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Trump/Zelensky Meeting - The ENTIRE Video

They still have fight in them. They still want to fight! Who are you to tell them to just sell off 20% of your country? Imagine if this was a fifth of America? Who is Trump to presume this is another one of his real-estate scams - 'Oh and I'll have $500 billion of your minerals - even though we ACTUALLY only paid $76 billion into this venture. You know - the Art of the Deal and all that!"

Well it seems that Zalensky is back at the table. Apparently he sees some wisdom in working something out.
How about instead of betraying a new democratic friend, old democratic allies in the strongest military force on the planet - NATO - and proving untrustworthy to old allies - we just fund them! How about instead of cosying up to a dictator - we cosy up to geopolitical allies that protect democracy and freedom?

Fund them? With what money? You have a lot of money in your pockets? How much are you willing to pull out of your bank account for that?

How about NATO funds themselves.
Hey we'll back them up as needed.
If we ramp up production and fund Ukraine and supply their needs - then our combined economic strength would wear Russia down.
Russia's economy is only the size of Texas.

We ramp up? So who's going to pay for this ramping up and supplies? Our country hasn't ramped up much if anything in the last 20 years. We've sure gone into a lot of debt though. Debt that no one seems to want to do anything about. Except maybe add onto it. In this case add onto it for another country.

The EU is raising their military spending - a lot.
But Trump outright lied in the Oval Office.
The EU has paid the most! The USA is about 40% of this venture.

Not so fast.

Total bilateral aid to Ukraine by donor & type 2024 | Statista


Ukraine is not part of the US. They are also not part of the Western continent. They are European. You didnt say you were willing to send our troops over there to fight. We have been sending the most military aid to them. They won't win this fight without it. The EU has been spending most on humanitarian aid which won't win the fight. It takes troops and machines of war.

We aren't winning this without war. I understand your position on principle. My heart would tell me that Pustin is a bad guy and Russia should be defeated and kicked out of Ukraine completely.

But NO one has shown the slightest ability or inkling to be able to do that. And I seriously question America's willingness to do what it would take to do that ourselves. Americans have no stomach for anymore war. We wouldn't do what it would take to defeat the Taliban for crying out loud. Americans wouldn't begin to support sending out blood and treasure over there to fight the Ruskies. No matter how bad we hate Putin.

And I don't think Americans are willing to spend many more tax dollars on it either.

This is about practicality now, not just idiology of Russian hatred. (They deserve to be hated by the way.)

One thing is obvious. You don't understand Trump at all and what he's doing related to this. He may not be successful in the end. Putin seems to be as stubborn as they come. But I'm willing to wait and see what happens. One step at a time.
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An Invitation to Pray the Hours with Us

Do you live in the DC Metro area or nearby, since you mentioned that you love our parish?

No, I randomly discovered it on YouTube while trying to find a Romanian Orthodox parish that streamed their service that had good quality recordings.

Do you ever stop by for Divine Liturgy on a Sunday? If so, please come and introduce yourself to me. I'm the guy in the choir who looks like Santa Claus.

I am scheduled to go back East later this year and if I get the chance to visit the DC Metro area, I would be happy to greet you.

Lately, despite moments of individual agony, I have had energy that I did not have to sustain me just one year ago, so my goal this week is to be able to attend a presanctified liturgy at a nearby convent. My goal for the next two months is to probe deep the midst of the sweltering San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the hopes of attending of only three Georgian Orthodox parishes in the US.
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Sadly, NATO actually needs America. Despite Russia's economy being tiny - their military spending is huge

You seem confused. As I've already said, yes, it is still called France, and Frenchmen were still called Frenchmen.

He has no reason to weep. According to you, it's still France.
Knock it off. I said nothing about not weeping for changes in your country, only that nations have continuity even when 'government' changes.
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Spurgeon Conference Video....

The link begins a 5 minute segment of my Question on Spurgeon's clear words against war and Christians going off to kill.


It seems despite the THOUSANDS of Spurgeon fans in groups on social media, NONE has ever heard Spurgeon's clear words on this. Has any Spurgeon fan EVER seen THESE quotes shared? Spurgeon On War, 6 Graphics


aMEMEpax.png
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What do you think this could mean?

My mom was given a dream that this man of God filled with holy spirit is deeply in love with me. What could this mean?​


I would bring this up to the Lord in prayer because this dream may also indicate your mom's desire of her heart to see you happily married to a godly man. If it does not resonate with you in your heart, I would let it fall to the ground.
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What does it mean to CURSE someone?

