New Posts

Richard T · Tuesday at 1:14 AM

Zacki said:
I'm 68 & in average health & thought it's time I plan my funeral. I quickly hit an obstacle. My wife & I both want to be buried in her home town which is 600 miles away. We're not rich so a 1,200 mile round trip for a hearse is not an option. I chose cremation for this reason but my wife is against cremation. She's Catholic. I'm not. Has anyone here had to deal with a long distance funeral? What did you do? We can't move to her home town because we can't sell the house until we get 3 truck loads of her junk out of the house. Yes she's close to being a hoarder so we're stuck in this house until that changes. Ideas or solutions other than getting buried locally?

I like the asvice about getting rid of some stuff. 68 is young but at some point you might have some care issues to think about. For my family I have seen mistakes, mostly from trying to maintain a home when clearly the family home is not the best place. To stay in a home the longest you need no stairs, handicap accessible stuff and easy access to healthcare. Good financial planning is helpful too, like maybe avoiding a will by having beneficiaries on everyrhing and the house and car titled jointly.
I would consider natural burials that many states allow. No formaldehyde, but quickly put in the ground, some even with casket optional. So far less expensive. Its good your trying to plan and i pray you have lots of success in seeing ahead and being proactive in the things to come. God bless you and your wife.

linux.poet · Tuesday at 12:23 AM

I would start looking for rooms for rent in your area, and price that rent against the rent that you are paying your parents. Basically, you are renting a room from your parents anyway. Go to the properties and talk with the landlords, and see if you can find one who is a believer in Christ (for real). Talk to people at your local church and see if any of them have a room for rent, or know a Christian who does. Make sure that they will let you use their kitchen and mailbox on their property - that should come included with the room.

If the market price for a room is lower than what you are paying your parents and you can find a supportive Christian landlord, move out of there as quickly as you can. Take everything that you want to see again. They are unbelievers and will not support where God is leading you, and there will be more of these petty disputes. You don't want items that are valuable or useful to you in their hands.

2 Corinthians 6:14 said:
Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?

(This verse is commonly applied to marriage, but this frequently applies to business arrangements as well like landlord/tenant. Your obedience to this Scripture is more important than your giving to your church.)

If the market price for a room for rent is more than what you are paying your parents, reduce your church giving, and put it toward the house fund. In this case, you will need to do another set of math. Take the prices for homes in your area, and the number that you currently have in your house savings account. Do the math with that number as a down payment and calculate the mortgage payment for each options that appeal to you. Next, add up the total cost of ownership for each of those options. That would include property taxes, repair estimates, insurance, and utilities. (You may also want to take a homeowner training course, psst, they have those. Learn what you're getting yourself into.)

Next, increase your down payment until the total monthly cost of ownership of your intended house is lower than the rent you are paying your parents. If that is too high no matter what, do another calculation where you increase your down payment until the mortgage payment is less than what you are paying your parents. At that point, you might as well put that money into your house instead of losing it to Mom and Dad.

Next, calculate your total current savings rate per month, subtract your current amount of money in the bank, and, based on your current rate of saving, calculate the number of months that it will take for you to get your house money. Then give yourself at least 6 months for house hunting time, since you're employed.

Write it down as a formal statement: I am saving for a house. I am earning X income per month and I am saving Y. At my current rate of saving, it will take me Z months (or years) to earn the money for the house. I expect to move out of this house in A months/ years.

Then take it your parents and tell them. Just rip the Band-Aid off. You'll find out what their real intentions are soon enough. If they are merely interested in your success, you'll get a smile and a pat on the back for being financially responsible. Maybe you'll even get your rent money back. If there is some negative spiritual interest behind this, you just told them that you're not going to put up with it. Your relationship with God is important to you. The statement will bring the truth to the surface, and you'll know what's really behind this.

Cases:

1. If Y number is proportionately low and Z is really high (like 10 years) you probably will need to evaluate your savings rate, whether it can be increased by cutting out frivolous purchases or looking for cheaper or even free options like OfferUp or thrift stores. You may also want to evaluate your choice of house, can you find a less expensive one? Maybe the house savings idea is not a good one, and you just need to rent an apartment and get out of there. Maybe you need to look for an opportunity to increase your income.

