FreeinChrist said:

You mean they would target 5% of their GDP on defense spending by 2035

Never heard that it would never happen.

Yesterday there were speeches by the Germans and French about their support of Ukraine so I am not surprised they are willing to up the spending as they believe that defending Ukraine is important for their national defense because of Putin.



Again, Trump like flattery, earned or not.

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Europe is projected to increase its defense spending to more than 5%. Recent developments have led European leaders and citizens to reassess the reliability of the United States as a partner. In 2017, when President Trump was first elected, many Europeans viewed this as a temporary deviation and believed that transatlantic relations would soon return to their previous state. However, it has become apparent that the shift is broader, as approximately 40% of Americans favor a different approach to the US-Europe relationship compared to the past seven decades.

The American-led world order is fragmenting, and Europe, along with other Western allies, can no longer depend on the US as it has for the past 70 years. However, a sudden break from the US is not feasible. Ongoing China-Europe trade talks reveal that while China hoped to exploit Europe's uncertain ties with the US, Europe is resisting unequal trade terms. Europe now seeks equal partnerships and aims to establish itself as a financial and military power, maintaining strong NATO alliances and a stable but less dependent relationship with the US. Going forward, Europe will regard America as a "paper tiger"—worthy of respect but not reliance—much like today's British Empire.

Forty percent of Americans wanted this result. For everyone else, what has become of our "Shining City on the Hill"?

Have you ever noticed how worry can take up residence in your mind, setting up camp as commander‑in‑chief? But here’s the good news: You don’t have to live in a state of constant worry. When your biggest fears seize your attention, joy and focus are the first casualties, but prayer offers a frontline strategy to reclaim your mind. In this episode, we dive into the kind of prayer that doesn’t just scratch the surface, but actually roots out anxiety at its core.

29:06

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He was the kind of friend who showed up when I needed him most — and stayed with me, even after he was gone.

I’ve always believed there’s something spiritual about an enduring friendship. We all forge friendships in life, but few last a lifetime. Those of us who have had these firm bonds with others have been blessed.

Little did I realize that when I met Gordon in the doctoral history program at Florida State University in the early 1960s, we were taking the first step in developing a firm, caring friendship that would last more than 50 years.

Our backgrounds were different. I was a Polish American Catholic from Florida by way of Massachusetts. He came from Ohio and was Protestant. He was older than I was and had served in the armed forces. He had an intelligent, lovely wife, Joyce, who was pregnant with their first child. I was a scrawny kid in my early 20s who existed on coffee and cigarettes — a habit I kicked when I married my wife, Marita, and she became pregnant with our first child.

It became immediately apparent that Gordon and I shared a passion for history — and a desire to impart that passion someday to college students. We took many of the same courses and often held study sessions where we shared ideas, insights and information. My sense of humor often brought Gordon to hearty laughter, which relieved the stress and tension of intense study in which we were engaged for several years. Sometimes, I’d deliberately say something funny just to hear his unique infectious laughter.

Continued below.

A man had this question. He watched a priest baptize the man’s infant nephew. Why was the baby ceremonially touched with oil? Why oil, of all things?

Every Catholic has been anointed, oil placed on his or her body at baptism or at confirmation or, if seriously ill or injured, in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Priests and bishops are anointed when they receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

In days gone by, monarchs were anointed.

Why? It helps to know something about oil as it occurred and was seen in biblical times.

In those days, artificially produced oil was not to be found. The Mediterranean world had many olive trees. Oil could be obtained easily by pressing, or squeezing, olives.

This oil was seen as medicinal. It was applied to wounds. No one knew how it worked, but the wounds usually healed. In scientific reality, the oil created a covering over the wound that bacteria and contaminants could not penetrate.

Continued below.

​

View of Eremo delle Carceri, Assisi, Italy, July 2025. | Credit: Emma Silvestri

Everyone knows the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, the burial place of the founder of the Franciscan order, as well as the basilica housing the Portiuncula. But few know the Eremo delle Carceri, a hermitage hidden in the mountains, surrounded by trees — a place of silence where the “Poverello” himself withdrew to pray.

San Francesco well, Eremo delle Carceri, Assisi, Italy, July 2025. Credit: Emma Silvestri

In every season, an unending crowd throngs the majestic entrances of the Upper and Lower Basilicas in Assisi in the Umbrian region of Italy. Thousands of tourists tread the cobblestones of the medieval town with its pale stone façades. Meanwhile, just five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the center, high above the town, the atmosphere is entirely different: Here, silence and solitude reign. This is what Francis and his companions sought in the early 13th century.

At the end of a winding climb, on the slopes of Mount Subasio at an altitude of about 800 meters (about 2,625 feet), the first Franciscan friar erected a small hermitage nestled in the greenery. In this sacred place, there are still no car horns, no souvenir vendors, no restaurants — only birdsong welcoming the souls who come to pray.

