawyers either go to jail, have their license suspended, or face disbarment. Or Trump refuses to pay them. I wonder what conclusions can be drawn from this.

Republican attorneys general from 25 states are warning the Biden administration that a proposal to force carmakers to go electric in the name of fighting climate change is unlawful,


the attorneys general wrote to the EPA in a letter released Thursday under the proposal’s public comment period. “Congress did not give EPA that power.”

Just wondering how folks feel about being successful as a believer.

Big picture in mind is it to leave an inheritance - if so what kind of inheritance?

Is it being faithful in your 'small corner' ??

Is it discovering His purpose for you and walking in it ?

Is it being successful in relationships?

Is it none of the above?

Is there something to achieve?

How are you doing with this and are you happy with the outcome?

I was just noticing that many states have 0 or 1 OPC church in them but Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois seem to have the most. I would like to attend but my state doesn't have any , only PCA. I would go if there were more. What needs to happen for that? Are people really that convinced that baptism is not a means of grace ? There are baptists everywhere no matter what state you're in.

Purposes of credobaptism:

1. It is an act of obedience to fulfill all righteousness as Jesus himself was baptized in Matthew 3:15.
2. It is an act of obedience to fulfill the great commission (Matthew 28:19).
3. It is a sign of death and resurrection (Colossians 2:11-12).

When baptism is done sincerely with repentance, it is an act of spiritual reality. However, this outward ritual is meaningless if not accompanied by inward repentance.

1 Timothy 2:11-15:

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit

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Paul was pointing to himself, not God.

a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

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Paul seemed to be expressing his personal reasoning. As an apostle, it carried some weight at the time of its social environment. However, it doesn't have to be applied universally to all women today. It was not an absolute command from the Lord.

Should a woman be a pastor of a church?

It is up to Christ. Ephesians 4:

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

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If a woman (or a man) wants to be a pastor in a church, she should seek Christ's calling. A woman can be a pastor, particularly in today's social environment.

See also

• Did Paul allow a woman to be a deacon?
• Were Andronicus and Junia apostles?

I am not really sure where to post this, but I was curious if there was anything in the history of Christianity regarding numerology or "seeing numbers" and ascribing meaning to them.

1 Peter 5 ESV


These instructions are for the elders (overseers) in the church, the body of Christ. But there are many godly principles here which can be applied to our lives, as well. For as followers of Christ we are all to be the Lord’s servants, and we all have a responsibility to the rest of the body of Christ regarding our mutual spiritual nourishment and spiritual growth, and regarding our encouragement in Christ so that we are not led into sin nor to false doctrines of men in their cunning and craftiness and in their deceitful scheming.

Most of us are not in positions of overseer, but according to the Scriptures we all have a biblical responsibility for the spiritual growth and maturity of the body of Christ, so in a sense we are all to shepherd one another, just not in positions of authority over one another. For we are to speak the truth in love to one another, addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, exhorting one another daily, and stirring one another up to love and good deeds, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Our responsibility to one another: [Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:17-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

But we are not to do this under compulsion, just because it is our God-given responsibility to do so, but we should do so willingly because we love God and because we love and care about our fellow believers in Christ Jesus, and because it hurts us to see so much of the body of Christ – and/or those giving lip service to the Lord only – going the ways of the world and turning away from following the Lord in obedience to follow after their own flesh. And so we long to see them serving the Lord with their lives, instead.

And we should never serve the church, the body of Christ, for selfish motives nor for shameful gain, but many do. For there are many charlatans and wolves in sheep’s clothing present among us who are serving the body of Christ in order to provide wealth for themselves, or in order to gain popularity among the people, or so that they can lord it over the people out of a thirst for power and to build their own earthly kingdoms, but not the kingdom of God. And many are they who are willfully deceiving the masses and who are turning them away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ.

Now, for those who are in positions of leadership and authority over the body of Christ, and I am going to include here husbands and fathers who are over their families in positions of authority, you are not to rule by terror nor by abuse nor by trickery and manipulation nor by deceit nor by an iron fist, but by example. I have seen too many men in my life who bullied their wives and children and church congregations into submission to them while they did not set before them a godly example, my father being one of them. But men, you are commanded to love your families and the body of Christ.