God may want you to do what your parents do not want you to do. If you delay following God's lead, you will just suffer. Frankly, it's just painful anyway when God leads you to something that your parents don't approve of, but if it's your parents versus God, God always wins. Look for God's provision and His guidance on how He wants you to move forward. He has brought this problem into your life for a reason, and His solution to it may not be what you want.

At this point, I don't want you to be frightened, but I do want you to get more clarity on your situation and understand how bad it truly is. One of my friends got thrown out of his unbeliever parents house onto the street and his mom got him fired from his job through repeated slanderous phone calls to his workplace. He's still living out of his car. And your parents, who are unbelievers, have already expressed hostility to your Christian faith and threatened to increase your rent. I don't want you to end up in his situation. You're far better off renting and giving up the house forever than ending up like him, so evaluate how bad your situation truly is and pray for wisdom and discernment as to what to do. And while you're at it, make sure your car is paid off, you have the clear title to it, and that you don't have a loan on it before you do anything having to do with the house, because that could turn your situation into a nightmare if you get kicked out unexpectedly.

Bottom line: Get out of there. But do it intelligently.

RabbiJames · Tuesday at 12:01 AM

Bible study portions “Matot v’ Masei” (Tribes and Journeys of)

Numbers 30:1-32:42, 33:1-36:13

We need to be careful when making “vows.” Adonai takes seriously “promises” that we make, especially using “His” Holy Name (YHVH). We might have said in times before words like: “I swear to God that I’ll…or… “I promise that I’ll” …or … “Next week by this time, I’ll…! But how do you know that you will still be in the land of the living by next week to fulfill your promise? We take “making promises too lightly”.

If we remember the Israelite “Yephtah” who, upon winning a war against Israel’s enemies, “vowed a vow and said, “Whatever comes out first from my house to meet me, I will offer it up as a burnt offering”. I am sure that he was probably thinking of some animal, be it a lamb or a goat, yet when he got home, his only “daughter” came out to meet him. The WORD of God says he “kept” his vow, yet how can we imagine that God would accept a human sacrifice? The WORD does not say, but there is a possibility that he DID offer up his daughter, yet not as a burnt offering, but perhaps a servant to the Levites in the Tabernacle,

What did Yeshua say about vows? “Let our YES be YES, and NO, be NO” without more words. We might have good intentions, yet only the LORD manages our time on earth. If we say that we will do something, and we use God’s name, and we end up NOT doing it, we will have taken HIS HOLY NAME in vain. So, what words can we say when we want to do something, without “vowing”.

”If God permits, I will try to…” or “I am not sure if I can, but I will try to…” These words seem better, because they leave the option “if God permits”. We can make plans for the future, but the future is always in the hands of Adonai.

In this study, we look at a woman vs a man making and keeping vows. If the woman is married, then, as long as the husband agrees to the vow, it is OK, and she must make it good; however, if he doesn’t agree to the vow, then the vow that the woman makes is annulled. The same thing if the woman is under her father’s roof (or tent). If the father agrees, all is well; if not, all is NOT well, the vow is nullified.

How do we take this today? When making vows or promises, and really, it is better NOT to promise, but if so, it should first be discussed between the husband and wife, or between father and daughter, and an agreement reached, whether or not such promise, vow, or decision is to be made. It is good to serve Adonai and be involved in ministry, but it should be agreed upon when it involves families.

Chapter 32 deals with the settlement of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh in Gilead, on the east side of the Jordan River. Was it a bad thing that they settled on that side? Moshe thought that if they built shelters for their children, wives, and cattle first and then joined the other tribes to conquer the land of Canaan, then, after the wars and conquest, they could go back to their families.

In Chapter 32:17. We see a glimpse of Messiah Yeshua (Remez) in this verse: "We will go armed and go with our brethren." One of the Hebrew words here is "Chushim" (to hurry with joy). There are 4 Hebrew letters: "Chet, Shin, Yod, Mem." These same letters rearranged spell "Mashiach" (Messiah), and our hope is that "Messiah Yeshua" will return quickly, hurriedly, and with joy. Our hope is also to deepen our relationship with our Messiah and LORD, since He is coming back quickly.

