ChubbyCherub said:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Personally, I'm a very open book and have no fear of judgment because I know that we are all sinners and I do not judge others for their sin but try to instruct them in the ways of Christ.

That being said, I am reading that many are embarrassed or ashamed so this once popular action is not very popular, anymore?

I'm not sure it was ever popular in Protestant churches but I haven't lived since the beginning of when they were formed so am not an authority on this point.

Furthermore, is this why Catholics confess to priests?

Thanks, as always, for helping me! I know I always have lots of questions but you all are very good to me with your assistance.

God bless.

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If a sin has directly harmed another person, you should confess it to them and ask for forgiveness.

Catholics believe a priest can forgive sins ...

they hold that the priest acts as an intermediary for God, not as an independent authority. This belief is rooted in the authority that Catholics believe Jesus gave to the apostles and their successors to forgive sins in his name. Through the sacrament of Penance or Confession, priests declare the forgiveness of sins, which Catholics believe is God's forgiveness flowing through them.

Bible teaches we can go directly to Jesus.

quietbloke said:

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is thriving all around the world. How was it born?

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Personally I believe the church was born by Christ during His ministry. If the church is the body of Christ aka Christians or followers of Christ then that body predates Pentecost. Although I would say that an argument could be made for all who followed God all the way back to creation.

Kathleen30 said:

. Whether Jews were a large part of the Tyrian community at the time of Alexander’s the Greats invasion of Tyre

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This is where confusion starts. Calling one of the 10 Northern tribes. - Jews.
The 10 tribes of Irael separated from the 2 tribes of Judah in King Rehoboam's time. They remain separated today.
We know who are Jewish; about half now occupying a small part of the Holy Land and the rest still in diaspora.

And although it is God's secret, we can identify most of the descendants of House of Israel, now scattered around the world, by the fact of their Christianity.
THEY are the people Jesus came to save; Matthew 15:234, He succeeded very well.
All will be revealed soon, but for sure - Only those faithful Christian peoples; Jew, Gentile and from every tribe, race, nation ad language, Revelation 7:9, will go to live in the Promised Land. Ezekiel 34:11-16, Romans 9:24-26

30 days

Aristarkos said:

Which was always a pointer to the real sacrifice of Christ our Lord, wasn't it?


So we can dump the O.T. then? The whole of Scripture is FOR us, not necessarily ABOUT us.


Mixing up things again, how then was Enoch saved? Or Abraham? In Pauls first 7 letters it is not about the body of Christ, this was a mystery until Paul received its revelation in Ephesians. So how can Paul talk about something he knew nothing about at that time in Thessalonians?

Aristarkos

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Sorry you did MISS Rom 16:25 and 26 about. the MYSTERY and PLEASE remember. that there is ONLYONE MYSTERY

AND not many MYSTERYS with out and S and that PAUL writes as ONE MYSTERY ONLY. !!

Just GOOGLE , Enoch. and Abraham. and find out. !!

dan p

The Church Under Fire

Chapter Five

Now Faithful to the Calling

May 27, 2023

I am still reading in the book of Acts. Recap: Paul was giving his defense to King Agrippa, and so he relayed to him how he had been on the road to Damascus to persecute and perhaps put to death even more Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) when Jesus met him in a vision while he was on his way. Jesus spoke to him audibly, though not visibly, and there Paul (Saul at that time) received his life calling from the Lord to open spiritually blinded eyes, so they may turn from darkness (sin) to light (Christ) and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ. Then he said this:


Do you know what your life calling of God is? Are you being steadfast and faithful to that calling? Now we are all called to holy living and to leave our lives of sin behind us to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands under the New Covenant. But the Lord has assigned us specific callings and ministries, and he has gifted us accordingly so that we can serve him faithfully in those callings and in those areas of ministry. For these are our “body parts” within the whole of the body of Christ, his church.

Now most of you probably know this but let me say here that if we answer the call of Jesus Christ, not only to be his possession and to follow him wherever he leads us, but to fulfill the very specific purpose the Lord Jesus has for our lives individually, this may not go well for us in many respects. And Paul’s life is a great example of what I mean here, and so is the life of Jesus. For Jesus told us that if we follow him with our lives that we are going to be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted.

Especially if you are telling people that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance, you are not going to be well liked and well received even in the Christian culture in America. For so many professing Christians are believing lies which are telling them outright, or which are giving them the impression that they do not have to repent of their sins, that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, that they don’t have to obey the Lord, and that no works (deeds) are required of them by God whatsoever.