Continued below.

Valletta said:

Chinese men of military age

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That would include people going to universities and anyone of working age like the H-1B techie guys that Trump has called to increase.

Apple Sky said:

It covered from the Mediterranean to the America's or so the book tells us.

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So it covered Spain and Portugal? Did it span the Mid Atlantic Trench?

As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the way we consume and create media, the “media nuns” are on a mission to ensure humanity stays mindful in the digital age and remembers that “human beings create, machines generate.”

AI “generates a lot of questions, it generates a lot of concerns, but it also generates a lot of excitement,” Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP, director for the Daughters of St. Paul’s Pauline Media Studies, told CNA.

The Daughters of St. Paul are known as the “media nuns” for their media-centered mission and outreach. They study new trends, issues, and advances in media to look at what the changes mean for people including parents, teenagers, and young adults.

Continued below.

ABUJA, Nigeria — Terrorism-scarred Christians in Nigeria are praying for God’s intervention as they await help from the government and the international community.

Christians in an area of Bassa County, Plateau State, prayed for relief and strength in worship centers on July 9. Church leaders in Miango District, among the predominantly Christian Irigwe ethnic group, said the longstanding failure of the government to stop Fulani herdsmen attacks forced them to gather to seek God’s mercy.

The Rev. Joshua Bari, area chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the Rev. Adamson Gado, president of the Irigwe Ministers Forum (IMF), stated in a press release that their purpose was to seek God’s healing for their land and communities.

Continued below.

Apple Sky said:

I reckon 1 Thess 5:3 is mean't for Israel, as when has there ever been peace in Israel ?

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It's meant for the entire world worshipping the fake Christ and buying into the fake peace he brings. And then bam, the true Christ returns and with that destruction.

Daniel 8:25 "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

If kids are going to use an AI model (and they probably will) then I agree putting extra safeguards in place is a good thing.

However, given Elon's tendency to move fast and break things or make mistakes in the process as evidenced by some of gronk's statements, I suspect there will be lots of surprises at the things that come out of baby gronk's processor.

When interviewed Mr. Pugsley said, "Rocking chairs terrify me".

linux.poet said:

Bookmarked. As a perpetual lemon scone baker, orange juice drinker, and lime eater, this may be useful information for the future. Even if my citrus trees grow outdoors, they may have to be in pots, so this may be good intel anyway.

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Oh wow sounds a bit like our dream kitchen! We've done scone baking ourselves plus lemon meringue pie making so we've certainly found uses for whatever lemons and their citrus cousins we can stock up our pantry with. It's actually been awhile since our last homemade scone bake so we've already got some recipe plans for the next weekend!

prudent_commenter said:

Hello.

By nationality, I am Romanian, speaking the same language. Born and baptized with it, denomination Christian-Orthodox. I usually read and pray the bible using the English language. Very rarely, if ever do I read/pray the Romanian versions. Last night, however I prayed Psalm 91 in Romanian, and had a lot of nightmares during my sleep. Things that I am afraid of came into my dreams. I'm wondering if there isn't a connection. Praying psalm 91 in English doesn't have the same effect.

Is there a difference between the language you pray/sing/read in? If you are baptized with a specific language, is it possible, that one to be more "powerful" than any other?

For context, I dream, a lot, and most of them come true. But they are not always of the Lord. So one must be extremely careful.

Thank you.

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If you notice more power in the prayer, it might be because God is more focused on than the meaning of the words.

Multifavs said:

Thanks for the information. I'm thinking it's probably not anything I'm doing or not doing causing my sleep issues but anxiety itself (because nothing has changed in my life). I try not to worry about being unable to sleep or having symptoms at night, but it seems impossible. Hopefully it will improve as I get treatment and continue to change my thinking habits.

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Yes, full health is always a full package. From the first thing in the morning to the last thing before sleep. We must experiment, change various things and learn from mistakes.

Michie said:

Welcome Wendy! So happy to see you here. I look forward to seeing you around when you find the time. May God bless you all in your journey!

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Thank you Michie! So excited to be here. We were basically off-line and off the grid for a few weeks starting to get set up in Germany but hopping on when we can on our swing back, arranging to get our things shipped over. Probably going to be like this for awhile, it's a lovely village over there, quaint in some ways like right out of the pages of a fairy tale. In having said that, even in the very rural areas they do have access to Internet and tech when they need it, but I guess for cultural and community reasons they don't emphasize it and there's a real strong emphasis on old fashioned meeting up in person and going to get-togethers to be with other people. Which I admit we really like, and besides itt looks like just settling in will be a full-time job over the next few months or so.

Reluctant Theologian said:

Welcome to Europe - be blessed with witnessing - Mission usually is hard in secular and prosperous areas. It's great you undertake it. Have you got contacts with other missionaries or churches in your target area?