When we see the land of Israel and then look around at the other nations, many more Jews are living “outside” of the land of Israel than “inside”. Even though continents and oceans may separate believers, we are all united by one FAITH and ONE HOPE. We are all part of the Olive Tree.

Chapters 34 to the end of Numbers deal with the journeys of the Israelites during their time in the desert up to the death of Moshe. They journeyed to many different places, yet ALWAYS guided by the RUACH ELOHIM (God’s Spirit). We also journey a lot in our lives. One could say that our lives can be considered “journeys and stops” perhaps there are 8 different journeys and stops, the journey of “childhood” which enters later “adolescence” then goes to “young-adulthood” then to “education and career” then to “marriage and family” then to “Senior-adulthood” then to “retirement and rest” then to “eternal rest and Shalom” at death. Each can be a “journey,” but are we letting Adonai lead us during these journeys? Or are we doing our “own thing?”

The Book of Numbers ends with: “These are the commandments and the ordinances which YHVH commanded to B’nei Yisrael through Moshe in the Plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho”

Thus, we see that ALL the Torah commandments come from Adonai, the first Ten being spoken directly to the People of Israel, and the rest, through Moses to the people. The Torah leads us all to a knowledge of Yeshua, to accept Him as our Savior and LORD, through faith and faith ONLY.

“Masei” (journeys) A Torah Midrash over NUMBERS 33:1-36:13

” Masei” or “journeys” or “stages” in some translations, describes the encampments of the Israelites starting in “Mitzraim” (Egypt) which comes from the root word “Mtzr” or “m’tzar” meaning “restricted” and ending at last in the promised land, giving the division of the land of Canaan between the different the tribes of Israel.

In Numbers 33:1,2 it reads, “These were the wanderings of B’nei Israel who went out of the land of Egypt under the leadership of Moshe and Aaron. Moshe recorded their DEPARTURES, stage by stage as directed by YHVH; and these are the stages of their DEPARTURES.

We see in these 2 verses that the word “departures” is mentioned twice, once at the beginning of the verse, and then at the end. One way we can look at this is that we can either look back to where we came from, or we can look forward to where we are going, or both! We can say “we departed from… or we can say; “We departed towards…”

It is important to remember where we come from, how we were raised, perhaps even our shortcomings, our mistakes, yet NOT to DWELL ON THEM! But concentrate on what the LORD has ahead for us, our goals, family goals, work goals, and ministry goals. Don’t let our lives in Egypt depress us, let's look forward to our land of Promise.

We can’t just look at this from a superficial view, saying, “Well, so what, they traveled here and there, and they finally made it home, they would have made it a lot sooner if they hadn’t complained so much! I mean, they listened to the spies, etc.”. We need to look into the moral, spiritual, and symbolic. It is much more than just “going from place to place physically.”

They started out “restricted” to a place called “Egypt.” What was restricted? Their FREEDOM! They were surrounded by pagan idolatry; they couldn’t leave! Because they were slaves to Pharaoh. It took the power of Adonai-Elohim the great I AM-YHVH, to get them out using his chosen servant Moshe.

They left on the 15th of Nisan, the morning after Passover. The Word says they left with a “high hand” in some translations, “Boldness” with all “confidence” “fearless” with “valor”. It is interesting that the word “Masei” in Hebrew is spelled, “mem, samech, ayin, yod.” If we could see this word in the ancient Hebrew spelling, the symbols would look like, “water, leaning on a short staff, an eye, and a hand connected to the arm.”
So, what could this word symbolize? What does “journeys” mean? Well, here is one idea: the “multitudes march forward, leaning on the staff in sight of the hand!” huh? OK, sooo what does THAT mean? Look at it this way, Moshe led the way; he walked with a staff, as was the custom of all leaders back then. The people kept Moses in sight, and as he leaned on his staff, they followed. The “hand” leans on the “staff,” but who gave Moshe the staff? It was YHVH!

As they journeyed, they kept YHVH in sight! The staff also symbolizes leadership; we lean on HIS leadership, and we have the “hand” in our sight, the “hands” that were pierced with the nails on Calvary. “Journeys” are not only physical, but also spiritual!

The Israelites left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and now, they left “restrictions” behind. The sacrificed lambs of Passover symbolized Yeshua, the sacrificial lamb, who conquered the curse of sin and death, of HaSatan. Now they are on their way to a new life, just as we begin a new journey starting from the cross of Calvary. The Israelites experienced “bitter waters” at Marah, yet they experienced an oasis at Elim. We experience both bitter times and times of “refreshing cool waters”. Good times and bad times are part of our wanderings, or “life’s journeys”

They encamped at Mt Sinai to receive the Torah, to become officially united as a nation. “Am Echad b’Elohim” (One united People of God). We receive Yeshua as our Messiah and LORD, and we receive his WORD, his Torah, to guide us through the “wilderness of life”.

Then comes a list of all the places where they stopped, camped, and continued when the Glory Cloud lifted. All these stopping places took place during a period of 40 years. The number “40” symbolizes “testing.” The LORD was “trying, testing” his people. At each place they stopped,
they learned new things, and they experienced the sacrificial offerings once the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was fully erected. Yes, they complained, and Adonai chastised, yet forgave his children. He was with them all through the 40 years of journeys, and He brought them into the promised land through their new leader “Yehoshua,” who took Moshe’s place.

Our journeys through life will take us to many “stops” and “settlements”, one might consider a “new job” a kind of “Stopping to settle down for a while”, just like moving from “house to house” or “apartment to apartment” or “mobile home to mobile home”. Another “journey” in life is the “marriage journey”; then there are the “childhood, adolescence, teenage, young adult, middle age, and Senior” journeys. In each journey, we learn and experience different things, “bitter waters” as well as “refreshing new waters,” all the time being led by “the LIVING WATER!

There will be enemies to fight, the worst kind being “spiritual enemies from the Kingdom of Darkness” who will put traps in our way, stumbling blocks, bad attitudes, issues, carnality, etc. But all these are part of the journey of life. Aaron’s journey lasted 123 years. Methuselah’s journey lasted 969 years, while Abel’s journey was very short; maybe his journey ended when he was a teen. Enoch’s journey lasted 300 years.

We know not how long our journey will last, it is in God’s hands. What is important is that we learn from our experiences during our “stops” along the way, especially the “education stops.” Education is a lifelong process; it should continue all throughout our days. We have our secular education and our Torah education. Sometimes there are conflicts between them, and we must adjust our ways to the TORAH ways, not the other way around.

The last stop is the “Canaan” stop, “death” is our trip across the Jordan River that will bring us to the River of Life in the World to Come, In the New Jerusalem, we will receive our share of our inheritance, issued out to us by Our LORD and Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach, (Jesus the Christ) Then, in the New Jerusalem, begins our “new journey” which will never end.

How can we imagine a journey without end? We really can’t, not with finite minds. “Time,” as we know it will be meaningless. Perhaps 100 years on earth will be like 10 seconds in heaven. As Elohim says, “One day is likened unto a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day”

As we physically journey from place to place, remember that we are also “journeying” spiritually, being guided (hopefully) by God’s WORD, through His Holy Spirit. May you prosper in your journeys through life.

Richard T · Monday at 11:47 PM

ralliann said:
Angels are God's messengers. Angels are sent by God to deliver messages from God.

Yes, the are ministering spirits too sent from God to do all kinds of things to help Christians. I think they help more than we know. But of course we worship God and not angels.

Richard T · Monday at 11:40 PM

JSRG said:
I read that more as them speaking rhetorically than necessarily it being the specific reason.

The issue in terms of unnecessary tax burden is due to the pope being head of a foreign government. It feels very odd to expect taxes from someone who's leader of another country. How does one even try to enforce taxation when the person in question presumably has complete diplomatic immunity?

As for the reason why they would single out the pope for this, it's the first time to my knowledge someone became leader of another country while being an American citizen. So it makes sense to apply it specifically to the case where it's actually relevant.

But there is also the fact that Vatican City is a very different country from everything else in terms of how citizenship works. No one acquires their citizenship there at birth (I'm pretty sure every other country in the world grants citizenship at birth). Only one person--the pope--has permanent citizenship there. And due to the way papal elections work, people can be elected to it even if they haven't stepped in the country for years prior to their elections, which is implausible for essentially all other countries.

I was curious to see how this applied to previous popes. The fairly close relationship between Vatican City and Italy probably meant the Italian-born popes after the foundation of Vatican City didn't have to worry about these issues, but John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis were from Poland, Germany, and Argentina respectively.

According to this article:

Even as pope, Leo XIV might have to deal with U.S. tax returns

Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected pontiff, must answer to at least one more higher power: the IRS. The United States generally requires all citizens to file an annual tax return, even those who live out of the country. But assuming he doesn’t renounce his U.S. citizenship, Leo - born in the...

www.yahoo.com

Leo’s situation differs from that of other popes in recent memory, because many countries do not assess taxes on citizens living abroad. “Recent popes from Poland, Germany and Argentina were not taxed by their home countries,” said Jared Walczak, a vice president of the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, who called the first American pope’s accounting situation “uncharted.”

So it seems this wasn't an issue for them, because they just weren't being taxed due to being outside of their home country. The US, however, taxes citizens even when they're out of it, and it isn't just a matter of simple income that taxes apply to (the article goes on to give various other possible examples).

I doubt paying taxes would actually be an issue for him financially, but having a foreign head of state paying taxes to the US seems like it could cause potential complications that it might be prudent to avoid by exempting him (though alternatively, he could relinquish his citizenship). I wonder if there has been any attempt to do something about this in regards to Peru? He is a citizen of that also, and as the linked article notes, Peru "also taxes full-year residents on all of their worldwide income."

Thanks for all the diligent info on this unusual and interesting case.

caffeinated.hermit · Monday at 11:32 PM

@St_Worm2 Thanks for your research and help! If / when I can get a hold of a copy, I'll write back and let folks know what I think.

Zceptre · Monday at 11:02 PM

The Liturgist said:
That’s just a variant on acrostics.

Which Masoretic Text manuscript did Missler base his findings on?

Found the document. After quickly scanning it I found the man who made the findings. I'm not sure which script he used, but will try to ascertain that information as I continue researching in the future.

If you want to try to find it out before I do, his name is Michael Ber Weissmandl, a Czechoslavakian mathematical prodigy.

TruthInLight · Monday at 9:54 PM

Fervent said:
I don't believe we can nail it down, as it seems our primary recourse is speculation.

Sure we can.

I present you chapter 26 of Leviticus. Verses 14-18, 21, 23-24, and 27-28 tells you what God does when people walk contrary to him. See/read the whole chapter to have a good idea and understanding of it.

People partaking in things with God ought to walk with God and try to be in right standing with God. The issue with King Saul and what went on with him is that he walked contrary to God. That is what I deduce about this.

rjs330 · Monday at 9:33 PM

BCP1928 said:
No just to poke fun at someone for obvious hypocrisy.

Ah.. that makes sense. And if its true he does deserve to be made fun of. He also deserves to be fired in my opinion. If indeed he was watching porn or some such on government equipment he should be let go. I'm sure there are policies against such things.

The Barbarian · Monday at 8:47 PM

Michie said:
The only problem is the statistic is wrong, likely by an order of magnitude. Even more, the science community has known that it is wrong for a while now, and new methods of comparing the genomes of humans and great apes show just how genetically different the two are. In fact, the cited 1% to 2% difference hasn’t really been defensible in years.

It depends on what you are measuring. Single-copy DNA says about 98.5% similar.
But if you look at duplications, insertions and deletions, it's closer to 95%.
The point is, no matter what you measure, you get the same result: humans and chimps are more closely related to each other, than either is to any other organism.

And that's what counts. The orthogenetic diagram of monkey to man was never an accepted scientific theory. It was a cartoon, a misreading of what the evidence really shows.

Michie · Monday at 8:44 PM

Pope Francis was known for using colorful images from daily life in his homilies and speeches — just like Jesus did. One vivid example comes from a conversation he had with fellow Jesuits on his September 2022 visit to Kazakhstan. His confreres asked him what was on his heart, and this led him to speak about prayer of intercession and the attitude we should have in prayer.

According to Pope Francis, we need to “arm wrestle” with God, “knocking at the heart of the Lord.”

