“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
— Romans 4:8

To some, this may be an obvious answer. I am curious, however, if there are any disagreements.

The blessed man is the one who has their sins forgiven. What day you?

Humanity can’t change…..

This truth, that humanity can’t change of itself, offers humanity two choices… One, humanity can accept the state humanity finds itself in, or two, look away from itself to something or Someone who has the ability to effect the desired change…

This latter choice is the salvation offered in Christ, a constant looking away from all that one finds oneself to be to Him that has promised to effect the said change….

This is the faith that all those that would be perfected in Christ Jesus must lay hold of…. For nothing else is given to man to secure its salvation, but faith in Someone else…. For here is the maturity in Christ; would one want to be saved from the consequences of sin or from sin itself… The former is a babe in Christ , the latter the babe is growing into a mature man in Christ, one that would be made free from the sin one finds in oneself…. This is that one that is becoming a full man in Christ and being established in the faith, and the one that will receive the oil of gladness the more…..

This faith that is being spoken of is a believing in what scripture says Christ did on the cross to secure man’s salvation…. And that is that He took every man to death with Him when He died on the cross that He might make everyone who has faith in Him into a new creation, one that sins no more…. For it is a most certain and real truth, that to the degree one has been made free from sin to that degree has the new creation been formed in one….

Be blessed in that new forming….


A fellow follower, Not me

So I asked ChatGPT to write a sample anaphora based on Syriac liturgical patterns, which tend to be loose ans highly flexible, and then I had the output formatted into traditional Ecclesiastical English. The results are interesting, although the Sursum Corda looks weird (but then again, in the Syriac liturgies occasionally one encounters unexpected paraphrasing, which this was). Likewise the lack of the Words of Institution is not uncommon wirh Syriac liturgies, as the Syriac Orthodox liturgies often paraphrase them and they are not included in a discrete form in the oldest extant Syriac anaphora, that of Saints Addai and Mari, which is estimated to be around the age of the oldest liturgy still in use, and indeed the oldest complete liturgy (since the Communion Prayer in the Didache is extremely short and feels like a suggestion or outline), the Divine Liturgy of St. Mark, also known as the Divine Liturgy of St. Cyril by the Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox.

The main mistake it made was to put the preface for the Sanctus in front of the Lord’s Prayer, which is the kind of mistake ChatGPT tends to make, but still, that is an easy fix, and given that all of this was generated using just two short prompt commands each just a few words in length, I am delighted.

That being said if someone on starts debating us in a verbose and repetitive manner, I will increasingly suspect they are using ChatGPT or another Large Language Model. The copy-pasta trolls are bad enough; debating with HAL-9000 by proxy is a dreadful thought, but increasingly I try to avoid debates on ChristianForums and focus purely on more intellectually stimulating conversations such aa those Traditional Theology is known for.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Thou, the one true God.

Priest: O Lord, Almighty and Eternal God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we lift up our hearts and voices to offer unto Thee this anaphora of worship and praise. O Creator of the universe, Thou art clothed in glory and majesty, surrounded by the heavenly hosts. With joy and reverence, we enter into the holy sanctuary to partake in the sacred mysteries of Thy divine presence.

People: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Priest: We thank Thee, O Lord, for Thy abundant mercy and grace poured out upon us. Thou hast called us into communion with Thee, inviting us to share in Thy divine life. As we gather around this holy altar, we remember Thy saving acts throughout history and Thy ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the salvation of humanity.

People: Amen.

Priest: O Lord, accept our humble offering as we present to Thee this bread and wine. By the power of Thy Holy Spirit, sanctify and transform them into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we partake in this sacred meal, grant us the forgiveness of sins, the healing of our souls and bodies, and the strengthening of our faith.

People: Amen.

Priest: O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. O Bread of Life, grant us the nourishment of Thy eternal love. O Cup of Salvation, quench our spiritual thirst and fill us with Thy grace. May this divine union unite us with Thee and with one another as we strive to live in holiness and love.

People: Amen.

Priest: Remember, O Lord, Thy holy Church, spread throughout the world. Strengthen and protect her from all evil. Grant peace and unity among her members. Bless our spiritual fathers, the bishops and priests, and guide them in shepherding Thy flock. Pour out Thy Spirit upon all believers, that we may be a living witness to Thy love and truth.

People: Amen.

