What was the gospel that Paul preached? He preached Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That Jesus Christ, who is God, and who is our creator God, left his throne in heaven, came to earth, lived on the earth, and eventually died on a cross to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we, by faith in him, might die with him to sin and now walk in freedom from bondage to sin in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands.

But he also preached that we must no longer walk in sin, making sin our practice, 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 to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, we will NOT inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed. He said that over and over again. The message could not be more clear. No “wiggle room” allowed!

He spoke all the time on the subjects of holiness and righteousness and godly living. And the grace of God which he taught was that God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 2:10).

[Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Php 2:5-11: Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

So, as we read this passage of Scripture, we need to read it in that light. For Paul was committed to Jesus Christ and to preaching the truth of the gospel of Christ. That was his life. That is what he lived for, to please God, to serve him, to obey him, and to preach the truth of the gospel so that many people would find true hope and true healing for their sins and eternal life with God via God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord. For by faith we die with Christ to sin and we now walk in obedience to his commands, in his power.

So, when he said here that he made himself a servant to all people that he might win more of them, in no way was he saying that he made any moral or spiritual or biblical compromises in order to win people over. So he did not serve anyone in the sense of doing what is opposed to God and to his word or that would require him backing down in any way from doing the will of God for his life. He did not let any person be his God. God was still his only God, and he followed the leading of the Lord in what he did.

So, whatever he did, he did not back away from serving the Lord in any way. He did not compromise truth or righteousness or the gospel or his commitment to the Lord and to the truth of the gospel in any way. But he found ways to relate to the people where they were in order to better communicate with them so that they would listen to him. But, again, this did not involve cutting short the message of the gospel to make it more acceptable to human flesh as so many are doing today.

So, let me give an example from my own life and ministry which I believe can fit here. The Lord called me 20 years ago to write down what he teaches me from his word each day and to post these writings on the internet. But as means of communication changed on the internet, the Lord began to add on to my ministry new ways of communicating. I still write out what he teaches me from his word each day, and I still post these on the internet, but even though some of them may be long to some people, they are half to a third or to a fourth of the length of some of my earlier writings.

So the writings became shorter, and some are longer or shorter than others. And then he added on writing and recording songs, which was all new to me, and then he added on writing poetry, and then he had me recording video talk devotions, and then Christian memes. So these are all different ways of communicating which may reach a wider audience than when I was just writing out my times of devotion with the Lord each day. So no compromise of truth or righteousness, just different ways of communicating with people.

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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Looking through the looking glass,
Everything is backwards.
Hate is love and love is hate,
And truth not really matters.

Live in dreamland all you want,
The real world, what is that?
Fantasy, oh fantasy,
Fiction now indeed is fact.

Logic, reason, what are those?
Needed not, I suppose.
Make it up and go along,
Play a tune and sing a song.

Who needs truth when lies abound?
Genuine is not found.
Tell a story, do a trick,
Now with others you will click.

World you live in not okay?
So, make it what you want.
Alternate good and evil,
Play with sin, play with devil.

Rhymes and rhythms? What’s up?
Rules and rules, had enough?
Want your freedom? So why wait?
Follow flesh and follow fate.

An Original Work / July 5, 2022

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

When you read through the Scriptures, have you ever noticed how often this subject is talked about? Have you ever noticed how sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality are at the top of most of the lists of sins? In the New Testament alone, immorality is mentioned 32 times, sexual immorality 31 times, impurity 9 times, and sensuality 8 times (at least in the ESV version). And sexual immorality is mentioned 7 times in the book of 1 Corinthians and 9 times in the book of Revelation.

Now, I know this is not a subject most people want to hear about or talk about, but it is probably the number one sin infecting and impacting the church, marriages, families, and other relationships today, including or most importantly people’s relationships with God and with their spouses and children. And it is probably the number one sin destroying the church today and people’s lives and their futures and their relationships with Jesus Christ. And so, unpleasant as it may seem, it needs to be addressed.

Now sexual immorality is not just physical. It begins in the mind first, it is entertained in the mind, and then it is acted out in various ways. And it isn’t confined only to the act of sexual relations between two people not married to each other. For Jesus said that to look at another lustfully is to commit adultery with that person in one’s heart (Matthew 5:27-28). And adultery is mentioned 20 times in the New Testament. And this can include the viewing of sexually explicit videos and movies and what goes along with that.

Now, if we are married, this sin is not just against our spouses, but it is against the Lord and our marriage relationship to him, too. For when we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given and God-persuaded faith in him, we are married to Christ, but much like the Jewish marriage of old where the couple get engaged, which is a contractual marriage, but to where their union is not consummated until the groom goes and prepares a place for them and then he comes and takes his bride to be with him.

So, we are not only to be faithful to our spouses and to not commit adultery against them in any fashion, even if just in the mind, but as followers of Christ we are to be faithful to our Lord and to not commit adultery against him, which is more than just through sexual immorality, but through all willful, deliberate, and habitual acts of rebellion against him and against his commands. For we are to have purity of relationship not only with our spouses but also with the Lord in our marriage relationship to him.

Now, it isn’t only that those who behave in such a manner as this are committing adultery against the Lord and against their spouses, but that they are uniting in mind and/or in body with a prostitute, with what is sexually promiscuous, and for his or her own sinful pleasure. This is one of the most selfish sinful acts there is, in my opinion, for it is not only thinking only of self, but it totally disregards how one’s sins will impact all other relationships, especially those with God and with spouse.

And we can’t be one with Christ and with spouse and be one with “the prostitute” at the same time. And I don’t mean necessarily a literal person who prostitutes himself or herself for money, but all acts of sexual immorality which separate us from our relationships with God and with spouse, in which one commits adultery via the mind and/or the body. You can’t be “one flesh” with your spouse if you are regularly committing adultery against him or her via sexual immorality in its various forms.

For when we marry our spouses and when we marry the Lord, by genuine faith in him, we become one with them, if, indeed, we are not already in the act of being one with “the prostitute,” i.e. the “other lover,” whatever that may entail. For both our marriage to spouse and our marriage to Christ are a lifetime commitment of sobriety, moral purity, faithfulness, honesty and a love relationship that surpasses all other love relationships in our lives. And God knows if our commitment is genuine or not.

And then it says here that we are to flee from sexual immorality, for every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Not only is sexual sin against one’s spouse and against the Lord, both of whom we are to be married in the purity of relationship, but it is sin against one’s own body, too, which can be done and have its effect in many different ways. And for one, because our bodies are to be for the Lord and for our spouses and not for selfish sensual pleasures.

And the problem does come in when one considers one’s own body as solely for him or for her without regard for God, and without regard for spouse or for whoever else may be affected by one’s own selfish and greedy acts of sexual immorality. But as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, our bodies belong to the Lord, and we are to be those who honor God with our bodies in more ways than just with being morally pure, too. For our bodies are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, for we are not our own. We were bought with the price of Christ’s blood. So we are to honor Christ with our bodies.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Sometimes the Lord puts in my mind a secular song which is a prayer of a man pleading for the life of a young man, that God would let him live. And we need to be those who are praying to God for the lives of those who are wandering far from the Lord, and who are trapped in sexual addiction and all other sinfully addictive behaviors which are destroying their relationships with God and with other humans who they are sinning against. And we should be praying that God will bring them home to himself so they will live.

Bring Him Home

By Alain Boublil / Claude Michel Schonberg / Herbert Kretzmer

God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there…

You can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die, let me die
Let him live
Bring him home

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Guys, the Mark of the Beast is:



Yes, this a a dumb joke, but when I was overseas a few summers ago, I saw this car rental logo everywhere.

MICAH 5:6-6:8

”and the remnant of Jacob shall be among many peoples….” thus, begins the Prophet Micah’s message. We can witness this account today. In every nation of this modern world, we see the Jewish people. In almost every large city, there are Jewish neighborhoods, communities, Jewish Community Centers,

The mission of Israel in the diaspora was to be a “light unto the nations” The nations thousands of years ago were dwelling in idolatry; the worship of pagan deities permeated their lives. Israel’s mission was to “introduce the worship and love of “One God” Adonai-Elohim, yet even in Israel idolatry was to be found, Elohim would have to “cut off” the worship of graven images, witchcraft, Asherim, etc.,

” Oh, my people, what have I done to thee?” (6:3) Adonai has a right to ask this question. Did HE not take them out of Egypt? Bring them into a new land, He was to be their king, yet they fell into idol worship.

”and what does the LORD require of thee? Only to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God” (6:8)

And that is what it is all about, If Yeshua loved mercy, did what was just and right, and lived a humble lifestyle, shouldn’t we do the same? Following in HIS footsteps is a meaningful goal in our lives.

LUKE 22:1-71


The final and last day of Yeshua on earth is here. He is celebrating the Passover with his disciples. This is very meaningful as it illustrates what the “bread and the wine” symbolize.

” This is my body which is being given to you” “The cup is the New Covenant ratified by my blood which is being poured out for you”.

During the time of Passover and every time we take communion, which is like a “mini Passover” we are reminded of our Messiah, who was beaten, whipped, torn apart, spat upon, and nailed to a cross, all because HE loved us SO MUCH. He, God in the flesh, loved his creation, a once sinless creation, but became flawed by sin, and wanted a new relationship once again. The Matzah which is marked by little holes, illustrates the nail holes, and he hung by those nails until his life paid our sin debt in full.

The first Passover in Egypt only consisted of unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and roasted lamb, symbolizing "Yeshua the Bread of Life", "Yeshua the Sacrifice Lamb" who paid the bitter price of sin (bitter herbs) Yet today, we have added elements, the Haroseth (a sweet mixture of raisins, nuts, dates, etc) and parsley. The "Sweetness of Salvation (Yeshuah) and the celebration in the Springtime.

The New Covenant is ratified, by HIS BLOOD, the blood of bulls, sheep, and goats did NOT, and NEVER did have the power to remove sin, the animal sacrifices only SYMBOLIZED what Yeshua would do in the future.

That is why the New Covenant is better, because the blood of Yeshua, symbolized by the wine we drink, had and has the power to forgive and atone for the sin of mankind. Man, only has to ACCEPT this sacrifice in a personal way, only then, can Messiah’s death on the cross benefit the person. So, if you have never accepted Yeshua as Messiah and LORD, do it now!

Is it required of Christians in their religion to wear offensive shirts? If it isn't, I don't see how this is problematic. "We reserve the right to refuse service" is still a generally held notion in any service-oriented business.

Meet up went well this morning but asking for prayers to continue please.

Spiritual Jew said:

I am 100% certain that both believers and unbelievers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so do with that info what you will.

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Are you willing to bet your future treasure on it? Please observe that this is the question of the current OP.

Joseph G said:

1Tonne,

Me again. I haven't felt good about our last exchange, and have spent some time pondering and praying about it. The Lord has made me aware of something...

In my zeal to defend my and other's ministries, I ridiculed you and yours. No matter how good an argument I thought I had, doing so was not called for and wrong. It was a definite case of plank/splinter syndrome. I apologize and ask for your forgiveness.

The truth is I don't really care how you conduct your ministry. If you, and I, feel peace with God that we are operating within His will, and especially if God allows us a glimpse now and then at the fruits of our labors,.then that is all the affirmation we need.

My prayer for all of us is that we all continually bear in mind just how the Apostle Paul was able to maintain his humilty (other than sporting a thorn in the flesh) even while bearing much fruit:

Galatians 1:10 NIV

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 NIV

" This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God."

If we adopt this attitude of Paul's then we will be freed to encourage each other in our unique ministries and maintain unity and peace amongst the brotherhood.

Praying that God will richly bless your and all of our ministries.

God bless!

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Thanks for that Joseph. It takes courage to say what you have just said. All forgiven. God Bless.

Back in 2020, I didn't vote for either Trump or Biden. I wrote in Pete Buttigieg for Pres., and Ill. senator Tammy Duckworth for VP. I'm glad VP Harris is now the likely Democratic candidate. We need fresh faces and futuristic ideas. Which I don't see coming from Republicans, who would try to reestablish the bad old days of the 50s and early 60s. I hope Kamala will choose someone like Sec. Buttigieg or Sen. Duckworth as her running mate.

okay said:

I don’t agree. You can't just make up new meanings for words. With this new meaning, everyone is a heretic.

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Heresy can be defined as: propagating one's own desires and beliefs and claiming them as truth instead of agreeing with, desiring, and believing God's word, which is absolute truth.

It is absolute truth that only God can determine what conduct/behavior is sin. God has given us His word on what He considers sin. All sin is wicked and rebellion toward God. Homosexual behavior is sin and wicked and rebellion toward God.

Homosexuals believe and claim that God created them as homosexuals. However, the Bible clearly labels homosexual behavior as sin. If the Christian believes the claims that homosexuals make, they are rejecting the truth of God's word in favor of lies of homosexuals.

Therefore, it is heresy for Christians to believe the lies that homosexuals claim as truth.

That's fair. I do not consider most "gender affirming" surgeries medically necessary, and don't think anyone under the age of 18 should do transgender treatment because they are still minors and their brains are still developing.

RileyG said:

Also Acts 10 & 11 is also good.

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Yeah, I just checked that out on Reddit.

Sorry I work a lot so I don't get a chance to reply that oft, I am focusing on teen music and kids music right now. I guess you would classify my stuff on spotify as Christian rock, kind of bluesy and my other album is kind of similar to praise rock from the 90s, I do make praise and worship music but for right now it's just on Youtube and I haven't released on other platforms yet. Login to view embedded media

Roman57 said:

If you assume that it was figurative, then your explanation is one theory on what it could be. But my question is: how do you know it is figurative rather than literal? Maybe Paul was talking about something that literally looks like thorn in the flesh, such as cancer?

The fact that he also talks about persecution doesn't negate the possibility of thorn in the flesh being literal. Maybe he has two separate problems: one is the persecution and the other is physical thorn in the flesh (maybe cancer?)

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It was either 2 Cor 12:7 and 8 , OR it was in Gal 6:11 !!

Orb 1 Cor 4:9-13 !!

dan p

Chrystal-J said:

Middle eastern Catholics come to my church once a year and sell items they carved from pine wood. I always try to buy something.

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The items are very beautiful. I wish I had more space.

Michie said:

Lol! True. But people seem to thrive on all this political drama so why not?

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Political drama is one thing; Claiming what God does or does not do without a scriptural basis is quite another.

All things are in God's hands and nothing happens outside of His will. Those who don't want to acknowledge that God spared Trump because they dislike Trump seem to be assuming that this would indicate God is pleased with him. That's something very close to prosperity theology and what Job's friends believed. I don't know God's opinion of Trump. I do know it was His will to spare Trump because He did.

Was it then His will to allow Uvalde to happen? I think we have to say yes, God permitted it to happen. Some are going to find that offensive. That God allows evil at times is something I have a hard time dealing with, and many has been the time I've prayed with a heavy heart "You are God." We don't understand God's will unless He reveals it. There have been times I've prayed "Your will be done" and have been scared of what His will may be, because what faith I have is small.

Just like 99.9% of the people whom are aware of this church burning down to the ground, I am very thankful that God spared the lives of anyone who was still inside that church. From other news sources, I seem to recall that there were very few, if any, serious injuries from the smoke and fire. If this fire would have started just a couple of hourse earlier, I remember that there were kids inside the building with Bible teachers for Vacation Bible Study. I am also pleased that Donald Trump reached out and communicated to Pastor Robert Jeffress of this historic church there in Dallas, Texas.

ARBITER01 said:

Paul is talking about offices and ministries in 12:29-30

Not everyone will have a ministry of corporate speaking in tongues, but all who are filled should be able to pray in tongues, etc.

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Absolutely

Yet prior to that incident. God did instruct Moses to strike the Rock.

essentialsaltes said:

Ignoring voters, Arizona approves nation’s largest school voucher scheme

In 2018, the voters of Arizona made clear how they felt about a plan to use public money to fund private education: They voted against it, or as Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts described it: “Actually, they didn’t just reject it. They stoned the thing, then they tossed it into the street and ran over it. Then they backed up and ran over it again.”

Despite the nearly 2-to-1 rejection, the Republican-dominated Arizona legislature has just approved the nation’s largest school voucher scheme, one that makes every Arizona student eligible for taxpayer-supplied funds to attend private and religious schools as well for online education, home schooling, tutors, etc.

One thing missing from the legislation: any kind of accountability that would let the public know what the schools getting the voucher money are actually doing. Yes, students entering the voucher program would have to take a national standardized test annually — but the state won’t see the scores, and unless a particular school has at least 50 voucher students attending, parents can’t see even aggregate scores. That doesn’t worry House Majority Leader Ben Toma, the bill’s prime mover, who said accountability would come from parents who “know what’s best for their children.” [presumably using a form of parental ESP to determine how good a school is]

State Sen. Christine Marsh (D) tried to add accountability measures to the legislation last week but failed. According to 12 News, she wanted amendments that would have required private schools taking in students with vouchers to do things such as check the fingerprints of employees and implement academic standards and testing.

[They don't currently require background checks at private schools?!?]

There's also some read between the lines stuff about how Arizona has some of the lowest per pupil spending in the public schools. They've been throttling the public schools off, trying to choke them to death. But now they will raise the spending caps to help make these vouchers bigger.

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The AZ population has sued the legislature in the past. I won't be surprised if there is not a concerted effort to sue regarding this.

This is a prime example of the idiocy in the AZ legislature which is controlled by Republicans:

Gary King suspects he knows how the state will recoup the runaway costs from its botched subsidy program for alternative-fuel vehicles: his wallet.

"We're all going to have to pay for this one," said the planning consultant from suburban Chandler as he stood in an absentee voting line Monday.

Instead of cleaning Arizona's air, the program has backfired, sullying the state's Republican Party, blemishing the governor's record and leaving many residents fuming.

Approved this year by the Legislature, the expanded program offered people large incentives to use cars that run on so-called clean fuels, such as natural gas or propane.

It proved unexpectedly popular: So many residents rushed to take advantage of the tax breaks offered by the state that the program's costs have spiraled nearly out of control.

Thousands of Arizonans poured into dealerships to buy or convert an estimated 22,000 vehicles, pushing the cost of the program to an estimated $483 million. It was supposed to cost about $3 million when legislators passed it earlier this year.

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There was a similar issue with charter schools when they were set up. There were folks whose only post graduation education was a training program to run a McDonald's or no education at all buying buildings on state money, starting a charter school with untrained teachers and then folding as the school did badly - but they got to keep the building that the state bought!

Deblee said:

Alex- If you are searching for the truth with no preconceived agenda, God will honor your search by leading you to the answer. But it may take awhile. However, if you get the answer, please post it, because I'm wondering about that myself, lol!

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Thank you. It might take a while. All that I know is that the Catholic and Orthodox faith are thousands of years old.

concretecamper said:

Christianity, Catholic, same thing

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So you believe that Christianity and Catholic , is the same thing ?

Be glad to see a verse , please ??

danp

Sword of the Lord said:

Democrats are the real threat to democracy. Not only did they literally steal the 2020 election, but they've pulled this stunt. They've known all along that Joe was neither fit for office nor for reelection. The Dems hid this fact with the help of the media. People with eyes and ears knew the truth, though. They waited until after Joe embarrassed himself in the debate against Trump in front of the whole country before admitting it. This was intentional. They wanted the man the people nominated to be removed so they could nominate whoever they wanted to without a vote. Typical Dems.

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Well said and well written.