But he also told the Jesuits that in prayer, we have to “be normal.”

The pope liked to use the word boldness in regard to prayer, and he had a Scriptural basis for it: If Abraham could argue God down from 50 to 10 — the number of innocent people for whom he’d spare the city of Sodom (Gn 18:20-32) — shouldn’t we also approach God with boldness? “Ask, ask, ask,” the pope told his brothers. “Arm wrestle.”

Jesus used several illustrations to invite us to this boldness.

“Because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me” (Lk 18:5).

“Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him” (Mt 7:9-11).

Perhaps boldness in prayer is a lesson we have yet to learn.

Continued below.

Martha's bad rap makes us miss her valuable lesson

It's easy to overlook the lesson Martha teaches us: to bring our whole, honest selves to Jesus, including our feelings and frustrations.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

Sif · Monday at 8:27 PM

Isacc Asimov's Foundation series, at least the original three books (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation).

Christsfreeservant · Monday at 8:16 PM

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.” (Philippians 3:12-16 NASB1995)

When we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and we die with him to sin, by faith in Jesus, and we are raised with Christ to now walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness, we are “born again” of the Spirit of God. The old life of sin we once lived is now to be done away with. And now we are to walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living, and no longer for the sinful pleasures of the flesh, by the grace of God.

But we do not then become instantly perfect in every way. In fact, we won’t be entirely perfect until Jesus takes us to be with him for eternity and we are no longer living in these flesh bodies on this earth. For salvation from sin is a lifelong process. We are saved (past), we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns for his bride, but providing that we have continued in walks of obedience to our Lord and not in making sin our practice. For if sin is our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matthew 10:22; John 8:31-32; John 15:1-12; Romans 8:24; Romans 11:17-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Hebrews 3:6,14-15; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5,9; 2 Peter 1:5-11; 1 John 2:24-25]

But the word “perfect” means “reaching the end-stage, i.e. working through the entire process (stages) to reach the final phase (conclusion).” It means “reaching the end (aim)” (source: Bible Hub). Another word for it is “consummate,” which means “complete.” Consummation also refers to “the first act of sexual intercourse between a husband and wife after their wedding ceremony” (Google AI).

The biblical marriage for the Jews involved an engagement period, which was a binding marriage contract. So, biblically they were regarded as husband and wife. But then the husband would go and prepare a place for he and his wife to live together. And then he would come and get her, and there would be a ceremony, and then they would consummate their marriage. And our marriage to Christ is like that. For..

We are in a covenant of marriage relationship with Christ, by God-persuaded faith in the Lord. He is our husband, and we are his bride, and he has gone to prepare a place for us. And one day he will return and he will take us to be with him, at which time our marriage to him will be consummated, and our salvation will be complete (perfect, consummated). In the meanwhile we are in the process of becoming perfect, and of becoming more like Christ in character, and of growing in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord.

Yet, lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for continued deliberate and habitual sin and for willful walks of disobedience to God. And the Scriptures make it clear, even the teachings of Paul, that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we will not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But we are still clay in the hands of The Potter, being molded into the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, provided that we cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives in yielding to his control.

So, the point here is that the Christian life is a life-long process of sanctification where, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are being made to be more and more like Jesus. But this requires that we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, to do his will, and to follow him in obedience, and to not ignore his commands, and to not continue in deliberate and habitual sin. We should be daily growing to maturity in Christ, learning more about our Lord and what he requires of us, while dedicating more and more of our lives to his service.

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

My Sheep

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

Login to view embedded media
The Upward Call of God
An Original Work / July 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

joymercy · Monday at 7:40 PM

lemon slicer

joymercy · Monday at 7:39 PM

fries

RileyG · Monday at 7:31 PM

That’s pretty neat!

eclipsenow · Monday at 7:07 PM

Gregory Thompson said:
View attachment 367815
Silly Memes.

Yes - an oldie - but a goodie.

