xser88 said:

Republican Bid to Change Nebraska Voting Rules to Help Trump Fails

View attachment 354935
State senator Mike McDonnell refuses to back plan that would give Trump possible edge in event of a tied election

A Republican attempt to change the electoral system in Nebraska to give Donald Trump a possible advantage in the event of a tied presidential election has been rebuffed after a state legislator refused to back the plan.

Mike McDonnell, a former Democrat who crossed to the Republican party this year, said he would not vote to change the midwestern state’s distribution of electors to the same winner-takes-all process that operates in most of the US.

His decision followed intense lobbying from both Republicans and Democrats, who anticipated that a change in the allocation of Nebraska’s five electoral college votes could have have a decisive impact on the outcome of the 5 November poll.

It reduces the possibility that the former president and Kamala Harris could be tied on 269 electoral college votes each, a scenario that would throw the final say on the election’s outcome to the House of Representatives.

Republican bid to change Nebraska voting rules to help Trump fails

State senator Mike McDonnell refuses to back plan that would give Trump possible edge in event of a tied election

www.theguardian.com

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The notion of changing the law to help a candidate from one’s own party is always going to be tempting.
But it’s never going to be “good politics”.

Michie said:

Militants slaughtered hundreds of civilians in a 2-day killing spree

A worshiper prays while attending a mass at Ouagadougou's cathedral in Burkina Faso on June 12, 2022. | OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT/AFP via Getty Images

Islamist extremists in Burkina Faso carried out a two-day killing spree, slaughtering hundreds of civilians, including 26 worshippers at a church service, according to reports, which identify the incident as one of the deadliest attacks in the West African country since the Islamist insurgency began nine years ago.

The attacks took place in the towns of Barsalogho in the north and Sanaba in the west in late August, the human rights organization Christian Solidarity International, which is aiding survivors, said in a press statement sent to The Christian Post.

In late August, militants opened fire on hundreds of villagers outside Barsalogho and stormed a Protestant church in Sanaba the following day.

Continued below.

Jihadists slit throats of 26 Christians during worship service in Burkina Faso: report

Islamist extremists in Burkina Faso carried out a two-day killing spree, slaughtering hundreds of civilians, including 26 worshippers at a church service, according to reports, which identify the

www.christianpost.com

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This is exactly what the ideologues should understand. The difference between what these radicals are willing to do and what people and nations do in trying to stop this extremism growing.

Islamists are literally exterminating innocent and good people. Take the religion out. These people are harmles and good humans going about their lives which are often hard to begin with. But they have not done anything to anyone, certainly not the Islamists.

That is apart from happening to believe the wrong God. Thats like happening to be the wrong ethnic group.

Now compare that to Isreals response to these extremists. I mean not just the recent attack where innocent people having a music gathering were mowned down, raped and murdered including women and children. I mean year after year after year of continued surrounding nations sending bombs over isreals border and commiting indiscriminant terrorism targeting innocents.

Though I don't agree that Isreal is blameless and has perhaps crossed the line in some cases and any war and the taking of innocent life is wrong. I think theres a stark difference in Isreals response. The recent targeted pager and mobile devices is an example of trying to target the very people causing the terror.

But I ask people what is Isreal to do. Its easy for someone a world away to say stop or have a cease fire. They don't live with this terror and chaos everyday for decades.

Ironically it was not to long ago that these extremists were targeting the west. Remember 9/11, the Bali nightclub bombings, and all the smaller attacks with trucks, knives and bombs. We certainly did not just sit back and not act.

Hamas and Hezbulah want a ceasefire as that gives them time to reload. They don't want peace. Peace has been offered, compromises have been made. Its beyond that and the sooner these pro Hamas ideologues realise this and stop equating fighting for freedom with taking freedoms away the better.

In some ways the radicals are winning. We are now having the same extreme division that these extremists have caused in their own nations arriving on our doorsteps. When I remember even in my own lifetime that this type of chaos was far removed from free nations. Even in our recent past.

Turn the corner, don’t look back,
Time was spent enough in slack.
Look to future, look to God
Now no longer be a fraud.

Now be honest, tell the truth,
And no longer be uncouth.
Now obey your Lord’s commands
And no longer serve your hands.

Be a witness, testify
That of your sins you did die.
Tell the people, tell them well,
That on their sins they not dwell.