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Thanks to you Reluctant Theologian! We've actually been pleasantly surprised by the kind reception we've gotten and the eagerness of the people to connect and return to worship. Especially with the young people, it's in fact something our mission planner mentioned to us and he was right. To our surprise it's really the youth, in our own little hamlet and all over Germany who most excited about re-joining worship and participating in the church, and we get to basically serve as guides to help them. And yes happily we do have many local contacts there, in the target area and in general, in fact to our surprise there are already a lot of Americans in and around that and the neighboring villages and small towns!

Funny enough, we ran into a young man with his family who spoke perfect German and thought he was a local. Turned out, he was born and raised in Florida and his wife from Alabama, but been there over 10 years and blended in totally. You're right it can be challenging and that's one of the ways the missionaries there make it work. They make full commitment to the permanent move and become part of the community fabric as citizens, raise their kids to be not only fully German but also members who know their village or town there as their home. Our cousin in France did the same thing with his family there, speaks fluent French and his son grew up and identifies fully with the town they moved to. As result, the local people have embraced them as full members instead of outsiders, and so when they preach and hand out Bibles or hymnals, or coordinate events and get-togethers, people even from other towns and villages are enthusiastic to participate. Some of the missionaries are even building their own churches. Like one of our mission teachers taught us, that excitement and the commitment is contagious and it helps make the mission successful.

linux.poet said:

Welcome to CF!

Missions, Evangelism, and Witnessing seems a good place for contributions. Might as well stop by the Prayer Wall and tell us how to pray for your mission work so we can support you in prayer. May the Lord bless you for your obedience to the Great Commission.

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Thank you linux.poet! We did in fact find our way over to Missions and check in when we can to collect some of their pearls of wisdom. So great to know we can tap into the wealth of knowledge of the great minds and hearts of those who came before us and are participating right along the side with us in their own missions and passionate ministries.

RileyG said:

Welcome Wendy!

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Thank you so much RileyG! And thanks again to all of you for the well and encouraging wishes.

ozso said:

First the left goes on and on and on demanding that everyone must wear masks for protection. And now they're doing their outrage routine over masks being worn for protection.

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Masks saves lives! The irony!

Valletta said:

An illegal alien from the African country of Senegal, Bass Ndiaye, was arrested on July 17th for being in the US illegally. When he was in custody at an immigration building, he allegedly got access to a pair of scissors and tried to stab ICE officers and other illegal alien detainees. ICE officers were able to stop and disarm him in a timely manner.
Ndiaye was caught initially and released at the border in October 2023 by the Biden regime.

Illegal Alien Released into US by Biden Tries to Stab ICE Officers | The Gateway Pundit | by David Greyson

According to Homeland Security, there has been an 830 percent increase in attacks on ICE agents.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Caught and released.

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I am curious as to how long it will take before someone on this forum blames ICE/Trump or defends the attacker.

Kathleen30 said:

Well I would say to that. My post 119 did say to be continued. I did read what you wrote Perhaps you should have waited for my post 120 before shooting your mouth off . And as my religious perspective on creation that’s my right . Who are you determine and be judge and jury it be a long held biblical belief. As to my pink blocks subject breakers not brownie point makers . You say glib and I be so uniformed. Eclipse your such an intellectual you know it all. Me does say God bless for the future. I not discuss with you anymore

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What - and wait for more of your 'wisdom' when there was so much to respond to in the first post!?

I'm not even a scientist. I have a Social Sciences background. It's just I've read some of this stuff because it interests me.
Imagine what a real climatologist like Dr Katharine Hayhoe would have to say to someone like yourself just mouthing off about her entire discipline - with decades of studies behind her!?

The fact that you don't care about slandering such people really speaks to your 'side' of this 'debate'.
I was being deliberately provocative to try and help you see how offensive your lack of information on all this is to a Christian person like Katharine who you do not even know - but are happy to attribute all sorts of sinister motives to.

Try to think before you speak (or type.)

Upcoming conference (with online option) which might be of interest

To Listen and Respond: Dialogue as Feminist Method

Our Annual ACFT Conference (including the Janette Gray RSM Lecture 2025) will take place 7-8 November 2025. All are welcome.

events.humanitix.com

Paul had once lived under the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel, and he was dedicated to following all the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. But when he believed in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of his life, all those things he once prided himself in, he now counted loss for the sake of Christ. He no longer put confidence in his own flesh and in the things that were external only, and which he prided himself in because of his religious zeal.

Now his life was surrendered to Jesus Christ to doing his will and purpose for his life. He was no longer just following a set of rules, which he took pride in for his own accomplishments, but now he had a heart realignment of the Spirit of God so that his life was now dedicated to following the Lord in submission, in death to sin, and in walks of obedience to the Lord and to his commands. For this is what it means to have faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus Christ is not lawless. We still must obey our Lord’s commandments.

