Mercy Shown said:

Only God knows the numbers of the saved and the lost. Jesus says that many go on the broad way and few on the narrow way but that is all He had to say about that.

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In the book of Revelation God promises to Save a Great Multitude. It is true, generally, that relative few actually obey God. Sin tends to tempt and to draw people into darkness, and so most, perhaps, fail in the mission God would have for them.

I'm not sure that this has to do with Salvation as much as with God's call upon men to fulfill what God has for them to do. Many can fail to complete their calling, but can still be saved. Following after darkness, however, can never produce God's spiritual life in us. We will suffer loss if we do not follow God's Spirit in our lives.

Mercy Shown said:

No, it is by the choice of whom or what you will submit to. The basis for all judgement is what you love (See John 3:19)

God reconciled the entire world to himself not counting man's sins against them. (see 2 Cor 5:19-20) Yet each man needs to reconcile themselves to God in order to recieve salvation. (See Verse 20) It was God's desire that all should be saved (See 1 Tim 2:4) Jesus was given to all people. (1 Tim 2:6) So to reiterate what makes the difference: It is what or whom we love as stated by Christ and recorded in Jogn 3:19

Free will occurs when the son sets you free and you will be free indeed. (See John 8:34-36) Until then you are a slave to sin.

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The question becomes: while we are a slave to sin are we still incapable of doing good? Are we still incapable of repenting and receiving Christ? I think the "bondage of the will" involves our inability to please God while we choose to go our own way. But people are given, by God, to be able to repent even while they are sinners.

Mercy Shown said:

However, if once you are set free, you are not chained to that freedom you can exercise it by choosing to fall away from it. (See 1 Tim 4:1, Rev 4:2-5, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

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Actually, you *become* free by choosing to repent while you're still a sinner! You cannot be saved without choosing to abandon the Lost condition you are still in! How can you choose to be saved if your will is bound when you are a sinner?

A saved person can choose to fall away from faith and obedience, if only due to a shipwreck in their lives leading to "emotional" decisions. It does not mean they are actually choosing to be "Lost?" Who would do that, once they knew the hope of Eternal Life? But they may certainly appear to abandon the Hope they once knew. God can still save them.

Mercy Shown said:

Go dlives in all time. He is the beginning and the end. He can observe the choices men make before they make them. This does not mean that he forces everything to be His way. He can and does on occasion but time and chance happen to all.

God's eternal word has stated that it is His will to give men free will and God's word will not fail. The light that came into this world lights every man but some love the darkness more than light and make a choice to not submit to it.

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Thanks for your thoughts--a lot of them are truly Christian. But we're dealing with some difficult matters. Thanks for indulging me--I freely admit the truth likely extends well beyond my ability to fully comprehend.

FreeinChrist said:

A Georgia judge ruled this week that county election board members cannot block the certification of votes based on suspicions of fraud or error.​

​

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by Julie Adams, a Republican member of Fulton County’s election board who is also part of a right-wing group that has raised doubts about the integrity of U.S. elections.​

​

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Georgia's Fulton County fined $10,000 a day for not appointing Republican election board nominees​

The Democratic majority on the Board of Commissioners in May voted not to approve the appointments of Republican nominees Julie Adams and Jason Frazier, saying their past actions made them unsuitable nominees. [They agreed they had to appoint two Republicans, but not these turkeys.]

[Judge has ruled they can't refuse someone properly nominated by the Republican Party.]

NxNW said:

Trump did such a great job on the Rose Garden, how can he stop now?

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He's keeping a close eye on the Rose Garden, too.


I used, at the White House, the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere. Surfaces are very important to me as a Builder. As everyone knows, I built many GREAT Buildings, and other things, over the years. At the White House, I am very proud of the beautiful stonework we did in the Rose Garden, in this case, using limestone plus. The Rose Garden is completed, and far more beautiful than anyone ever had in mind when it was conceived of, decades ago. Three days ago, while admiring the stonework, I happened to notice a huge gash in the limestone that extended more than 25 yards long. It was deep and nasty! I started yelling, “Who did this, and I want to find out now!” — And I didn’t say this in a nice manner. I wondered, “Was it vandalism or, was it stupidity?” Lo and behold, because of the fact that we’ve installed the finest security equipment anywhere, they brought back the stupid people, with their boss watching (in sunglasses!). It was a subcontractor that was installing heavy landscaping on a steel cart that was broken and tilting badly, with it rubbing hard against the soft, beautiful stone. I love and respect great workers and contractors, but something like this should never happen. Now, I’ll replace the stone, charge the contractor, and never let that contractor work at the White House again — But, how great is the video equipment? We caught them, cold. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

ViaCrucis said:

The difference between justice and righteousness is semantics.

