Va. elementary school hosts first After School Satan Club meeting.

America First Republicans now control local party leadership in more than half of Michigan's 83 counties, a senior party official estimated, paving the way for an important victory on Saturday when an election denier is expected to be elected to state party chair.

Jon Smith, a local leader in rural Michigan of America First, a far-right Republican faction that denies the results of the 2020 election, wants to shift the entire party to the right - even if it means short-term losses at the ballot box. "We need to redefine what it means to be a Republican," he said in an interview.

In pursuit of that aim, Smith and other hardliners deployed armed guards to bar moderate delegates from a county meeting last August, threatening to bring criminal trespassing charges against them, according to an email to the moderates seen by Reuters.

Last July, the far-right faction adopted a resolution to "protect the party from a hostile takeover of actors with intent to dilute or destroy the values of the party," voting to expel 70 moderates. The resolution, which Reuters has seen, claimed the party had been "infiltrated" in the 1970s by members who practice socialism.

"To me, this is like a coup of the Republican Party," said Penny Swan, who joined the moderates after seeing the armed guards at the August meeting. "It's like the radical right is trying take over."

I live in Kentucky. I started working at my job in June 2018 and starting in January of 2020 a man came up to me out of the blue and told me “Jesus loves you”. And I had a handful of strangers talk to me about Jesus. They brought Him up first. I didn’t. It seems to me with most of those strangers is that God prompted them to. Any thoughts? I have been seeking God as well.

Hi everyone, I would greatly appreciate your prayers. I am in severe pain right now in my foot and lower back and also my leg, I believe this pain is due to a reaction to a supplement I am taking but I am taking a huge cocktail of supplements and I have no idea which one is causing it. I also have a headache and and sick to my stomach, also I am in distress mentally and God heals me but then it just comes right back, sometimes within minutes. There are also other things wrong with me, I am very ill.

To keep a good eye on the scope of the problem, I'd like to see this thread reporting incidents of sexual misconduct against minors so we can see the data.

Florida Deacon Sentenced for Producing Child Porn in Church

I don't think we want to be going too deep in history (my first quick research shows the last drag queen attack reported was last year summer)....so please share here anything you hear about from the beginning of February 2023 until, let's say end of April. Let's compare which demographic is a greater propagator of sex crimes against children during this time frame.


JUST to be clear: I would only be sharing christians IN CHURCH LEADERSHIP positions. There are probably many other christians who perpetrate but are not in leadership positions. I think that would also give a slightly better comparison of populations; There are a LOT of Christians in American but FAR fewer of those people are in leadership positions.

Hello,
My previous post, "Will We Ever Get Past This?" got moved to Face the Board, but this post is related to that if anyone wants context.

I am not sure what to do in my relationship with my boyfriend. I showed him the post I made, how I was feeling so guilty about our sin 6 months ago. He reiterated that he's trying to forgive but it takes time. He also said that he has a lot of external factors in his life that is making it hard to think about this issue and work through it (ie job struggles).

Also, I had had an outburst last Thursday, and long story short he told me then that he wasn't sure if he should stay with me, because I need to work on being content in my current situation (its been almost 11 months and i want to marry him, and ive mentioned this months ago, but he said recently he's nowhere near being ready as he's not sure about me). I called my parents after, and my father instructed me to not wallow in self pity, but to know that I've been told what to work on, and now I need to work on it. So I've been trying to do that.

And my boyfriend is still with me. He's been nice to me, we went swimming 2 days after that night, and have been getting along. But he says he still needs to process my outburst from last week. He says right now he wants to be in a relationship, but I feel as though I've given him an essay that I'm waiting for him to review and grade.

So I asked if I could just have this weekend pretty much to myself. I want him to prioritize processesing what happened and I want to just clear the air and move forward... or break up. I just don't want to be in limbo.

What do I do? What do I ask him to do? Do I ask him to prioritize processing what happened and prioritize fixing our relationship? Do I just keep quiet and see what happens?

In Revelation 16:17-20 is the 7th vial of God's wrath poured out on the world. It involves huge hail stones, a massive global earthquake, buildings falling in the nations.

It is after the kings of the earth begin gathering their armies to (in vain) make war of Jesus. Their gathering for such an endeavor, angers God, that He has the 7th vial of His wrath poured out on the world, that has gone into unrepented rebellion against Him and His Son, our Lord and Savior - Jesus.

On my chart, I show the 7th vial highlighted in green....

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits


It's a good reminder that even the democratic party as a whole really, when it comes down to it, not interested in workers EITHER; not if it comes at the expense of corporate profit.