Jesus died, put sins to death,
To give us life, give us breath.
So die with Him to sin today
And let Him wash your sins away.

An Original Work / December 18, 2022

When we are born into this world we are born with sin natures, in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, and the first man to sin against God. And ever since Adam sinned, all humans are born with sin natures, separate from God, and unable in our own flesh to be approved by God. So, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God (God the Son), left his throne in heaven, came to earth, took on human form, and ultimately was put to death so that we might now die with him to sin and obey his commands.

[Rom 3:9-26; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Eph 2:8-10]

But he did not remain dead. He rose from the dead on the third day, appeared to many people over about 40 days, and then he ascended back to heaven to be with God the Father. After some time he then sent his Holy Spirit to indwell the hearts and lives of all of his followers. And ever since that time, all who trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives receive the Holy Spirit to live within them, to guide and to direct them to all truth and to counsel and empower them in the ways of righteousness.

[John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:17-18; Rom 8:9,14; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Corinthians 12:7,11,18]

When we believe in Jesus Christ, thus, with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord, 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 now as slaves to righteousness. Thus, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies any longer, to make us obey its passions. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness, and its end is eternal life with Christ (see Romans 6:1-23).

Therefore, we who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ are to be those who are in the process of dying daily to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. Sin is no longer to be what we practice, but obedience to God and righteous living are to be our practice. And so we must put away from our lives all that is sinful so that we can now walk in holiness and in righteousness in living lives which are pleasing to God, and so we can minister God’s love and grace to the people of this world.

But then we must put on Christ and his righteousness, and we must live the opposite of how we used to live. If we used to tell lies, we stop, and now we practice telling the truth. If we use to take advantage of others and to take from them what is not ours to have, we stop, and now we give to others and to their needs, even if it means sacrificing some of our own wants. If we used to have “potty mouths,” we cease, and now we speak the love and kindness and grace of God to other people, in the power of God.

So, the Christian life involves us dying to our old ways of living so that we can now, in the power of God, live holy and godly lives, which are pleasing to the Lord. For we cannot put on Christ and his righteousness if we are still holding on to and making a practice of particular sinful habits. The old has to be discarded so that the new (the opposite) can take its place. For example, we cannot be truth tellers as long as lying is still a habit. The old has to be removed so that the new can be put in its place.

So, if bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, hate, pride, and selfishness are what are stored up in our hearts, that is what is going to come out in our actions and in our words and attitudes towards others. So these things must be put out of our lives so that we can have hearts filled to overflowing with God’s love and grace, for God and for other people. Basically, if we want to live for the Lord we must die to sin, and we must, by the grace of God, put out of our lives all that is hindering our walks of faith and obedience to God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 15:17-20; Lu 6:45; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]

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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interesting for sure.

Have you ever noticed that, whether you are reading in Romans, or 1st & 2nd Corinthians, or Galatians, or Ephesians, etc., that the message is the same, repeated over and over? If we are reading the Bible, therefore, in context, we cannot get away from this message. It is hard to avoid because it keeps getting repeated. But many people today do tend to avoid this message, even though it is predominant all throughout the New Testament. Thus, they avoid it by not studying the Scriptures in full context, but by ‘cherry-picking.’

But the truth of the gospel of our salvation is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus Christ (God the Son) gave his life up for us on that cross so that, in his death, he could put our sins to death with him, in order that, by faith in him, we will now die with Christ to sin and live to God and to his righteousness, in the power of God, as being led by the Spirit of God. Sin will no longer have mastery over our lives, but now Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master, and our will is to do the will of God for our lives.

Therefore, we are no longer to live as we did before we believed in Jesus Christ. And we are not to live as the ungodly do for whom sin is their practice. And we are not to have hard hearts which ignore the commands of our Lord in order to follow the ways of the flesh, and of the world. And we are not to give ourselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

And that is not the way that we should have learned Jesus Christ, speaking of the way of the flesh and of continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord, but while claiming him as Lord and Savior and heaven as our eternal destiny. But, sadly, that is the way many are learning Christ today. For they are being taught that they can profess Jesus as Savior and Lord and now all their sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed them, but regardless of how they live, even if they keep on in deliberate sin.