Righteousness is a Germanic-based word; Justice is a Latin-based word.

There's no distinction between the two in Hebrew and Greek. Biblically speaking, justice and righteousness are identical.

-CryptoLutheran

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But "justice" and "righteousness" are not 100% equivocal in NT usage (post #94).

"Just" and "righteous" would be equivocal.

Always in His Presence said:

Trump Death Hoax Explained: Why the Internet Thought Trump Died​

It all started with the claim that Trump hadn’t been seen in two days, which was proven false by multiple reports. However, the White House’s silence on the rumors contributed to the speculation.

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Part of the problem is that Trump is obviously ailing and has increasingly been for a while when, at the same time, his so-called medical reports state that he is taller than ever, healthier than any previous president and might live to be 200 years old.

Farm Bankruptcies in 2025 Already Surpass Last Year’s Total​

A breakdown of their concerns:

Commodity prices: Rural America is suffering an economic crisis as crop prices plunge — ‘U.S. soybean farmers cannot survive a prolonged trade dispute’

High Interest rates: Fed Chair Powell says inflation, hiring slowdown pose 'challenging situation'

Rising input costs: Trump tariffs mean fewer machinery purchases, higher costs for farmers

Extreme weather events: Climate Change's Threat to Agriculture: Impacts, Challenges and Strategies for a Sustainable Future

The first three concerns are of Trump and the GOP's own doing that's impacting farmers. The last is of course Trump and the GOP choice to ignore climate change and the effects of climate change as some RFKjr type conspiracy. Or worse yet, a Chinese Hoax for them to steal the jobs American businessmen like Trump himself give them.

Unfortunately for way too many farmers who donned MAGA hats, they are in the FO stage.

essentialsaltes said:

Why did Trump halt their project? Union wind workers want answers​

The Revolution Wind project was 80% complete when Trump put it on hold. Union laborers just want to work.​

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‘It’s madness’: Trump-voting fishermen oppose Revolution Wind halt​

Though often seen as opposed to offshore wind, many New England fishermen have made peace with the industry in recent years.

They increasingly rely on part-time salaries from wind companies as fishing revenues dry up. Over the past two years, Ørsted put 80 fishermen to work on the Revolution Wind project, paying out $9.5 million to captains, deckhands, and fishing boat owners, according to Gary Yerman, a Connecticut-based fisherman who founded and leads a fisher cooperative called Sea Services North America, which has an active contract to work on Revolution Wind.

Ørsted was one of the first firms building turbines in U.S. waters to employ local fishermen, offering Sea Services a contract in 2021 to perform safety and scout tasks. The cooperative helped build Ørsted’s South Fork Wind — America’s first large-scale offshore wind farm, which went online last year.

Today, it’s common for wind developers to rely on local U.S. fishermen. Avangrid and Vineyard Offshore, codevelopers of the embattled Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, have paid out about $8 million over the past two years directly to local fishermen and vessel owners.

Now, sitting at the docks due to the Trump administration’s stop-work order, the 15 fishermen who planned to be at sea, working 10-day shifts throughout this month, will get paid nothing.

“I can’t think of one guy who isn’t a Trumper in our co-op. We’re blue-collar guys (and some gals too) who get up before dawn, work with our hands, and we trusted him to look out for us. The truth is, we love President Trump,” Yerman said.

NewLifeInChristJesus said:

Yes. How can a person who does not concede that they have failed to live up to the demands of the law and therefore deserve eternal death receive from Christ forgiveness for those sins and eternal life?

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Hi friend, how does that relate to the questions?

Valletta said:

The subterfuge and support of false narratives by so many that got Joe Biden elected resulted in over one million casualties in the Ukraine/Russia war (Joe was the catalyst, never would have happened without him)

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I'm sorry, but this is so delusional and America defaultism that it's just laughable.

ThatRobGuy said:

If you note what was mentioned in the WaPo piece:

“We recognize the challenges and the obstacles that law enforcement agencies face in trying to diversify,” said Malik Aziz, the national chairman of the National Black Police Association. “But the pool of qualified candidates of color is there.”

“The FBI tends to look more at candidates who are not coming from traditional law enforcement — when we have an estimated 110,000 black police officers in the country,” Aziz said. “Instead of focusing recruitment on individuals who have completed college and are looking for jobs in the FBI, the FBI should look at the many police departments who have shown a great commitment to law enforcement,” he said.