And now let me give you a modern day example of this. There are “religious” people in this world who follow their religions and their religious practices with precision and dedication, but their hearts are not surrendered to Jesus Christ (to God). They attend weekly gatherings of the church (or the false church) religiously, and they sing the songs, and pray the prayers, and they listen to the sermons, and they may do good deeds, or they may serve in some area of ministry, but self is still on the throne of their lives, not God.

Yet by faith in Jesus Christ we do not become lawless. By faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. But we don’t serve our Lord only in some ritualistic religious fashion as a matter of self-pride and accomplishment. We serve and obey our Lord out of love for God and a heart’s desire to serve the Lord Jesus with our lives in doing his will, with or without accolades.

We want to serve Jesus Christ with our lives in doing his will even if it means being hated and berated, and thought to be the scum of the earth because we don’t preach the feel-good diluted gospel which appeals to human flesh and which does not require death to sin and obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands. What other people think or say about us, though, although it may be hurtful, will not deter us from doing the will of God for our lives, for serving our Lord is not about getting the approval of humans.

Serving Jesus Christ with our lives is what faith is all about, and it is about living righteously in the power of God, and not in our own flesh. For to know Christ/God and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings requires that we die with Christ to sin and that we now walk with him in obedience to his commands in holy living, and no longer according to the desires of our sinful flesh. And it means we will be persecuted for our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, for we take God’s word seriously.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Your Servant Witness

An Original Work / March 13, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Humbly I bow, Lord, before You,
Bringing my requests to You.
May I listen; hear You speaking.
May I follow You in truth.
Gently lead me in Your service.
Guide my steps and strengthen me.
Fill me with Your love and mercy.
May I live for Thee!

Let me be Your servant witness,
Telling others of Your grace.
May I always share the gospel
With those I meet face to face.
May I show the love of Jesus,
Caring for the needs of men;
Be Your servant witness always
For my Lord, Amen!

My desire to be like Jesus,
Living for Him ev’ry day.
May I obey all His teachings
Given me, so I’ll not stray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master.
You are the King of my heart;
Follow You where’er You lead me;
Not from You depart!

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Being Conformed to His Death
An Original Work / July 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

ozso said:

AH HA!

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Ah, I see now. There's why it's here

“The dogs” is in reference to false prophets and teachers who teach lies, and not the truth. In context they were in reference to the Judaizers who were trying to convince Gentile Christians that they had to be circumcised, as was required of God’s people under the Old Covenant. But when Jesus Christ died on that cross, he did away with all the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. What remained were God’s moral laws. We must still die to sin and obey God.

So, what is circumcision? It is a literal cutting away of human flesh. And what is the true circumcision? It is a spiritual cutting away of the sinful flesh via the believer in Jesus Christ dying with Christ to sin and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. By faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin so that we might now live for God in obedience to his commands in holy living, and for his purposes and glory.

“The dogs” may still be the modern day Judaizers who are trying to convince Christians that they need to be more like Jews, and that they need to follow some of the Old Covenant Jewish customs to enhance their faith. But they are all who teach lies in the name of God, in the name of Christ, and in the name of the gospel of our salvation, and who willfully lead God’s people, or those professing to be God’s people, to follow the lies and not the truth. For they teach a doctrine of salvation which is of human flesh, and not of God.

And some of them have been and still are people of renown who are regarded as servants of the Lord and teachers of truth by many people. What they taught, or what they are presently teaching sounds good, and it seems biblical, because they quote Scriptures, but they often take Scriptures out of context, and they twist them to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. For many of them are teaching the teachings of man and not the teachings of Christ, because it tickles itching ears.

So, what does it look like to worship in the Spirit of God and to glory in Christ Jesus and to put no confidence in the flesh? It means that we are following the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles in what they taught as the gospel of our salvation, and what they taught is required of us now by God for us to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And they all taught that we must deny self, die to sin, and follow Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands, for this is what it means to believe.

Basically, to believe in Christ Jesus as Lord of our lives it means surrender of our lives to God, submission to him as Lord (Owner-Master of our lives), and death to our old ways of living so that we can now walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. It means we no longer are the masters of our own lives, choosing our own course, but we are now following the course that God has for our lives in doing his will, going wherever he sends us, and saying whatever he gives us to say.

But if you are still listening to “The dogs,” who are telling you that God requires nothing of you other than a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and that God is going to welcome you into his heaven when you die, based on lip service only, stop believing the lies and believe the truth. For by faith in Christ we must now die to sin and obey God with our lives. For if sin is still what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God when we leave this earth, but hell will be our eternal destiny.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

My Sheep

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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Beware of Evil Workers
An Original Work / July 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love