There are a FEW individuals in Government who do seem to be concerned with the common person: Bernie Sanders, AOC (to some extent). Are there some Republicans who consistently vote for things that support workers (and not "taxpayers")?

It seems perverse that the company could get off without punishment for this accident. If you dump paint down the drain, you can get a 5000 fine....and that is NOTHING compared to what happenned.

The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested a suspect in the shootings of two men outside synagogues in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of L.A. over the last two days.

The man has a history of animus toward the Jewish community, law enforcement sources told The Times.

In a statement late Thursday, the LAPD said that “the facts of the case led to the crime being investigated as a hate crime.”

The first shooting occurred around 10 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Shenandoah and Cashio streets, when a man in his 40s was shot in the back while walking to his vehicle, authorities said. The second was around 8:30 a.m. Thursday near Pickford and South Bedford streets — about two blocks away — when a man walking home was shot in the arm. Both victims survived the attacks.

Seems like over the last month or so half the people around these forums have disappeared. What happened? The rapture?

In other traditions there is a concept that physical things can have good or evil attached to them. In Catholicism and Orthodoxy I think of Relics - often referred to as having some sort of "power".

Then I heard of a more Pentecostal person seeing a pagan type statue and saying something about evil being attached to it.

Where does Lutheranism land on all this "stuff"?

Psalms 119:113-115 ESV


Who are the double-minded? In James 1:5-8 it says this:


Double-minded means to be of two minds and souls, and to be wavering and vacillating between two opinions. It is like a person split in half, kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – one person but split personalities. It is a lot like someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ but who lives like hell, still walking in deliberate and habitual sin without regard for the Lord and for his commands (New Covenant). He professes one thing but lives the opposite.

And it is like the modern-day church in America, professing to be the church, the body of Christ, while most of it is the institutional “church,” which is of man, not of God, and which gives honor to the world and to big business and to marketing schemes and goals and instructions. Now I am certain that genuine believers in Jesus exist within these institutional “churches,” but the institutions themselves are not the church, the body of Christ, and the buildings where they meet (gather) are also not the true church.

So, believers in Christ, or those professing to be in Christ, if they are all caught up with these institutional churches and their marketing schemes and goals, and with following the ways of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings, and so they are compliant with the diluting of the gospel, too, so as not to offend the people of the world and human flesh, then they would also be considered to be double-minded. For they profess to follow Christ while primarily they are following man and his methods.

So, then if we become followers of the world, we cease to be followers of Christ, for we can’t do both, though we might try. But this is where so many professing Christians are today, professing faith in Jesus Christ but still caught up in the world and in the worldly “church” which is a product of human thinking and reasoning and greed, and not a product of our Lord and his righteousness and holiness. And so many of these institutional “churches,” i.e. businesses, have rejected the Lordship of Christ and his gospel message, and they are following the world, instead.

So, if you are part of an institutional church which is worldly, and which is using worldly means and methods to attract the world to their gatherings, and which has diluted and altered the gospel message to make it more attractive and acceptable to human flesh and to the people of the world, please know that this is not the true church, but a business, and its goal is not to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to do his will, and it is not to spread the true gospel of Jesus Christ and of our salvation.

So, if you truly want to follow Jesus Christ with your life wholeheartedly, in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), and in walks of holiness and righteousness, and if you want to have a voice and a testimony for the Lord and for his gospel, chances are pretty good that the institutional market-driven “churches” are not going to provide that for you. Chances are greater that they will reject you and they will silence you and that they might even cast you out if you are very verbal about your walk of faith.

So, you might want to seek the Lord’s face and to inquire of him as to whether or not you are where he wants you to be, for you may not have a voice in these institutional churches and God wants you to have a voice, and he wants you to be where you can grow in your walks of faith in him, and where you can connect with other believers who are also following the Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to him and in righteousness. For ungodly influences have a way of pulling us away from pure devotion to our Lord.

Psalms 119:118-120 ESV


Please know that a mere one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ is not enough to guarantee you salvation from sin and eternal life with God. The Scriptures teach that we must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and that we must walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. We must obey our Lord and his commands (New Covenant), in practice, and we must walk in righteousness and holiness and not in sin or we don’t have eternal life with God and heaven is not our eternal home.

And also please know that the wicked are defined in the Scriptures as all who are walking in sin, for whom sin is their practice, and for whom righteousness and godliness and obedience to our Lord are not their practice, regardless of whether or not they profess faith in Jesus Christ. For many who profess faith in Christ are going to stand before him one day and he is going to say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because obedience to God was not their practice, but sin was (Matthew 7:21-23; cf. 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10).

