My cursive is one of those that is "pretty hard to read". When I was younger it was a lot neater, but as I get older it gets worse. My English grammar and vocabulary aren't too bad, but I much prefer using a word processor to writing in longhand.

I think I've inherited my father's genes in this regard. My mother said his hand writing reminded her of bird tracks on sand, and mine is about the same.

Former Opiate Addict said:

Charles Spurgeon ........ Laziness in Devotional Life: Spurgeon confessed that, like many Christians, he occasionally struggled with laziness in his own devotional life. Despite his intense devotion to ministry and his study of Scripture, he acknowledged that there were times when he was not as diligent as he should have been in prayer and personal worship.

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Indeed, our relationship with the Lord is not determined by subtle rules such as devotional time. Whether we pray much or little does not matter to Him. Even if you only pray when facing problems, you are still keeping faith. Or even if one hardly prays, but still continues to believe in God, He is still there for you. This does not mean that we pray as little as possible, but the point is God does not set a prayer or Bible-reading standard for us to follow.

Why didn’t the apostles say that we should pray and read the Scriptures daily? I believe that this would give us a false sense of being right with the Lord. It would set a false legalistic standard.

Ask Christians today whether they read the Scriptures or pray often, and most of them will say something to this effect: Not as much as they would like to. At church, we are told to pray and read the Bible often. Although the intention is good, however, there is a flip side: Many of us feel guilty that we don’t. Quite a few try to revive their devotional time, but only to stop again when they are busy, or when they are weary from their daily chores, or when their effort doesn’t seem to make a difference (which is usually the main reason). In the end, they let it be, not knowing what to do about it – and live with a residue of guilt and uncertainty, thinking that they are missing something important in their walk with God.

Many of us equated Joshua 1:8 to studying the Scriptures daily or often: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” But after reading the Scriptures often, we lose interest due to boredom, lack of motivation or lack of time etc. We should understand what the prophet was really saying in the light of the circumstances (context again). When he told them to “… meditate on [the Law] and be careful to do everything written in it”, he was saying that they must follow the commandments, keep away from idols and be allegiant towards God. Back then, after years of conquests, the Israelites had settled in the land. However, they would still be susceptible to influence of idolatry because the pagan nations around them worshipped foreign gods. Knowing the danger, Joshua urged them to keep God’s laws and statutes in their heart and soul at all times – this is what Joshua 1:8 means in context. Today, this is equivalent to being the light and salt of the earth. Surely we can practice Christlikeness from our heart and mind without having to read the Bible constantly.

Former Opiate Addict said:

Despite these struggles, Spurgeon consistently pointed to the grace and mercy of God as the solution. He relied on the forgiveness offered through Christ and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. His willingness to admit his own weaknesses and sins only magnified the message of God's grace, showing that even the greatest servants of God are in need of His mercy.

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I used to read the Scriptures often. But a few years later, I questioned the reasons for this practice. Am I trying to show God that I am faithful or pious? I believe He does not need me to do so. Or is it necessary for keeping faith? No, faith is in me if I continue to believe in Him after redemption. I also observed that I was reading similar topics about Christian living over and over again from devotional guides, and not growing in biblical knowledge.

God accepts children with different characters and personalities, whether we are pious or less so. Some believers pray more to feel closer to God, while many only pray when they go to church on weekends. Some believers tend to worry about losing their salvation if they don’t pray – if you have such doubts, then pray to reassure yourself, even though you are already redeemed. Usually, a born-again Christians will not just pray once a year – even though it is acceptable to God if they still continue to believe. And there are also believers that do not have much to say during prayer, or may not even know what to say; I have been at Christian meetings where some pray eloquently while others don’t, but God is with all of us when we keep faith.

- Adapted from 'Understanding prayer, Faith and God's Will' by Roman Ri

Michie said:

Pope Francis’ prayer intentions for the coming year 2025.

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We beseech Thee, hear us, O Lord.

Now, from a biblical perspective, we cannot take this first verse (v. 12) in any which way that we want. For this has to agree with the character and will and purpose of God for our lives, as followers of Christ. So this cannot include anything sinful, anything immoral, anything wicked. This cannot be fleshly or anything contrary to the will of God. And I say this because we live in a very twisted generation when so many things are being distorted.

