Praying they shut down for good! I would love to see that! Evil organization!

Lord have mercy!

Fantine said:

The LGBT are not the subject of this. It's the recipients of $1.8 billion dollars in USAID to Catholic Relief Services who will lose clean water, food in times of famine, malaria and other disease protection.

Why, Riley, did Musk have to close an entire agency that milli, ons of desperately poor in the third world depend on for survival in order to close one Los Angeles agency helping LGBT youth?

But Michie was right. Others will help. China, a country who is potentially America's most dangerous enemy, has a huge presence in Africa. USAID used to give 20,000 university scholarships to promising African men and women. Those people are now in leadership roles in African and South American countries.

China is giving 40,000 scholarships now--and at the moment we're not giving any. What will Africa look like fifteen years from now, when the leaders of the country are China-friendly and U.S. enemies? USAID gives more than food. It insures their friendship in the present and the future. And China, potentially our greatest enemy, is ready to step in and make Africans our enemy as well.

Click to expand...

To be blunt, I don’t like nor trust Elon Musk.

A federal judge handed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency a major win Friday — saying it could access sensitive data across three major government agencies.

Musk’s budget-slashing team had made efforts to rummage through the finances of the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Continued below.

Michie said:

Since its launch, Elon Musk's DOGE has uncovered billions in wasteful spending across the federal government​

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's efforts at President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have revealed a number of examples of government waste that have dominated headlines in recent weeks, as his team continues to audit the federal government despite Democrat opposition.

Here are some of the top-lines from DOGE's findings:

Musk reveals ‘Iron Mountain’ mine nightmare​

Musk revealed this week that DOGE is investigating a limestone mine in Pennsylvania where federal employee retirements are processed manually.

"Federal employee retirements are processed using paper, by hand, in an old limestone mine in Pennsylvania. 700+ mine workers operate 230 feet underground to process ~10,000 applications per month, which are stored in manila envelopes and cardboard boxes. The retirement process takes multiple months," Musk announced on X.

Continued below.

'Wasteful and dangerous': DOGE's top five most shocking revelations

The Trump administration's DOGE efforts have found several controversial and highly publicized examples of spending it says are a waste of taxpayer funds.

www.foxnews.com

Click to expand...

We had my dad's memorial on Valentine's day. It was really nice to see everyone, uncles I hadn't seen in a while. It's sad because we probably won't see each other much now. But, it was a nice celebration and I enjoyed it.

Multiple prisoners connected to Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a foreign terrorist organization​

Palestinians linked to suicide bombings and attempted murders are among the 369 released Saturday by Israel in its latest exchange for hostages captured by Hamas.

Thirty-six of the detainees were serving out life sentences in Israeli prisons, but only 12 of them were allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The other 24 are being sent to exile.

Continued below.

Arizona and New Mexico’s fire season is set to begin, and Forest Service personnel have typically sent staff from California to help respond this time of year. But according to a Forest Service employee in the West, that’s not possible with these layoffs and the hiring freeze.
That means work — including mapping the spread of a fire, preparation for where it’s safe to conduct prescribed burns and even sending non-fire personnel in so-called “militias” to help combat a blaze — won’t happen.

Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said that the Forest Service layoffs will have “devastating” impacts on wildfire mitigation efforts. “Fire safety projects are already frozen and being canceled all over the West,” he said. “We’re on track to lose an entire season of critical work, and this will only compound the problem.

--

Cuts of that scale [at the Park Service] wouldn’t just impact park-goers or workers who suddenly won’t have a paycheck. It could also imperil Trump’s own plans to boost energy production on public land if there aren’t enough employees in place to steadily process oil and gas drilling permits, said Steve Feldgus, Interior’s principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management under the Biden administration.

One Interior employee said he was told up to 800 staff could be let go at the agency’s Bureau of Land Management, the branch in charge of overseeing oil, gas and other energy production on federal land.

The parents of recently released hostages Karina Ariev, Liri Albag and Naama Levy shared details of the suffering their daughters endured on Oct. 7, 2023, and during their 477 days in captivity in Gaza.

Ariev's father, Albert, said Karina is still not ready to talk about the traumatic events of Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked her military base and brutally murdered most of her colleagues in cold blood.

"She just doesn’t talk about it," he said. "What happened in that shelter was horrific. It makes her rehabilitation even harder — I can see it. Something terrible happened to my daughter on October 7. The captivity wasn't easy but the nightmare is split into two parts," the father continued.

Continued below.

https://apnews.com/article/usaid-ch...nding-freeze-bbb000ea0e232765db1280c093301a8a



I can only post one sentence of AP articles. It is a good read. It is interesting that the right likes to claim Christianity but voted in someone who is hurting what I consider God's work. Those Christian workers are trying to spread the gospel and Christian love. Why am I not surprized the Trump administration will not cooperate with them?

rambot said:

Thwre is no sensible reason foe this.


I think Trump had a bit of a vendetta against Trudeau after Trudeau was caught on mic making fun of Trump during round 1

Click to expand...

And there were photos of Melania making eyes at Pierre.

Tried this the other day. It’s good and can be tweaked for individual tastes. Great with some salad and crusty bread.

Musk wrote on X Saturday that DOGE and the Treasury Department have agreed to take the following steps:

• All outgoing payments must have a categorization code in order to be paid. That’s supposed to already happen, but Musk has found the code is often left blank, making audits nearly impossible.
• All payments must have an explanation attached — another procedure that has been routinely ignored, making it hard to determine what or who federal payments are actually for.
• Every payment must be checked against an up-to-date “Do Not Pay” list of known frauds, terrorist groups, deceased people and expenditures that do not match congressional appropriations

It's taxpayer money. Democrats should not be fighting this.

Valletta said:

​

ORR faced criticism in 2023 after The New York Times reported that 85,000 unaccompanied children had gone missing after being placed with sponsors. During a congressional hearing, then-ORR Director Robin Dunn Marcos did not confirm the accuracy of this figure, though former acting ICE Director Tom Homan estimated the number to be closer to 300,000.

Government Watchdog: HHS Spent over $22 Billion on ‘Giveaways’ to Illegal Immigrants Under 4 Years of Biden | Joe Pags

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a sub agency within the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families, has allocated over $22.6 billion to support various services, including Medicaid access, credit-building assistance, home and auto loans, and...

joepags.com

All of that money spent and they did not bother to keep track of the children.

Click to expand...

Seems to me a good place to look for those children are those red states who have a habit of hiring undocumented children. Arkansas would be good place to start.

Isaiah 60:3 says, “And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” This Passage is said to refer to Israel.

There are many Passages in the Bible that tell of what will happen. God determines the future, so it is with certainty that God has spoken to Isaiah the Prophet of the event that will happen in the above passage. There is no date certain for what will happen, so people look for any earthly signs and other indications. People make annual pilgrimages to Israel, and statesmen visit its powers that be. People, regardless of status, have paid their visit to Jerusalem. But as Revelation 21:23 says, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb,” do these people actually look for and see a divine light shining via the spirit of Jesus?

To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.’ But it seems that those who come away from Israel, regardless of status, have come in their own darkness and left in their own darkness if such a divine light exists. Certainly those who’ve attacked Israel are fogged by their darkness.

In other places, the Light seems to cynical minds to flicker with uncertainty, like a candle that is threatened by a light wind but continues to stay lit. Seems there are enough earthly problems that cast people into darkness, and all their religious school learning and attending houses of worship have not done much to ensure that they look for and see the Light of the Lamb.

But the Light does exist, as David testifies to it in Psalms 27:1. Our salvation is guided by the Lord, and the path is lit toward it. If only we can remove the fog that others want to keep over us...

As people progress from mid-life through old age, those who stay single feel happier and happier with their lives.

Even though older lifelong single women are mostly doing fine, other people don’t believe them.

The Truth About the People Who Stay Single for Life

They're not lonely and bitter, even if no one believes it.

www.psychologytoday.com

I think it depends on the family or peer pressure to marry, social status, community, personality traits, lifestyle, finances and health. If some man was always dependent on his mother, lives in poverty and is unhealthy, of course he will feel better married and having a support, for example.

Anyway, its generally better to be single than in a bad marriage. As also the Bible says.

Packages from the United States Agency for International Development were found last year in a cache of weapons owned by the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to new reports.

The reports come at a time when USAID’s funding is under attack and the agency is being defended by Democrats such as Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who called USAID “smart power,” according to Fox News.

The packages were found in Lebanon, an Israel Defense Forces soldier said, according to the New York Post.

Continued below.

How awful!

LoveofTruth said:

Yet it is interesting that in that same book we read this

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." (Isaiah 66:22-24)

Click to expand...

Since the new heaven and the new earth will have no sun or moon, but God will be the light of it. Which era does Isaiah 66 speak of?

A Defense Intelligence Agency told Huffington Post Friday that spies are in complete flux.

'DOGE just posted secret NOFORN info on their website about [intelligence community] headcount, so currently people are scrambling to check if their info has been accessed,' the anonymous worker said.

A spokesperson for the NRO merely said: 'We defer to the Department of Government Efficiency for comment on the release of information posted on DOGE.gov.'

NOFORN is short for 'Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals' which means that it cannot be spread to anyone outside the federal government without permission.

One Senate aide called this 'absolutely a problem under the current intelligence standards.'

Now, this is one of those Scriptures which must be studied in the context of the whole book in which it was written, plus in the context of the whole of the New Testament Scriptures, particularly beginning with Romans, which is where we have many of the doctrinal teachings of the Scriptures, and continuing to read up to and through the book of Revelation. For it is not by a verbal confession of Jesus Christ alone that we are able to determine if someone is or is not from God. We must test them by their fruits.

Take for example that the Scriptures warn us much against false teachers and prophets and preachers who give the outward appearance of righteousness but who deny the Lord by their actions. They are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who profess faith in the Lord Jesus but who are out to destroy the church. For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and his servants masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness. So don’t be fooled by verbal professions of faith without evidence of faith in practice.

The situation we are being faced with today here in America is that “the church” at large has adopted and accepted a false gospel message and a false church in place of the biblical gospel and the biblical church. And they have done this without testing the spirits to see whether or not they are of God. Their pastors have largely presented to them the “new way” of doing things in order to “draw in large crowds of people from the world,” and so they have gotten on board without “reading the fine print,” so to speak.

So the church is largely not operating as the biblical body of Christ with each part doing its work, i.e. its individual assignments from the Lord. And it is largely not operating under the headship of Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Instead, it is largely being led by the flesh of humans who are following after marketing schemes and tricks and gimmicks on how to draw in those large crowds from the world into their gatherings. And so many of their gatherings are more like stage productions to “win the world.”

And, in order to “win the world” to their gatherings they also alter and dilute the gospel of Jesus Christ, which he taught and which his New Testament apostles taught, and they turn it into a “friendlier” version in order to not offend the people of the world with the truth, and in order to pacify people in their sins and to not confront them, because they want them coming back to their gatherings. And it appears that not many people are testing what is going on in the name of “church” to see if it lines up with God or not.

But the Lord is not silent on these matters. His Word speaks to these issues, and he does have servants and messengers who are also speaking to these issues and who are attempting to “clean house” and to get the church going in the right direction, which is the way of the Lord as taught in the Scriptures (IN CONTEXT). Nonetheless, many people are believing the lies because they are not studying the Scriptures for themselves, and because they are not studying them in their appropriate context.

And let me give you a practical example of what this might look like. Imagine with me for a moment that you move into an apartment which was previously occupied by someone who did not take care of the place. They did not finish out their contract, so you took over their contract, but without reading what the contract actually required. You did not “test” what was in the contract before you signed it. You did not read the conditions of the contract nor did you consider what it would cost you to live in that situation.

This is what is taking place in much of what is called “church” today, but which is not operating as the biblical body of Christ, but more like businesses of human origin which are being marketed to the people of the world. So you end up accepting a false concept of “church,” and then you end up buying into a diluted and altered gospel message because that is what they are teaching, and so you assume it must be correct, but without you really testing it to see if it is, in fact, the gospel that Jesus taught (in context).

So, what is the solution? We need to read the Scriptures for ourselves, but we need to read them in context, comparing Scripture with Scripture. And if you read the whole of 1 John, you will read that if we say we are in fellowship with God but while we still live in sin, we are liars. And if we claim that we know God, but while obeying him is not what we practice, we are liars. So if we make sin our practice, we don’t know God, we are of the devil, and we do not have eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

[1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

So, we cannot just read in 1 John 4 that a mere verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to assure us that this person is of God, for it does not agree with the bulk of what is taught in the whole book of 1 John and in the whole of the New Testament writings. So there must be another explanation for what it means. There is. The word “confess” means more than a verbal profession of faith, but it means to agree with God and to align with what his word teaches us regarding Jesus and who he was/is and what he taught.

And just because someone says that he is of God and that what he is teaching is of God, it does not necessitate that what he says is of God is, in fact, in line with the teachings of the New Covenant Scriptures and the gospel message taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles. So this is why we must test everything that we hear to make certain that it agrees with what the Scriptures teach in their appropriate context, not out of context. And then we will see clearly what God’s word really teaches us.

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

I Can See Clearly Now
(a secular song which can be applied in a spiritual way)

By Johnny Nash

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day

Login to view embedded media
Caution: This link may contain ads

Do Not Believe Everyone
An Original Work / February 15, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Stephen3141 said:

I don't think that your 2 lists of characteristics, are the only ones
possible.

Even in the direct teaching of Jesus in the gospels, you get a healthy mix
of mercy/forgiveness and justice/judgment.

Click to expand...

Jesus didn't punch down on the oppressed or the marginalized. That's what American Evangelicals don't understand. Even if he had a point to make, he tried to meet people where they were at, recognize their dignity, and not expose them to unnecessary shame to make himself look important.

ESV, 1 John 5:

18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning

Click to expand...

born
γεγεννημένος (gegennēmenos)
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1080: From a variation of genos; to procreate; figuratively, to regenerate.

but he who was born of God protects him,

Click to expand...

Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular

Who is the subject (he)?

The aorist specifies punctiliar or singular action when the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) was connected with the believer's human spirit. There is no relative pronoun here, only the article: nominative masculine singular. The subject is a combination of the Paraclete and the regenerated believer.

and the evil one does not touch him.

Click to expand...

The evil one does not touch the Paraclete/regenerated believer combo.

Peace in Christ.

The sign of the Son of man “appears”…that is, it SHINES (Greek: phainō - Prolongation for the base of G5457; to lighten (shine), that is, show (transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative - appear, seem, be seen, shine, X think.)

It shines in the heaven. We are the “heaven” as we are citizens of heaven now in this earth. Philippians 3:20 . We as citizens of heaven are to focus on things above (in heaven) and not on earth. Colossians 3:2 .

Mat 24:30
(30) And then shall appear (SHINE) the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The sign of the Son of man shines in His people (the “heaven”). It shines within our very hearts when we hear the voice of the Son of God as He interprets the Scripture of Truth to our hearing ears.

This shining sign of the Son of man arises within our hearts and is our personal witness from God who testifies that this is His only begotten, beloved Son whom we are to hear speaking to us. It is our "holy mount"...the arising of light.

2 Peter 1:17-20
(17) For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
(18) And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

The light shines in a dark place when we hear His voice that interprets Scripture of Truth to our hearing ears. The day dawns…the bright and morning star…breaks out and arises in our hearts.

It rises like a looming mountain. It is our “holy mount”….the holy arising of light… that testifies that this is His Son speaking to us. We are to take heed on how we hear.

(19) We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
(20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

This arising light within the hearts of those who hear the voice of His Son is the sign of the Son of man.

It is the witness of God that we have WITHIN our hearts of His Son whom we are to HEAR.

His voice is heard through the “witness of men” whom He sends out to speak His words of life and spirit.

We receive the witness of them…but the witness of God within our hearts is greater. It is the sign of the Son of man that shines in our hearts.

1Jn 5:9-11 KJV
(9) If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
(10) He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

If we believe His witness that this is His Son speaking/interpreting to us, then we receive an age-lasting life in the Son.

(11) And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

This sign of the Son of man that arises in His peoples’ hearts (the “heaven”) makes us (who believe in His witness) of one mind and one body in Christ.

We then stand together with the Lamb on “mount” Zion….the RISING SIGN within our hearts which binds us together with Him.

“Mount” is the Greek word “oros” - Probably a from an obsolete word ὄρω orō (to rise or “rear”; perhaps akin to G142; compare G3733); a mountain (as lifting itself above the plain) - hill, mount (-ain).

“Zion” means “a sign ,indication, mark” or “a landmark”….. and has the idea of being “raised up” as a “monument.” The root צ-י-ן forms a verb in modern Hebrew today that means “to point out.”

Rev 14:1 KJV
(1) And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

When we receive the promise of “eternal life”…that is, an age-lasting life, the life of Jesus manifests (SHINES) in our MORTAL FLESH.

That manifestation is the revealing of the “Son of man” in this earth…and it comes with power and great glory. We are part of the Son of man. We are His flesh and bones in this world. He gives His flesh for the life of the world who will then see His light shining in us..

2Co 4:10-11 KJV
(10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
(11) For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Your light is come…..we are then glorified with His light that will then shine towards the people of this world who are in deep spiritual darkness.

Isa 60:1-3 KJV
(1) Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
(2) For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

They ..the outside people of this world…will then be attracted to our light (His light). They will come to the light as there is no way we can be hidden from them.

(3) And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

They will fly as a “CLOUD” to us as they gather themselves together to come to our light.

Isa 60:4-8 KJV
(4) Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
(5) Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
(6) The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
(7) All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
(8) Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Hence, the Son of man comes in the CLOUDS of heaven…as the outside people of this world will come to the light like clouds…coming to the manifestation of the Son of man’s life through our mortal bodies.

Mat 24:30 KJV
(30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The “tribes of the earth” are the unbelievers who will then see this effect on the people of this world and will mourn it. They will then see the world going after Him and all of their joy will go away.

“Pharisees” = “separatist”. The modern-day Pharisees are the unbelieving people of the church denominations (separatists) who will see the "sign of Jonah" as the outside world will go after His people…the Son of man.

Joh 12:19 KJV
(19) The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

They will see the Son of man coming on the “clouds” of the people of this world who will then be drawn to Him. They are the "clouds" gathered together and surrounding us (the "heaven"). Seeing the “cloud” of people flying to us who have His presence manifest in our mortal bodies darkens the hearts of the unbelievers of this.

They will mourn it…as their “sun is darkened and the moon shall not give her light”. Their joy…their light…their bright cheerfulness… will turn to gloom and darkness when they see the people of this world come together to Him as clouds. The cloud "covers" their sun and moon so to speak. They will not believe but will see the effects of our Christ light shining to the people of the outside world who will "fly as a cloud" to us. This will shaken those who are in power now in this earth.

Mat 24:29 KJV
(29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Every eye shall see Him…as we manifest His life in our mortal flesh. Our light is come….and the outside people of this world come to the rising of our Light (in Christ). The unbelievers ...the "kindreds of the earth"...will then mourn what they see happening.

Rev 1:7 KJV
(7) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.