So, why do you suppose that this subject of sin and the need for true repentance and walks of obedience to our Lord is taught all throughout the Old and the New Testaments? I would imagine that it is because we are all born into sin with sinful natures, in the image of Adam. And even as those who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ we will be tempted to sin, and we still have the potential within us to return to sin. And so we need these reminders of what we should have been taught in Christ Jesus.

For what we should have been taught does not line up with what is commonly being taught today as “the gospel.” For so many are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to secure us salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven, by God’s grace, regardless of how we live. But Jesus taught that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with him in heaven (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, the truth that is in Christ Jesus, which we should have been taught, is that, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. And we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, of the Spirit of God, via genuine repentance. And then we are to put on the new self (in Christ Jesus), created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Sin is no longer to be our practice. Obedience to God is to be our practice.

For Jesus Christ gave himself up for us on that cross, not just to save us from our sins so that, when we die, we get to go to heaven. He died so that we would now die with him to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, in the power and strength of God, by his Spirit. And now we are to serve the Lord Jesus with our lives, fulfilling his purpose which he has for each one of us. And we are to be ministering the love and grace of God now to other Christians and to people of the world.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

In Harmony

An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Based off Ro. 12:9-21; 1 Pet. 3:8-17

Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

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May God continue to bless and guide him

The news media is controlled by the left.

Don't be surprised if it's overly biased.

sigh

Ivan Hlavanda said:

Yes, why?

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Nice, I do as well. Rare to find one in these forums.

May the Lord restore him to full health and strength

Praying and hoping all expectant women and young mothers get all the resources they need

Glory to God!

I have a young niece who uses snapchat and TikTok. I know my brother and his wife keep a watch on her and her brother.

Social media can be so toxic it's scary.

Purge187 said:

I made a big mistake and may have ruined the relationship with my best friend recently. Prayers for forgiveness and reconciliation are appreciated. I'm very stressed out.

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I prayed for you, brother, that the best happens between you and your friend. Whatever that may be, the Lord's will be done.

Colossians 3:12-13 (NIV): "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Michie said:

The article states she is in a year 8 class. So I am guessing 12 or 13 years old. I was imagining a younger child. So yes, it’s time to consult a professional.

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The problem is, the shrink might encourage it.

Vambram said:

The Lord God is all powerful. His power is infinite. Not only is God's power infinite, but the Lord God is a Googolplex times more powerful than the second most powerful being in Creation.

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Amen, brother. God's power level is infinite, beyond all measure, and can not be contained. This reminds me of a Chris Tomlin song, Indescribable (2004), which I posted on the forum over a month ago.

For reference, this is how a Googolplex is represented in exponents.

Guys and gals, do you want the evidence of why we need to get to our spiritual battle stations? The reasons are below. Notice how two demonic events happened on Halloween? One in 2022 with Musk, and another with a pop star?

timewerx said:

If you're giving advice to someone to move to a safer neighborhood, You must also be prepared to help them financially.

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Dang, the savings in ammunition alone ought to pay for the move. Or maybe pawn a few of those guns.

New Living Translation, Jn 11:

34 When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

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English Standard Version:

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

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He was deeply moved
ἐνεβριμήσατο (enebrimēsato)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1690: From en and brimaomai; to have indignation on, i.e. to blame, to sigh with chagrin, to sternly enjoin.

Strong's Greek: 1690. ἐμβριμάομαι (embrimaomai) — 5 Occurrences

G1690 had a few nuances. BDAG:
① insist on someth. sternly, warn sternly
② As an expr. of anger and displeasure
③ to feel strongly about someth., be deeply moved

On Biblehub, 19 versions used "deeply moved"; only 3 said "anger" or "angry".

NLT:

34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept.

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Jesus wept. I don't think he was angry.

36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

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I don't think Jesus had a fit of sustained deep anger during that time; rather, he was deeply moved by the situation.

tonychanyt said:

Genesis 13:


Jude 1:


Jude used the example of Sodom and Gomorrah to illustrate eternal fire punishment.

But then, Luke 10:



The healing was a sign or demonstrative miracle.


Jesus asserted (by "I tell you") that on the day of final judgment, the wicked people of Sodom would have more hope than the people of the town that rejected Jesus' message of the kingdom of God.


On the day of the final judgment, there is some hope for the people of Tyre and Sidon.

The LORD summarily judged the cities of Sodom, Gomorrha, Tyre, and Sidon without giving them the benefits of healing miracles and the good news. In the final judgment, Jesus would take this into consideration: some of the people from these cities will be saved. On the other hand, people from Capernaum would not have this excuse:


They saw Jesus' miracles and yet refused to believe. They had no excuse. The judgment on you depends on how much you have known and seen.


That's the solemn warning: Do not reject Jesus' good news.

=======================================================================

Appendix: FOL analysis of Jesus' hypothetical statement

Contemporary English Version, Mt 11:


Consider the compound proposition: If P, then Q where P and Q are simple propositions and if is a first-order logical operator.

Let R = If the miracles that took place in your town had happened in Sodom, it would still be standing.

P = The miracles that took place in your town had happened in Sodom.
Q = It would still be standing.

Case 1: A usual human spoke statement R

R is a hypothetical statement. We know that historically, P did not happen. It was not true in reality. If P is false, then the truth value of Q does not matter, and R is always true, according to the FOL truth table of the if operator. If P is an impossible hypothetical scenario (i.e., P is false), then Q can be anything. And R is fine. E.g., if the moon is made of cheese, then Trump is God. The last material conditional is a vacuously true FOL statement.

Case 2: Jesus spoke R

He was saying this: Assume that P is true. If P is true, then Q will be true as well. Jesus asserted R to be true. In modal logic, this counterfactual is not vacuous.

You can choose not to believe in Jesus' assertion. That's up to you. Here, I have explained his assertion R in terms of FOL's if.

Was it possible for the LORD to have performed demonstrative miracles in Sodom before he destroyed it?

Yes, all things are possible with God (Mt 19:26). But he chose not to do the miracles.

Why not?

So that Jesus could then use it as an example to illustrate eternal fire punishment and the notion that judgment on you depends on how much you have known and seen.

Does Mt 11:23b imply that God could have done demonstrative miracles in Sodom?

Yes, proof by contradiction:

Let assumption N1 = God could not have done demonstrative miracles in Sodom.

It was impossible for God to perform positive miraculous signs in Sodom. Now, P has a truth value of F (false). Q can take on any proposition, and R will still be true. This line of reasoning does not prove anything. Trump is not God.

However, Jesus asserted that Sodom would be better off than Bethsaida on the judgment day, using Mt 11:23b to prove it. This is the contradiction that I am looking for.

Therefore N1 is false. The truth is that God could have done demonstrative miracles in Sodom.

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I agree, ignorance of God can excuse the Sodomites. At least some of them. Eternal punishment wouldn't be "tolerable"; limited punishment with forgiveness would be.

PS: Jude is referring to the "eternal destruction" of Sodom, not eternal punishment of its inhabitants. It literally burned so badly, it was never rebuilt.

Ora pro nobis

johnestrada said:

Hi everyone, I gave my life to Christ a couple years ago and he's slowly transformed me to the man I am today. I've been progressing little by little but to give an overview of the efforts I've put so far go as follows. I read every night, I pray and meditate on his word daily. I go to church every Sunday where I always feel replenished after going. I've come to realize over time that I did not put the same effort of studying as I do in other aspects of my life. I recently just started studying more intensely to get a better understanding of God's teaching for us that he gives us access to through the Bible. I have been anxious free for years, until recently now that I've taken this next step to further my relationship with the Lord. I read in the mornings now, and now I'm taking notes. I cleaned up the things I have watched and watch more that teach me more about Jesus. This anxiety is small but I am very conscious that this is not from God. Is there an explanation for this? I always pray that God leads me and shows me what he needs to me to see and pray for access to the wisdom of what I read.

Thanks for all the help and bless you all!

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Removing triggers to sin thoughts helps to a degree.

I recommend to read Philippians Chapter 4 about a replacement discipline to develop instead of anxiety.

I also recommend to read Romans Chapter 7 for more details about the source of the anxiety.

I hope that helps.

Lost4words said:

Jesus did talk in parables...

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And I several of E W BULLINGERS BOOKS and one is called , ' HOW TO ENJOY THE BIBLE , and also his book on NUMBERS and brought them from Amazon and is worth it .

dan p

May he be counted among the saints!