Priest: O Lord, we also remember the faithful departed who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith. Grant them rest in Thy heavenly kingdom, where there is no pain or sorrow but everlasting joy in Thy presence. May we, together with them, attain the fullness of Thy eternal glory.

People: Amen.

Priest: O Lord, accept our humble offering and prayers, as we join our voices with the angels and saints, proclaiming:

People: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name...

Click to expand...

I apologize about the clickbaity title, but it is accurate to the subject. So anyways...

I worked with a fella who had a 3 year old child with severe health issues. The child could not see, talk, barely move (not enough to even roll over), nor eat or breathe without machines. The doctors said this child will never leave the hospital and his condition will never substantially improve. Since this takes place in the U.S.A. which has medicaid with (now?) unlimited lifetime benefit, the child has incurred 5 million dollars worth of medical bills over his short life.

To me there is quite an ethical dilemma in this situation, that is to put (crudely) 'how much is a human life worth in dollars?' If it takes $5 to save someone's life, no questions asked we should do it, but what if it was 5 trillion? Resources are limited, such is the universe, and if immense resource goes to saving that one life, that means it would have to be redirected from other things which could save countless more lives (medical research, addiction treatment, agricultural science, etc.). If you have 5 million dollars and the choice to use it to save 1 life or lift 100 people out of poverty, which do you do? Which should we collectively as a society do? As medical science improves, cases like this will undoubtedly become more and more common, so it's something that begs planning in accordance towards.

What do folks here think about the issue? Interested in hearing from both secular and Christian perspectives.

Good Monday morning everyone,

First off I'd like to apologize to the group. I started this thread on Galatians and doing a study on it and I haven't updated it in quite some time. I have been under some pretty heavy spiritual attack for several weeks now. No excuse, just want everyone to know I haven't forgotten about that and I appreciate everyone who has contributed in some way to it.

Secondly, tied to my first statement, please say a prayer for me. I have been under some condemnation for a while now about my walk with the Lord, and it's just dragging. Full exposure here, when I read accounts of sharing the gospel, I just get this cold and dead feeling inside. Really hard to explain, but it is 100% apathy. Doing some self-examination has lead me to just throw myself upon the grace of God for an answer. I know in my heart there are things about my walk with the Lord He is not super thrilled about, I can lean pretty easily upon a legalistic view of the gospel. Probably why I felt lead to Galatians honestly. I just need some wisdom and revelation and am currently seeking Him on this. So if you would please pray for me about this.

I will continue with that study soon, if any are still interested. Even if not I will finish it just to complete what has started.

Philippians 2:3-8 ESV


So, what is the example that Jesus set before us that we are to follow? Well, the first one is that he humbled himself and he became a servant to others, regardless of how they treated him in return. Now he did not serve others as their servant/slave, obeying their commands, for he is God, and God does not bow to us humans. But he served us with his life by humbly giving of his life and reputation to share with us the truth of God’s Word for our freedom from slavery to sin so that we will now serve him with our lives.

For when Jesus walked this earth he was not thinking about selfish human desires and how he could fulfill them. His mind was on God, and his concern for us was mainly for our salvation, but not just for that. For he did heal people’s afflictions and their diseases, and he miraculously fed the hungry with real food, and he delivered people from demons, and he raised the dead, and he comforted the sorrowful, and he performed miracle after miracle to show that he was indeed their Messiah (Savior, Lord).

But the main reason he came was, not only to be our sacrificial lamb for us on that cross, but it was to spread the truth of the gospel of our salvation to the people who then were to spread the gospel to other people once they had personally trusted in him to be their Lord and Messiah. He taught much on what it means to be one of his followers. And to believe in Jesus is to follow him with our lives, not just so we can go to heaven when we die. For he died that we might die to sin and live to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

So, what was the message of the gospel that Jesus taught?

He taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily, and follow him. And what did it mean for Jesus to take up his cross? It definitely meant death to his life and it meant putting our sins to death with him on that cross. So, if we are to take up our cross daily, I believe that means that we are to die daily to sin and to self, and then we are to follow him in obedience (see Luke 9:23-26; c.f. Romans 6:1-23).

But that wasn’t all. And I am going to paraphrase this, but he, in essence, taught that if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self (if we save our lives), we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we die with him daily to sin and to self, and if we follow him in obedience to his commands (if we lose our lives), then we will live with him for eternity. For if we are ashamed of him and his Word in this life, then when he returns he will be ashamed of us (he will deny us) for we denied him (see Luke 9:23-26).