God cursed

  1. the serpent (Ge 3:14) because it sinned by lying to Eve,
  2. the ground (v 17) because Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God's command not to eat from the forbidden tree,
  3. Cain because he sinned by murdering his brother (Ge 4:11).
God cursed/pronounced some negative consequences due to someone's sin.

People cursed God even though God didn't sin:

  1. Job's wife suggested that he should "curse God and die" after his sufferings (Job 2:9), but Job refused.
  2. The third commandment prohibited taking God's name in vain (Ex 20:7) In Leviticus 24:10-16, there's an account of a man who blasphemed the Name of God and cursed, and was subsequently stoned to death according to God's instruction to Moses.
  3. In Revelation, there are descriptions of people who curse God due to their sufferings during the end times (Rev 16:9, 11, 21).
People invoked the name of their gods to curse others:

  1. After the flood, Noah's son, Ham, saw his father's nakedness. Noah cursed the son of Ham, Canaan.
  2. After Jericho’s fall, Joshua pronounced a curse: "Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates" (Jos 6:26)
  3. There were several imprecatory psalms. E.g., "Let ruin come upon them unawares! And let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall into it—to their ruin" (Ps 35:8).
  4. Goliath cursed David by his gods (1Sa 17:43). This curse didn't work. A causeless curse does not alight (Pr 26:2).
People pronounced a curse on themselves to prove their loyalty:

  1. Numbers 5 described the Adultery Test. A wife could prove her innocence by drinking the bitter water that brought a curse to her.
  2. Ruth pledged loyalty to Naomi: "Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge… May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you" (Ru 1:16-17).
  3. Jonathan swore to be loyal to David, calling God’s punishment on himself if he failed. "But should it please my father to do you harm, may the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away" (1 Sa 20:13).
Cursing someone, in the OT context, was a solemn act of invoking divine judgment, harm, or misfortune upon another person. This practice continued to some extent in the New Testament.

  1. Jesus cursed a fig tree (Mark 11:14, 21) to demonstrate his sovereign power.
  2. Jesus pronounced woes on the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23).
  3. Jesus pronounced a woe on Judas Iscariot for betraying the Son of Man (Mt 26:24).
  4. Paul pronounced a curse on those who preached a false gospel (Ga 1:8–9).
  5. Paul cursed anyone who did not love the Lord (1C 16:22).
Should Christians curse others today?

No. Lk 6:

28 Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Jesus taught us to love, not to curse. Let God deal with them.

US reciprocal tariffs coming soon, will impose one rate per country

With confiscatory tariffs on Canadian lumber, how will Los Angeles and the Florida Gulf rebuild?
Just got back from Florida. They are still removing rubble from St. Pete. Businesses shuttered, unemployment rampant. These places will need affordable lumber desperately.
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Childhood Neighbors, Lifelong Love: Near 99-Year-Old Couple Celebrates 75 Years of Marriage

Tom and Maureen Hickey offer wedding advice as they mark this amazing milestone.

Maureen Kane and Tom Hickey, who will both turn 99 this year, grew up a block apart from each other in Richmond Hill, Queens.

They were a year apart at Holy Child Jesus Elementary School, and their families were Holy Child parishioners.

Maureen remembers playing marbles, jumping rope and playing stickball in the neighborhood. “I wouldn’t change my growing up years or town for anywhere else,” she told the Register.

At 8 years old, Tom stopped by Maureen’s house after she’d had an appendectomy. He brought a small gift, an address book. They still joke that it was something he found in his mother’s drawer, with addresses already in it.


Continued below.

The Hebrew word עולם/olam means eternal, everlasting, forever etc.

My apologies. I assumed you read the threads where you were participating
I'm not aware of any rule that one read the entire thread when responding to a particular post. Perhaps you could point me to such rule.
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Remember Lot's wife...

Peace in Christ.

The abomination that stands in the holy place….the place where we come together to worship God…causes desolation. This “desolation” is the one that comes from His missing glory that has departed from the holy place because of the abomination.

Mat 24:15 KJV
(15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)

The abomination is the “image” that is established in the man-based churches where it is being kept and served.

Remember how Daniel could "read" and "understand" the writing on the wall.

The glory of the uncorruptible God is being exchanged for the image made like corruptible man. His glory does not appear over any man-based church which keeps and serves their images.

