Do not hate the sinner; for we are all laden with guilt. If for the sake of God, you are moved to oppose him, weep over him. Why do you hate him? Hate his sins and pray for him, that you may imitate Christ Who was not wroth with sinners, but interceded for them. Do you not see how he wept over Jerusalem. We are mocked by the devil in many instances, so why should we hate the man who is mocked by him who mocks us also. Why, O man, do you hate the sinner? Could it be because he is not so righteous as you? But where is your righteousness when you have no love?

Isaac the Syrian

Florida Woman Seeks Jail Release On Behalf Of Illegally Detained Fetus


You will notice the date on this tweet.


It sounds pretty reasonable....in an age of unreasonableness.

As many of us English-speakers have learned at one point or another, English used to make a distinction between ye, you, thee, and thou. With ye being the second person plural (formal), you the second person singular (formal); and thee the second person plural (informal) and thou the second person singular (informal). But all of these have in almost all cases having been truncated to a universal second person plural pronoun: "you". While there seems to have been more nuanced rules at play at different points of the English language, this is largely the the broad strokes of it.

While, generally, we have a good ability to grasp, from context, whether a person means "you" in the singular or "you" in the plural, there are plenty of occasions where confusion can arise. And in some places in the English speaking world, local dialectical words or expressions have arisen that help fill in those gaps. As an American, I am most familiar with examples of this in American English. In the American North East one will occasionally find the use of "youse" or "youse guys", and around Pittsburg, Pennsylvania one can even find "you-uns" or "yinz". Though the most well known American dialectical second person plural pronoun is, arguably, "y'all", a contraction for "you all". Historically limited to the American South, this word has also been spreading in use, to varying degrees, to other parts of the United States.

At this juncture, I would like to point out that while, yes, I am an American, I am not from the American South. I am from the Pacific Northwest which does not traditionally use "y'all", but it is a place where it has slowly been making limited headway.

This word has often, at least in some parts of America, often been associated with bad grammar, or sounding uneducated; perhaps through prejudice against American Southerners; but that prejudice has been disappearing and the word is gaining more traction. And I think it's easy to see why: It is, among American English speakers, rather ubiquitous, especially as the internet has brought more people into contact with others of different dialects. It serves a helpful function in language, offering a second person plural distinct from "you",, that distinction eliminates the possibility of of confusion where it could otherwise exist. And also, arguably, it's just really fun to say, it flows very smoothly off the tongue (at least, in many cases of American English).

As such, I believe and strongly defend the use of "y'all" as a perfectly legitimate second personal plural pronoun. And advocate that it should enjoy more widespread provenance. Perhaps it may never enjoy much use outside of American dialectical English; but I still maintain it is good, useful, already has widespread use among many English speakers, and serves an invaluable linguistic function. If your own English dialect already has this function, that's all well and good; but if your English dialect lacks any distinction between a first person plural pronoun and a second person plural pronoun, I encourage you to try out "y'all". It's as delectable to the linguistic palette as Southern BBQ is for the taste buds.

-CryptoLutheran

Hi everyone,

I was curious if anyone is familiar with Vincent Cheung’s writings and philosophy? I tend to agree with a lot of what he says; he seems consistent, biblical, and analytical, all for the most part.

Two questions for those who enjoy reading Cheung.
1. Do you agree with all of his writings?
2. Specifically, do you agree with his view of the Unpardonable Sin?

I agree with a lot of his writings, but his view of the unpardonable sin freaks me out. I tend to worry that if his view is correct, what if at some
point I said something that crossed the line? I have OCD, which does not help with worrying and fears.

I love the Lord with all my heart and am very devout, but it’s been hard to have peace of mind lately when thinking about Cheung’s writings on this.

Thoughts?

He was a practicing Buddhist most of his life, however, shortly before his death, he began to talk about Christ. According to his sister, his last words were “Oh wow, oh, wow, oh wow” (in a positive sense). So what to do you think?

I am extremely ashamed to even write this;I have done something truly horrible that no one else has done,and I am sure I am lost but unsure of what to do at this point,I became a christian after having multiple spiritual experiences,but then,I started to develop really bad religious anxiety,I always was an anxious person and learning about the unforgivable sin i would get so many thoughts cussing God and saying bad stuff about him,and it made me veryyy terrified and I didnt what to do,but then,I learned online that the true unforgivable sin was to call God demonic,and since then,I kept having so many intruisive thoughts of that,up until then,it was ok bc these thoughts were nothing but intruisive (only now i realize this,but in the moment i thought i was truly lost)but then,doubts about my faith started to come,and then thats where I got into the dangerous zone,everytime i would have doubts,those intruisive tjoughts will be like what if God was really;;;;u know what,and I was so lost bc I just kept having bad thoughts against God and nothing I can do could help at all,i started to isolate from everything bc everything made those thoughts worse(I will see non christian people and wonder why God made them only to put them in hell forever and then I will get these bad thoughts,I will try to read the bible and then I got them)Im scared at that point even though those were intruisive thoughts i was listening and dwelling on them which I REALLY shouldnt have done,and i was only focusing on them nothing else,well,I believe I definetely may have mumbled these thoughts or said them out loud a bunch of times,and I definetely semi believed them,I used to try and calm myself by saying the unforgivable sin is actually unbelief but now I realize its really not it clearly says whoever speaks;so its a spoken thing;and it says that its unforgivable in this age,and unbelief is forgivable if you repent,its clearly a one time thing,I am only 15 years and I am very much going to hell forever,I dont know what to do,I am only writing this to ask what should I do?is seeking God even worth it atp?I dont feel true repentance nor forgiveness,just intelectual fear of hell that i even can turn off sometimes;ibut its also so bad and it makes me feel liek im going crazy idk what to do

I currently lack of scripture, however, I suppose we will, as long as they aren't sinful.

Psalms 27:11-14 ESV


What or Who is The Church?

The one thing the Lord is bringing to mind here is in relation to the difference between the institutional “church” (of man, not of God) and the true church, the body of Christ. For there is a lot of confusion on this subject. For if you were to ask most people in America to draw a picture of the church, I think most people would draw a picture of a building, perhaps with a steeple on top, because that has been ingrained in them, probably from childhood, that the building is the church.

And so when they read Hebrews 10:25, and just these words, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” they interpret those words as we all have to be in a building called “church” on a weekly basis or we are neglecting to meet together as Christians. But back when this was written, they didn’t meet in buildings called “church.” They were the church, and they met together in people’s homes or in the temple courts or wherever they could find a place to meet together as the church.

And another thing about this is that we need to pay attention to the context of Hebrews 10 (before and after and including the whole sentence in vv. 24-25). For this is not talking about a physical building but a spiritual building. For we do not have to go to a physical building now to worship our Lord, for our Lord, by his Spirit, lives within those of us of genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ. Now we are his building. We are the temple of God, and God lives in us, not in buildings built by human hands. We are God’s house.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 9:23-26; Jn. 4:31-38; Jn. 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:42-47; Ac 26:18; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Gal 5:16-21; 1 Co 3:9,16-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 5:1; 2 Co 6:14-16; Eph 1:4,22; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:1-32; Eph 5:17-30; Col 1:18-24; Col 2:19; Col 3:12-16; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:4-9,21; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-31; Jude 1:20-21; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

And we are to draw near to God with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, which is speaking of what takes place when we believe in Jesus. We are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, now set free from our slavery to sin so that we will now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. So now we walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. And we are to hold fast to these walks of faith.

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 Co 15:58; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13]

What is the Purpose of our Gatherings?

And now we are to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25 in context). So, what is the purpose of us meeting together? To stir one another up to love and good works (deeds), and to encourage (exhort, urge) one another toward walks of holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, for we don’t have for forever.

So, we need to meet somewhere together where we can do this, right? Are most institutional churches open to that? None that I am aware of where Christians can meet together and where they can encourage and urge one another in walks of holiness and righteousness, and in loving one another with the love of God, and where we can stir one another up to love and to good works, using the gifts of the Spirit we each have been given in the areas of ministry to which our Lord has called us individually.

And then what follows in Hebrews 10 in vv. 26 and beyond? “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” So, the whole purpose of our meeting together is to help prevent this from happening. Our purpose in gathering together as the body of Christ is to exhort and urge one another in holy living and to warn each other, too, of the consequences of continuing in habitual and deliberate sin against our Lord.

[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; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

False Witnesses

So, going back to the passage of today, there are many professing Christians today who are convinced that we must be in a building called “church” at least once a week or else we are neglecting the meeting together of us Christians. And some of them will put much pressure on Christians who, by God’s direction and leading, have abandoned what is of man and of the flesh of man in order to follow the Lord in obedience in doing what his word teaches us we must do. And they will try to guilt-trip us into returning to what is of man which will mean neglecting what God has called us to do.

Now, I believe many of them mean well, but others who know better who are listening to and who are speaking the lies do not mean well. For some of them who are of the flesh are trying to draw us back into living by the flesh and to not walking by the Spirit. But here is the bottom line. The church is not a building, and it is not a business or a corporation under the state or a church denomination. All of that is of the flesh of man. The church is us, the people who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, and so we are following his lead and not the leading of human flesh.

And God has led many of us to leave the institutional church (Babylon) and to go where our Lord sends us where we can do what he has called us to do, as his body – where we can use our spiritual gifts and ministries for the encouragement and building up of the body of Christ to maturity in Christ and in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord – and where we can warn of the things the Scriptures warn us against, which is also for the building up of the body of Christ to maturity in Christ, our Lord. And for me, that place is the internet, which is where the Lord led me 18 years ago.

Come Out from Among Her: [John 2:13-17; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Revelation 18:1-5]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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Everywhere I go there seems to be a shortage of workers. So my question to you is , Where did everyone go ?

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHINA..copy and paste link into browser..please take time to pray

XIANG

Han Chinese, Xiang in China

Han Chinese, Xunpu

Han Chinese, Xunpu in China

MANDARIN

Han Chinese, Mandarin in China

CANTONESE

https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12057/CH

John 12:32
According to followers of Universal Reconciliation [UR] this verse really means "Christ will forcibly drag all men to Himself," implying kicking and screaming if necessary. This assumption is made because ἑλκύσω/elkuso, the Greek word translated "draw," sometimes refers to actions which would require forcible dragging such as fish nets full of fish see e.g. John 21:6. But the very same word "elkuso" is used to refer to drawing a sword which requires no forcible dragging, at all, John 18:10. It can be done easily and quickly with one hand.
Is there any mention of this supposed forcible dragging of "all men" anywhere in the N.T?
.....There is no forcible dragging when Christ is seated on His throne of glory and all nations are gathered before Him.
.....There is no forcible dragging on judgement day when many, not a few, will come to Jesus and mention all the "wonderful works" they have done in his name but He will say to those many.

Please pray again for my granddaughter's second surgery for thyroid cancer. She will have radiation after the surgery this time. Her youngest of four children will turn two and her oldest also will also have a birthday in March.

I thought prayers were answered, but NO! Packages are coming again! I had to leave the porch and get a muddy package out of the flower bed. I pray that god will mercifully answer more serious prayers for others, but this feels similar to stalking and in a way it is. Please help.

Matthew 19:21 (NIV)

If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions.

Please pray for my wife's healing. She is having difficulty walking, getting around and is very angry at me. She alternately asks me for help and then tells me to get away from her.

Voter ID?

How's that going to work especially with absentee ballots?

Житійні описи та повчання архімандрита Лаврентія Чернігівського

Can't find this book anywhere at all. It likely only exists in some obscure library in a monastery or seminary somewhere in Ukraine or Russia. I'm doing research to confirm or otherwise deny the validity of certain end times prophecies which are liberally on the web, without regard for whether or not a certain saint actually spoke the alleged prophecies. Patriarch Kirill has used these so-called prophecies to gain support for the war in Ukraine. There is supposed to be an original published book, a reprint of the original, and another "edited" version that was published by one "Cherubim Degtyar", who reportedly pretended to be an Orthodox clergyman but was an imposter with mental health issues and attributed statements to Saint Lawrence of Chernigov which he never said. I currently have a strong desire to determine what prophetic sayings can be rightly attributed to St. Lawrence and which are likely fraudulent. I'd appreciate any suggestions that might help, though I honestly don't expect I'll find it. Thanks.

A preliminary report pointing to the wheel bearing/axle on the 23rd car overheating.....


Excerpts:

East Palestine, Ohio February 3, 2023
On February 3, 2023, about 8:54 p.m. local time, eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) general merchandise freight train 32N derailed 38 railcars on main track 1 of the NS Fort Wayne Line of the Keystone Division in East Palestine, Ohio.1 (See figure.) The derailed equipment included 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars. First responders implemented a 1-mile evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents. There were no reported fatalities or injuries. At the time of the accident, visibility conditions were dark and clear; the weather was 10°F with no precipitation.

......The positive train control system was enabled and operating at the time of the derailment.

Train 32N was operating with a dynamic brake application* as the train passed a wayside defect detector on the east side of Palestine, Ohio, at milepost (MP) 49.81.4 The wayside defect detector, or hot bearing detector (HBD), transmitted a critical audible alarm message instructing the crew to slow and stop the train to inspect a hot axle. The train engineer increased the dynamic brake application to further slow and stop the train. During this deceleration, an automatic emergency brake application initiated, and train 32N came to a stop.5
On the Fort Wayne Line of the Keystone Division, NS has equipped their rail network with HBD systems to assess the temperature conditions of wheel bearings while en route. The function of the HBD is to detect overheated bearings and provide audible real-time warnings to train crews. Train 32N passed three HBD systems on its trip before the derailment. At MP 79.9, the suspect bearing from the 23rd car had a recorded temperature of 38°F above ambient temperature. When train 32N passed the next HBD, at MP 69.01, the bearing’s recorded temperature was 103°F above ambient. The third HBD, at MP 49.81, recorded the suspect bearing’s temperature at 253°F above ambient.
NS has established the following HBD alarm thresholds (above ambient temperature) and criteria for bearings:

• Between 170°F and 200°F, warm bearing (non-critical); stop and inspect
• A difference between bearings on the same axle greater than or equal
  to 115°F (non-critical); stop and inspect
• Greater than 200°F (critical); set out railcar

* On a diesel-electric locomotive, dynamic braking uses electric traction motors as generators, slowing the train and dissipating mechanical energy as heat.

......
NTSB investigators identified and examined the first railcar to derail, the 23rd railcar in the consist. Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheel bearing and affected wheelset have been collected as evidence and will be examined by the NTSB. The vinyl chloride tank car top fittings, including the relief valves, were also removed and examined by the NTSB on scene. The top fittings will be shipped to Texas for testing under the direction of the NTSB.

Note: this is in the Egalitarian forum.


Well worth a read. Change is slow, but it seems it is possible!

White Rankin Deputies ‘Tortured’ Handcuffed Black Men, Shot One, Lawyers Allege

no warrant.
6 police officers.
Torture techniques.
Botched execution.


What are your thoughts folks? Is this police work? And if it was not police work, what is it?

What are some connections we can see all throughout the Bible? Let's deepen each our knowledge all together!

Also, I am leading some Bible studies on Zoom with some other brothers and sisters regarding this topic! Let me know if you'd be interested and I will be happy to share more info!

God bless!

As a child I was taken to church regularly and then in my teens and early twenties I drifted. I then attempted to re-enter the church scene but have struggled with that quite a bit and`I am not keen at times on what I find in the churches I have been to (admittedly only a few). In these churches there has been a emphasis on House Group membership and an attempt to get more members into house groups (a mid week get together) . House groups within churches I know may differ very much from each other. Some are more heavily into social events, others like to focus on Bible study. I know they may be beneficial for people who feel they get overlooked in a biggish congregation and can help people make friendships. However I find they can become a burden when its required that members be at each event or outing they hold. I think what would be better might be a few newcomers groups that aim to integrate people into church life.

During my stint away from church I questioned almost everything about what I believed and why I believed it including whether I believed out of conformity or not. One of the last churches I went to was trying to be a bit innovative, and held seeker services. They actually sent people to the Willow Creek church in the US to learn a bit about how they did it. I wasn't sure whether their approach was transferable to a congregation in another country. In all the innovation with music and film during the service - I wondered at times if the Gospel message was kind of getting a bit lost. Another thing they did I wasn't very comfortable with was they would have break-out sessions in the main evening service, everyone would get into groups and they'd discuss something about how we "did church". It was friendly enough and I kept going back for eight years or so, then eventually both pastors moved on to other churches and a new young pastor quit after a disagreement with elders and I drifted again.

I went back a while later and it had changed a lot. Previously they had a sort of surround / pulpit up a couple of steps where the minister lead from, this (at least on this occasion) had gone and the worship band occupied the stage. There was a lecturn now on the same level as the congregation. Maybe its just me but I like to be able to see the minister - I have a sort of irrational fear come over me when I can't.


I have my reservations about submitting any local church until I can get a good idea what they are about. In a sense I like to vet them, but I don't find they always like people doing this.

“These street takeovers put the lives of Texans and Texas law enforcement officers at risk,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said in a statement. “We are seeing fireworks fired at officers in crowds, lasers pointed at aircraft, drivers driving upwards of 130 miles per hour with no lights on in the dark of night — all of it is reckless, and it needs to be stopped.”
God Bless the governor for helping the people in cites that the left controls.

On the one hand, it must be a headache for the super to have to deal with dangerous bigots in the neighborhood. On the other, we don't want the squeaky wheel to get the grease by way of a bully's veto. Either all clubs get access, or no clubs get access.

We now know the Saucon Valley School District was closed Wednesday due to a threat related to the new After School Satan Club.

In a statement to parents, Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty said a threatening voicemail was left at the School District office at 4 p.m. Tuesday by a man who referenced the approval of After School Satan Club. In consultation with the Lower Saucon Police Department, she decided to close school Wednesday.

In light of the threat and the disruption the threat caused to the district, the superintendent says, she will be recommending a full review of the club's use of the district's facility.