See also: [Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 15:7-9; Luke 9:26; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 1:3-4]

Jesus also taught that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father. For many will stand before Jesus one day, calling him “Lord,” and claiming all the things they believe they did in his name, but he is going to say to them, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” And they are lawless because they refuse to obey the Lord’s commands (New Covenant), and they will not bow to him in submission to his will (see Matthew 7:21-23).

See too: [Matt 4:17; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 11:20-21; Matt 12:41; Matt 21:28-31; Mk 1:14-15; Lu 5:32; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 13:1-5; Lu 15:2-7; Lu 24:45-47; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:31-32,51; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:1-11]

But then what happened to Jesus when he taught the people these things? Many turned against him who had been following him, and many hated him and were resentful of him and his ministry, and so they hounded him continually to try to find ways to trip him up with his words so that they would have cause to accuse him of wrongdoing. And then they called for his crucifixion, and they put him to death on a cross, although he had done no wrong but only good.

So, this is the example that we are to follow. This is what the Christian life should look like, although none of us will be perfect like Jesus was. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for continued and willful and deliberate sin against God and against other humans. But we should be those whose lives are dedicated to serving our Lord and to serving other humans in the same way that Jesus did, which is in showing them love, and which is in sharing with them the truth of the gospel.

But Jesus said that if we follow him with our lives that we will be persecuted in much the same ways in which he was persecuted. For not everyone is going to rejoice over what we are sharing with them. Not everyone is going to receive our words with joy. Many will turn away and will go their own way and will stop up their ears and harden their hearts and they will refuse to bow to Jesus as Lord, for they are lord of their own lives, and that is where they want to remain.

Jesus saying we will be treated like he was treated: [Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-17; Jn 15:18-21]

But if we have obeyed the Lord, then all is well. We can rest in knowing that we did what we could, in God’s strength, according to his will, but they still made their own choice, and it was not to receive the truth of God’s word.

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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In response to widespread pushback against 'Pride Month,' the media is adopting new tactics to promote LGBT views, including publishing explainers to 'educate' their audience and persuade them to support the movement.

(LifeSiteNews) — Over the past few weeks, the mainstream media has been getting a little worried. This year, “Pride Month” is getting substantially more backlash than it usually does. Some sports players have stated that they do not want to wear LGBT jerseys or participate in LGBT events. Canada has had several of the largest protests against gender ideology it has ever seen – within a single week. Dissident journalists and public intellectuals are pushing back, with several high-profile victories – in state legislatures and the U.K.’s National Health Service – adding fuel to the fire.

I’ve noted before in this space that the mainstream media publishes propaganda for the LGBT movement constantly – but as it becomes clear that issues they insisted were “not up for debate” are, in fact, being debated, they’re adding another tactic: publishing explainers so that their viewers and readers can understand how ignorant they are, become enlightened, and join them on the Right Side of History.

Continued below.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NKJV

1. Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2. not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ...

Assuming a pre-trib rapture "gathering together" vs 1, and assuming "the son of perdition" vs 3 is the anti-Christ. Verse 3 says two things must happen before the rapture:

1) the falling away (the great apostacy in the church).
2) and the man of sin is revealed (the anti-Christ)

But I assumed the prophecies indicated that the anti-Christ would not be revealed under 3 and half years into the tribulation.

Q. What does verse 3 really mean? Is Paul here suggesting a mid-trib rapture?

A good friend asked me a question about this series on prostrate worship. He wanted to know what all that pride looks like today. How do we exhibit that pride?



God says in I John 2:16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." The short answer to the question is in this verse "the pride of life." What is that?



Thayer's Lexicon defines pride here as "...an insolent and empty assurance, which trusts in its own power and resources and shamefully despises and violates divine laws and human rights; or, an impious and empty presumption which trusts in the stability of earthly things."



The Greek word for “life” is "bios" (remember biology = the study of life). Thayer further amplifies the term as "the period or course of life; or that by which life is sustained, resources, wealth.



There is nothing new under the sun. This is the sin we all deal with as it was from the beginning. Look at Genesis 3:6 for the parallel, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."



She saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and desired to make one wise (pride of life). If Eve had a mirror, she would have seen her golden calf in front of her. She would have seen her parallel Amon-Re and Jehovah/God.



