Most people know that St. Jerome — whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates on Sept. 30 — is famous for translating the entire Bible into Latin in the fourth century A.D., creating a widely read edition later known as the Vulgate.

But fewer people probably realize how groundbreaking — and how enduring — Jerome’s work truly is. The Vulgate became the predominantly used Bible of the Middle Ages and has endured to this day as a translation that at least one prominent linguist considers one of the very best available.

“I don’t know any other translation, either ancient or modern, so good as the Vulgate,” Christophe Rico, a Catholic linguist living and working in Jerusalem, told CNA.

Continued below.

1. Unintentional Sins
Psalm 119:

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.67 Before I was afflicted I went astray [H7683], but now I keep your word.

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Strong's Hebrew: 7683. שָׁגַג (shagag) — 4 Occurrences

Brown-Driver-Briggs:

verb go astray, commit sin or error

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The noun form of H7683 appeared in Lev 4:

13 “If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally

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ESV footnote: or makes a mistake

and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt, 14when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.

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The assembly committed a mistake due to ignorance or otherwise unintentional or involuntary.

Strong's Hebrew: 7684. שְׁגָגָה (shegagah) — 19 Occurrences

Brown-Driver-Briggs:

noun feminine sin of error, inadvertence

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Ecclesiastes 10:

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error [H7684] that arises from a ruler.

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2. Intentional Sins
Ps 19:

12 Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults

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i.e., unintentional sins.

13 Keep Your servant also from willful [H2086] sins may they not rule over me.

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They may not become high-handed sins.

Romans 7:

19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

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We commit some kind of habitual or addictive sin, but we regret it.

3. High-Handed Sins
Numbers 15:

30 But the person who does anything with a high hand [H3027], whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that personal shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.

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New International Version:

But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel.

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High-handed sins were the most serious. Defiant sinners would be cut off.

Unintentional sins were committed without the person's full knowledge or awareness. They might occur due to ignorance, carelessness, or accident. Intentional sins were committed knowingly and willfully, but often out of weakness or temptation rather than outright rebellion against God. High-handed sins were committed with full knowledge and deliberate defiance against God's authority.

In the OT, sin offerings were for unintentional sins only. Intentional sins required a guilt offering and compensation. A high-handed sinner might never be forgiven unless he repented and turned back to God.

In the NT, Jesus's sacrifice was once and for all, covering all types of sins. Believers rely on God's grace and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit rather than focusing on categorizing sins. Jesus frees us from the burden of sin and empowers us to live in righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

I don't know why so many young men are choosing to leave the workforce....and not even looking for work or studying a skill that is valued in today's economy. I recognize today's generation faces more challenges that I did, with the increasing cost of living, etc.

...we ahve raised two sons (born in the 90's):

One works in the service industry, has learned new skills and does well with one full time (independent contractor) and 1 part time job (though the lack of full healthcare benefits and affordable housing is concerning). The other is currently earning his Masters degree in the medical field.. While they both took different paths, and have different skill levels, they share common values: both entered the work force when they were in high school and earned their own money (service jobs)...and supported their own purchases -- i.e. first car, etc. As parents, we taught them to be independent, understand the value of work and be responsible for their choices. In essence, my wife and I passed on the values instilled in us by our own parents.

I JUST got power back less than two hours ago ( had been out since Friday at 5AM. Many even in my area ( north GA are still without power and many more in harder hit areas with more than 100 deceased and 100s still missing. The southeast could certainly use prayer.

The Canaanites were descendants of Canaan (Gen 10:6). The Moabites were descendants of Moab (Gen 19:37), a grandson of Lot. They occupied different areas, but they were neighbors.

Moses commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with Canaanites Deuteronomy 7:

1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
3 Do not intermarry with them Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

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Do not intermarry with Canaanites. Why?

4 because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

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It was okay to take a Moabite woman. Boaz married Ruth (4:13).

Deuteronomy 23:

3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever.

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They were excluded from the formal assembly of the LORD. However, converted foreigners were allowed to participate in other celebrations of the LORD.

After the Babylonian exile, Nehemiah 13:

1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God.

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Nehemiah found this command of Moses. He continued:

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

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Ashdodites were Canaanites; Moabites were not.