As the massive heat differential between the equator and north pole reduces, apparently the jet stream is not as firmly locked in place. A warming planet with complex oceanic and atmospheric head distribution and wind systems has weird side effects. The jet stream wobbles. Arctic air gets dumped over North America much later in winter than it used to. A warming world can appear to have some 'cold spots'. To which the climate scientists say:-

More at Mother Jones

Why the Arctic is drunk right now

The odd relationship between the warming Arctic and extreme cold weather.

www.motherjones.com

RileyG · Monday at 6:35 PM

FoundinGrace7 said:
Please pray for healing of an inflamed tendon that seems to not be healing thank you for praying

Lord, have mercy on this mother. Restore her to full health and strength and protect her. This I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen!

RileyG · Monday at 6:35 PM

Lord, blessed and praise to you forever! Have mercy on Jane, heal her in body, soul, and spirit and give her perseverance. Take away all her anxiety and distress. This I ask in your holy name, Amen!

RileyG · Monday at 6:32 PM

Sadly, many men force their partner to abort their child because they don't want to become a father or pay child support.

Real men (and women) protect the unborn.

Planned Parenthood et al should be ashamed of themselves!

PatrickTate · Monday at 5:48 PM

Dan Perez said:
And the Hebrew word Grave is , Kever. < and just google it !!

DAN P

Thank you for that but I thought that we were talking about the Abode of the dead?

Sheol, abode of the dead in the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament). The term can be interpreted to mean either the literal place in which dead people are placed (i.e., in the ground) or the ancient world's concept of the afterlife as a subterranean “land of gloom and deep darkness” (Book of Job 10:21)

FutureAndAHope · Monday at 5:42 PM

headphones777 said:
I have been on this Christian faith journey (half-heartedly) for like 12 years now. I am still struggling with lust. Currently I feel weighed down by my problems, by my sins, by my past and by the hopeless & meaningless life I am living. I believe in Christ, but I am very wounded in my soul and heart and my relationship with Him is very dysfunctional because I have OCD with blasphemous thoughts that started last year. Last year was terrible for me and many spiritual things happened however I've lost the ability to interpret them, I think I have a darkened understanding. Nothing in my life seems to make any sense whatsoever. Only a few years back I was a young man full of ambitions and grand visions, yet seemingly I was punished for this by life, God, or evil spirits? And my own mistakes broke me completely. I also fear because the girl of my dreams will probably never be mine because of the things that happened last year. I am working with two Christians for my full deliverance and healing. One of them, a priest, told me he thinks I was cursed and he prescribed what I need to do to break the curse and be delivered. I've had spiritual visions that would indicate this as well. The doctors told me I have schizophrenia and I have been hospitalized 7 times as well as severe self-harm. I also have bodily problems that do not have any healing or resolution (I've tried literally every doctor), and there is no progress at all in my life, just unemployment and doctor's visits. What I need is a breakthrough in all areas in my life: spiritual healing, bodily healing, mental healing, relationship healing, deliverance, financial breakthrough, etc. But why did God make these things so unattainable for me? It's like it's far out of reach. Sometimes I think my enemies did this to me (those who hate me without reason) because it's like my life is too bad if you compare it to just the average Joe. I have committed very many sexual sins in the past too (but I confessed almost all of them), in my despair and in the meaninglessness of my life I gave myself to different women. I am sick of this life and of all of my problems that I cannot seem to resolve. I have become double-minded too. If the problem really is a malfunctioning brain chemistry, why must I suffer with this for the rest of my life, with no remedy for this condition except for death, even when I pray for healing? Why can't I be healed like Jesus healed the sick people in the Gospels? There is a lot of history here too. I go to the Catholic Church but it's like I don't feel the Holy Spirit there. I am sick of being the person who I am, it's like I should have become another person but something just threw a wrench in my own (or God's) plans for me.

God is for you. But you have entered a sin cycle. This can occurs through choices we make, or things forced on us.

Everytime we sin, it gives satan access to our lives. This is highly uncomfortable. It can lead to hearing voices, feelings of emotional torment.

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

Rom 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

The only way to escape the cycle is to force yourself to stop sinning. I say force because you need to be forceful. I have experienced this cycle before, and forceful declaration of God's promises gave me victory.

Jas 4:7-10 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

You must recognise that God has forgiven all of your past sin, and today, wants to give you power over it, and over every demon associated with the sin. They will not surrender easily, but know God wants you clean today.

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