May they intercede before the throne of God for us!

Please pray for granddaughter & husband who left this morning on a 1-week mission trip to Ecuador. Their four young kids are staying with my daughter & her family.

Antique Cast Iron

Apple Sky said:

Besides playing the classical guitar, I make marionettes here are a few of them;

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Good work on your marionettes

No kinks. Schiff Mega Red (Omega 3) Krill Oil Supplements.

I pray that God would protect believers in Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and China.

Pioneer3mm said:

Agreeing with you in prayer for Turkey.
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Turkey
- 10/40 window country
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10/40 window
- regions/area in the world..where 'access to Gospel message is limited'.

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Thank you for praying for Turkey. Living in a 10/40 window country must be tough, so we are blessed to not live in those countries, but we must try to bring them to Christ.

Here is a 10/40 window for those who enjoy visuals. Most of these countries are in Northern Africa and Asia.

I pray that God will provide for you both financially and spiritually. I pray that God will show you that you have control over your relationship with Him.

Kcir said:

Welcome. I'm a newbie myself, Quick bio: 70 , married 35 years , retired since 03 to take care of wife ( confined to wheel chair/bed). I have cancer which is in stasis 6 years & had polio in 1957. I have wonderful Christian friends & Church that help me get through life via God's blessings. I will be putting my wife in a group home soon as I just can't physically do it anymore, dreading putting my wife there. Do I have issues , no one ever said life was easy .

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Are you still with us? I've been on CF for years and years, guessing at least 20 years. My dad had polio sometime during the Depression. He passed away in 2004. My husband passed away more than 10 years ago.

May God continue to give you strength.

Michie said:

Born 61 years ago into a Muslim family in Turkey, Belkız was the first daughter after two sons. As a child, she went to the mosque and read the Koran in Arabic but says she didn’t understand it. After reading books on materialist philosophy in her youth, she became an atheist at the age of 15.

Belkız (whose last name is being withheld for privacy reasons) told ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, that after graduating from university, she became a literature teacher and was constantly reading books. When she was 28 years old, she read Turan Dursun’s book “This Is Religion.” (Dursun, a former Shia Muslim and scholar who became an atheist, was murdered because of what he wrote about Islam and religion. His book criticizes religious books — mainly the Koran.)

Belkız couldn’t believe what she read so she bought a Turkish Koran and read it. The Bible was next — she bought one at the Izmir Book Fair and was invited to watch a movie at a Protestant church about the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Luke.

Continued below.

From Islam to the Church: One Turkish woman shares her story of faith

Born in Turkey, Belkiz went from practicing Islam to becoming an atheist and then discovering Catholicism after a moment with a Protestant friend.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Amen to her. God bless her for turning to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is good that she left Islam to turn to Jesus.

ViaCrucis said:

Is it acceptable to touch a woman without her consent?

-CryptoLutheran

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You have been clearly answered in post #16

Dang, right back to this nostalgia again. I struggle with my sins every day (of different kinds, as stated on some of my devotionals), but this song helps me realize that God is always there in rough moments. So therefore, I sing this song to praise the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Wolseley said:

Earthquakes; volcanoes; changes in ocean currents; wars and rumors of wars....

The latest is the appearance in California of a deep-sea fish that rarely comes to the surface; it tends to show up when tectonic activity on the ocean floor produces gases that are toxic to it, so it surfaces. The Japanese refer to it as the "doomsday fish", since it tends to appear right before major earthquakes.

MSN

www.msn.com

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Darn, that quake should not happen yet. According to the USGS, a quake of M6.0 or greater has a 99% probability of happening between 2014 and 30 years later (so, 2044):


Yep, we are nearing those End Times, cos the quakes may be increasing.

Vambram said:

As politics heat up let’s work hard to keep our perspective. I heard a song that did that for me.

It’s good to be reminded, in the midst of all the rhetoric, that we are considering a president, not a king. Jesus spent a lot of time at the beginning of his ministry reminding those he taught to seek the “Kingdom of God.”

We can’t be right with God unless we make him our King. Equally, we can’t be right with God if we seat anyone else on the throne of our lives.

Here in America, we pledge allegiance to a flag but we, as Christians, need to be careful to reserve our highest honors for our King of kings.

An election to count on.​

It isn’t difficult to discern political speech from truth these days. There isn’t a lot of decent character in politics these days, or in politicians. As I said in last week’s blog post, every candidate we vote for is imperfect just like us.

Our news will be full of election rhetoric for the next few months, but there is another election to consider as well. The apostle Paul began his letter to Titus by saying, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Titus 1:1–2).

Who are God’s “elect”? According to Colossians 3:12, the elect are God’s “chosen ones” who are “holy and dearly loved.”

We are going to elect a new president who will govern the country for a few years. The sovereign God, the King of kings, elected each Christian to become his child and live as someone who is holy and dearly loved. Shouldn’t that knowledge overwhelm us with reverent awe? That should be the perspective that carries us through this political season.

We will vote in an election. The day we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we attended the coronation of our King – now our Father in heaven.

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Amen to that, and yes, the only one with perfect character is Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. I already voted underage for Jesus, in 2013 by getting baptized in the name of Jesus at a nondenominational church, though, Jesus was in my heart a few years before that, but 2013 solidified my faith. Cos hey, we are citizens of Heaven (Phil 3:20-21).

Since having God, and especially growing closer, it has become easier to become confident in the Lord, and now I want to spread the Lord around here on this forum, and hopefully, in real life.

Bradskii said:

she doesn't share the values of the party she was meant to be representing

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She thought it was possible to disagree on certain issues without betraying values.

What she didn't realize is that there are no values in the current Democratic Party. There's no "we always stand for x".

It's very much a "today we say this, tomorrow we may say the exact opposite, it doesn't matter what you think so we don't need to debate, obey and do as we say if you want to avoid any trouble".

May God bless him and protect him!

sh3nmue said:

Before I got saved I just worked, play video games, hung out with friends, and slept. Obviously I can't do that as much anymore, I don't think God wants me to abandon these things but give them less time. So what should I do because I can only read the Bible so much before I get overwhelmed, I could talk to God but the longer I do it the more mental fog I develop (which I why I can't/find it difficult to pray in the morning) and praying for several hours as a new believer seems impossible to me so I have a decent amount of free time so what should I do?

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That's your head that gets overwhelmed by a mental fog. But your heart is starving to feed on God's word. Do your heart a favor and feed that part of you instead of neglecting it.

Feed your heart and you'll become a spiritual Schwartzenagger.

I'd suggest that since you have access to the internet, consider changing your habits by finding some videos of preaching and bible teaching to listen to. You might not fully listen at first but that's okay. It's for your heart to eat and enjoy. Think of some quiet thing to do as the video plays.

It may be that something they say will strike your interest enough that you reach for a paper and pen to write it down to say it over and over the rest of the day.

Most will say that you should read the gospel of John first, but I suggest that you read first from Ephesians or Colossians. Read four verses from each. And one verse from the gospel of John in each reading session. Do that each day at an optimal time, perhaps in the morning and early evening.

Then when your just about to drop your head on your pillow at night, pick out a verse or comment from what you read or heard that day and say it to God as a prayer and thank Him for working in you to desire His word so you can grow into a spiritual strongman.

And, consider getting a bible that is a different version than what you've got. Pick one that's different enough that you'll concentrate on the words because they're unfamiliar to you. Go to an online bible-site where they've got several different versions to read the same verse from each version they've got.

Another thing. Read outloud to yourself. When you do, your ears will pay more attention to the words your looking at.

And get some promise cards. Each box has 20 cards, one verse or promise on each card. Read one card after reading from Ephesians, Colossians and the gospel of John. (when you finish those, then start on others of the new testament).

And, find some videos that provide prayers that someone is praying and listen to them, listen in order to eventually recite them yourself. They've got them for all possible life topics so any of them could cover areas in your life.

People who say that you should use your own words in prayer are putting a direct hindrance to those like you who aren't as good at praying as those people might be and tell others to be. When they tell you to use your own words in prayer, that's like telling a spiritual toddler to drive the family car instead of relying on daddy to drive it. I'm just putting things into perspective here.
Besides I've noticed that a-lot of people ask other people to pray for them so there's not one thing wrong with listening and reciting what others pray. Over time as you get to know how to pray effectively then by all means pray using your own words. But until then pray somebody else's anointed effective prayers over your own life.

Mayor Mike Coffman of Aurora, Colorado, said the Biden-Harris border policies are to blame for the criminal gang problem that has shone a negative spotlight on his largely safe community.

Although Coffman stressed that the criminal element affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Aurora is largely isolated to specific apartment complexes and the problem doesn't affect the vast majority of the city's over 400,000 residents, he blames the federal government, in conjunction with nonprofit organizations, that decided to house a large number of Venezuelan migrants in low-income apartments in his city.

"The city of Aurora took a position early on that we were not going to participate in the migrant crisis. We were not going to provide taxpayer support, and we were not even going to be a conduit for federal dollars to come in to provide assistance," Coffman said in an interview with Fox31 Denver on Thursday.

Continued below.

1Tonne said:

I was listening to a sermon and within it, the pastor said that we do not need to be sorry when repenting. In Acts 3:19 it says, "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;" So no mention of being sorry. All we need to do is believe and turn from our sins.
I know that there are verses that say how "Godly sorrow brings about repentance", and "God desires a broken and contrite heart", but the way these verses are worded, contrition is not compulsory.

I believe we need Godly sorrow. This is like falling on the mercy of the Judge.
For instance, you had robbed a bank and then after 10 years they finally caught you and you were now before the Judge. You say to the judge without any sorrow, "Judge be lenient with me. I know I robbed the bank, but I have not done it since." The Judge is not going to be lenient. There was no sign of contrition. You were not sorry for what you had done. You are going to get the book thrown at you.
But let's say you had robbed a bank and then after 10 years they finally caught you and you were now before the Judge. You say to the judge with tears in your eyes, "I am really sorry. I know what I did was really wrong, and I wished I had never done it. It was a foolish thing to do. I am so sorry." So, you fall on the mercy of the Judge. The judge seeing your contrition will be more inclined to the possibility of a lesser sentence.

What are other people's thoughts on this? Do we need contrition? Is it a false teaching to tell others they simply need to leave their sins without any contrition?

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I think at issue here is that not everyone might have the same visceral feeling.

The Bible teaches us to repent. In turning away from sin and towards Christ and the path Christ wants us to walk, there is a very serious recognition of one's guilt; a recognition of past wrongdoing - of past wrong-think also if you will.

The Godly sorrow for what you've done in the past is shown in changing course to do what is right in the sight of God.

While in your private chamber some might cry and feel shattered, others might have a less emotional reaction - but I wouldn't imagine them any less saved.

The sign of Christ is in the changed man rather than his emotional feelings. Only God can examine the heart.

Wouldn't it be great if more Catholic theologian speak out. Not Catholic politician.

The sad truth has been that Jesus has been the point of contention in many wars in our history. Oil and water don't mix, and Jesus knew this. There was never a way that His truth was going to sit quietly with the errors of the world.

He wants there to be peace. And when everyone follows Him, there will be. But until then, there will be conflict.

Best wishes,
KT

Thanks Dave for your quick reply. But I mean what is the point to post schedule that has actually already happened? we live in New Mexico and want to go to his revival but has no way to know when he is coming.

Niels said:

Let's hope some kind of compromise can be reached. Seeing his handiwork makes me want to build one myself.

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There is a man in Colorado who built one.

Lord have mercy!