24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

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I.e., regarding the Ashdodites/Canaanites.

26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

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There was no law against marrying foreign women universally. However, according to Deut 7:4, marrying an idol worshiper was a bad idea.

Was Nehemiah against Israelites marrying Moabitess?

Not exactly. He lumped the Moabites with the Canaanites because they were all pagan groups. More to his point was that He was against Israelites marrying a pagan.

Today, we can apply Nehemiah's wisdom for Christians not to marry non-Christians.

chevyontheriver said:

Michaelmas was my old parish patron saint celebration. It usually had a procession through the neighborhood. Here is a song written for the day by the music director, 'Wings of the Wind: Login to view embedded media
And here is 'Lift High the Cross': Login to view embedded media

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I myself really enjoy the traditional Ambrosian rite hymns for the Feast of the Cross, which are incredibly ancient.

The Ambrosian Rite of the Roman Catholic Church probably does the best job celebrating the Exaltation of the Cross of any denomination, with their famous “Rite of the Cloud”, where a relic of the Cross is brought down from its reliquary on a Baroque cloud-shaped gondola, in a spectacular liturgy:

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I would note the 2011 service I have linked to is especially beautiful.

chevyontheriver said:

So was he really speaking of the difference between Carmelites and Franciscans or Hindus and Muslims?

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He mentioned Hinduism and Islam by name in the controversial speech.

I would have assumed the idea that Carmelites and Franciscans are both paths to God would be uncontroversial in Roman Catholicism, since they are simply separate religious orders, but not actual denominations, let alone different religions.

It would be like an Orthodox suggesting that of the Hagiorite monasteries, Vatopedi is superior to Philotheou or vice versa.

There are some definite organizational problems. One is a blanket asking for volunteers then not including those who do. Another is parking. This church is a considerable drive away, but it is the closest high church. I wasted time in a traffic jam, bad weather, and arrived only to be unable to even find a place to park. Even the parking area and street parking was all taken.

And the attendance was not that high based on what I saw on the video feed.

The next step is to start attending a high church that is even further away, and is known to have little activity outside of the mass which is ok It will involve a drive of about 1 1/2 hours each way.

The best option, the one that seems like the most desirable, is to simply go back to attending only at Advent/epiphany season like I used too. I know of a few others who do that, and that negates the frustration of having to trek there weekly only to find too many transportation barriers and it also saves on fuel and sometimes parking, as the parking garages that are 8 blocks away charge for parking. (Drive 45 minutes, pay $8 for parking, sometimes, walk 6 blocks to the service.)
I think going at Advent, arriving early (like 2 hours early,) hang around the town, attend the service, and go home is the best option at this point. Advent is my favorite season, I would not want to miss that, but since there seems to be too many barriers elsewhere, I say that a longer drive may be in order.

It is a very serious question—a question of great interest to oneself, but yet a greater interest to the Lord Jesus. What are we here for? He was here for us. Now we are to be here for Him. It is a great moment for your soul when you apprehend that you are here for Christ as a member of His Body, that you belong to Him.

Paul understood it when he said, “That I should preach . . . the unsearchable riches of Christ.” We are left here to be descriptive of Him in the place of His rejection, to represent Him here as a member of His Body. As children we are in the highest relationship; but as united to Christ we are in the highest position (believers are second only to the Trinity and higher than angels - Heb 1:14 - 1Pe 1:12—NC), and not only that, we are brought into the fellowship of the counsels and interests of God.

If I look into the Old Testament history I see that God always had a testimony on earth. With Noah it was power in Government; Abraham’s testimony was as the man of Faith—called out; Joshua to bring the people of God into the Land; David had the City; Solomon the Temple; Christ came, and He was on the earth a complete testimony. Every effort was made to get rid of Him!

Rejected here He is called to sit at the Father’s right hand; and what comes out now is the Mystery—that His Body is here. It was revealed only to Paul. It was made known to Him at his conversion in the question, “Why persecutest Me?” Until Christ was in glory the truth of the Body was not made known, but “hid” (Col 1:26, 27). He was fully rejected, as it was disclosed. If you get hold of the simple fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was refused a place here, and that His Body is here (to represent Him as if He was still here—NC), it will alter the whole complexion of your life.