Looking in our own mirrors, that is what we see when we see ourselves. God says in Genesis 3:22, "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:" Having eaten the fruit in Adam, we have now become like God ("the man is become as one of us"). We are now the visible godlike manifestation of our God. We are, if you will, the Amon-Re.



Before the curse, this was not the case, even though God said in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...." Because Adam and Eve did not have their eyes opened and their spirits put to death, they did not know they were naked; they did not know all the power that was stored in the knowledge of good and evil; they did not know about life and death, life-giving, the power of desire.



With his sexual prowess, man believes he has the power of life. Cultures around the world celebrate this in various ways from the perversions of pornography to the foolishness of religious fertility rites. The symbology is everywhere. Spend just a few moments in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City or any cultural art book for plenty of examples.



This is why authors like Ken Ham (of Answers in Genesis USA) and I wrote that every sin goes back to this one in Eden. Pride. Pride in oneself as god who needs no other God/god in order to live. This is why God gave His commandments in this order:



(Exodus 20:2-6) "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."



First commandment - I AM the LORD thy God

Second commandment - Thou shalt have no other gods before me...



The idolaters on the hillsides, beneath the trees, and in the temples were simply performing sexual acts in worship of themselves, celebrating their pride of life. God said destroy all the idols to take away the visible pictures of this wickedness.



Yet one idol still stands – us. What are we to do therefore?



Colossians 3:5 - Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:



Romans 8:13 - For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.



---------------------------------------



Scripture answers the question of how to worship (either on your knees bowed down or prostrate in spirit and in truth and in the beauty of holiness). Scripture does not answer the question of when or where to worship. God answers that personally I believe.



He calls out to us in our "One" relationship, "Worship me." When? Where? Whenever and wherever He pleases. Ours is simply to pour it out before Him in instant obedience.



When God commands you, do you instantly obey Him? Do you ignore the circumstances, education, culture, and peers?



Here's what Oswald Chambers has to say about it in his November 11 entry for My Utmost for His Highest, "THE SUPREME CLIMB



"Take now thy son ." Genesis 22:2



God's command is - Take now, not presently. It is extraordinary how we debate! We know a thing is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it at once. To climb to the height God shows can never be done presently, it must be done now. The sacrifice is gone through in will before it is performed actually.



"And Abraham rose up early in the morning and went unto the place of which God had told him" (v. 3). The wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not confer with flesh and blood. Beware when you want to confer with flesh and blood, i.e., your own sympathies, your own insight, anything that is not based on your personal relationship to God. These are the things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.



Abraham did not choose the sacrifice. Always guard against self-chosen service for God; self-sacrifice may be a disease. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential order of God for you is a hard time of difficulty, go through with it, but never choose the scene of your martyrdom. God chose the crucible for Abraham, and Abraham made no demur; he went steadily through. If you are not living in touch with Him, it is easy to pass a crude verdict on God. You must go through the crucible before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because in the crucible you learn to know God better. God is working for His highest ends until His purpose and man's purpose become one."



Entering into worship, one may come boldly. (Hebrews 10:19-20)



One must certainly enter in personal holiness. (I Chronicles 16:29-30; Matthew 5:8)



As we worship in spirit, God's Spirit joins us one with God. (John 4:23-24; John 17:22-24)



Recognize that in the Spirit (and your spirit) we sit presently in the heavenlies with Jesus, one with Him before the Father. (Ephesians 2:6)



At this point, what happens when we are on our knees or prostrate before God in worship, is really up to God. Words cannot explain what God derives from worship. It is for God and God alone. It is for His glory. The "benefit", if you will, that you come away with, is the knowledge of His present service.



God will give you some truth and some service as you commune with Him. (John 4:23-24; Romans 11:36 - 12:2)



God will teach you some truth that no man can give you. (1 John 2:27)



That service is the knowledge of His present will. Take heed that you do not delay in doing it. Once God has commanded it, filled you with His Spirit for it, and enabled you through His spiritual gift(s), go and do the thing. If you don't, you will find yourself stuck in some kind of spiritual mire.



Rejoice in the total consumption of your living sacrifice. Make it also a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Leviticus 22:29) and praise (Jeremiah 33:11; Hebrews 13:15).



After the doing of His present will, go back and worship again, for He is worthy.