So, don’t be like them. Love the Lord your God with all your being, and follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands under the New Covenant. Surrender your lives to Jesus Christ and make him truly Lord (Owner-Master) of your lives. And love his word, and obey his word, in practice. And share the truth of the gospel and not the lies. So be students of the Scriptures who study them in context so that you can discern truth from lies, and so you make certain what you are believing and sharing is indeed the truth according to the Scriptures.

[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]

Praise the “I AM!”

An Original Work / February 24, 2012

Jesus, my Savior, full of compassion,
Glorious in power, mighty in strength;
Gracious Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,
My heart adores Him. Praise to His name!
Perfect salvation my Lord provided
When He died for my sins on a tree;
Crucified my sins; conquered in vict’ry,
When He arose, so I could be free!

I am so thankful for His forgiveness;
Grateful that He chose to pardon me,
Giving me new life full in His Spirit,
So I can serve Him; His servant be!
Walking in daily fellowship with Him,
Obeying Him whate’er He commands;
Forsaking my sins, living in freedom,
I will endure with Him to the end!

He gives me peace and calm reassurance
In times of sorrow, or in distress.
His grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient
To meet me in my need for sweet rest.
Oh, how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.
My heart longs for You where’er I am.
Your word is precious; speaks to my spirit;
Brings comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”

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A thread for telling us what’s on your mind!

We have this thread in multiple forums, might as well bring it here!

What would you do if the governments of the modern West—the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and so on—collectively decided to change the calendar so that the weekend was actually the end of the week, such that the week started on Monday, ran through to Friday, and ended with Saturday and Sunday. To be perfectly clear, in this scenario Sunday would be the seventh day of the week. Would all of Christianity attend their places of worship on the same day? Or would Seventh-Day Adventists continue worshiping on Saturday, which would now be the sixth day throughout the entire Western world?

hello all. I'm in a situation that i just don't quite know what to do. we got a new pastor a year ago. it started, the pastor wanted to meet with everyone, so i did, i ended walking out of the meeting. the pastors husband was at the meeting, and he started to go off on some things that happened at the church before we were there. He (not the pastor) started to bring some things up that I said was done and buried and I was not going to go thru that again, but he wouldn't stop, seeing that, I got up and said I don't have to take this, and while taking two steps out, he started in by saying "go ahead, run away like you have all your life"...this person didn't even know me...and to think I spent almost 2 hours helping them move into the parish house, me and only 2 to 3 others.
after a few weeks I cooled off....i was one of the people that run the local meal program, feeding on aveage 150 one night a week...there were just a few of us, and we got tired, working 2 days to fix the meals, we had been going for 12 years, and thru 2 pastors. one of the things was that the pastor was always there, and meet and talked with people, wonderful outreach, the new pastor, there only 3 or 4 times....then the new pastor does not list an after hours number to be contacted at...I could not believe it, but no where in the church stuff is there an after hours contact number....the needs of the flock does not end at 5 pm, and not available on fri-sun.
well, our meal program took a month or so off, one person could not come back due to health, so just a very few left but we thought we would try...well when we have our restart meeting, the pastor says the quality of our meals was low, and if we did better meals, we would have more people and they would pay more...first, we don't care what people throw into the donation plate, and the food is good, maybe it's basic, not fancy, it is good food...a menu was presented, which would require alot of work for those few that were left, and would have pushed the cost per plate to over $5, which we could handle, but not for a long time...well, that caused the remainder of the group to say no, they worked hard, to provide good meals, and now told the quality was low, and propose meals that would take alot of time (how about frying 150 pieces of chicken, making gravy from the drippings and then pealing potatoes to mash, plus a fancy desert)....and then say to fix something better for people will pay more...then the pastor recommended to operate only on rsvp....never heard of a church doing that for a meal, plus who was going to answer the phone...so...
the remainder of the group left, so now it's just me. Then one of the ladys were talking to me that does another food program, and come to find out, we now charge so much for the janitor to clean after a funeral dinner (a pretty nice sum, plus the church already pays the wage), and that the pastor requested money from the meal doantion to pay for the cleaning of the hall, but also $100 for their services doing the funeral....this was to come out for the donation for the meal...after all the other came out, almost not enough to pay for the food...that fund always carried a surplus since sometimes there were small donations for funeral meals. We never charged a cleaning fee, and many times, the pastors did not charge for a service, since they were already working for the church.
so, with all of this, i don't know if i can continue...i continue to help for the people in the community, we deliver to shut ins, we have older couples that come, and families with childen that don't have money, and some families come and get carry out to take home, since they don't want to get the whole family there. I also am a member of a group with only a few members that do commodies for the community, and do the big food semi that comes twice a year, and other things...but it is unbearable at the moment. Staff parrish will do nothing, matter of fact they believe the pastor is doing a wonderful job, but none on staff parrish help with any outreach activities.

what to do ?