But even if something good is intended by this, this is not about “you do for me” and so I have to “do back to you” whatever you did for me. For example, you baked me a cake. That doesn’t mean I then have to bake you a cake. The whole point of this is that we should treat others like we hope others will treat us, but all according to the will and purpose of God and not in any way worldly, fleshly, ungodly, and immoral, but what gives God glory.

Now one of the most important things that we, as followers of Christ, should be doing for others is sharing with them the truth of the gospel, and not these diluted and altered “gospel” messages being spread so widely today, but the message that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught. We should be telling them that the way to Christ is via us dying with him to sin and now walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, by his grace.

For faith in Jesus Christ, that is of God, does not come from within ourselves. We don’t get to decide what that faith looks like. God does. And his word teaches that faith, which is genuine, results in us dying with him to sin and now walking (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands. For if sin is still what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, then we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

For entering by the “narrow gate” is the way that is hard, but it is the only way that leads to life in Christ Jesus and to eternal life with God. So, why is it hard? Because it requires that we deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and that we follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. 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 God.

The way that is narrow is also restricted, and it has rules that we must follow. Yes! We still have rules to follow, even under the New Covenant. They are God’s moral laws which remained in place even after God did away with the Old Covenant and he brought us under the New Covenant. For death to sin and obedience to God are still required under the NC. We cannot be saved and have eternal life with God if we do not die to sin and obey God.

But the narrow way is also hard because it goes against the sin nature, and because it is contrary to society and to the world. And so we are going to be opposed by Satan and by his messengers and by many people who are still living in sin. And if we are serious about our walks of faith we may even be opposed by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ who are more worldly and who have bought into the altered gospel message. And that hurts.

But the wide path is the way that is easy because it makes no requirements for death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord, and this is the path that the majority are taking, even perhaps the majority of those who call themselves Christians and who profess Jesus as their Savior. For multitudes are receiving and accepting an altered gospel which gives the impression that we can profess faith in Jesus once and now we are guaranteed heaven.

So, don’t take the way that is easy, which does not require of you death to sin and walks of obedience to the Lord. For that will land you in hell, not in heaven. It may be the way that most people are going, but it is the way that leads to destruction and death, not to life eternal with God. So take the way of the cross, instead, and deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, and you will have eternal life in him.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Your New Life

An Original Work / May 15, 2014
Based off the Gospels

Go and make disciples of peoples,
Teaching them to obey their Savior.
Do not fear, but go where He sends you.
Tell them all of what you have heard.

The kingdom of God now is upon you.
Come, and follow Jesus, your Lord.
He will make you fishers of man.

If the people Jesus desire,
They must die to sin and to self-life.
If they want to hold on to their lives
They will lose them forevermore.

Surely you heard that coming to Christ
Means a new life in Jesus, your Lord.
Follow Christ wherever He leads.

Love the Lord with all of your heart, and
Love your neighbors as you would yourself.
Preach the gospel to all the nations.
Do not worry what you will say.

Proclaim the freedom for all the captives.
Share the light with all who are blind.
You are ministers of our God.

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Abbreviations: [NC=New Covenant; OC=Old Covenant; NT=New Testament; OT=Old Testament]

chevyontheriver said:

We probably only have a few trillion ways to make a healthy human being.

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Only!

AI says "trillions to quadrilions or more". Still quite impossible to even imagine...

How many ways are there to make a healthy human being (DNA viable variations)?

The number of possible viable DNA variations for a healthy human being is staggeringly large due to the complexity of genetic inheritance and the vast combinatorial possibilities involved. Here's an overview:

1. Chromosomal combinations from parents:​

• Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, one set inherited from each parent. During the formation of gametes (sperm and egg), chromosomes undergo recombination and independent assortment.
• Each parent can produce 2232^{23}223 (about 8.4 million) unique combinations of their chromosomes.
• Combining gametes from both parents results in 223×223=70×10122^{23} \times 2^{23} = 70 \times 10^{12}223×223=70×1012 potential combinations of parental chromosomes.

2. Genetic recombination:​

• During meiosis, homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material, creating further genetic diversity. The number of possible outcomes from recombination adds another layer of complexity but isn't easily quantifiable in a precise number.

3. Mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs):​

• The human genome has about 3 billion base pairs, and there are millions of locations where variations (mutations or SNPs) can occur.
• Most of these variations are neutral or have no significant impact on health, while a subset can contribute to health, disease resistance, or susceptibility.
• Considering viable mutations, the number of healthy combinations is vast but constrained by the need for functional proteins and non-harmful genetic changes.