I say this to your encouragement and warning. I had two things to do that God willed for me. Rather than do them immediately, I delayed for a week. It was painful. I am learning to move on, to obey God, to fear the LORD, love Him with my whole heart, and keep Him in all my thoughts. Grace be unto you saints. Awake unto righteousness and sin not. Be ready at all times for His appearing.

my cellphone seems to have frozen and won't charge. Please pray it might sort itself out so that it will charge and i can get the photographs off the phone thank you for any prayers.

please may i ask for a prayer for protection of my property as i currently have a broken microwave, broken fridge, and now (hopefully not) a broken cell phone. All of these things cost money to replace when i dont have a lot of money. thank you.

Please pray I will find a new job ASAP. I desperately need more $$$$ to pay back my student loans.

Thank you

The challenge in making a real hologram is to get the photons to stop in the air, some cars have a hologram in the window, but it is a solid thing, what you do instead is to use a projector, and then you use harmless dust, or smoke, to stop the light, in the future you can make a machine, which constantly emits harmless dust, and then send the image directly on, then you get a movable machine as well, this is the world's first real hologram well, nothing like it has been created

What are your favorite movies?

In no particular order

Carrie (1976)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
American Beauty (1999)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Scream (1996)
Halloween (1978)

what does written upon our hearts mean? we can't abandon logic just to satisfy our traditions. So we shouldn't just superimpose whatever law as law upon our hearts if it simply doesn't make sense. laws written upon our hearts are inherently natural laws, laws that we don't have to be told to know they exist. For example, I don't need to be told not to steal, murder or lie to know these are things I do not want to happen to me. These are universal morals and they are universal because that's the way we are designed, hence the "written upon the heart" aspect.

When it comes to laws with a focus towards God I still believe that within us all is a longing to connect with our creator even if we reject it there is still a void, or incompleteness of us all that can only be filled by God. Perhaps anecdotal but I don't think an unpopular perspective among Christians or monotheists at large. If we believe in God then it only makes sense that we are designed to worship him too.

Sabbath is also written upon our hearts but in order to understand what this means we have to eliminate the aspects of the Sabbath that we have to be told to understand because these things are not naturally understood and therefor cannot be written upon our hearts. A system of ritual rest performed once a week on a certain day are all things we need to be told to understand so that we may follow. The following may still be good, but these aspects of the sabbath are not written upon our hearts because, without the knowledge of this information, we are ignorant of it.

So what aspect of Sabbath is written upon our hearts? it goes back to the 7th day. the values of the 7th day extend to the completion of the creation. 7 itself is a number of completion and it is regarded this way because of creation. God does not cease work because he is tired, he ceases because the work is finished. and it is this finished work that ushers in the completion of the 7th day. the 7th day is the antithesis to before creation, contrasting light/darkness, complete/incomplete, full/empty, etc... indeed a power spiritual metaphor regarding the process of salvation upon our own lives.

it is this longing and desire for completion that is "written upon our hearts". This is something we do not need to be told in order to know it and it is often said that without God people feel empty or have a void within them that cannot be filled. It is not just salvation that fills this void, light spoken into darkness triggers the new creation within us, but the goal is the work of Christ within us to be complete to usher in the 7th day and this is the universal desire that is written upon all our hearts. if we look to verbatim etched-in-stone law as that focus then we've misunderstood what "written upon our hearts" actually means.

"And for that matter, could our universe be inside a black hole?"

"A black hole looks very much like the Big Bang in reverse. … The math looks similar," Khanna said. While a black hole collapses in on a tiny, highly dense point, the Big Bang exploded out of such a point."

Could Earth be inside a black hole?

Greetings, I come looking for relationship advice. But first, some context.

I’ve only had two relationships in my life, and both were with intent for marriage. One of them was with someone serious, smart, and somewhat harsh. One of them was very abusive. My dad has also been in and out of my life since I was young. I believe it’s important to disclose these contexts because I still know God can help prepare me to stand by someone confidently, regardless of the trauma of my past. I’ve wanted a family ever since I can remember, I know it’s my path.

All of this is to say - I’ve guarded my heart for two years now - I haven’t even considered dating and I've been doing intense work in therapy. Now, I’ve met someone who seems trustworthy, who’s kind, and wants all the same things I do. However, this is a different friendship/relationship than I’m used to. I think it's important to be with someone who knows when to call you out and lead you. However, he really isn’t like this. He’s sensitive and lets me call all the shots, and I’m not sure if I want that. In all fairness, he’s a little bit younger than me, but I never thought age mattered that much. However, sometimes, I just don’t feel right in the dynamic. I don’t feel as comforted or as safe as I should be with someone I’m considering a future with.

