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What would you do differently?

I want to thank you for posting this and sharing. Thinking about your question has caused me a great deal of introspection. The answer to this posts question came easily to me, but the answer also made me realize there are things I need to work harder on.

There are many many many things I would do differently, and many times I lament, "Ah, I wish I could do school over again. I would focus so much more on studying and my grades. I'd do X, Y and Z, and focus on..." because I believe doing that would have put me in a better position than I'm in right now and align better with the goals I have now in life.

I know the thing I most wish I could go back and change is something I'm not sure was a completely conscious single or big decision, but a great series of small decisions for one purpose. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from allowing my heart and mind to harden.

I believe it's become the greatest detriment to my life as a whole. I've made a great deal of mistakes, and a great deal of bad decisions. But the moment I can say I'm the most proud of, over all my accomplishments thus far, is one where I was small and felt powerless and weak, riddled with fear, standing in terror to the point of physically trembling and balling my eyes out, and despite all of that, I chose an action of love knowing it would bring me immense pain. I think back on that moment quite often and realize that was who I was. People in my life who've known me forever speak of the me I can barely remember now, and what they say about that me makes me realize that what I considered the most weak and pathetic me was actually the most brave, most powerful, and most wonderful me that has yet been.

The way people talk about me now (which isn't bad) always makes me feel bad. I'm not sure I can describe the 'bad' feeling well... Hmm... Like, sometimes it feels good? Like a bad, selfish pride kind of good? One that feels more vain than anything worth anything and when I think about it after I feel disgust with myself? Sometimes, it just makes me uncomfortable and I brush it off. And then sometimes, it just feels bad, to the point where I think 'that's not really something to brag about, I don't like that'. And I think it's because I know what people are actually complimenting isn't me; they're complementing the walls of the prison I built after I arrested my own heart and mind and sentenced them to life without parole.

At some point though, I must have decided that that me made me too weak to survive, and as I result, I hardened myself. But now, I look back and realize that the strongest me, the best me, was the me that was fragile and kind. The me that, on the first day my brother went to kindergarten, sat on the stairs refusing to eat, or drink, or move from that spot, crying and staring out the window because I just missed him so much and wanted him to come back home. The me whose heart hurt watching other people be sad and wanting to make them feel better, even if they were mean to me. The me that was too stupid to stop trying when things were hard or difficult. 'The weakest and most pathetic person in the whole world' <- My past words and thoughts to myself.

I often pray to God to re-soften my heart and mind, to let me go back to that weak and pathetic little me, and I believe God patiently answers that prayer every day. Every day, he gives me the opportunity to do just that. Every single day. And almost every day, it's like I forget that I asked for it and put on my wardens uniform and pace in front of that prison door, making sure it's locked up niiice and tight.

The wildest part is, I know that me is still here! I know I don't have to go back in time and 'change it' or 'fix it'. I can go back to that right now. I know I 'can'. I can feel it. It's riiiight there. And yet...

But! If I could go back and change one thing, it would be that. Because going back and making sure I never built that prison in the first place feels like it would be SO much easier than putting a key (that I have in my hand at this very moment) into a door (that is directly in front of me) right now. Hm... It's something I think I need to work on more diligently. I now imagine God just smiling and shaking his head (in that loving way where someone is doing something really stupid, but you still love them) every night I'm laying in bed going, "Father, please... :sob:" --- :sweatsmile:
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Puritan Pub (2)

I understand that it is the original writings from which we have the Bible that are the inspired words from the Spirit of God. Copies themselves, and translations are not the inspired words themselves and are reliable only where they are faithful to what was originally given. It is not always easy to tell in all cases. It would help us to know where differences in manuscripts have become known, that would be some of it, as some change isn't known still. There is some change in certain places still suspected anyway. Numbers in the Hebrew text were quite subject to being copied wrong, and being misunderstood along the way. Otherwise you get a case of a son of a king who would then be king after him born when the father was eleven, and other strange numerical cases. How many died in the plague that came when Israelite men joined with Midianite women, in Numbers 25:9? Twenty-four thousand? Really? I see numbers are not all reliable, as copies, but this is not saying we cannot trust doctrine from the Bible, being really inspired from God and faithfully copied.
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Tips: Good Conversation Starters