Turkey has taken a nosedive in recent years. 5 years ago, it was heralded as a great emerging economy. Now it has 80% official annual inflation and experts say the real rate is double that. Besides that, it also is featuring a brain drain, as the young and educated are leaving it for greener pastures.

It seems like it is having much the same problem as Sri Lanka and Pakistan with deficit spending from a trade disparity, but there is the added problem of religion and Islam wanting low interest rates due to the faith's prohibition of making money off of lending money.






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Things are getting tougher and tougher for her. We talked today after I drove in to do her errands, etc. I’m going to pick her up next Thursday and bring her here so she can get a feel of things. I’m already taking care of her diabetic dog. I think that was her tipping point. I feel she is going to make a decision soon but there is lots to do. Prayers appreciated!

It's hard to explain this in a short post but basically my wife's come to me and asked me to pray about the possibility, or rather likelihood that her parents might give us their house. They just paid it off and apparently that was the last hurdle between her dad and retirement, supposedly their plan after that is her parents would retire to Ecuador where they have another home.

The problem is the house is a money pit, and you all know how badly I've wanted to move back to California since I set foot on east coast soil two years ago. I can see the benefits and drawbacks of both scenarios. She's asking me to pray about it so we don't ignore a lifeline God might be throwing us, but I'm afraid I can't be objective and if that God tells us to stay I may ignore or dismiss that.

I'm just completely convinced that moving to California isn't just what I want but it would also be good for my family. In some ways it'd be an "eat your vegetables" experience but in others I think there's real potential to be happy there and most importantly: grow in the faith. If we stay in NY we could be stuck with a house that's a huge liability, her dad's done a bunch of work on the house but it's not permitted, and as you might know towns in NY highly regulate everything - apparently the town already has an open file on the place because some neighbors narc'd on them years ago. The house may need new wiring, plumbing, and a septic tank at least. So we'd have to take out a small mortgage or a home equity loan to pay for those expenses. On top of that, my wife has expressed multiple times that she doesn't want to stay in her hometown longterm because she has bad memories on every corner and she thinks her family overall is a negative influence on her and the kids.

While it would be great to have a free house, I just don't think NY is a good place for my family to be. But I could use your help objectively seeking an answer from God about what to do because I don't trust myself to be honest if he tells me we need to stay.

So if you wouldn't mind praying, I'd appreciate it. And please, if you have any advice feel free to give.

Thanks

The new old car I bought to replace the one got totaled has developed some problems and is in the shop. I pray that whatever is wrong with it won't be too expensive to fix.

Also I'm really sick with a chest cold. Having a hard time breathing. Having difficulty sleeping because of it.

You know that balloon shot down last week near Alaska? It may have belonged to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade.

No, really:

Today I decided that I would like to make a big batch of rice pudding—because I love rice pudding, haven't had it in ages, and why not. However, times are tough right now and my wallet could feel all the milk that went into making the stuff.

So, while I let it simmer on the stove and do its rice pudding thing, I thought it might be worth looking at powdered milk as possibly a cheaper option for my family. I remember we had to do that back in the day, during the recession in the 1980s, because we couldn't afford real milk.

We mostly use milk in baking and cooking, anyway—especially pancakes and muffins—where the taste difference between real milk and powdered would just disappear. And for times when we need it plain, like in a bowl of cereal, I could add things to it that would make it more palatable, maybe a touch of vanilla and a hint of nutmeg. I could make this doable.

But, as I am looking at these prices, something seemed a little off. This didn't exactly feel much cheaper. I was looking at 2.5 kg of skim milk powder for $42 (prices are in Canadian dollars) and thinking maybe they might actually cost the same amount. So, I decided to crunch some numbers and, assuming my math works out, I was appalled to discover that powdered milk is actually more expensive than regular dairy milk!

And I mean significantly more expensive. If 500 g of skim milk powder costs $8.40 and makes four liters of milk, then it is over a dollar more expensive, on average, than the same amount of regular milk. In other words, 250 mL of milk from powder is 53 cents whereas 250 mL of regular milk runs about 44 cents—almost ten cents more expensive per cup.