Rom 1:22-24 KJV
(22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

(23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

We must not sit together with them where this exchanging of His glory for the image is happening. We sin against our own mortal bodies when we sit with them in this exchanging going on in the man-based churches.

We become “one flesh” …one body…with them in their destruction. We must not go after “strange flesh” as the manifestation of the Son of man (the appearing of the life of Jesus) is being prevented from appearing in their mortal flesh.

(24) Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

What is the abomination of desolation? What is the “image”?

The “image” is the external church handwriting of ordinances/dogmas that they use to self-govern and self-judge themselves with (patterned just like the outside nations of this world who have their handwritings…their documents such as “constitutions.)” It is the abomination that brings desolation as the glory of God has departed.

It is the "image" of the beast (the wild beast and not the Lamb slain) that is being worshipped where others are being JUDGED based on their "image"....thereby they become slaves of the sin (judging others supposedly in God's authority).

Rev 13:15-16 KJV
(15) And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

(16) And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

His laws are put into our mind and is written upon our hearts. Why willingly go and subject ourselves to the commandments and doctrines of men (contained in their handwritings)? We PERISH with the keeping of them.

Heb 8:10 KJV
(10) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

The handwriting of ordinances can be as simple (which is NOT “simple” at all) as a church “statement of faith” which is by definition a handwriting of “dogmas”…a list or summery of what one thinks and believes is true.

The ancient Greek word for “dogma” originally meant "opinion," "belief," or "that which seems right". It can also be translated as "decree," "ordinance," or "command"

It...the church handwriting of ordinances... seems right to us, but the end of it are the ways of death.

Pro 14:12 KJV
(12) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

But because of His great grace and mercy shown to us, our Lord forgives us for these things as He blots out the handwriting of ordinances. He takes it out of the way and nails it to His cross.

He “spoils” the principalities and powers…those who rule over us with their handwritings of ordinances. We must flee from it…making an open show of them.

Col 2:13-17
(13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
(14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (DOGMAS) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
(15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
(16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

(17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

We thought it was “wise” to go to a “church” and voluntarily submitted ourselves to their “government”…their handwritings of ordinances. It seemed right.

Paul called it “will worship”….because we thought ourselves as “wise” to go and willfully and humbly subject ourselves to their handwritings….their commandments and doctrines of men

Col 2:20-23 KJV
(20) Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
(21) (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
(22) Which all are to perish with the using) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

(23) Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

But professing ourselves as “wise,” we become fools….and go to a man-based-on-handwritings “church” where they are actively exchanging His glory for their “images.” The glory of God does not appear over any of them. It is the abomination of desolation as His glory is not there. His glory has departed. The manifest life of Jesus (the Son of man) does not appear as no flesh is being saved. The Son of man goes away out of sight in this earth as it is WRITTEN of Him.

Rom 1:22-23 KJV
(22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

(23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

When we “see” ….understanding what it is…we must FLEE from it.

God does not give His glory to those who are keeping and serving their “graven images”…the graven-by-man’s pen image that they made to bow down to.

His glory is absent from the man-based churches….and the outside nations do not praise Him as they do not see His glory appear over such gatherings.

Isa 42:8 KJV
(8) I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

They …who keep and serve their handwritings….“dishonor” their own bodies among themselves. They are “one flesh” in their destruction. We MUST come out from among them and be separate from them.

1Co 6:14-20 KJV
(14) And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

(15) Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

We MUST NOT be joined together with them as we are then “one body”…one flesh… with them in their destruction as the wrath of God comes upon the children of the disobedience.

(16) What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
(17) But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

We must come out from among them….fleeing the true “fornication”. That is our sanctification. This is the “holy commandment” that we are not to turn away from. We are sinning against our own mortal body by sitting together with them.

(18) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
(19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

(20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

When we leave, we must not “look back” as they will speak “great swelling words of emptiness” to try to flatter us back into their “churches”. We must make a “clean escape” from those who are living in error in the churches that are centered around their handwritings that they revere and worship.

2Pe 2:18-22 KJV
(18) For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

(19) While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

We are to escape the pollutions of the world (the world is “orderly” because of their documents that they keep and serve rather than be under God’s government) through the FULL KNOWLEDGE (epignosis) of the Lord and Savior (the Deliverer) Jesus Christ .

We are to remember Lot’s wife and must not “look back” or we will be entangled with them again and overcome.

(20) For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

This is the holy (to be separate for our sanctification) commandment delivered to us to keep. We must come out from among them and be separate. This is the Way of righteousness.

(21) For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
(22) But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

“Narrow is the way which leads unto life” and few (the house of Jacob) there be that find it. When we leave, they will try to flatter us back....and when that does not work, then they will persecute us for doing so calling us "evil doers."

Mat 7:14 KJV
(14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

When the Son of man is being revealed (as His life is being revealed in the mortal flesh of His believers,) we must come out from among them and be separate. Let us not take anything of theirs (their religious “thoughts and ways”) with us.

Luk 17:30-33 KJV
(30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

(31) In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

REMEMBER LOT”S WIFE….and not look back to the man-based churches.

(32) Remember Lot's wife.

(33) Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

We must count all of those religious things we thought that was “gain” to us as a loss for Christ.

Php 3:7-10 KJV
(7) But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

(8) Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

We are to be found in Him and not trying to defend our own “righteousness” contained in handwritings that we thought were right and correct to keep and serve in the hearing of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. For Paul, it was of the law.....for us today it is the church handwritings of ordinances.

(9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
(10) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Need help finding a python code editor

I love Sublime text, it does require a license, otherwise it nags you every 15 minutes or so. You can get VSCode, Zed which are currently free. I would recommend VSCodium instead of VSCode, since it removes the telemetry functions for your privacy.

I will recommend zed. Very minimal like sublime and has a lot of features. You can get it at Zed - The editor for what's next .
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Decision Between Ooma and Spectrum Voice

In both cases you will be using VoIP software using the SIP stack. The Oomabox and the spectrum modem contain what is known as an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) and that connects to your service via SIP or H323. Like @jas3 mentioned, setting up a cheap UPS should provide connectivity if your power goes out but it is still dependent on the internet being up.

I would go with the provider that offers the best support experience.
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Tithing linked to validity of members vote for church officers and the pastor to judge if you vote should count.

I have thought and prayed about this some more and something else was brought to light.

It is very true most pastors I've encountered did not want to know who tithed and who did not.

However, I have also observed pastors, deacons, overseers, etc become frustrated with the following.
Church members who are not active in any programs, who attend sporadically, who may or may not tithe, but who never fail to show up like clockwork at every church business meeting and want to seemingly argue about or dissect every item on the agenda.

The pastor may have been experiencing some of this frustration and chose a very poor way to try and voice and alleviate it.
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Gene Hackman, wife could have been dead for weeks, pills found on scene are 'something of concern': police

People with Alzheimer's often lose the will to eat in more advanced stages, and there's a general medical ethics consensus that people in late state Alzheimer's disease should not be force fed.

Hanta virus may be a real possibility. It's rare in the US that it kills anyone, but it exists in the southwest. It's an Ebola-like virus that can be very dangerous.

Increasingly this is a problem in developed nations. People live lonely, isolated lives... sometimes in cities, dying alone and their bodies just decompose. Then they have to send in cleanup teams to deal with what is often a gruesome mess.

A friend of ours at church died last year. They didn't find her until nearly two weeks after she died. It was upsetting to find out. People need to check in on each other more, and maybe we shouldn't be so socially isolated. Our social structures don't deal with the realities of modern aging very well. And many people resist nursing home care, often for very good reasons.
Absolutely!

My grandmother, who died in 2004, had Alzheimer's and spent the last year of her life in a nursing home.

My other grandmother, who died in 2016, hated being in a nursing home and wanted to be independent as possible.

It must be very hard on the elderly to lose all their independence.
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Question about " Book of life ".

You are into word games! Accepting it is believing Jesus did for us.
John 12:48
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. Tell us what is the opposite of reject? Would that just maybe be accept?
-
The object of the rejection is Jesus and not accepting a sacrifice. Which was my point that The Bible is clear on this. That it is belief in (the person) Jesus that gives a person Eternal Life and not the accomplishments Jesus did. The accomplishment Jesus did His death and resurrection. Should point a person to say or come to think and believe, Jesus is who He says He is The Son of God/The Messiah, the resurrection and the life
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My parents burial

I was able to get a niche for my parents and they were inurned today. My siblings wanted to scatter their ashes in my parent's backyard, but I was able to convince them to have them buried in a cemetery. Praise the Lord that we were able to do this today. Picture of the niche below. View attachment 362052
I'm glad you convinced your siblings, that's a beautiful spot.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescatant in pace.
Amen. +
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