Prayer is talking to God. He is listening.

“Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all in yourself, in your way of thinking.” - Marcus Aurelius

There are two things I try to remember that generally help me get through the pain of past abuse. One, often the abuse we've gone through can end up being useful to learn from so we can comfort others who have gone through similar circumstances. Two, not everything that happens in life is God's will. People are free agents and some of them choose to do very harmful things despite the fact that God made rules against them and said that He would punish people severely for breaking those rules. (Mark 9:42, Matthew 18:6-7) God can use even the evil people commit against us for good in the end (Genesis 50:20), but that doesn't mean He planned or wanted it to happen.

Unqualified said:

Financial is apart of life and it always has trials this time of year for us. We both had melt downs, then got up to speed. We are working on each one at a time. God does provide. Besides being the beginning of sorrows he is testing our faith and trust and making them stronger. But also it is needful to know that the rapture may be near. So hold on we have a wonderful future ahead. It seems bad but our redemption draws near. And we are not children of wrath.

i pray we make it through our financial troubles Heavenly Father, and I pray you provide for everyone who needs it. Those without jobs or rent money or food please help them to live and be encouraged by seeing you have not forgotten us, nor will you. Keep us on the road and make our needs be there when we are ready. Help us trust and carry on with an attitude of prayer and be close and comforted by your presence. I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor their seed begging for bread. It is a time for rejoicing and praise for your goodness. Help us to dwell in the positive side with confidence and trust. In Jesus Name

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Thank you for your encouraging words and prayers. They were a blessing to read and came at a time when I needed the reminder to keep trusting God.

I appreciate your perspective that even through financial struggles and difficult seasons, the Lord is strengthening our faith and teaching us to depend on Him more. It is comforting to remember that God is our provider and that He has never abandoned His children.

Thank you also for praying not only for us, but for everyone who is facing hardship. Your prayer reflects Christ's love and compassion for others.

Mat 20:27 And he that will be first among you shall be your servant. 20:28 Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a redemption for many.

That is why at Holy Mass, this is said:

"Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me."

Aussie52 said:

What is prophecy in Scripture?
In very simple terms, Biblical prophecy is God speaking through a person. It is essentially Spirit inspired communication- God revealing something to a person (the prophet) who then speaks it out to others.

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Numbers 12:

6 He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.
7 “Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;
8 With him I speak mouth to mouth,
Even openly, and not in dark sayings,
And he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”

Aussie52 said:

Prophecy is to be evaluated, to test the genuineness of the prophetic word.
1. It was of God if it came to pass. Deut 18:22.
2. It should not cause people to depart from God. Deut 13:1-3.
3. Prophecy is to be judged 1 Cor 14:29, 1 Jn 4:1.

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true

Aussie52 said:

Questions to consider.

1. It is commonly taught by some that there is a difference between Old Testament Prophets and New Testament Prophets, and how they function. Can this be validated from Scripture or not?

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it is not in scripture

Aussie52 said:

2.There are many who claim to be prophets today. Is there any Scriptural proof for this claim or not?

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yes the Bible says to test the prophets to see iF what they say is of God, is true. Acts 17:11

Aussie52 said:

3. Is prophecy in the New Testament the same as the Old Testament or not?

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Same Holy Spirit, same gift of prophecy

Aussie52 said:

4. How do we view modern day so-called prophecy that often, does not come to pass, is often at variance with Scripture, and goes unjudged?

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false prophets

Aussie52 said:

5. How can the idea of modern prophecy that brings 'revelation' be reconciled with the closed canon of Scriptural revelation?

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Many prophets in both OT and NT never wrote a word of scripture.

All scripture comes from the prophetic gift, but not all with that gift write scripture , see 1 Cor 14.

Aussie52 said:

6. Is there genuine prophecy happening today or did it cease with the early church?

Please discuss your thoughts.

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happens today but rarely

Hello everyone, it's been a while, I'm posting again to give an update. I've passed my exams and am now in my 3rd year of university, thanks for your prayers, God bless you all

Paulwat said:

At work today I noticed the entire office has been covered in pride flags and banners everywhere over the walls and ceilings, even outside the building. There's even an upcoming day where everyone has to wear something rainbow coloured into work for the day and everyone must do this according to managemnet

What would you do if your workplace does this?

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Isn’t this present world supposed to be “enemy territory” for Christians?
(ETA: I’d personally draw the line at “mandatory clothing”.)

Please pray that God will make my son Jakeb feel better if it is His will and that I can hear him laugh tonight. Thank you and God bless you. I ask in the name of Jesus. Carmen.

A medical examiner has ruled the death of a Haitian asylum seeker after being released from federal custody a homicide. An attorney representing her family said he expects her relatives to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with her death.

Continued below.

In a post on social media, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route, would be "open to all" once the deal is agreed.

Pakistan, a key mediator, also said the deal was expected to be finalised within 24 hours and they were "preparing for the electronic signing".

Before Trump's comments, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei expressed caution over the timeline, saying: "We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow."

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL."

In an apparent reference to Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles, Trump said that "at the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust", adding it would later be destroyed.

Continued below.

Clare73 said:
Including what Paul was taught by him in the third heaven (Gal 1:11-12, 2 Co 12:1-9),
and what he authoritatively teaches us in Ro 13:8, that the one who loves has fulfilled the law.

HIM said:
Will not has.

Mark Quayle said:
Why would you change what the Bible says? — "has", not "will"

HIM said:

go and sin?

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I don't follow what—or maybe why—you are saying this. Did you, or did you not, change what the Bible says? If you did, what did you intend, by doing so? Don't make me guess.

In the Pentecost service our preacher reminded us that His presence with us does not need to be invited by us. Because in the Spirit He is always with us. We need to accept the gift and just get on board in obedience. Great stuff, so I thought about the various gifts of God in Jesus and spelled them out for the preacher's pleasure afterwards.
Prophecy of His coming, Incarnation, Miracle-working, Cross, Atonement, Resurrection, Ascension, Intercession, Return, Judgement, Shared Glory. All greeted with audible approval, APART FROM ONE. Silence, then slight embarassment and clear discomfort.
Because like most preachers on the rota he dislikes or certainly downplays the atonement of Christ, by which the justified anger of God towards rebellious man was turned aside in Christ's death. This wonderful truth that gives assurance of God's acceptance and love (and makes sense of all those bloody animal sacrifices in the OT) and enables us without guilt or soul-searching or insecurity to follow Him in brotherhood and in freedom.
Why is this such a stumbling block?

Delvianna said:

Great post! But I'd to add that idolatry is also putting something equal to or above God. That doesn't just mean sins in general, but can also include your spouse being an idol. A spouse becomes an idol when a person values that relationship more than God Himself. This happens when pleasing a husband or wife becomes more important than pleasing God, when fear of losing the relationship causes a person to compromise God's commands, or when their identity, security, purpose, and happiness become rooted primarily in the spouse rather than in the Lord.

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Thank you! Yes!

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 NKJV


So Much Fakery

In our world today, among so much of what is being called “Christian,” there is so much fakery, lies, false gospels, false gifts of “The Spirit,” and false teachers of “The Word.” So many people are creating their own “God” in their own minds for their own purposes. So many of them are adding on to or they are taking away from the Scriptures in order to justify their own lifestyles. And so many are falsely attributing to The Spirit of God what is not of The Spirit at all, but that which is of the flesh, and/or which is of Satan.

So we have a lot that is being done in the name of God, and in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the name of the Holy Spirit which is of the flesh and/or of the devil. So we need to know the gifts of the Spirit and how they are to be used, and we need to know the fruit of the Spirit, which includes “self-control.” So if you are being led to do something that makes you or your body do something over which you have no control, that is not of the Holy Spirit. And if what you do is contrary to the will of God, it is not of God.

But here we have another issue. Since so many people are abusing the “gifts of the Spirit” or they are creating their own “gifts,” claiming that they are of the Spirit of God, when clearly they are not, we have a group of people who are denying some of the primary gifts of the Spirit, teaching that they no longer exist. And they use some Scripture references out of context to try to prove their point, but it is not valid. For in the last days God’s daughters and sons will prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions. But we must test them.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NKJV


Discerning The Gifts

“Spiritual gifts” is clearly a controversial topic, for things which are of the Spirit of God are not always easily discerned. And so many of the gifts are being abused and misused. And I believe that is one of the reasons why a certain group of people at some point in time decided that certain gifts no longer exist, because they are not things which they can control or easily explain or discern. So many, thus, have stayed with ones which they can control, like gifts of teaching, giving, mercy, serving, and leading others.


So, we are neither to deny all which are being called “gifts of the Spirit,” nor are we to embrace everything being called “gifts of the Spirit” or “prophecy.” But honestly, I believe many people stay away from such things as these because it is so much work to test everything, to take the time to search the Scriptures to see if something is or is not of God, and to see if it contradicts the Scriptures or if it supports the teachings of God. So they “play it safe,” by just ignoring what they regard as just “too hard” to understand.

Applying This to Today

Now, what was written here in the Scriptures was during a time in history when people did not have television, radio, and the internet, like we do. So, what was written to them was to be applied to them and to the people who were in their inner circle, i.e. in their Christian fellowships. So this is not saying that we have to try to discern every “prophecy” we hear people speak in the name of Jesus if they are on television, radio, or on the internet, and if they are not in our inner circle, unless they are influencing our inner circle.

But if there is someone who is very popular among the people of my nation or in the world, and if the masses appear to be following after them and what they are teaching, and if the Lord leads me to do so, I will take the time to search out what they are teaching, and to compare it to what the Scriptures are teaching, and then to share what the Lord has taught me in the hope that it will keep at least some people from being deceived and from following after the lies, lies which might send them to hell, especially.

But please do not deny the gifts of the Spirit just because a group of people are denying them or are abusing them. The Lord gave us these gifts for a reason, that we might help one another to grow to maturity in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. In what I write each day, I am exercising, in the power of The Holy Spirit who lives within me, the gifts of God within me which I am to use for the salvation of human souls from hell and for the encouragement of the body of Christ, his church.

Gifts, Ministries, body life, Ministers of the Gospel Scriptures:

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; Romans 15:14; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-27; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

Love Never Fails

Based off 1 Corinthians 13 NIV
An Original Work / August 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

If I speak with tongues of men and angels,
But do not have love, my speech is but noise;
It sounds like thunder from above.
If I have the gift of preaching,
Knowledge, faith and prophecy,
But I do not love my brothers, oh, what vanity!
If I give all I possess to help a neighbor who’s in need,
But I do not love my sisters, I gain not a thing.

Love is patient; love is kind; it does not envy;
Is not proud. It is not rude; not self-seeking;
Selflessly gives out. Love does not delight in evil,
But rejoices with the truth; Protects always;
Hopes and trusts, and always perseveres.
Love is not easily angered; keeps no record of the wrongs.
It forgives when wrong’s intended; returns hate with love.

Love will never fail when it is God’s love
Reaching out through us, selfless in its care for others;
Yielding to the cross. Prophecies and tongues
And knowledge, wisdom, teaching, miracles,
Gifts of healing, helping others – these will all be stilled.
When perfection comes the imperfect will surely disappear.
Faith and hope and love remain; the greatest of these, love.

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Discerning The Spirits
An Original Work / June 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Master neurologists make nice money.

MONEY

If I had a personal opinion regarding Scripture that I was proud of, I would be worried about that.

When it comes to theologoumemna, as we Orthodox call theological opinions that are permissable on areas where doctrine has not been established, which I believe corresponds approximately to the Lutheran idea of Adiaphora, or to disputed points of Scripture which Roman Catholics call “Quaestiones Disputae”, I believe extreme humility is needed, and obviously in all three cases the use of this approach is strictly limited by Church Doctrine.

For example, a theologoumemnon I hold, with extreme humility, and am ready to be corrected on, that does not to my knowledge contradict any established teaching of the Orthodox Church, is that St. John the Beloved Disciple was the youngest of the Apostles, who were likely around the age of 20 on average, no older, given their profession as fisherman and life expectancy at the time, and I suspect based on our Lord holding him to comfort him during the Last Supper and making him the adoptive son of The Blessed Virgin Mary on the Cross, that he was likely somewhere between 12 and 15 years of age, old enough to be regarded as spiritually mature under Second Temple Judaism, but young enough so that the ascension of Christ and the subsequent martyrdom of his brother St. James the Great made such an arrangement ideal both for him and for the Theotokos, to ensure she would be cared for as well; additionally I also agree with the view that in doing that, our Lord was declaring the Theotokos to be the adoptive mother of all the disciples who He loves, that is to say, of the Church as a whole, but that this was done symbolically through the adoption of St. John the Theologian, who in age was the least of the brethren, and also unlike the other ten faithful disciples, St. Matthias and St. Paul, was not martyred but reposed of natural causes.

However I do not regard this opinion as salvific, I am not suggesting it be regarded as doctrinal or dogmatic, nor is it required for salvation, neither do I regard it with any pride whatsoever. If I am mistaken I would instantly accept rebuke from an Orthodox hierarch on the issue.

The Liturgist said:

Well to be fair, John Calvin also practiced Infant Baptism; the Synod of Dort, where the Five Points first appeared, likewise was not an Anabaptist synod. In the 16th century only the Anabaptists subscribed to the idea of Believer’s Baptism and were viewed unfavorably by the other Protestants and were not treated graciously, which is unfortunate; I am descended from an early Baptist pilgrim to the US, but I have also never subscribed to Baptist theology; I was baptized as an infant and I agree with Orthodox and Lutheran views on Baptism and Baptismal Regeneration.

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I agree with that, as I said above, that is a reformed position, but it is separate from Calvinism. Calvinism is strictly a soteriology theology.

However, we are somewhat off-topic. My original post was to speak to the very biased POV of the OP, who feels that people who believe they are saved again subscribe to cheap grace.

Actor Tim Allen recently opened up about the role faith has played in his life and the lessons he has learned after three decades of sobriety, and what it means to be part of the “Toy Story” movies, a franchise that has connected with multiple generations of families.

During an interview with Us Weekly, the actor and comedian said he remains amazed by the lasting appeal of "Toy Story," which debuted in 1995. The actor noted that few people involved with the original film anticipated the cultural phenomenon it would become.

“When we first saw 'Toy Story,' everybody was in the room going, 'I don't know what to make of this.' [The] powers-that-be were very unsure it would [translate]. [They] thought, 'Maybe we just go right to DVDs,'" Allen said.

Three decades later, the franchise is preparing to release its fifth installment. Allen said he was particularly struck by the film's willingness to address children's relationship with technology.

“They’re into tech, and yet they’re putting a light on their own tech,” Allen said.

At a screening of “Toy Story 5,” Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, said the room became quiet during a scene depicting children absorbed in their phones. The actor praised Pixar, calling it courageous to re-encourage kids to play."

Beyond "Toy Story," Allen has built a career that includes starring roles in the "Santa Clause" film series and the television sitcoms "Home Improvement” and "Last Man Standing.” Allen now stars in the ABC comedy series "Shifting Gears," playing the lead character Matt Parker.

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reddogs said:

AI has picked it up pretty straight forward it appears...

The Seven Last Plagues in Seventh-day Adventist Teaching​

In Seventh-day Adventist eschatology, the seven last plagues are described as the final judgments of God poured out on the unrepentant before the Second Coming of Christ. They are introduced in Revelation 15:1 and detailed in Revelation 16, symbolizing the “wrath of God” that is “filled up” (Rev. 15:1) EGW Writings+1.

Timing and Purpose​

Adventists teach that these plagues occur after the heavenly sanctuary work is completed and the final judgment is sealed (Rev. 15:8; 22:11–12) cutsdasm.adventisthost.org. They follow the plagues of the seven trumpets, which are mixed with mercy and aimed at bringing repentance Sabbath School Net. The last plagues, however, are without mercy and mark the end of probation for those who have chosen the mark of the beast or worship its image (Rev. 16:2) Ellen G. White Estate.

Who Will Be Affected​

The plagues will strike the men who have the mark of the beast and those who worship his image (Rev. 16:2) Ellen G. White Estate. Those who have “victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and his number” (Rev. 15:2) — such as the 144,000 sealed saints — will be protected and will not suffer these judgments Sabbath School Net+1.

The Seven Plagues (Revelation 16)​

1. A grievous sore (Rev. 16:2) — a virulent, incurable disease.
2. Blood from the sea (Rev. 16:3–4) — oceans and rivers turn to blood.
3. Fresh water turned to blood (Rev. 16:4–7) — God’s true people receive fresh water.
4. The sun given to the beast (Rev. 16:8–9) — symbolic of the beast’s power over the sun.
5. A great darkness (Rev. 16:10–11) — spiritual darkness over the earth.
6. The Euphrates dried up (Rev. 16:12–16) — withdrawal of support from spiritual Babylon; Armageddon near.
7. Judgment on Babylon (Rev. 16:17–21) — earthquake, lightning, and hail; the Second Coming of Christ occurs under this plague Ellen G. White Estate+1.

Symbolism and Connection to Egypt​

The seven last plagues are often compared to the Egyptian plagues (Exodus 7–11) in purpose: both are divine judgments showing God’s power and holiness, separating His people from the unrepentant Sabbath School Net.

Key Adventist Beliefs​

• The plagues are future, poured out before the resurrection and transformation of the saints (1 Cor. 15:51–54) EGW Writings+1.
• They are successive and rapid, with some interpreting “her plagues come in one day” (Rev. 18:8) as either literal or prophetic time cutsdasm.adventisthost.org.
• The righteous are hided with Christ until the plagues are over absg.sspmadventist.org.

In summary, the seven last plagues are the climactic divine judgments in Revelation, marking the end of God’s patience and the final confrontation with the unrepentant, with the righteous protected and the Second Coming occurring under the seventh plague.

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Which AI did you use?

Please pray that if it is God's will my daughter will not be upset, angry or let down by me not going to an event tomorrow. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you. Carmen