Conversation starters are helpful. But eventually people need to understand why they need a Saviour. Most of us assume we’re basically good. Scripture shows that God’s law reveals our sin, and the wages of sin is death. When someone sees that they fall short, as we all do, the cross suddenly makes sense.
After someone professes faith, it’s important to connect them with a church. Genuine faith produces a new direction of life. We won’t be perfect, but over time we grow in honouring God. A believer may struggle with sin, but they won’t be comfortable living in it. Sanctification is a lifelong work of God’s grace.
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Question to person - How do you receive God's free gift of Eternal Life?

If given a works answer or a i hope i have lived a good life, I do not know, etc..

Then i would ask would you like to know what The Bibles states. On How to receive God's free gift of Eternal Life.

If they say yes, then i simply say believe in Jesus for Eternal Life and at the very moment of belief in Jesus you receive God's permanent and free gift of Eternal Life.
Belief has actions with it. Those who simply say they believe in Jesus for Eternal Life and then continue in sin are in big trouble. They are fooling themselves. So, it is good to point out that they should desire to live in a Holy manner. The Bible says that "Those who have their hope fixed on Him, purify themselves, just as He is pure."
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God reminding us to be faithful (letting what He's done in us show) in everything that we do.

It's not about immorality but about being honest that satan is trying to deceive people and God has set us free from that deception.
"If your political theology has no room for faithful work inside imperfect institutions, you will oscillate endlessly between messianism (politics must save) and monasticism (politics must vanish). Vocation offers a third posture: serve seriously without worshipping outcomes."
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US lawmakers accuse justice department of 'inappropriately' redacting Epstein files

Have you ever done it, then? From experience in revising manuscripts, it was less than 140 pages per day, and that was manuscripts I had written. And I'd usually have to go over it again to catch what I missed the first time.
Proofreading is an art though, redacting is finding names and eliminating them.
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ICE says 2 of its officers may have lied under oath about shooting migrant in Minnesota the officers were placed on administrative leave

Agree.

..and regarding Noem's comments of the 15th (the day after the shooting), where she said...



Which now appears to be inaccurate at best.

There is also a need to get facts straight before making statements. Its something pretty much every professional organization be it LEO, military, business, science, etc usually strives to do so they don't end up looking like...well..this.

Hopefully a learning experience..
Noem has replied about several incidents making judgments before any investigation was done. It’s unprofessional
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Unpardonable Sin

The other day, I was feeling so worried with fear over the "unpardonable" sin that I took the day off of work. I worked through some things and went back to work the next day. Someone asked me if I was feeling "better". I had been afraid I might be asked something like this, because if I said I was feeling "better", and my experience had been from the Holy Spirit, it might be blaspheming to say yes. But I froze when asked this, and felt so much pressure to say something that I finally blurted out "yeah" and then went on to explain that I'm feeling more comfortable. Later I tried to clarify that I don't know if I would say that I was feeling "better", so much as feeling more comfortable.

But my fear is that I already committed the unpardonable sin. I keep thinking, if Wednesday's experience was from the Holy Spirit, but I said that Thursday was "better", isn't that blaspheming? The thing is, I thought this ahead of time and yet still said "yeah" when asked.

I started working on avoiding compulsions fairly recently, and I think my anxiety has spiked. But this one seems more difficult to dismiss.
Blasphemy (unto death-2nd death) It is not a single, careless act, but a state of permanent, continuous rebellious rejection of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit's influence, preventing repentance.
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Democrats flip open Texas state Senate seat in shock upset in district Trump won by 17 points

If we see 20 or 30 point swings across Texas, the gerrymandering backfire is going to be delicious.

‘South Texas will never be red again’: Home builders warn GOP over Trump’s immigration raids

Construction executives have held multiple meetings over the last month with the White House and Congress to discuss how immigration busts on job sites and in communities are scaring away employees, making it more expensive to build homes in a market desperate for new supply. Beyond the affordability issue, the executives made an electability argument, raising concerns to GOP leaders that support among Hispanic voters is eroding, particularly in regions that swung to Trump in 2024.

“I told [lawmakers] straight up: South Texas will never be red again,” said Mario Guerrero, the CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, a Trump voter who traveled to Washington last week.

“[Builders] started off with, ‘hey, we were all Trump supporters, and we thought he was going to secure the border and then kick out criminals, we just never thought that they were going to be coming after our folks, our workers, on that,’” [pardoned Texas Rep] Cuellar said

[WH spox response] “There is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force, and President Trump’s agenda to create jobs for American workers represents this Administration’s commitment to capitalizing on that untapped potential while delivering on our mandate to enforce our immigration laws”

The meetings this month came after Democrats crushed a Republican in a special runoff election for a state senate seat in a Trump-friendly district in Tarrant County, which includes most of Fort Worth, rattling Republicans nationally.
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Trump Cuts Refugee Admissions and Prioritizes White South Africans

South African Refugees Are Left to Fend for Themselves
Languishing in cockroach-infested apartments, walking miles to the grocery store for food, and eating just one meal a day to save money. This is life in America for some newly arrived Afrikaner refugees from South Africa.

“There were people slumped over everywhere from using fentanyl and prostitution happening on the street corners,” said a former farmer who arrived in Denver with his wife and mother in September. He told me that the nonprofit group funded by the federal government to help the family get back on their feet placed them in a moldy, dirty basement apartment in a high-crime area.

[Another one:] “I understand I am a refugee, and I am very grateful, but I can’t, in my right mind, pay to live with cockroaches.”

Sounds like some white people aren't tough enough to make it as refugees in the US even with all the handouts they receive.
I anxiously await the howls of outrage about the South African refugees thinking they deserve better than Americans. Any moment now...
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Biblical evidence Islam is the Beast

The Beast that rises out of the sea whose human name has the numerical value of six hundred and sixty-six is specifically said to be a human being.

It was Nero.
After Nero suffered a self-inflicted mortal wound (stabbing himself in the throat), rumors and gossip soon emerged that Nero hadn't really died, but that he went into hiding and would return; others thought perhaps Nero had died but that he would come back from the dead to finish what he started.

These rumors and conspiracy theories were all over the Roman world. Roman historians like Tacitus talk about this.

About this time Achaia and Asia Minor were terrified by a false report that Nero was at hand. Various rumours were current about his death; and so there were many who pretended and believed that he was still alive. The adventures and enterprises of the other pretenders I shall relate in the regular course of my work. The pretender in this case was a slave from Pontus, or, according to some accounts, a freedman from Italy, a skilful harp-player and singer, accomplishments, which, added to a resemblance in the face, gave a very deceptive plausibility to his pretensions. After attaching to himself some deserters, needy vagrants whom he bribed with great offers, he put to sea. Driven by stress of weather to the island of Cythnus, he induced certain soldiers, who were on their way from the East, to join him, and ordered others, who refused, to be executed. He also robbed the traders and armed all the most able bodied of the slaves. The centurion Sisenna, who was the bearer of the clasped right hands, the usual emblems of friendship, from the armies of Syria to the Praetorians, was assailed by him with various artifices, till he left the island secretly, and, fearing actual violence, made his escape with all haste. Thence the alarm spread far and wide, and many roused themselves at the well-known name, eager for change, and detesting the present state of things. The report was daily gaining credit when an accident put an end to it. (Tacitus, Histories, Book II)

There were several pretenders who claimed to be Nero, and while they all failed in some way, they actually garnered a lot of followers--and these reports only continued to foster rumors and fears.

While most people hated Nero, he was reviled, and after news of his death became public the people of Rome literally went out into the street to celebrate his death. That's how detestable he was.

But for Christians, in particular, Nero wasn't just a tyrant. He was a symbol of persecution, of imperial power which bore all the world's violence against the Church in the most grotesque manner imaginable.

Therefore, to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilatus, and the pernicious superstition was checked for a moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judaea, the home of the disease, but in the capital itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue. First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers⁠ were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beasts' skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night. Nero had offered his Gardens for the spectacle, and gave an exhibition in his Circus, mixing with the crowd in the habit of a charioteer, or mounted on his car. Hence, in spite of a guilt which had earned the most exemplary punishment, there arose a sentiment of pity, due to the impression that they were being sacrificed not for the welfare of the state but to the ferocity of a single man. (Tacitus, Annals, 15.44)

Here is what Eusebius tells us about the time when St. John wrote the Revelation:

Domitian, having shown great cruelty toward many, and having unjustly put to death no small number of well-born and notable men at Rome, and having without cause exiled and confiscated the property of a great many other illustrious men, finally became a successor of Nero in his hatred and enmity toward God. He was in fact the second that stirred up a persecution against us, although his father Vespasian had undertaken nothing prejudicial to us.

It is said that in this persecution the apostle and evangelist John, who was still alive, was condemned to dwell on the island of Patmos in consequence of his testimony to the divine word. Irenæus, in the fifth book of his work Against Heresies, where he discusses the number of the name of Antichrist which is given in the so-called Apocalypse of John, speaks as follows concerning him: If it were necessary for his name to be proclaimed openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the revelation. For it was seen not long ago, but almost in our own generation, at the end of the reign of Domitian. To such a degree, indeed, did the teaching of our faith flourish at that time that even those writers who were far from our religion did not hesitate to mention in their histories the persecution and the martyrdoms which took place during it. And they, indeed, accurately indicated the time. For they recorded that in the fifteenth year of Domitian Flavia Domitilla, daughter of a sister of Flavius Clement, who at that time was one of the consuls of Rome, was exiled with many others to the island of Pontia in consequence of testimony borne to Christ. (Eusebius of Caesarea, History of the Church, Book III, 17-18)

The Beast which St. John beholds in the vision is a clear reference to Nero, and the fear of Nero's return in a later emperor. Domitian, Eusebius tells us, rekindled the oppression against Christians. And that is a pattern that would continue, under emperors like Trajan who succeeded Domitian. But the worst of it would happen in the late 3rd century under the reign of Diocletian.

The Beast isn't Islam, the Beast is first and foremost Nero. But it's clear that this beast language is employed to describe Roman imperial power, where the city of Rome is described as a harlot that rides upon a beast colored the imperial crimson, she is called Babylon and is drunk on the blood of Christian martyrs.
So this is talking about something two thousand years ago in the past. Not the future. And it's not a religion, a system, an idea, a microchip, a technology. It was a literal human being who was already dead when John wrote the Revelation, but whose name and memory were still a scourge, a living memory of horrors perpetrated against the Church--horrors which didn't die, but would continue.

Because the point of the Revelation isn't about the horrors of the first century, or the horrors of future centuries. The point of the Revelation is that in spite of what we see in this fallen, broken, sinful world. In spite of the devil's rage, in spite of the way the nations conspire against the Church, in spite of all the evils of this age: Christ has already won the victory, He is risen. And He will return, and every knee will bow, for in the end all things belong to God, He will make all things new, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. So that ever suffering will become a hymn of praise, and every mourning into joyful celebration as we offer Hallelujahs forever and ever in the presence of God in His redeemed and healed world.

Jesus Christ is Lord. Not these tyrants that think they are. Jesus Christ is Lord, not the devil who roars like a dragon but is nothing but a pathetic little snake crushed under the foot of Jesus Christ.

Hell is broken.
Sin is forgiven.
Death is defeated.
Christ is Risen.
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Acts, the Mikveh & the Blood: How the Bible Defines Remission

Baptism is a regeneration not at all suggestive
Of being mandated for Salvation, its purpose
Is to remove the initial stain of sin from
Our Ancesters, Adam and Eve who sinned against God, but it has no Saving Grace by
Itself as any guarantee for Salvation.
I appreciate your heart in wanting to honor what baptism represents & I'm glad you're not treating it as a requirement for salvation.

But even the idea that baptism removes the ""initial stain"" of Adam's sin isn't something the apostles ever taught.

When Scripture speaks about the removal of sin, it always points us to Christ's blood, not water - ""without shedding of blood is no remission"" (Heb 9:22; Lev 17:11; Matt 26:28).

The apostles consistently anchor salvation, justification & regeneration in faith placed in Christ' sin atoning, sinless blood payment that washes away the stain of sin from the believers soul (Rev 1:5) & in life‑giving power of His resurrection, through which the Holy Spirit is given after Jesus was glorified (Jn 7:39) Jesus Himself baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11; Mk 1:8; Lk 3:16). No ritual is needed (Rom 3:21–26; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:5).

In the clearest narrative we have - Acts 10 - the Gentiles were saved, purified, Holy Spirit‑baptized & forever (Jn 14:16) sealed (Eph 1:13–14; Eph 4:30; 2 Cor 1:22; 2 Cor 5:5) before they were ever baptized in water (Acts 10:44–48; Acts -15:9; Acts 11:15–17).

Water baptism came afterward as a testimony — a public identification with Jesus’ death & resurrection, a commanded act of obedience & an outward expression of the inward transformation. It’s the 1st step of discipleship, not the cause of salvation.

So while I respect your sincerity, the apostolic pattern is unmistakable: sin is removed by Christ’s sacrifice, received through faith & applied by the Holy Spirit. That’s why I stand with the apostles’ teaching rather than later interpretations.
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Travel: Discovering Gothic splendor, saints and relics in Sens

Most visitors to France never look beyond Paris. That is a mistake.

Sens, a city of about 27,000 souls located some 80 miles from Charles de Gaulle Airport, was once a major center of power and religious authority. That past is evident in its cathedral, one of the earliest examples of Gothic architecture.

Sens Cathedral, formally known as St. Stephen’s Cathedral, dates to the early 12th century, when builders were beginning to move beyond the heavy mass and limited light of Romanesque architecture. The then-new Gothic pointed arch was not merely decorative; it was an engineering solution that transformed how large churches and cathedrals could be built.

What makes the cathedral especially compelling is not only its architectural importance but also its survival. The French Revolution proved catastrophic for many churches, whose interiors were stripped or repurposed. Sens escaped the worst of this destruction.

Among the survivals are four 12th-century stained-glass windows, an 18th-century choir screen, and the imposing marble mausoleum of Louis, the dauphin of France. Louis was the son of King Louis XV and the father of three future kings: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. The dauphin died before he could ascend the throne.

Continued below.

How a 200-year-old Underground Railroad stop was just discovered in New York City

The building housing the Merchant's House Museum was built in 1832.

For the first time in over a century, historians say a new stop on the Underground Railroad has been discovered, fully intact, in New York City.

The site is hidden in the Merchant's House Museum, the only 19th-century home in Manhattan with both its interior and exterior preserved.

Tucked away in the walls on the second-floor is a chest of drawers that visitors have walked past for decades. But inside one of the drawer shelves is a hidden passageway -- just barely large enough for an upright person to fit through, leading 15 feet underground.

Museum staff have known about the existence of the passageway since the 1930s. However, they were only able to officially link it to the now-iconic Underground Railroad recently, after years of research.

Continued below.

What we can learn from lovebirds, the rare birds that mate for life

Phoenix is believed to be home to the world's largest colony of rosy-faced lovebirds outside of their native Africa

PHOENIX -- Minutes after getting to a park in the middle of Phoenix, you can see flashes of green in the sky and hear chatter because love is in the air — or at least, the lovebirds are.

The small parrots are transplants from the other side of the world that are thought to be descendants of pet birds. Arizona is believed to be home to the largest colony of rosy-faced lovebirds outside southwestern Africa. They've been able to survive in a place known for sweltering weather by sticking close to humans and their air conditioning.

The lovebirds may have something to teach humans this Valentine's Day about keeping strong romantic bonds.

Rosy-faced lovebirds are originally from another arid region, the Namib Desert, which stretches from Angola, across Namibia and into South Africa. They are one of nine species of lovebirds.

Around the world, lovebirds are a popular pet. No one knows for sure how the lovebird colony started in Phoenix but they were first noticed around the city in the 1980s.

Continued below.

Four new astronauts arrive at the ISS to replace NASA's evacuated crew

The International Space Station is back to full strength with the arrival of four new astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.

SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral.

Last month’s medical evacuation was NASA’s first in 65 years of human spaceflight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty return. That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.

Moving in for eight to nine months are NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have lived up there before. During her first station visit in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk.

Adenot, a military helicopter pilot, is only the second French woman to fly in space. Hathaway is a captain in the U.S. Navy.

Continued below.

Teen who called for dad's release from ICE custody dies of cancer

Ofelia Torres, 16, was battling stage 4 cancer.

A Chicago teen who fought for her father's release from immigration detention while she was battling stage 4 cancer, has died, a representative for her family says.

Ofelia Torres died Friday at age 16, according to the family representative. The cause of death was metastatic aviolar rhabdomyosarcoma -- a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

Torres grabbed the national spotlight last fall after her undocumented father, Ruben Torres-Maldonado, was detained by immigration agents during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz." Torres posted a video on social media calling for his release, and was also interviewed on ABC News' "Nightline."

Continued below.

Fraud in State and Federal Programs and Dark Money Funding Web

Sounds like it started with no oversight by the Trump Administration. Imagine all the free money given to Billionaires by this administration.

The Trump Administration (2017–2021): The initial pandemic relief programs, such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), were signed into law under President Trump in early 2020. Because these programs prioritized speed to prevent an economic collapse, security verifications were often bypassed. It was during this time that international criminal syndicates first "learned the lesson" mentioned in the hearing—that the government was distributing massive amounts of money with very little oversight.
And Trump fired the overseers.
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The Lower Says

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:4-6 NASB1995)

As I was waking up this morning, I had this phrase in my head, “The Lower Says.” Now, sometimes the Lord speaks to me in this way, for he is leading me to a particular message he wants me to give out which is fitting with the passage of Scripture that I am reading next. Earlier this morning I covered the first 3 verses of 1 John 4 (only quoted the first verse), and verses 4-6 are what came next. And as I looked at what the word “lower” means, well, it fit perfectly. For the word “lower” can mean “debase, corrupt, deteriorated, defiled, adulterated, vile, immoral, wicked, dishonest, and sinful.”

For the “them” being referred to in verse 4 has to do with false prophets who are of the spirit of the antichrist, and not of God (see verses 1-3). They are from the world; therefore they speak (refers to says) as from the world, and the world listens to them. So they are the defiled, the corrupt, the immoral, the wicked, the dishonest, and the sinful, etc. And those who are also defiled, corrupt, immoral, wicked, and dishonest, they listen to these false teachers because they say to them what their “itching ears” want to hear, which is that God does not judge them for their sin, so they are okay.

"’Itching ears’ is a biblical idiom from 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (KJV/NIV), referring to people who avoid sound, challenging doctrine in favor of teachers who cater to their personal desires, preferences, and passions. It describes a desire for entertaining or comforting messages rather than biblical truth, often leading listeners to turn away from the gospel toward fables” (source: Google AI). Well stated! For they reject the truth in favor of the lies.

Therefore, those of us who are truly from God, via biblical and God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, should no longer be like the world. Our passions and desires should be focused on what God requires of us in heart, mind, words, and behaviors. And we should no longer be those who crave the sinful desires of the flesh. Therefore we should not be among those who are listening to these false teachers who are saying what “itching ears” want to hear rather than speaking the truth of God’s word to the people. But we should be obedient followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The Gospel According To Christ and His Apostles

Scripture Summaries

Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

For 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 wait for Jesus’ return. For 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.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

And we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.

Additional Scriptures

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

An Original Work / January 29, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


Should I Not Preach Jesus

Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13
An Original Work / July 4, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


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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The Lower Says
An Original Work / February 15, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

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