But let me get back to the subject of our specific callings of God to special areas of ministry that God prepared in advance for us to do them. Paul was not disobedient to the vision and neither should we be disobedient, either to the calling that God has on all of our lives collectively, or to the particular callings he has on each of our lives individually. But then we should be prepared that we are going to be persecuted, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even by pastors and elders of church fellowships.

And in being faithful to the calling of God on my life, he has been leading me to share some of my own “Paul” experiences. Only those who are opposing me are not Jews, but many of them are those who claim faith in Jesus, and some are even pastors and elders of church congregations. Now, like Paul said, if what I was doing was wrong, if it was evil, and if it was sinful and disobedient and rebellious, then I would accept their discipline. But if they are disciplining me for obeying the Lord, according to the Scriptures, and if they are judging me by their own standards, then that is wrong.

My “Paul” Experiences

The year was 2004. My husband and I were training to be church planters under the Christian & Missionary Alliance (same denomination as A.W. Tozer). I was training for my consecration as an official worker of the C&MA and my husband was training for his ordination to be a pastor of our small group which was meeting in our home. It was now September and we were invited to their annual official workers prayer conference. But my husband hurt his back and could not go, so he encouraged me to go without him.

And the Lord started speaking to my heart the moment I walked into that first meeting, for I was a few minutes late due to car trouble. And the messages I heard at that conference via the speakers and via my quiet times with the Lord just spoke directly to my heart in a very powerful way.

The messages spoke to me and to my heart like they were right from the mouth of God to me specifically. The messages said, “Preach the Word of God, not the teachings of man.” “Listen to God, hear what he is saying, and then obey him.” “You were appointed by God as a herald and a teacher of true faith.” “Give your ministry over to God – it is not yours. It is his.” “God may have something else for you to do that you have not even thought of.”

“Write down what God shows you and then wait on him to bring it about.” “What you are going through is much bigger than you can imagine.” “NOW is your time! For such a time as this you were placed upon the earth.” “The church is in crisis – the crisis of Supremacy. It is indistinguishable between the lives of evangelical Christians and the world. We need to get back to the basics – we need to put our focus on Jesus and the cross of Christ instead of on the teachings of man.” Amen!

Since I was the only one there representing our small church plant, I was also invited to speak before a room full of pastors and other official workers of the C&MA, and before their district heads. And I just let the Holy Spirit lead me in what to say, for I was not prepared in advance that I was going to be asked to speak. And based upon what others were teaching at this conference, and what the Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart, I shared with them what the Lord was saying to me, from the Spirit within me.

When I went back to my chair, though, the wife of the district head over church plants said, “Well, that was the shortest-lived church plant.” Wow! But after the gathering was dismissed, and we went to lunch (or supper), I had maybe a fourth of the pastors there encourage me that what I said needed to be said. But they also recognized that it was the death of me, even though it was the right thing to say, and it was what needed to be said. But I was being led of the Holy Spirit, and there was nothing anti-biblical in what I shared, but it was fully supported by the Scriptures.

So, I got called to see the heads of the district, and they told me that I was not hearing from God, even though they had confessed that they were not actually listening to me speak, from what I recall. And so at that moment I had to make the decision to remain with the C&MA and to ignore God’s calling on my life, or to depart from the C&MA and to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience. I did the latter, and here I am today nearly 20 years later still answering that appointment by God to be one of his heralds in these last days before the return of Jesus Christ. And I have no regrets!

I Surrender All

Hymn lyrics by Judson W. Van De Venter, 1896
Music by Winfield S. Weeden, 1896

… Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee. (Mark 10:28)

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

Link to whole book:


Now Faithful to The Calling
An Original Work / May 27, 2023
Reposted on November 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

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Delvianna said:

I'm so sorry to hear about your struggles and I pray the mass is non-cancerous and road to recovery is short. But I want to play devils advocate for a second because I think it's important. As followers of Christ, our lives are his, correct? That means that no matter what happens, we are in his hands. The Lord never promised us healing in this life, he promised us life in the next. The Lord never promised us complete protection, he warned us that some will be tested even until death, but no matter what we go through, we are to praise Him. So if the answer from the doctors is the worst possible scenario, have faith in Gods goodness, no matter what the outcome is because we know our faith will be rewarded. Again though, I do pray for your healing and recovery, if the Lord wills it.