They sent a message after Him in the person of Stephen (Act 6:3, 5). He said, “I see . . . the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” That is the Man to be maintained here. One believer or two could not set forth Christ down here. It must be the whole Body—all the saints; but the feeblest member is necessary to the full description of Him. All may not be walking consistently, but every member of the Body is necessary (every single believer testifies to Christ’s saving grace—NC) to set forth the exalted Man here where He was, and is refused!

It is an immense thing for the heart to get hold of. Paul tells us that he would have all men see what is the administration of the mystery (Christians are Christ’s Body - Eph 3:9—NC). It is a thing which should be seen here. He preached among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of the Christ—concerning the Head and the Body! What can affect our hearts like the fact that we are called to be descriptive of the exalted Man in the place where He is rejected—Christ in heaven, manifested on the earth through His Body—the Church (Col 1:18).

What can move your heart more than that this blessed Man should be manifested in all His beauty by His members here where everything is against Him? Would you like to be in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, testifying of the Lord Jesus and setting Him forth? It is the Father’s purpose for you. But you will not be descriptive of Him here if you are not in spirit with Him where He is (believers must know the definite assurance of gaining heaven, where He is—NC)!

—J B Stoney




MJS daily devotional excerpt:

"When we rely upon and cater to the old man, that ground produces "the works of the flesh" (Gal. 5:19–21). But as we abide in the risen Lord Jesus, that new ground of our position, His life will be manifested in "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22, 23). -MJS

"God’s Word declares that we are ‘dead indeed unto sin,’ but nowhere does it say that we are dead in ourselves. We shall look in vain within to find death there. We have died to sin; not in ourselves, but ‘in Christ,’ and our death with Him is as sure as His death, and since we died with Him it is impossible for His death to be certain and ours uncertain.

"We were crucified with Him because we were in Him (Gal. 2:20). We are raised in Him (Eph. 2:6); we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10); we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him (Eph. 1:3); the entire work regarding us is not done in us but in the Lord Jesus—the Father has done all in His Son. If you stand on the ground of what the Lord Jesus is (abide), you will find in your growth that all that is true of Him is becoming true of you; but if you remain on the ground of what you are in yourself, you will find that all that is true of the old man is true of you in life and walk."

"The purpose of Paul, in Romans Six, is to show how completely the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus when ‘He died unto sin.’ To enter fully into the meaning of that death is to see that He has emancipated us from any further dealings with our old master, sin. The believer is privileged thus to take his position in the risen Lord Jesus, who is now ‘alive unto God.’ From that ground he is henceforth to regard sin." -Eliza Hodges (1803-1867)

19 for Ukraine

RocksInMyHead said:

Ok, fair - I thought you were referring to the spectators hit by people doing donuts in intersections - that's what I think of when someone says "street takeover". I hadn't realized things had escalated.

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This wasn't just a "people wandered into a protest sort of thing", this was a " organized street takeover" that was planned (evidently) on social media where hundreds of masked people showed up and blocked a major interstate (and 3 other key city blocks) at 11pm, wearing masks, shooting fireworks and pellet guns at people.

Obviously people have a duty to retreat before escalating things, but when you're outnumbered 20 to 1, and they're blocking your point of escape (so you can't remove yourself from the situation even if you wanted to), and reaching in peoples' windows... that could've ended quite poorly (with someone either opting to hit the gas when people started reaching in and beating their cars, or one of them getting shot...it is Ohio, people do carry here). I'm actually (pleasantly) surprised that this there were no serious injuries resulting from this (there was one officer who got hit with a pellet gun, and a few peoples cars got banged up)


The puzzler was that there still hasn't been any real indication yet exactly what they were doing... I haven't heard of a stated cause they were supposedly behind, or what the motivation even was (apart from creating general havoc)



The other thing I noticed too...all of these people (when surrounding cars) all had cell phones out and were recording the people in them and taking pics of their license plates. I presume so that if anyone did "confront them", they could release the final 20 seconds of the interaction, and then claim they were the victims.
(meanwhile, their cars that they parked cockeyed on the roads to block the traffic...they removed the license plates from, and most were wearing some sort of "scary" glowing masks)

So they wanted anonymity when creating the chaos, but presumably wanted to be able to "identify & pinpoint" anyone who dared to drive through their little "demonstration", and presumably send in anonymous reports to the police should someone pull a weapon on them, or merely intimidate them as to say "now we got your license plate, we'll find you later if you dare challenge us".

Ohio is one of the unique states where the BMV/Deputy Registrar locations are privately owned, which means way too many people (who shouldn't) have access to look up peoples information by license plate #.

ThatRobGuy said:

Absent a catalyst that "challenges his status as top dog", you'd be right.

However, if he told Putin "leave Ukraine alone" and Putin didn't comply and people started saying or implying he was soft, we'd likely see some different behavior.

There's gotta be a reason why Russia decided to cool its jets for a few years while he was in office.

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....there a lot of reasons starting with events inside Russia that are not on our radar.

Postvieww said:

And two fake farmers on a Harris ad who claimed to be former Trump supporters that support Harris were paid actors. Watch out for misinformation from the party who complains about misinformation.

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Former Senator Jeff Flake is representing his own views. There's nothing fake about him.

Culture wars, conservatives against liberals, woke against anti-woke.
Yes, this secular warfare has infiltrated the SDA and is being fought over in youtube by pastors and their supporters as we speak.
The question is, does this have a place in the church?
The latest controversy is over Conrad Vine and his statement on proposing a structural change whereby a group of lay members would oversee the distributing funds to local conferences, denying funds to progressive conferences (woke), to make woke go broke.
Added to this is a number of ministers that are in the habit of criticizing the General Conference on youtube.
It's time to look at the possible outcome of such an effort.
Conrad Vine seeks to mobilize his followers to take matters into their own hands, even when he knows that it will never pass.
The end result would be to shake and divide the conference.
Is this movement of God?
Remember Coreh, he wanted to challenge Moses and institute changes, not knowing that he was in fact rebelling against God.
The end result is that he and his followers died.
Let us be mindful of the warnings that are in scripture, that God is totally against division, strife and worldly influences in his church.
Instead of fighting, let us learn to step into the breach, let us learn to be peacemakers, to be humble and patient as we wait upon the Lord and let him settle things in his own time.

lismore said:

Yes. In my observation a denomination that moves away from sound Christian doctrine, dies. That may be the plan of the wolves. Infiltrate and undermine. God Bless You

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Certainly divide and concor has been the devils mode of operation going back to Adam and Eve.

J3thekingofking said:

There are two kinds of churches: one is liberal, and the other is radical. Both can be dangerous because the liberal church downplays the Bible, such as denying the teaching that same-sex relationships are wrong. On the other hand, the radical church is problematic because it teaches what the apostles did not.

I will focus on the latter group, as it may sound encouraging to those who are drawn to radical ideas.

I've heard pastors teach that being poor is good, but Proverbs clearly states that poverty is undesirable. If you are talented in your job and hold a director position, it is perfectly fine to keep that job rather than working as a janitor. Just praise God for giving you those talents.

I've also heard pastors give advice that goes beyond scripture, suggesting that one must set minimum requirements when choosing a partner. While this may be generally good advice to protect our marriages and keep them holy before the Lord, St. Paul said that widows can marry whoever they wish, as long as their spouse is in the Lord. Therefore, the pastor goes too far by imposing specific requirements that prevent their members from dating. Some refuse to date simply because potential partners are not of the same denomination.

Recently I've learned there is a group called Amish who reject high education and refused to use electric?! Where in the bible it says electric is evil?

Should theses radical group be called a cult? Coz it has a culture that teach beyond the apostle teaching.

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I would suggest that there are more than two kinds of churches, because surely you are not saying that every church in the world is either liberal or radical.

Bob Crowley said:

I haven't watched it for a long time, but "The Scarlet and the Black" is a good movie.

The Scarlet and the Black - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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I haven't seen that one. I'll have to look it up.

What is life?
How or when does it have meaning?
Why are we here?
What purpose do we serve?

Are we here by happenstance?
Are we here solely for ourselves –
For our own survival –
To do what pleases us only?

When we wake up in the morning,
What gets us up and going?
What is our thinking or our reasoning
For even existing and breathing?

Why do we do what we do every day?
What drives us and motivates us?
Did someone somewhere instill within us
Some reason for why we were even born?

And, what if they didn’t?
I mean what if we were beaten down?
What if no one ever said a kind word to us?
What if no one encouraged us along the way?
Would we still have reason to exist?

What if all we ever heard was
“You’re no good!” “You will never amount to anything!”?
What if no one said, “I love you!”?
What if no one hugged you or told you that you were special?
Would you still want to get up in the morning?

For, not everyone has a good life.
Not everyone is loved or cared for
Or made to feel important or special,
At least not by other humans.

Not everyone has their tummies full
When they go to bed each night.
Not everyone has a nice warm home
With warm blankets to curl up under in bed.

But, whether we had it good or we had it bad,
What impact did that have on our lives?
How did that form our thinking or our reasoning
About why we are here and what purpose we have?

Is it possible that there is someone greater than us
Who formed us, who made us,
and who has a purpose for why we exist?

Is it reasonable to think that
we did not just appear one day,
but that there was a masterful design for us
that was in place even before the world began?

Is it probable that all that we have gone through;
All that we have experienced in this life,
Whether good or bad, was in preparation
For the life design that we were destined to live?

Is it realistic to think that just maybe
There was a purpose for it all?
That it was not all just for naught?
But there is some sense to be made
Of all the craziness that we went through?

I believe there is. I believe in God,
Creator of the universe and creator of all that has
The breath of life which he breathed into them.

And, I believe our purpose is to give God
All the honor, the praise, and the thanksgiving
For giving us life, and for placing us here,
And for revealing himself to us through his creation.

I believe our purpose in existing is
To give God our worship and our very lives
Given over to him, yielded solely to him
For his purposes and for his glory and praise.

And, I believe that we are to give all honor
To the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
Who gave himself up for us on a cross
So that we could be delivered from our sin
And have eternal life with God.

And, I believe that through faith in Jesus Christ
We can have meaning and purpose for our lives.
And, we can begin to see God’s plan for our lives
From even before he created the world.

And, when we yield our hearts and our lives
To follow Jesus Christ, in his ways, according to his will,
He shows us the way that he has for us.

And, then life begins to make sense,
And all that we went through has meaning,
And it has purpose, and we can see God’s hands
On our lives all the way, through it all.

And, then we begin to realize that
It wasn’t all for naught, for there was a reason
For this season in our lives where we may not have
Felt God’s love and care, but still He was there.

And, so we bow before him,
And we acknowledge his sovereignty
Over our lives, and we say “Yes”
To his will, to follow him in his ways.

And, now we have a reason to live,
To get up in the morning,
And to do what he has for us to do
Each and every day.

And, that reason is not only for His glory, honor and praise,
But it is for our own salvation and our fellowship with God.
And, too, it is that we minister his love
And his grace in other people’s lives.

For, we do not live to ourselves,
But we live to please God,
And we live to love others
As God loves us.

And, one day our Lord is going to return
And he is going to gather all of his servants,
And he is going to take us to be with him forever,
And we will then forever live in peace, to the glory of God. Amen!

An Original Work / December 5, 2018

Why did Paul struggle? He had enemies. He had people who were out to destroy him, who spoke evil against him, who lied about him, and who tried to destroy his reputation among the people. He had those who tried to contradict what he was teaching, too. And he was beaten, left for dead, falsely imprisoned, and went through all kinds of physical suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for the sake of the gospel, and for the sake of the salvation of human lives from sin so they could have life in Christ.

And so he often had to come to his own defense, too, against false accusations, but not just for the sake of his own reputation among the people, but for the sake of the truth of the gospel. For if he was discredited, so would be the message that he was teaching, which was Satan’s intention. So, he went through many hardships, not only for the salvation of the lost, but for the encouragement and strengthening of those of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, many of whom were also being persecuted for their faith.

So Paul was very dedicated to getting out the truth, and to rebuking the lies, so that the people would come to know Christ in truth and in righteousness, and so that they who were of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus would come to maturity in their walks of faith and obedience to God. For he was not interested in just “getting them saved,” but in helping them to grow in their walks of faith in becoming more like Jesus, and so that they would not be deceived and led astray by those who would delude them with lies.

And if we are those who are of genuine faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we, too, are to be encouraging one another in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord, and who are sharing the truth of the gospel with the people, even if we get hated, rejected, and mistreated in return, as did Paul. Our lives should be so dedicated to the Lord and to his gospel message and to loving the people of this world and to encouraging our fellow Christians, that we will be willing to be hated, rejected, and mistreated without cause.

And in the times in which we now live, we will be opposed, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even by some pastors and elders of “churches” which they have turned into businesses and are being marketed to the people of the world. And that is because we stand on the truth of God’s word and on the gospel message that Jesus taught in a time when so many people are altering the character of God/Christ, and of his church, and of his gospel, in order to appease human flesh and attract the world.

So, if we hold on to the gospel according to Jesus and according to the Scriptures and to the NT apostles, as taught in their full context, and not out of context, we are going to be rejected and persecuted and cast aside as unwanted, as well as we may be verbally opposed and even lied about, and we may even have others who will repeat what we said out of context, and who will twist our words to try to convince others that what we are teaching is not the truth, while they will pretend that they are teaching the truth.

But, out of love for God and for our fellow humans, we must persist in getting out the truth, and in refuting the lies of the enemy, even if we get hated and rejected and mistreated and even falsely accused, in return. And we must teach that Jesus Christ died on that cross to redeem us out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now become servants of God and of his righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living. And we must warn that if sin is our practice, and not obedience to God, we will die in sin.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21]

Should I Not Preach Jesus

An Original Work / July 4, 2013
Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.
I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.
I make myself a slave to ev’ryone
To win their hearts to Christ.
All this I do for my Lord Jesus,
And for the sake of His Name;
Do it for the sake of His gospel,
So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;
Written down for us as examples
To keep us from setting our hearts
On evil as did those of old.
Do not worship other gods of man;
Do not give your hearts to them;
Not partake in immorality.
Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are
Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.
God has given his word to warn us,
So through faith we will not fall.
No temptation has o’ertaken you
Except what is commonplace.
God is faithful to not let you be
Tempted past what you can bear.
He gives the way of escape.

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I hope this will actually lead to the removal of fluoride in water. But i bet this will not make national headlines

Federal court rules against EPA in lawsuit over fluoride in water

All hands on deck, all needed here
So we might win this battle near.
The enemy is hard at work
To get us all to our faith shirk.

He wants us dead, dead to the Lord,
So on his bus we’ll get on board.
Distractions plenty is his scheme,
And entertainment is his theme.

Diluting truth and speaking lies,
He deceives many, don’t deny.
He twists the truth, and tells his tales,
For his hope is that our faith fails.

So get on board with God, instead,
And let the Lord now be your head.
And follow Jesus every day,
And share His gospel, don’t delay!

An Original Work / May 22, 2024

For the past five days, the Lord has been having me focus on messages related to one-sided relationships, abuse of power, abuse of people, the hurting and abused, overcoming the difficulties of life, healing of damaged emotions, forgiving the people who have mistreated us, fighting the good fight of faith, conquering the enemy of our souls, victory in Jesus Christ, deceiving spirits, people who lie, trick, and deceive, who are masters of manipulation, and faith and hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, the writings and video talks from the past five days have, in part, if not in whole, covered some of these subjects to some extent, which then is a good segue into today’s lesson. For the life of a true follower of Jesus Christ is going to involve abuse, mistreatment, persecutions, rejections, reproaches, false accusations, hard struggles, sufferings of many kinds, and afflictions, and the like. For Jesus promised us that if we follow him with our lives that we will be hated and persecuted as he was so mistreated.

So, although painful when we are going through these times of difficulty, we should not be overtaken by them. They should come as no surprise to us, for we were forewarned about them. And if we have overcome and have had victory over a specific trial, and then things seemed okay for a little while, but then they got bad again, or worse, or they came from a different source this time, or a different method of trying to destroy us, we should not let that overtake us, but we are to remain strong in our faith and persevere.

So, who are our enemies? Who are those who are opposed to us and who are against us and whose desire it is to do away with us? Well, the main enemy is Satan, but our enemies are also some human beings. And they can be our parents, our spouses, our siblings, our children, our “friends,” our neighbors, our co-workers, and others who profess faith in Jesus Christ and who are in the gatherings of “the church,” and they can be pastors and elders and government heads and the news media, etc.

For not everyone is who they claim to be. Many masquerade as servants of righteousness, but their hearts are far from God. Many are those who are mean, cruel, malicious, and despicable, but who masquerade as those of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus and as those who are teachers or preachers of the true faith. Outwardly they may appear righteous, but inwardly and in true nature and practice they are servants of the devil, and they are the self-indulgent, deceivers, liars, and manipulators who fake their Christianity.

They blend in with Christianity so that they appear as though they are Christians, but more like a chameleon blends in with his environment, but is someone who changes his colors depending upon whom he is with. And what they teach others is also a blending of the truth and the lies and deceptions so that what they teach has the appearance of truth while it is truly lies of the enemy. They profess to know God and to be in intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, but it is all a performance in order to lie and to deceive.

They pretend that what they are teaching is the true gospel of our salvation, but what they teach is really a lie of Satan intended to lead people away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ, while claiming who they say they are in Christ, and while claiming heaven as their eternal destiny. Part of what they teach may be truth, but it is blended in skillfully with the lies so as to appear as truth, but not really truth. And they will, thus, be opposed to us who are teaching the truth and who are exposing the lies for what they are.

But we are not to be those who run away from these situations, but we are to be those who are proclaiming the truth that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught, that we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him 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. We must be refuting the lies of the enemy and warning the people that if they continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in obedience to God, they will die in sin.

We must be people of God who love God and who love our fellow humans above wanting to “play it safe.” We must care enough about people to tell them the truth that can save their souls from hell, even if we get rejected and mistreated and even lied about, in return. And we must be willing, too, to stand with others of true faith who are genuinely (in truth) being persecuted for righteousness’ sake and for speaking the truth of the gospel. We must be willing to give it all up to follow Jesus and to share his gospel.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Bob Crowley said:

I didn't watch the video, but I suspect it refers to the "Acta Pilata".

I don't think Pilate wrote the document. Scholarship seems to place it's origin around the 4th to 5th century.

Gospel of Nicodemus - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Portrayals of Pilate – Ancient Inscriptions from Israel / Palestine

Free and accessible inscriptions and their English translations of Israel/Palestine from the Persian period through the Islamic conquest (ca. 500 BCE - 640 CE)

www.inscriptionsisraelpalestine.org

Ancient historians varied in their opinion of Pilate.



I suppose his wife might have become Christian. She was the who warned him that she suffered terribly on Christ's account in a dream. We also read that Pilate was "even more afraid" when he was told by the Jews that Christ claimed He was the Son of God.

His fear may have been intially provoked by his wife's advice, and exacerbated by the Jewish claim.

Secondly for the Gospel writers to find out about his wife's dream and warning, someone would have had to tell them about it. I doubt if it was Pilate, so I suspect it was her. If so then she may have had some dealing with some of the apostles.

I think he would have been a worried man at the very least, especially when we consider the darkening of the sun, and the earthquake, tombs splitting open and the temple curtain ripping in two when Christ died.

But I don't think he wrote the Acta Pilata.

Click to expand...

The original, unless kept by the Dead Sea for some reason, wouldn’t have survived. I think many writings had to be recompiled every so years because deterioration.

It’s just all around bad news.

I mentioned this on another thread regarding public figures and it bears repeating. They're using them to target christians to gain their trust. Once you do they'll be able to influence you. We've seen the religious angle and now the financial. But no one asks where is this heading or what's the end goal?

I don't know what they're selling but rest assured there's a catch. The tickets are too cheap. When that's the case there's usually an upsell or they're making it back through the merchandise and books. Financial conferences are more expensive. No one parts with their knowledge for pennies in the industry.

The promos would highlight their net worth, assets under investment or an accolade like NYT Best Seller. They wouldn't try to lure you with a head shot and cheap seats. You see this gimmick in real estate, sales conferences and with motivational speakers.

~bella