4. Epigenetic factors:​

• Environmental and epigenetic factors influence gene expression and contribute to phenotypic diversity. These factors aren't directly genetic but add layers of variability in health and traits.

5. Constraints on "healthy":​

• Many genetic variations lead to non-viable or disease states, reducing the pool of "healthy" possibilities. However, the human genome is robust, with redundancy and mechanisms to compensate for many deleterious mutations.

Rough Estimate of Viable Variations:​

While it's impossible to calculate precisely, estimates of viable genetic combinations for healthy humans range in the trillions to quadrillions or more when considering recombination, mutations, and SNPs. The number is effectively infinite in practical terms, given the limits of computation and the complexity of genetic interactions.

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Why was a tiny ghost asked to join a cricket team?

Because a little spirit was needed.

Tartagrades.

Gregory Thompson said:

Hitler must've escaped in a UFO with Elvis in such a scenario ...

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Dunno so much;

Fantine said:

No, on the job training. Sorry.

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You're good.

There's no need to apologize.

I'm, however, a little confused.

The article had nothing to do with the riot on the capitol.

Rather it was all about the transition?

Maybe I'm not understanding you?

edit: ahhh, I see. Thanks for clarifying.

keras said:

Get it right! The Abomination of Desolation, that is when the beast sits in the new Temple, 2 Thess 2:4, will be about 2030, The Return; 2033

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No - you get it right! I'm following the work of the Lord's Humble Servant! Who are you to challenge him?

And I quote, from paragraph 10,000 of the Lord's Humble Servant's first volume of online works,


By what authority do you dare challenge this man's work!? Ashamed as I am to admit it now - I did doubt the Lord's Humble Servant - and shared this with him. He spaketh the following unto me - even me!


And when I did question-eth about the times, he did explain at great length-eth, which I summarise below as:-

“2020 AD + 9.5 = 2029.5 AD Exactly 2000 years for the present Church age”
The Day of the Lord is at Hand for all the Nations

That means the AOD is most assuredly to be seen in January 2026.
The Lord's Humble Servant has spake it.
It cannot be unspaken.
(Nudge nudge wink wink)

keras said:

What a weird and wacky view of the world now and the end times!

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Says the guy who inserts thousands of years into Matt 24 & 25 and 2 Peter and 1 Thess and 2 Thess - you know - whenever you need to to maintain the Sci-Fi story you're writing!

keras said:

[please do not make me apply Matthew 7:6 to you]

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No Keras - don't do it!
Pleaaaaase don't Matthew 7:6 me!
PLLEAAAASE! I'll be good!
I PROMISE I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!!!!!!!

Ok - can we dispense with the melodrama and superior mountain guru routine?
Who are you to Matthew 7:6 anyone?
Seriously - 12 months Keras - tik tok!

Thanks for contributing your junior high creative writing essay - but it's not really the topic.

1. Have you double-checked the tone of your writing - it's 'voice'? It sounds like it should start with "Once upon a time."

2. Then there's the insulting implication that God created the human race solely to watch him judge angels one day - and not because he wanted to create us out of his overflowing love and generosity to new creatures.

3. Your argument that Israel must be re-gathered today is unjustifiable from your verses selected through eisegesis. Remember - ancient Israel and Judah were spread out to the nations under Assyria and Babylon. But then anyone remotely identifying with Israel and Judah could have returned under the Persians thousands of years ago!

4. Then Jesus arrives and the gospel totally transforms the very idea of who God's people are. By the time the Romans crush Jerusalem and destroy the temple in AD 70 - ideas of 'national Israel' are so over-abundantly fulfilled - with the gospel shooting out into all the world as we see in Acts - that we can finally see how Abraham's descendant would bless all the nations. Jesus said "my kingdom is not of this world" and he meant it. The saving Christian message has transformed and continues to transform the world.

But now - back to eschatology.

There are serious questions you have failed to address:-

It's not my fault you've made this ridiculous separation of 'fire' from the Return of the Lord and split the last day up like swiss cheese, and so cannot even read 2 Peter 3 correctly.

It's not my fault you pretentiously associated the 'correctness' of your position with your vision - like you were some modern day Joseph Smith!

It's not my fault your original timetable collapsed under the irrepressible weight of years passing and there being no visible sign of the temple in Jerusalem by Jan 2026!

So Keras - how long does it take to build a temple? Or wait - this is the miracle temple that flies down from heaven? If God's going to go that far - why not just end it all and have Judgement Day and the Return of the Lord all in one go as he said in the clearer parts of the bible?

Yeshua HaDerekh said:

Why do you keep posting outdated and false information (that article is from 2012)? The Khazarian hypothesis has already been proven false in relation to Ashkenazi origins. "Modern Jew" DNA is also Sephardic and Mizrahi. Regarding DNA, well yeah Jews and Arabs are both related from Abraham. What is your agenda here?

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Even more interesting than the stuff TIMEWERX just laid out. Thank you for straightening things out here .

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

What annoys me more is the Christians who defend the free speech of pornographers. The first step in mitigating the vile influence of porn is to put restrictions on it and hamper it's access, especially to children. I hate how porn affected me and millions of other men growing up.

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Amen!

That’s not surprising

Romans 8:

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

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I am writing from personal experiences: The Spirit inspires us to groan. Ellicott explained:

When the Christian’s prayers are too deep and too intense for words, when they are rather a sigh heaved from the heart than any formal utterance, then we may know that they are prompted by the Spirit Himself. It is He who is praying to God for us.

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‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own. ‭

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When we are suffering, overwhelmed, and weak, our understanding is limited, and our words can feel inadequate. The indwelling Spirit steps in to intercede for us with spiritual groanings. They transcend human language and express the deepest longings of our hearts in alignment with God’s will.

ozso said:

They better check under the sofa cushions for cocaine baggies while they're at it.

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The drug sniffing dogs might be kept very busy.

timothyu said:

???

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I think she’s referring to the Bidens.

Praying the Catholic faith will increase throughout the Nordic countries

ozso said:

Well since you ask, we know that protestors against Trump like to set things on fire:

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Peacefully. They do it peacefully...
.

Democrats always accuse the opposition of exactly what they are doing. They are artisans in the trade.

The context of this passage of Scripture is found in the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 10. The Lord had sent Moses to deliver his people Israel from captivity in Egypt and then they ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. But God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – was with them, and he provided for them. But with most of them God was not pleased, for they were engaged in idolatry, revelry, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, and grumbling and complaining against God.

And so those who continued in their sins, in rebellion against the Lord, died in the wilderness, and they did not get to go into the Promised Land, and they did not get to enter into God’s eternal rest (salvation from sin and eternal life with God). And these thing took place as examples to us that we might not desire evil as they did and end up with the same result. And so these things were written down for us for our instruction so that we will learn that deliberate and habitual sin will not land us in heaven with God.

So we are to flee from idolatry. We are to flee temptation to sin against the Lord and habitual sin and disobedience to our Lord. And idolatry is anything in our lives which supersedes God as our Lord and Master and which puts other humans or things of the flesh in place of God or as more important than serving the Lord Jesus with our lives in walks of obedience to him in holy living. For we can’t serve the devil and serve the Lord, too. So if sin is our practice, and not obedience, we are of Satan. We are not of God.

And the communion we take is representative of what Jesus did for us when he died on that cross. He took our sins upon him and he put them to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die with him to sin and walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his NC commands. And if we are to come to faith in Jesus we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands. For if we follow the example of the Israelites who walked in sin, and not in obedience, we will get the same results.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Flee From Idolatry
Video Talk

January 18, 2025

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Zeal for Your House

An Original Work / August 1, 2016
Based off Jn. 2:17; Ps. 69:9

Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.
Lord, I love my times with You.
I love to worship You and sing Your praises.
Time in Your Word brings me closer to You,
List’ning to You speaking to me,
Gently guiding me in truth.

Lord, You are my life’s example,
Showing me how I should live.
I love to walk with You where’er You lead me.
No greater joy have I when serving You.
Loving, giving, resting in Your strength,
I’m yielding to Your will.

Zeal for Your house, it consumes me.
See the church turned upside down:
Marketing ventures taking place of worship,
Men of the gospel turning into clowns.
Gospel message made appealing,
So the world will feel at home.

Lord, we need a great revival.
Turn their hearts, Lord, back to You.
Open the blind eyes, turn them all from darkness,
Lord, to the light. May they return to You,
Turn from their sin, forsake idols,
Be restored to God again.

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Lord, may You bless everyone involved in this situation, even those who are in the wrong. Send forth Your peace and Your wisdom to all parties, and I ask that You bring the situation to a conclusion that is ultimately pleasing to You, and beneficial to everyone involved. Amen.

Always in His Presence said:

CNN settles defamation lawsuit over Afghanistan report​

The settlement was announced just four hours after a Florida jury had found the network liable for defamation and awarded Young $5 million for lost business opportunities as well as pain and suffering. The jury also had found Young deserving of punitive damages and was expected to deliver a verdict later Friday on how much the network would have to pay.

5 million for lost business - then punitive to come -

Looks like CNN lost.

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Settlements usually are finalized “deals”, the story make it sound as if there’s still jury-involvement (which means there’s still wiggle room, thus “not-yet-a-’deal’.”)

Trump spoke to NBC News' Kristen Welker in an exclusive phone interview Saturday, discussing his plans on what to do about the popular social media app.

Continued below.

Hi dear sister Sue. Upon. reading your wonderful poem, the most dear Spirit of Christ put onto my soul Revelation 3:15-21, where our most gentle, most brave and most glorius Lord God, Jesus Christ, speaks to the church of the Laodiceans. He is certainly speaking to me. I cover all the bases in my Christian walk but I'm lukewarm which is worse than being cold!??? No fair, I would say in my soul.(Yea, I've heard of commentators interpreting the verses using the way water was transmitted to the citizens of Laodicea. But the Lord Jesus simply is trying to get our attention!)
This is one of the strangest passages in the New Testament- but still true in its simplest reading without needing to know about Laodicea's aquaducts.
Most of the following is to the youth who are peering in from the web:

The Most Beautiful and Kindest Lord Jesus actually says to the Christians (me!) in the passage:
"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."

A friend of mine has read that passage several times to me-I now realize by the prompting of the Spirit. That is a shocking passage. My Christian friend would also say, "We have to get out of our comfort zone!" I would then mumble under my breath, "Who does my friend think he is- Apostle Paul?"

Why does our most beloved, all-loving, gentle Savior, Lord Jesus, say that to some Christians and I? I'll try to answer from the text a little later.

Christ Jesus was scourged, even ripped apart by metal-tipped whips until parts of his intestines shown and then crucified (btw" The Passion of the Christ" film underrepresents the brutality that God the Son ,Jesus of Nazareth, underwent because of his, and our Great Father God's love for the world: John 3:16 .)
I greatly hope my non-Christian friends across the worldwide web consider that salvation is a free gift, Romans 5:18 ; yet like any gift offered by anyone, God will not force salvation on anyone. You, dear non-Christian friends have to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord God and savior, to accept the priceless gift of eternal salvation. It is the only smart choice; once you die, it will be too late.

Oh, I see that some of our non-Christian friends don't think Christianity is logical? Even the discoverer of gravity, Sir Isaac Newton stated that logic is not enough to figure out reality.
Albert Einstein firmly said he was not an atheist.

In fact Einstein stated that evangelical Trinitarian Christian, James Clerk Maxwell founded/started the modern era of physics/science.
James Clerk Maxwell and the Christian Proposition- a bit about our Christian bro from the best tech university

So back to the question as to why our beloved, sweetest Lord God Jesus- who willingly got smashed repeatedly in the face by rod-wielding muscular men, then ripped into shreads by metal-tipped whips, nailed by10 inch nails and then his Cross slammed into the ground hard, for you and I, for all and any on earth who will accept the amazing, infinite gift of eternal salvation- would say he would vomit out of his mouth some in his church, including me?

I'll answer In the next post, 'cause I got grab a bite. I really appreciate you all reading this-thanks a lot! And thank you sister Sue.

I love you so much our Great Father God, and Lord Almighty Jesus, and Holy Spirit! Please help me love you even more and more each and every minute! Please dear Lord Jesus also give my love to my beloved girlfriend, who is with you in heaven! I will love you forever baby girl!

Isaiah 37 Miracle Proven by Stone Artifacts in London Says Renowned Professor Alan Millard. Texas high schooler cries because she's told Bible is Myth

OT event's True Images from 2700 years ago. Free for Sunday Schools, Youth studies, VBS etc. They were discovered in the proven ruins of Nineveh.