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Amen! Agreed! And thank you for sharing this, and thank you for the encouragement, and thank you for the prayers, too. Much appreciated! God bless you. Sue

Jeffrey Bowden said:

This world will be at peace immediately before the start of the Trib (the 7-year Tribulation). The state of the world immediately before the Trib is revealed in 1 Th 5:1-3.

The AC starts the Trib that officially begins in Rev 6:1-2. The AC is set in motion for the timeframe from the start of the Trib through Rev 19:20, when the AC is killed.

Rev 19:21 precedes Matt 24:29, the official end of the Trib.

The seal judgments through seal 6 take up all of Rev 6. The 7th seal begins in Rev 8:1.

Rev 7 is an interlude within Rev. We know from Rev 7:16 (famine and scorching heat) that Rev 7 spans from the 4th seal (famine) in Rev 6:8 to the scorching heat in the 4th bowl in Rev 16:8-9.

Rev 7 truly spans most of the Trib from the 4th seal to the 4th bowl (great tribulation). To further validate this, “great tribulation” is cited in Rev 7:14, which is two verses before Rev 7:16 and its scorching heat that is only found in the 4th bowl.

I’m pointing these facts about Rev 7 to simply prove its time range stems from the seals through to the bowls. That is the width and breath of Rev 7. That is why it’s called an interlude because its timeframe does not fit between Rev 6 and Rev 8.

In summation: The AC is put in motion, starting the 7-year Trib, in Rev 6:1-2. The AC is active until he’s killed in Armageddon in Rev 19:20.

The Trib ends in Rev at Rev 19:21. Then, Matt 24:29, the official end to the Trib. Then, the 2A (2nd Advent) In Matt 24:30.

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Why will all the world follow the prophesied beast? Why?? Make an explanation believable even to me. I see one answer to that. What have you got that can be more credible to me? I don't think you see the warning in Revelation 11:18 that I see.

I understand anyway there is time of tribulation from that time the one prophesied as a beast is followed by all (except the few so faithful to God then). No arguments needed for that.

To expound a little on Trump's words..."When Ingraham insisted the U.S. has "plenty of talented people here," Trump said, "No, you don't. No, you don't have certain talents, and people have to learn.""

There is a 2nd part to that which would be that US businesses would then need to actually hire those US citizens that have learned. Or, they could train some of the talented people they have now for those skills.

I'm recently retired from 35+ years in tech industry. 25+ of that in a fortune 50 firm.
Were there cases where a US worker with a certain skill couldn't be hired? Sure those existed.
Where there cases where US workers were either not hired or kicked out so jobs could be outsourced to foreign countries or replaced with H1B workers to use cheaper labor? Oh my goodness YES! way, Way, WAY more of these cases than cases where skilled US workers couldn't be found or existing workers trained.

Delvianna said:

Awesome! You write any short stories or just novels?

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Both. In fact, I have a few free short stories due for the holiday. You can find them (three of them) at the bottom of this page: Rod’s Fiction Universe | Rod Trent | Substack

The local congregation in every city, as taught in the Bible, is God's will. One should not even think of adding denominations, associations, or even meeting places classified as holy, so-called sanctuaries.
The congregation is WE, the people who believe in the Bible, even though we are imperfect.

more writings: In English

ralliann said:

And this. People don't buy it...

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That's the thing. More and more people see it. Even MAGA is coming to realize it. And all the denial and deflection in the world won't stop it from being known. This is Trump's legacy; more than the insurrection to overturn an election, more than his public decline, more than his constant lies. This is what he will be in history.

Trump faces backlash as 69% believe Epstein details concealed, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds​

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-faces-backlash-69-believe-epstein-details-concealed-reutersipsos-poll-2025-07-17/

Complete failure to take any responsibility.

It's Druze.

Some really cool photos to look at here along with reading of each piece.


Find a Relic Anywhere in the World – The Relic Project

Maria Billingsley said:

Thanks for sharing. I have no interest in derailing this thread.

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That's not a derail when the topic is literally talking about what is the congregation as a whole which is why I replied what I did and then you replied to me claiming all denominations are apart of his flock. So this is absolutely on topic, but if you don't want to answer, that's fine.

wing2000 said:

It seems the House will seek to reverse the provision passed in the Senate Bill:

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How ya gonna get any doit on Adam Schiff if you can't spy on him?