Welcome to Justinflation (or Bidenflation), where now even powdered milk is out of reach for the poor. What a time to be alive.

"The way the elites think of the economy is very related to green ideology. They picture an economy in which the top 20 per cent keeps making over $100,000 a year and lives in nice neighbourhoods and nice cities. All production is done in China. All service-industry jobs are performed by slave-wage Venezuelans brought in by cartels. And everybody making under $100,000 a year – who used to be the working class – is on universal basic income. That’s the view that a lot of so-called progressives consciously or unconsciously have of their ideal economic system."- Batya Ungar-Sargon, on how the working classes are being sacrificed to elite virtue-signalling


Ms. Ungar-Sargon is not a right-wing Republican. She is an editor at Newsweek, also not a right-wing publication. From what I see in the political class, she is correct, and it's not necessarily just a Democrat view. Many Republicans have sold us down the river as well.

Morning & Evening for 02/11/2023​

Morning:​

"And they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." — Acts 4:13
A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of Christ is his living biography, written out in the words and actions of his people. If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be, we should be pictures of Christ; yea, such striking likenesses of him, that the world would not have to hold us up by the hour together, and say, "Well, it seems somewhat of a likeness;" but they would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, "He has been with Jesus; he has been taught of him; he is like him; he has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he works it out in his life and every-day actions." A Christian should be like Christ in his boldness. Never blush to own your religion; your profession will never disgrace you: take care you never disgrace that. Be like Jesus, very valiant for your God. Imitate him in your loving spirit; think kindly, speak kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, "He has been with Jesus." Imitate Jesus in his holiness. Was he zealous for his Master? So be you; ever go about doing good. Let not time be wasted: it is too precious. Was he self-denying, never looking to his own interest? Be the same. Was he devout? Be you fervent in your prayers. Had he deference to his Father's will? So submit yourselves to him. Was he patient? So learn to endure. And best of all, as the highest portraiture of Jesus, try to forgive your enemies, as he did; and let those sublime words of your Master, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," always ring in your ears. Forgive, as you hope to be forgiven. Heap coals of fire on the head of your foe by your kindness to him. Good for evil, recollect, is godlike. Be godlike, then; and in all ways and by all means, so live that all may say of you, "He has been with Jesus."

Evening:​

"Thou hast left thy first love." — Revelation 2:4
Ever to be remembered is that best and brightest of hours, when first we saw the Lord, lost our burden, received the roll of promise, rejoiced in full salvation, and went on our way in peace. It was spring time in the soul; the winter was past; the mutterings of Sinai's thunders were hushed; the flashings of its lightnings were no more perceived; God was beheld as reconciled; the law threatened no vengeance, justice demanded no punishment. Then the flowers appeared in our heart; hope, love, peace, and patience sprung from the sod; the hyacinth of repentance, the snowdrop of pure holiness, the crocus of golden faith, the daffodil of early love, all decked the garden of the soul. The time of the singing of birds was come, and we rejoiced with thanksgiving; we magnified the holy name of our forgiving God, and our resolve was, "Lord, I am thine, wholly thine; all I am, and all I have, I would devote to thee. Thou hast bought me with thy blood-let me spend myself and be spent in thy service. In life and in death let me be consecrated to thee." How have we kept this resolve? Our espousal love burned with a holy flame of devoutedness to Jesus-is it the same now? Might not Jesus well say to us, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love"? Alas! it is but little we have done for our Master's glory. Our winter has lasted all too long. We are as cold as ice when we should feel a summer's glow and bloom with sacred flowers. We give to God pence when he deserveth pounds, nay, deserveth our heart's blood to be coined in the service of his church and of his truth. But shall we continue thus? O Lord, after thou hast so richly blessed us, shall we be ungrateful and become indifferent to thy good cause and work? O quicken us that we may return to our first love, and do our first works! Send us a genial spring, O Sun of Righteousness.

I remember when I was in my 30's. I was an irrational extremist, like most all 30-something's. I believed that only Catholics went to heaven, and that the American left was run by Freemasons. I talk to other 30-something's, and 9 times out of ten, they're quick to tell me how right they are about the world, and how wrong others are who disagree with them. So yes, I'm blowing the cover off the roof here, just like people do with Biden being "old". If ageism isn't a problem, then neither is "telling the truth" about 30-something's.

Here's an article that displays the 30-something brand of extremism: