Prayers for the conversion of Canada. Amen.

Prayers for the radical conversion of Spain.

prodromos said:

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

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Amen!

Always in His Presence said:

I’ll help

• Republican Party (RNC) Favorability: According to RealClearPolling, the Republican Party has a favorability rating of 42.3%, with 54.4% unfavorable, resulting in a net favorability of -12.1%. Posts on X suggest a slightly higher approval rating for Republicans at around 43%.

• Democratic Party (DNC) Favorability: RealClearPolling reports the Democratic Party’s favorability at 36.3%, with 59.3% unfavorable, yielding a net favorability of -23.0%

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What it shows is that even Democrats think Republicans are doing a better job than the DNC. Lol!

Happiness is a perplexingly difficult quality to secure. This is surprising, since happiness is the fundamental thing we all seek. Aristotle argued that happiness (eudaimonia) is the ultimate goal of human life—not happiness as a fleeting emotional experience, but as a state of human flourishing that comes from striving to fulfill one’s human potential. St. Augustine taught that all human actions are inherently ordered towards happiness—even wicked deeds are done in the mistaken belief that they will, in some sense, make us happier.

But if happiness is so integral to human existence, why do so many people struggle to attain it? Why is society so filled with people struggling with sadness, despair, depression, nihilism, despair, and apathy? Why do so many at every stage of life deal with existential emptiness about the meaning and purpose of their lives? If happiness is what life is all about, it seems that something must be drastically wrong.

I, too, struggled with these problems for many years until I discovered a very simple remedy in plain sight, somewhere I had overlooked for a long time—the Sermon on the Mount.

Continued below.

What Moses was commanded to teach to the ancient Hebrews is not identical to the written words that he recorded in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). The Jews also believed that he received oral tradition on Mt. Sinai, when he received the Ten Commandments. The mainstream pharisaic tradition passed into early Christianity, since St. Paul called himself a Pharisee twice, after his conversion to Christianity (Acts 23:6; 26:5), and Jesus opposed the doctrine of the Sadducees, but not that of the Pharisees (Mt 23:2). The Pharisees adhered to oral tradition and the Sadducees rejected it.

Scripture indicates such an oral Torah, not — in its specifics — recorded in the written Torah. The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia (“Oral Law”) provides some examples:

It appears from the other books of the Old Testament also that certain traditional laws were considered to have been given by God, although they are not mentioned in the Pentateuch. Jeremiah says to the people (Jer. 17: 21-22): “Bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.” In the Pentateuch, on the other hand, there is only the interdiction against work in general (Ex. 20:9-11); nor is it stated anywhere in the Torah that no burdens shall be carried on the Sabbath, while Jeremiah says that the bearing of burdens, as well as all other work, was forbidden to the fathers. It is clear, furthermore, from Amos 8:5, that no business was done on the Sabbath, and in Neh. 10:30-32 this prohibition, like the interdiction against intermarrying with the heathen, is designated as a commandment of God, although only the latter is found in the Pentateuch (Deut. 7:3), while there is no reference to the former. Since the interdictions against carrying burdens and doing business on the Sabbath were regarded as divine laws, although not mentioned in the Pentateuch, it is inferred that there was also a second code.

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God made this requirement, that He “commanded” the ancient Hebrews in oral tradition, binding, under pain of Jerusalem being destroyed:

Continued below.

fide said:

Ah - I guess I missed that... sorry.

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No problem. It's just part of discussion.

Ninth Sunday After Pentecost propers & commentary (EF)

Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's Instruction on the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (EF)

boughtwithaprice said:

I have recently been confronted with my lack of thought, which is termed stupidity in the following video. Yes, I admit that I was stupid. I have repented and decided to confront uncomfortable thoughts and learn what I do not know

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There is a pecking order in humanity

When I was a young teenager a bunch of us would get hired to pack live turkeys into semi's to be hauled off to market. Catching the first one was difficult. It took several of us with burlap sacks to keep from getting slashed by their feet to corner a single bird and capture it.

However, once caught, that bird would be grabbed by the feet and its chest laid on the ground and THEN the magical pecking order transpired. The other birds would instantly be compelled to come a peck it's head. They could not help themselves. And as they pressed into peck that downed turkeys head, it didn't matter if we were standing there either, ready to reach in and grab them by the legs and cart them off to the semi cages. They would press in so tightly they couldn't get out. Didn't even try.

It was a sight to behold. An entire field of 100-200 THOUSAND turkeys could be cleared out by a single downed bird.

The PECKING ORDER.

In humanity this principle also applies. How so? In churches for example, people will gather up and condemn their neighbors to burn alive forever whilst pressing in to justify themselves. Strange, ain't it? Those so called condemned are no different than the condemners.

Here's an unpleasant truth that no believer likes to hear, even less accept.

The heart is deceitful above "all things" and desperately wicked. Jer. 17:9

That's right! As you look out upon everything that you can see in the night sky, ALL of creation, seen and unseen, the most deceitful thing that exists in ALL of that thumps away in your own figurative CHEST.

Kathump, kathump, kathump. Just like those turkeys, come to thump on your head. You have to cut off the tip of the top beaks of all those turkeys or they never cease harming each others with their sharp beaks in combo. Disfigure them so they stop killing as many. But some are killed in the collective kathump's everyday they are in the fields. Especially when they put their heads down to FEED. Bang!!! Get out of the way! My turn!

How much more vile is humanity in this regard? The "poison tongue, like a serpent's fangs, the poison of asp's is under our lips.

Now, the coup de grace is this. IF we, in our own heart, have the most deceit above all things, are we even more deceitful than, oh, say, SATAN for example?

OR because of?

Jesus says, because of: Mark 4:15 is real, and none of us are "just me" between our own 2 ears, or tongues, or teeth

Skipper80 said:

Should Christians condemn people to Hell?

After answering, explain why

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Never. And Yes.

In scripture there is no such creature as a sole individual. There is the person, and there is the tempter or his own within all of us.

So, both never and yes are both completely TRUE and ACCURATE

One will be saved

One won't be saved

Who is who should be clear enough

Under the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel (Jews only), the city of God was a physical place, the city of Jerusalem, the Holy City of God. But under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel (Jew and Gentile who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives), the city of God is the church, the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ who have died with Christ to sin and been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness.

[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

We the people of God are the church, not the building called “church,” and not a church denomination, and not an incorporation (merger, partnership) under the state (the world, the government) called “church.” We are not bound by physical location nor by day of the week nor the hour of the day, for we are in locations all across the world. For the church is not a place you go to, but the church does go to places where they should gather together for Bible study, prayer, fellowship, communion, and ministry to one another.

And if our gatherings are gatherings of the biblical body of Christ, for the purposes God has designed for his church, taught us in the Scriptures, then God is in our midst. And Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and he is the one that the church is truly following in obedience to his commands. He is our only shepherd who we are following, and not these false shepherds of the people who are teaching them lies and who have turned their gatherings into places of business to be marketed to the ungodly of the world.

But so much of what is called “church” today is not the biblical body of Christ gathering together wherever we can for mutual encouragement in Christ, in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. So many of these gatherings do not provide a time and space for the body of Christ to minister to one another, utilizing the spiritual gifts given to them of the Spirit to help one another to walk worthy of God in daily fellowship with him, to help one another to not obey sin, and to warn against false teachings.

So much of what is referred to as “church” are these incorporations under the state, which are merged and partnered with the ungodly, which God forbids, and which he instructs us to depart from in order to be in right relationship with him. And they are marketing their “church” to the world, and so they are using marketing and worldly means and methods to attract the world to their gatherings. And so it appears that most of them are not teaching repentance and obedience to God as part of faith which saves.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2-3; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

So, we who believe in Jesus need to learn to distinguish between these incorporations of man called “church” and the biblical body of Christ, His church, for they are not one and the same. And then we need to be following Christ and his teachings and doing what he has called us to do as his followers in ministering God’s love and grace to one another, and in helping one another to obey God and to forsake sin and to live for the Lord in doing his will and purpose for our lives and for his church, his body.

[Acts 2:42-47; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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The Holy Dwelling Place
An Original Work / August 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

FaithT said:

Oh please……

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If you read on - this was all sarcasm. Be careful of Poe's law.

Michie said:

The Belgian artist’s works will hang in place of “The Last Supper” and “The People of Israel in the Desert” while the masterpieces undergo restoration​

The Belgian artist Luc Tuymans has created two major new works for the altar of a 16th-century church on a Venetian island. Tuymans's paintings, entitled Heat and Musicians (2025), go on show in the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore next month, across from St Mark’s Square.

Tuymans’s works replace a pair of canvases by the 16th-century artist Jacopo Tintoretto—The Last Supper and The People of Israel in the Desert—which will undergo restoration funded by the Save Venice conservation charity.

“My paintings—Heat, and Musicians (both 2025)—aren't installed in a museum; rather they are installed at the centre of a space of worship, where people regularly attend services,” Tuymans says. “This situation provides a completely different assessment of how an artwork is to be perceived, and responded to.

“How the paintings engage with the architecture of the space is also important. My work is wholly integrated into the Palladian basilica, not placed next to it, or around it, like previous installations before—Anish Kapoor, Berlinde Der Bruyckere.”

Continued below.

Left at the altar: Luc Tuymans's paintings to replace Tintoretto works at Venetian church

The Belgian artist’s works will hang in place of “The Last Supper” and “The People of Israel in the Desert” while the masterpieces undergo restoration

www.theartnewspaper.com

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I wish they had placed replicas of the works in question or other traditional iconography of the Byzantine-influenced style that characterizes the beautiful churches of Venice.

ViaCrucis said:

Arianism taught that Jesus was Divine, but a lesser Divinity than God the Father.

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That said, it is widely believed Arius was influenced by the proto-Unitarian views of Paul of Samosata and Lucian of Antioch.

In Revelation 12:10 we read about “the accuser of our brethren,” “he who accuses them before our God day and night.” And this is speaking of Satan. A good example of this is when Satan asked God for permission to inflict the Lord’s servant Job, and God allowed it, but with limitations. And then there was how Satan and his servants went after Jesus continuously, with the full intention to try to find a reason to accuse him of wrong, and while falsely accusing him of character and deeds which were not his to possess.

Well, if we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, Satan is going to be after us, too, especially if we are having an impact on other people’s lives for the sake of the gospel, and for the sake of the salvation of human lives from their slavery to sin. And he will devise all sorts of ways to try to break us and to try to trip us up or to accuse us falsely of what we did not do, or of wrong intentions. And he can whisper these false accusations and his taunts in our minds to try to make us afraid in hopes we will run away and give up.

He may attack us through sleepless nights, or broken sleep patterns to where we do not get continuous and restful sleep, and so our emotions may be weaker, because we are tired. Or we may be subject to catching a virus, because our body is weak. Or he may torment us in our minds, trying to accuse us of all sorts of wrong attitudes and intentions, when our intentions were good, and so were our attitudes. But there is a reason why the Scriptures call him “the accuser of the brethren,” i.e. of Christ’s followers.

And the Bible also teaches us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and his servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). So, Satan may try to mimic the Holy Spirit’s voice speaking to us in our spirits, but speaking lies, instead of truth. And the lies may not be obvious lies which we can immediately discern, for he may even use the Scriptures and Christian songs to try to make him sound like God is speaking to us, but to try to stir up stress and confusion within our spirits.

Now there are people who profess faith in Jesus Christ who are deliberately and habitually sinning against God and against other humans, without conscience or care as to what damage they might do to others. Even though they know that what they are doing is wrong, and that it is hurting other humans, still they do what is evil, and they do not do what is good in the eyes of God, for they are living under the control of Satan, and not under God’s divine authority, will, and purpose. They sin with full knowledge.

And some of them will deliberately and willfully misinterpret God’s voice, or they will knowingly accuse Satan of trying to convict them of sin, and they will create their own god in their own minds who does not convict them of sin, and who does not call them to repentance. And so they may accuse God’s convicting voice as being of Satan while they willfully yield to the voice of the devil. And thus Satan may use them against the Lord’s servants to try to accuse the Lord’s servants of being of Satan, which was done to Jesus.

So, this is why the Scriptures teach that we must test the spirits to see which ones are of God, for God is not going to be the only voice we hear. We are going to hear the voice of Satan, and of the world, and of the flesh trying to break us down in order to make us afraid, in order to try to discourage us from following the Lord with our lives, and being his servants. And this is where we need to test our own hearts, too, to make certain that we are not buying into the lies, but that we are following the truth of God.

[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 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; 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]

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.

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A Very Present Help in Trouble
An Original Work / August 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Paidiske said:

Steve, you are in the Anglican forum; this is not the place for you to make arguments against Anglican ecclesiology or practice.

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Oh ok I thought it was also about the Catholics and how they compare to the Anglicans. The OP I think is questioning the Anglicans ie.

How is Old Catholic different from Anglican? I've come to the conclusion I'm just not Protestant, and I don't think I could join the Anglican Communion.

This invites arguements re Protestants, Anglicans as opposed to Catholics.

I think the US is going to have a lot of problems with these militia groups down the track.

We've got neo-Nazis in Australia but they're not as heavily armed as the US variety.

I pray for guardrails for the bed, so he doesn’t fall off of it again.

dms1972 said:

Yes indeed. Its a difficult state of affairs. Its good that there is concern about political and economic corruption and a desire to see that tackled.

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On the other hand, we had better be sure our own government isn't "calling the kettle black" !

I see a video of a different song.

jacks said:

An exercise regime that you can do at most levels of disability is Lian gong. I took it from a women who wrote a book on it and her biggest problem was the cover photo, none of the exercises looked "tough" enough.

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Thank you for sharing about this. I will look into it.