Given that the majority of local PD LEOs don't have 4-year degrees, how else would one interpret that other than "If the Bureau is looking to diversify a little more, they should be considering the many existing LEOs instead of College graduates"?

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You’re skipping over the condition “and are looking for jobs in the FBI.”

Local cops likely aren’t actively looking for jobs at the FBI. He’s not saying to drop the college requirement; he’s saying to go poach active cops who aren’t looking.

Elsewhere in that piece (I’m going from memory), Comey was quoted as saying that the practice of only hiring grads with work experience was hurting them because that work experience had given them a taste of private sector money that the feds couldn’t compete with. The implication there was not to drop the college requirement; it was to drop the experience requirement.

Hi where back to the creation before the flood its irrelevant because God destroyed everything in the flood except for Noah and everything on the ark.
So God began a new creation with Noah and everything on the ark the onlything missing was man in the image of God the first one he created was Israel this is man in the image of God in the flesh which was rejected so God began a new creation with Jesus Christ this would be completed at Christs second coming when he gathers all believers into his body and presents them to the Father this is man in the image of God he would be constructed after the pattern of Israel.

God the Father represented by Moses
Jesus Christ represented by Aaron
The church represented by the the tribe of Levi
The 11 tribes the children of God

Love and peace
Dave

‘We can’t sell’: Farmers face difficulties ahead of harvest​

‘This is the first time in my farming life...that I can’t sell’​

“We can’t sell. This is the first time in my life farming that I still have crop in my bins that I can’t sell,” he said.
Despite gathering a good crop this year, Carter says the selling price of the crops won’t cover expenses.

Carter said while businesses can fight tariffs by raising their prices, farmers can’t do this.

“Our price is set by global markets,” he said.

“I was offered $3.90 a bushel for rice last week to make dog food out of,” he said. “That won’t even cover my seed cost.”

Agriculture is a $20 billion industry in Arkansas. Carter fears that failure for farmers won’t just stop with them.

“It won’t be a trickle-down effect; it will be like flushing a toilet if the ag industry collapses,” he said.

Have a lot of fun!

But, California!

John G. said:

The United Nations voted to partition the land into a Jewish and an Arab state.
The Jews accepted and Israel was born in a day - in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
The Arabs defied the UN vote and attacked the Jews.
Against all odds, the 700,000 Jews of Israel won that 1948 war.
The Arabs have yet to accept their responsibility for trying to eradicate Israel at its birth.
They only have themselves to blame for the consequences.
Btw, not all Arabs left Israel. Those that stayed are Israeli citizens and elect their own members to the Kneset.

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I do not care what UN votes for if they're ethnically cleansing people form their own land. It's not a surprise "The Arabs" tried to defend their land from the Ashkenazi invaders.

Claiming to be of an ancient Israelite is not fulfillment of any prophecy. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Your Zio-propaganda is not working on me buddy.

Not sure if this is 'menace' exactly, but...​

Oregon coast military museum in turmoil after sexual abuse allegations, shocking board meeting​

That meeting came days after police arrested museum director Geoffrey Cannon on sex abuse allegations.

“I think your daughter could possibly be a promiscuous little [person of easy virtue] and you don’t know about it,” a person [allegedly a museum staffer/leader] says in the recording of the meeting.

Other ministers were killed and wounded.

Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in Thursday’s strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement.

Platte said:

Any single light source and a rotating earth would present an evening and a morning.

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Which leaves your lot the necessity of inventing said light source, since Scripture doesn't mention one. You also have to make it of a size and magnitude and distance from the Earth so that it gives you the required 24 hour "day". In other words, you have to invent a pre-sun sun that Scripture doesn't mention. But I'm sure that won't hinder your lot any more than the empirical evidence of an old universe does.

Platte said:

And you can still understand the concept of a day as signified in the context would signify a 24 hour day.

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I understand what a solar "day" is, sure. I'm not at all sure that you do.

Platte said:

And later confirmed in many scriptures. I can provide you a list if you like.

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By all means, please do.

Platte said:

Funny. You can’t define a day but you can define 1000 years.

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Oh, I can define a day quite easily. It's one revolution of the earth. But the "evening and morning" definition requires a sun, whch your very creative Creation beliefs don't have for the first three "days" of Creation. So you're stuck with contriving a sun-before-the-sun to supply your evenings and morrnings. Are there any other major additions to your 6-86,400-second-day Creation?

Oh, as for your dislike of the "1000 year day" for God, the point wasn't to present a mathematical formulad to convert a solar day to a God Day, it was to convey the truth that God isn't bound by time as we are. But you probably don't believe that,either.

I just love this one: