Your Eminence, your Excellencies, my brother priests, beautiful religious who are here with us, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I was so scared to get up here and give this talk. I've been really nervous about it for the 20th anniversary of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, with all of you amazing people, in the presence of Congressman Chris Smith who received very worthily the Christi Fidelis Laici award. In the midst of all of that, I've been very concerned.

And then the Vice President of the United States shows up, and I thought, 'Wow, what a relief!' And then... Taylor Swift's boyfriend's teammate shows up, and I felt like no one is ever even going to remember that I was here. All the pressure's off! I can say whatever I want and so I'm feeling nice and relaxed, very happy.

Continued below.

Welcome Dricile

welcome

Such troubling times we live in now
Because to Christ much do not bow
But bow to men, they surely do
And to their idols stick like glue

They masquerade of righteousness
But to their sins they not address
They walk in sin, and not by faith,
Because their sins they not abate

They will not obey God’s commands
For on their flesh they now depend
And worldly living is their thing
Their idols to Christ will not bring

Their stubbornness and selfish pride
It takes them now on a joy ride
To live for pleasure of this world
And sacrifice to them absurd

May not be wild, unruly be
But truth of Scriptures they not see
So in the lies they now believe
And listen to those who deceive

Submit not then to God’s pure rule
But to their idols up they curl
And entertain from dusk to dawn
The righteousness of God not spawn

So God is speaking, speaking clear
That to your idols NOT be near
But fellowship with Jesus Christ
And take not His grace for a heist

Obey your Lord, do what He says
Forsake your sins in righteousness
Believe His word, live now for Him
And do no longer walk in sin

An Original Work / March 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I think this is relevant in our polarized world.

How a son spent a year trying to save his father from conspiracy theories​

"One piece of advice I kept getting was to try to see things from his perspective. Among our family and friends in the Bay Area, my dad has always been an outsider. We'd been rejecting his beliefs for years, but as time went on, they'd become more extreme. I was starting to realize that, from his vantage point, we were the intolerant ones, the ones who don't understand.

"When I asked my dad whether he feels like the odd man out, he answered somberly, "It's painful at times. It's very sad for me."

rjs330 said:

Biden said:

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No, he didn't. That unsourced quote has been edited to change its sense.

rjs330 said:

A video clipping of Biden speaking at a debate prior to general elections in 2019 clearly shows him say, 'Surge the borders.' "I would in fact make sure that there is immediately a surge to the border. They deserve to be heard. That's who we are. "We're a nation that says, 'You want to flee, and you're fleeing oppression, you should come,'" Biden had told during a debate moderated by Univision's Jorge Ramos in 2019.

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BIDEN: "This is a president who came along with the DACA program, no one had done that. Sent legislation to the desk, a pathway for the 11 million undocumented in America. This is a president that's done a great deal. I'm proud to have served with him. What I would do as president is several more things, because things have changed. I would, in fact, make sure that there is, we immediately surge to the border, all those people who are seeking asylum. They deserve to be heard."

"We" can't be the asylum seekers. I read it as, we will send people to deal with the influx of asylum seekers to 'hear' their cases efficiently.

timewerx said:

I keep forgetting that Asian married life is different from other cultures!

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Yeah, it probably is. I do not know. I watched some videos that for example in China or in Japan it is not too good, either.

Most of the churches in my area that I've visited expect members to tithe 10% to be in good standing. It's left up to the individual to do that, though. I personally don't see anything wrong with having that as an expectation, but it should be between you and God whether you're actually giving 10%. I've only ever heard of a pastor verifying that the amount given is exactly 10% in Mormonism.

In your congregation's case, I would guess the pastor meant to address people who are not only giving less than 10%, but are actually not giving anything at all, which would be easy to verify unless people are giving cash. It sounds like he was very rude about it though.

The Doctrine of Christ is that the Spirit the Lord sends us, is the same Spirit
He walked in that enables us to walk as He walked,
in the perfected relationship between the Father and the Son.

John 8:29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone,
for I always do those things that please Him.

We are taught over and over to abide in Him. This is the same as the Old Testament
admonition to "wait on the Lord". King Saul fell from favor with God because he
failed to wait on Samuel, to hear the Word. He 'went forward' of his own volition.

2 John 9 Whoever transgresses (literally:goes forward) and does not abide in
the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine
of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

To walk as He walked requires purity of heart.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them,
Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself,
but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does,
the Son also does in like manner.

The Son of God, seated at the Father's right hand,
takes us as His children by the Spirit of Adoption.
2 Corinthians 6:
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Romans 8:
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear,
but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

By this, we become the King's Friend

Proverbs 22:11 He that loves pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

John 15:
14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what
his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that
I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Diamond72 said:

Are we suppose to feel bad that people who do nothing are getting fired?

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What people are you talking about? What are their positions and job responsibilities?

28 February 2025 – Iraq​

Pray for Christians throughout Iraq who are even more at risk and marginalised because of the ongoing conflict across the Middle East, in which all non-Muslims can be seen as ‘the enemy’. Pray for protection for them and courage to stand firm in their faith.
YES - I will Pray

27 February 2025 – Iraq​

Pray for Rev Canon Faez Jirjees of St George’s Church in Baghdad. Thank God for his ministry and leadership. Pray for strength, wisdom and peace for him and his family.
YES - I will Pray

26 February 2025 – Iraq​

Pray for protection for our partner’s team and their families, especially when travelling. Conflict in the Middle East is causing regular flight cancellations and travel chaos across the region.
YES - I will Pray

25 February 2025 – Iraq​

Ten years after ISIS seized much of northern Iraq, forcing thousands into Kurdistan, the Government is now closing the camps for displaced people and instructing them to return home. However, many do not feel safe to go back or have nowhere left to return to, especially those who have become Christians since leaving.
YES - I will Pray

24 February 2025 – Iraq​

Pray for our partner’s publishing ministry, producing and distributing Christian literature in Kurdish. This year it will produce five more books. Ask God to give wisdom in dealing with a number of sensitive topics. Pray that the finished publications would be a blessing to those who read them.
YES - I will Pray

23 February 2025 – Iraq​

Pray for our partner’s practical support to Syrian Christian widows in Kurdistan who turn up regularly for food parcels, fellowship and encouragement.
YES - I will Pray

22 February 2025 – Iraq​

Our partner in Kurdistan praises God that it has obtained a licence for its new church and can relocate to a larger building where services can be held in Arabic, Farsi and Kurdish. Please pray for fruit from this ministry.
YES - I will Pray

Sign up for email prayer alerts​

To lift up persecuted Christians in your prayers and see God at work in their lives
Subscribe

Iran​

In Iran, the Christian community is divided between constitutionally recognised and unrecognised Christians.
Unrecognised converts from Islam to Christianity face severe religious freedom violations, primarily from the government and, to a lesser extent, from society and their families. The government views these converts as a threat, believing they are influenced by Western countries to undermine Islam and the regime. Both leaders and ordinary members of Christian groups are often arrested, prosecuted and given long prison sentences for “crimes against national security”.
Recognised historical communities such as Armenian and Assyrian Christians are state-protected but treated as second-class citizens. They face many discriminatory legal provisions and aren’t allowed to worship in Persian or interact with Christian converts. Those who support converts can also face imprisonment.

Meet Fatemeh​

“They were tearing us apart, one by one. Every time we heard the doorbell, we feared it was the police. We still can’t forget the day when the police raided our house church, took some of us away, and forced the rest to sign a paper confessing we would never meet or engage in Christian activities again.”
Fatemeh (name changed), a believer in Iran.

What does Open Doors do to help?​

Open Doors raises prayer support for the believers in Iran.

Please pray​

• Pray that God will protect and grant wisdom to the network of secret house churches.
• Pray for their mental and physical wellbeing of Christian prisoners and their families.
• Pray that God will bless and protect the Church in Iran as it grows and shares the Gospel.

Yes, according to Jesus in Mark 3:

34 looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

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This refers to not biological brothers but Christian (spiritual) brothers; similarly in Romans 8:

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

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Hebrews 2:

10 it was fitting that he [Jesus], for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.

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Though Jesus is our brother, there is a distinction between him and us: He sanctifies us. Jesus is the unique-monogenḗs Son of God. We become sons of God through him.

Is there anything specifically theologically wrong with calling Christ our "brother"?

No.

Is there any reason why Christians shouldn't refer to Christ as their "brother"?

If we overdo it, we cheapen the concept. By grace, Jesus is our brother. Jesus is not just our brother, he is our God. We need to keep these two balanced.

See also

• The Son is the FIRSTBORN over all creation.

Wiki:

The 21 grams experiment refers to a study published in 1907 by Duncan MacDougall, a physician from Haverhill, Massachusetts. MacDougall hypothesized that souls have physical weight, and attempted to measure the mass lost by a human when the soul departed the body. MacDougall attempted to measure the mass change of six patients at the moment of death. One of the six subjects lost three-quarters of an ounce (21.3 grams).
MacDougall stated his experiment would have to be repeated many times before any conclusion could be obtained. The experiment is widely regarded as flawed and unscientific due to the small sample size, the methods used, as well as the fact only one of the six subjects met the hypothesis.[1] The case has been cited as an example of selective reporting. Despite its rejection within the scientific community, MacDougall's experiment popularized the concept that the soul has weight, and specifically that it weighs 21 grams.

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Let proposition P1 = At the point of death, a person's body loses 21 g.

MacDougall's experiment did not establish P1 as true. His method lacked scientific and statistical rigor. Often, people believe what they want to believe, regardless of the evidence or the lack of it. The scientific community largely dismissed his experiment as pseudoscience.

Can weight loss after death indicate the departure of a soul?

It could, but one has to establish P1 first.

Whether we are at the kitchen sink at home with family, or at the water cooler at work we have the opportunity to communicate and to learn. Now more than ever, when our country, our countries and the world seem polarized, when each "side" sees the other as living in a fantasy, when differences seem impossible to get beyond, we as proclaimed believers in the name, person and ministry of Jesus, are called to step up. How? What can we do that the rest of the world seems incapable of doing? We can work for peace through dialogue. I know I can be as bad at it as anyone. So here are a few guidelines.

1. Be authentic.
2. Recognize complexity.
3. Look for the humanity of “the other.”
4. Respect the person and reserve judgement on ideas/beliefs.
5. Prepare for tolerable discomfort.
6. Do not start with difference.
7. Listen.
8. Look for assumptions.
9. Correct.
10. Accept you may not agree.
11. Reflect and be open to change.
12. Take a break and repeat.

Twelve Ground Rules for Dialogues on Difference

To develop an authentic sense of self in a context that is increasingly characterized by diversity and confusion, we need to think about what voices we hear (and don’t) and to which we should listen (or not). As a nation and as individuals we are in deep need of dialogue across the differences...

vocationmatters.org

Roman57 said:

Not sure what are you alluding to. I don't see mathematics in the Bible. I heard of Bible codes, but I don't know much about it. And I am not sure thats what you are referring to either. Can you elaborate?

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The key that opened this for me was Genesis 41.32 KJV where Joseph is speaking to pharaoh about his dreams and he says;

Genesis 41:32 KJV
And . . . doubled . . . twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

I wondered what he meant by that statement and where he got his information from, so I did some research and what I found far exceeded my expectations.

Here is an example;

In Genesis 22.2 the word love first appears in scripture at the beginning of a passage where Abraham (meaning father of many) took his only begotten son into the land of Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice upon a mountain.

Some 2200 years after Abraham was born, God (the Father of many) took His only begotten Son into the land of Moriah to offer Him as a sacrifice upon a mountain.

Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified is a peak in the Mountain range of Moriah.

Isaac, (meaning laughter) is mysteriously omitted from the Genesis story for two chapters, and the next time he appears is when he receives his bride, Rebekah.

Christ (The bringer of eternal laughter to mankind) has been mysteriously omitted from the history of man for two millennia, and the next time He will appear is when He receives His bride. (John 3.29. Matthew 25.10)

Abraham’s senior servant, Eliezer, (which means God comforts) who wields Abraham’s power over all of his possessions, is sent by Abraham to find a bride of unusual faith for Isaac.

God’s Holy Spirit (who Christ called "the comforter") who wields God’s power over all of creation was sent to earth by God to find a bride of unusual faith for Christ.

Abraham possesses the fire and the knife and Isaac bore the burden of the wood.

God possesses the Holy Spirit (revealed in the burning bush and tongues of fire) and the power of life and death, and Christ bore the burden of the cross.

Abraham had two sons; the son of the flesh, Ishmael, born first, and the son of the promise, Isaac, born afterwards by a miraculous conception.

God had two sons; the son of the flesh, Adam, born first, and the son of the promise, Jesus, born afterwards by a miraculous conception.

DOUBLED TWICE

Doubled twice being “God's signature”, it is obviously not just coincidence that the word love first occurs in Genesis 22.2 (incidence number 2 of 222 in scripture) where it uncovers the love of the Spirit, while Genesis 2.22, incidence number 1 of 222 uncovers the love of man, but notably the word love is not used to describe it.

Here are the two scriptures.

Genesis 2:22 KJV
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (the first time Adam saw Eve.)

Genesis 22:2 KJV
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (the foreshadowing of the crucifixion of Christ.)

1 Corinthians 15:45-47 KJV

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. [46] Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Knowing that Christ is number 2 in heaven (John 14.28) and that the numbers were only put into the Bible about 400 years ago only served to confirm Joseph’s revelation and that there is no coincidence with God.

[10] Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Isaiah 46:

After I found this, I started doing a study of Numbers in the Bible and I discovered that every number in every verse reveals meaning in the verse.

Some are not obvious, some are more so, like John 6.66.

I am reading in Psalms 73, which has 28 verses, so I will not quote them all, but the whole Psalm is one continuous story, so I will summarize much of it and then quote other parts of it. And I do believe that at least some of this is relevant to what is going on in the world today and in my nation (USA).

The Psalmist was Asaph. And he was struggling in his heart and in his mind with thoughts of envy of the arrogant as he saw the prosperity of the wicked who did not seem to have struggles or difficulties, for they didn’t seem to be in trouble as other people were. Therefore, pride was their necklace. They seemed to always be at ease, and they increased in wealth. Asaph said,


But then he said,


Okay, so if you are someone who pays attention to what is going on in the world and in your individual nations, or to what is happening in the United States of America (where I live) with our new government heads, or to what you are being told is happening, which may or may not be the truth at all, and frequently is not the truth, you may or may not have similar reactions. For the people who are now ruling over us are definitely the wealthy and the powerful of the world who seem to be unstoppable and are gaining much ground. And on a surface evaluation, it can be very disturbing.

But I love this next part.. “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.” And this is where we all need to be, in the sanctuary of God, which is not a physical place, but is our relationships with the Lord, seeking the counsel of God, and studying the Scriptures. For if we study the Scriptures, then what is happening in our world and in our individual nations will begin to make sense, especially any Scriptures which prophesy the events of these last days before the return of Christ. Very telling! So if you want answers to all this craziness, read your Bibles and pray to God.


And this is where we all need to land. We all need a God-perspective and a biblical perspective of what is happening in our world and in our individual nations, and then we can be at peace even in the midst of much turmoil. For what we are seeing take place in our world and in our nations was prophesied in the Scriptures so that we would be warned in advance of what to expect so that we will be ready for it, so that it does not take us out or make us afraid. So we need to stop listening to those who would want to get us to be afraid, and we need to let the peace of God rule in our hearts.

We need to put our focus on the Lord and on his word and on following our Lord in obedience to his commands. Yes, be educated as to what is going on in our world, but don’t believe everything certain people tell you, for lies and liars abound everywhere you look. Deception is HUGE these days, as the Bible predicted that it would be. We are not seeing anything that the Bible did not warn us about in advance to prepare us for such a time as this. So we need to get our counsel from God and in his Word, and let the peace of God rule in our hearts, and not get caught up in all the angst all around us.

One day all this will be over, and those who did evil, and who did not obey God, will be cast into the fiery furnace of hell where they will be forever. And many of them are those who give lip service to the Lord but who, by their actions, deny him as their Lord (Owner-Master). So a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ will not “get you off the hook” if by your lifestyle you are living to please your flesh and not God. For we are all going to stand before God on the day of judgment and we will be judged according to our works. And if sin, and not obedience, is our practice, then we will not see God.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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Until I Came Into the Sanctuary of God
An Original Work / March 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hvizsgyak said:

If you ever get to Mexico, they have all sort of flavored tequilas. The coffee flavored tequila straight up is beyond fantastic .

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Cool! Thanks for letting me know

Heavenly Father, Holy is Your Name, we pray You will guide and heal Dave Darling, in the Name of Jesus, as only You can. Amen and Amen.