And with regard to us, the body of Christ, being subject to the overseers in our gatherings, make certain that the people you are giving your submission to are those who meet the spiritual qualifications of overseer and that they are men of God who are living the Christian life and not just preaching it. And make certain the message of the gospel they are preaching is the whole counsel of God and not this diluted and altered gospel which appears to be permeating the American church. And make certain your gatherings model the biblical model of the purpose for why we are to meet together.

For it appears that much of what is called “church” here in America is not the body of Christ operating biblically as the body of Christ is to operate under the guidance and direction of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. But so many of these gatherings today are conglomerates of the ungodly, the worldly, the ones giving lip service to God only and the spiritually mature in Christ. For so many of these gatherings now are being modeled after the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings, and so they are entertaining the world and they are preaching what appeases and pleases human flesh.

So, just because it is called “church,” it doesn’t mean that it is the church, the body of Christ, comprised of those who have died with Christ to sin and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And I am not saying we will all be perfect people, but we should be people of God who are following the Lord with our lives, who are not making sin our practice, but for whom righteousness and godly living and obedience to our Lord are what we practice.

So, before you bring yourselves under the authority of any man who calls himself pastor, make certain he is a godly man who meets the spiritual qualifications of overseer (elder, pastor). And make certain he is leading his congregation in the ways of the Lord and not in the ways of the world, and that he is teaching the truth of the Scriptures and not the lies of the enemy. For we live in a day and time when so many men professing to be elders and pastors are living not much differently from the ungodly of this world, in practice.

And then we are to clothe ourselves, all of us, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” But we need to be spiritually discerning about that, too, for many are teaching a false humility based on lies for the purpose to make the world like us and so we end up being like the world. So, use Jesus Christ as your example of what humility looks like, and follow his example, for humility never means sacrificing truth and righteousness and holiness so that people won’t call us self-righteous for living morally pure and godly lives to the glory of God.

The Truth of the Gospel

[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]

No Less

An Original Work / March 19, 2012

I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.

I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.

I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.

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Here is a song I wrote and performed titled, "Yahweh"

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Ok, im not a psycho, but I am new to Christ, and dont know what is involved. I have had a thing for a close friend of mine for a while. Im naturally shy so ive never approached her about it, and just ignored it. Shes a God loving woman (heck, her father is a pastor) and is basically the gender opposite of me.

Now, I also struggle with OCD, I have since birth. One day I suddenly got a thought praying to satan (or some evil spirit) to make her love me. Now I would never do this, if anything I would pray to God but either way I think its pretty warped. If she doesnt love me she doesnt love me, end of story. Im not gonna pray to some deity to change that. However, a few days later, she confesses her love to me out of the blue. THis is concerning. Cause while I would love to date her, im concerned this is the work of Satan. Idk if thats too much or even going into extremist territory. But the coincidence is way too much. Thoughts?

Genesis 19:

The two angels had the appearance of males.




So far so good. But then:


The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with the men-guests of Lot. For that, they were immediately punished:


Jude 1 agrees with this:

The citizens of Sodom committed other sins also, particularly the female citizens. Ezekiel 16:

Some men in Sodom committed the sin of having sex with men. Some women committed the sins of pride and not helping the poor.

See This GENERATION will not pass away until all these things take place

Religious belief: sort of believer
Religious history: vague mixture, on and off
I'm not too sure what kind of church I'm looking for.
HTH ;-)

I don't think so. Moses gave the Sabbath to the Israelites. Nehemiah 9:

14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.​

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Deuteronomy 5:

1 Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.​

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Nehemiah understood that the Sabbath command was part of the covenant given to the Israelites.

Moses then proceeded to quote the 10 commandments,

12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.​

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The LORD did not command the Egyptians to keep the Sabbath Day. The Lord commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath because he brought them out of Egypt.

I don't think Abraham observed the Passover or knew about God forbidding marrying your step-sister (Lev 18:9) or child sacrifice