Recent surveys suggest that Christian worship patterns in England are undergoing a subtle but significant transformation. While overall identification with Christianity has fallen—for example, the 2021 census showed that only about 46.2% of people in England and Wales described themselves as Christian, down from nearly 59% in 2011. For those who do attend church regularly, a remarkable trend is emerging: traditional Protestant denominations are losing ground while Catholic and charismatic expressions of faith are gaining traction. A report by the Bible Society (“The Quiet Revival”) combined YouGov data and found that among younger, regular churchgoers, Catholics now outnumber Anglicans by more than two to one.

Perhaps the most striking implication of this shift: for the first time since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, England looks as though it might soon have more Catholics than Protestants on the ground as active worshippers. If Catholic parishes continue to draw younger people while Protestant ones decline, a new majority-Catholic landscape is a real possibility.

KING AND QUEEN OF ENGLAND PRAY WITH POPE LEO XIV​

Continued below.

A new museum about the Shroud of Turin will open Nov. 18 on the campus of Christ Cathedral of the Diocese of Orange, California.

Across its 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, “The Shroud of Turin: An Immersive Experience” will use the Shroud of Turin as an entryway to bring visitors through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is designed as a 90-minute experience that offers information about the extensive scientific research that has been done on the Shroud.

“If all we do is prove that the Shroud was the shroud of Jesus, without the Resurrection, all we’ve done is prove it’s a shroud of a guy who lived 2,000 years ago,” Pat Powers, president of the museum, said in a press release from the diocese. “But it’s a lot more than that. We’re going to show people that their faith is not in vain. The Shroud shows us that Jesus was, in fact, resurrected. The museum shows us how we can discern that from the Shroud.”

Continued below.

Pottery fragment, 2,700 years old, shows correspondence between Assyrian Empire and Kingdom of Judah​

A group of excavators recently uncovered the first-ever Assyrian inscription found in Jerusalem — shedding light on ancient power struggles described in the Bible.

The inscription, which was carved on a small pottery fragment, was uncovered at the Tzurim Valley National Park in East Jerusalem. The find was announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on Oct. 22.

Though the fragment was unearthed in the Tzurim Valley, it was originally part of rubble near the Western Wall, beside the Temple Mount.

The inscription belonged to the Assyrian civilization, the dominant empire in the Middle Eastduring the time of biblical kings.

The Assyrians ruled much of the Near East from the 9th to the 7th centuries B.C., before Nineveh, their capital, fell. The inscription was written in Akkadian and dates back 2,700 years, according to officials.

Continued below.

At a funeral Mass I attended last summer, a cell phone went off during the consecration. Of all things, the ringtone was the chorus of John Denver’s “Country Roads.” “Take me home to the place I belong. … “

Inappropriate as it was in the moment, the lyrics caused me to reflect — or better, to rejoice — in knowing that the deceased — a woman of great faith, who’d had recourse to the sacraments throughout her life — really was going home.
My family hosted a repast after the internment, welcoming extended family, friends and strangers into our home. For this time of grieving and fellowship, we invited them to make the place their home too. Sometimes homecoming is about going back to where you came from. Other times, it’s about finding belonging in a new place, in the unknown, in a space where you would otherwise be alone.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, known in her day as Mother Cabrini, devoted her life to helping immigrants find a place to call home on earth. In her way of living, she consequently guided the souls she encountered toward heaven.

Cultivating a generous heart​

Continued below.

According to a new survey, engagement among U.S. adults who identify as Catholic is strong, especially among the youngest adults, and there is growing trust in the Church after the fallout of the clergy sexual abuse crisis of the early 2000s.

In July, Leadership Roundtable commissioned a polling firm to conduct a national survey of Catholics in the U.S. in order to inform Church leaders of problems as well as strengths within the Catholic Church since the sexual abuse crisis came to national attention in 2002 and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was composed to address it.

Researchers composed a 72-question survey and divided respondents into three groups: the Faithful (1,541 respondents), the Occasional (472 respondents), and the Disengaged (1,020). The Faithful said they attend Mass at least monthly, the Occasional said they go a few times a year, and the Disengaged said they go “seldom” or “never.”

Although the Catholic Church in the U.S. has shrunk from 65 million to 50 million people in the more than two decades since the sexual abuse crisis and engagement is “at an all-time low,” the survey’s findings are cause for hope, the authors say.

Continued below.