He's very kind, so I wonder if this dynamic is something I can grow into. Especially as someone with my background of abuse. I genuinely need the advice of people who have been in healthy relationships, I don’t have many examples to look up to. I grew up being told that someday my husband would be the spiritual leader of my household and a stronghold in my life, I'm not ready to give up on that. However, in my abusive relationship, I made countless changes for my boyfriend. I don't want to ask this amazing person to change for me.

My questions: is love a thing that can be grown into? Is love a thing that can be partially forced? Am I wrong for wanting what I want?

Thank you for getting through all of this. Anything helps -

Ana

I know the Biblical meaning of blasphemy is different than its meaning nowadays. Curious if anyone is really knowledgeable on this subject? What does it exactly mean in the Bible?

1. Does intent have to be involved?
2. If it is meant to cause injury, can it only be done around others?

A large group of people gathered for the celebration from around 6 p.m. on Saturday, and police were at the site to monitor the event, the sheriff’s office said.

The officers were called away around 12:25 a.m. to respond to a 911 call reporting a fight nearby.

“As deputies responded, they heard gunshots and immediately returned to the scene of the gathering,” the sheriff’s office said.

Witnesses said the parking lot was still filled with people when the sound of gunshots rang out and the scene turned chaotic. Some people started running.

After the 2022 shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, less than 40 miles from Willowbrook, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law a ban on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines in the state.

“This shooting shows that even states with strong gun laws like Illinois are not immune from gun violence due to our incredibly weak federal laws and weak laws in neighboring states.” Kris Brown, president of Brady, the country’s oldest gun violence prevention organization, said in a statement.




While I would agree that with each passing shooting like this, it highlights more and more why we need to button up some gun control laws, clearly this sort of thing doesn't happen in other developed nations with the frequency that it happens here. But with regards to Illinois (and the Chicago area in particular), I think they're missing the mark a bit when they trot out the old trope of blaming Indiana's weak gun laws for all of their problems.

While they're partially right in that a neighboring locale where it's easy to get a gun can introduce some new guns into the hands of people who shouldn't have them in their own locale, there's still some underlying cultural aspects that they're deflecting from by trying to pin the blame there.

The situation of "we have strict gun laws, but a neighboring state that's an easy drive to doesn't" is by no means a situation that's unique to Illinois/Chicago, yet they seem to be the only ones who try to deflect from their own internal city management problems by citing it.

For instance, New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, they still have some high violent crime rates in certain cities...I don't hear New Jersey officials regularly blaming their internal issues on the more lax gun laws that exist in Delaware and PA...nor do I hear California blaming the crime rates in the southeastern part of the state on the fact that it's a close drive to Yuma, AZ where it's much more permissive.


I think this problem needs to be approached from both sides. While I'd agree that Indiana's weaker gun laws certainly don't help matters in Chicago (and the surrounding areas), I don't think that Indiana implementing strict gun laws would solve most of their problems either.

What do you think are God`s purposes for making the nations, for Israel and for the Body of Christ?

Please give scriptural references.

Ephesians 6:4 ESV


In America we have one day a year where we celebrate our Fathers. It is called “Father’s Day.” And for those who had good and not negative experiences with their fathers, it is usually a day of good memories or of good times in the present day. But not everyone had a father, or if they did, not everyone had a good father. Many of us had abusive and hateful fathers who did not love us at all.

Now when this talks here about fathers not provoking their children to anger, but bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, this is saying, I believe, that there is a difference between discipline and abuse. Abuse is usually done in anger and plain meanness, for no thought for what the parent is actually doing to the child, and it can be very selfish driven. Now true discipline should be painful, to a certain extent, but it should be pain which is related to loving correction, and not in rage or selfishness.

Now my father was an abuser of the worst kind. He abused some of us sexually and all of us physically and emotionally, and “us” includes my mother and all four of my siblings. And we never knew when he was going to blow up at us, and it could be for nothing we did at all, but sometimes it was just what he created in his own mind, or because we didn’t do something his way, the way he thought it should be done at the very second he wanted it done, and I am not speaking of us disobeying him here.

I will give you an example. This one day he wanted me to get a book for him out of a bookcase filled with books. Now he could see the book he was pointing to, but I saw a whole bookcase full of books and I didn’t know which one he was pointing to, so I didn’t go grab it because I didn’t know which one he meant. And so as I stood there trying to understand which book he wanted, he knocked me over the head with his fist. I got hit in the head a lot when I was a child.

And here is another one. Back in my day we didn’t have dishwashers. My sisters and I were the dishwashers. One of us would wash, another would dry, and the other would put away. And we would rotate these chores so that we didn’t all get stuck with doing the same job all the time. But sometimes my sisters wouldn’t get a dish clean, and so I would hand it back to them to finish washing it before I dried it.

So, this one day when I was the one washing the dishes, I had missed washing the back of the spatula when I handed it to my sister to dry. It still had grease on it. But rather than handing it back to me, she showed it to my father, I think out of spite, which she admitted many years later, and so he swiped me across the face with it. And that’s just the minor stuff. For he was particularly physically abusive to our mother, beating her regularly. We never knew when his fist would strike, and so we lived on edge and in fear.

But then I grew up and I got married and I moved out of my father’s house. And we only lived in my birth city for about 8 years after that before we moved south permanently, well, at least for the next 34 years, we did, until my husband retired. And so I only saw my dad maybe once or twice a year after that, and it was limited visits. But on Father’s Day I always felt obligated to send him a card, and that was a painful experience for me.

And maybe you can identify with this. But I would go to the card shop and pick up a card and it would talk about the wonderful father I had and so I would put it down and pick up another, same scenario, and so I would pick up another, and the same. Not one of them expressed the relationship I had with my birth father. And that was a painful experience to go through year after year after year. And then the Lord gave me permission to not get him a card at all, for that holiday is just a human tradition. But after some time of healing I went to getting him a more generic card just to show him love.

So, if you identify at all with any of what I have shared with you, I empathize. I feel your pain. I hope you have come to a place of healing and wholeness and that you are no longer living in that pain. But I know that Father’s Day is still not a day of celebration for you unless you can find something you feel that you can celebrate.

For me, I just found things that my father did that were unrelated to abuse and that were just his quirky way he did some things, like moving the pictures on the wall so many times that the walls had holes all in them, or how he always had to explain about the stack tables he had that slid in and out of one another, big to little. I can think of those things and smile. And my favorite picture of my dad is when he was a boy. I like that picture. I don’t like the ones of him when he was my dad. I’m okay with that.

So, what’s the encouragement today? If you are a dad, please know that there is a difference between loving correction and abuse. Please do not abuse your children in anger and in selfishness but correct them in love so that they might learn to be responsible and loving and caring adults. And if you had a dad like me, know that healing is there for you through Jesus Christ if you will trust him with your life and if you will relent of all bitterness and if you are willing to forgive those who have hurt you. And then let God be the one you celebrate today as your heavenly Father who loves you.

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You Loved Me

An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name

When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.

Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.

When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.

Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.

Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.

And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.

And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!

And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.

Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.

When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,

My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.

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*When a fellow blogger, Tosin Iyawo Ogaga, read this poem, the Lord gave her a tune for part of it and she wanted to sing it, so we both sing in this one, and the music was a coordinated effort.

A police officer was captured on her dash-cam scuttling after a tiny kitten on the side of a busy highway.

Officer Estrada is seen in the video below pulling over her vehicle on the Las Vegas, Nevada highway. She quickly approaching the terrified kitty, saying “Hi, baby. You’re OK.”

But the Nevada State Trooper had to hustle after the gray feline when it bolted further toward traffic.

She finally rounded up the animal, which hid in the glove compartment during the drive back to the station.

Nevada State Police tweeted: “(We) received calls about a kitten on the on-ramp to a busy highway… and Trooper Estrada quickly responded.”

The kitten was then given some tender loving care by officers who decided to name it ‘Trooper Kitty’.

Continued below.

please pray for healing of my body, a few health and old injury problems.
I also need a healthy job as I had to stop my last job due to breathing in dust and other health problems.
thank you for any prayers I really appreciate it

An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name

When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.

Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.

When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.

Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.

Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.

And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.

And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!

And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.

Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.

When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,

My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.

Login to view embedded media
*When a fellow blogger, Tosin Iyawo Ogaga, read this poem, the Lord gave her a tune for part of it and she wanted to sing it, so we both sing in this one, and the music was a coordinated effort.

No one was ordering or being served food at the time as the restaurant was overrun with his own staff and media.