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Secret Service Snipers Were Aware Of The Gunman On The Roof "20 Minutes" Prior To Him Firing The First Shot At President Trump?

I'd love to hear from the snipers that had the gunman in their rifle sights for 20 minutes, and they didn't neutralize the threat "Why"?
Suddenly a government Agency is supposed to be as near to 100% as it is possible to get after years of the right denigrating Government Agency’s for not being anywhere near 100%?

Maybe these guys don’t get to sniper no more?
Or are put on desk-duty?
Or forced to resign?
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Best music videos?

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I don't know if you are including romantic songs, but this is catchy and one of the most memorable music videos ever.

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Some romantic songs can double by making one think of God, "I loved you all along, and I forgive you, for being away for far too long." (Prodigal son)

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Phil Collins wrote this as a lullaby for his daughter. It goes without saying the lyrics could make one think about God too. For a lot of people, cartoons give them nostalgia and comfort (you mentioned anxious students).

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Easy song to learn, one of my favorite recent Christian songs. Could be a good starter song for a playlist.
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The Lonely and Rejected

They talk to you as though you’re no one,
As though you’re pointless, waste of time.
They treat you as though you’re a burden,
As though you are not worth a dime.

They treat you as though you know nothing,
Like they should be God’s voice to you.
They act like you’re just in the way of
All of their plans they’re working through.

For you don’t fit within their purpose,
For you’re not driven quite the same.
You don’t fit their target audience,
For you don’t play their schemes, their games.

They may have been warned now against you,
For your convictions not for them.
And so you they’ll toss to the curb
And act like you they not condemn.

“Now you’re too young to speak like Jesus.
Just wait till gray hairs on your head.”
But then you’re just an old, old fogy,
You’re “not with it,” so you they dread.

In one place “You’ve got too much with it,”
Another says, “You fall apart.”
Another says, “You’re too controlling,”
So they attack your wounded heart.

They will not listen, you’re not worth it,
For you are just a throw away.
For your convictions, they offend them,
It bothers them they you not sway.

But Jesus loves you very dearly,
Who walk with Him and His Word do.
And He has purpose now for your life.
So, trust Him fully, through and through.

An Original Work / October 21, 2022
See 1 Corinthians 4:9-13

A Spectacle to The World

“For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” (1 Corinthians 4:9-13 ESV)

What was it about the New Testament apostles that led people to treat them the way that they did? It was that they exemplified what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and to surrender their lives to the Lord to do his will. They demonstrated to us what it means to give our lives up to follow Jesus Christ, to deny self, to die to sin daily, and to walk in obedience to our Lord in holy living. They were not absolutely perfect in every way but their hearts and minds and actions were committed to obedience to Christ to do his will.

And it was that they followed the example of Christ that he provided for them in how we ought to live, and in how we are to treat other people, and of the importance of getting out to the people the true message of the gospel of our salvation, and in how we need to be those who refute the lies of the enemy and who expose the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are. For all this is for the salvation of human lives so that other people can know Jesus in truth and have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Therefore, just like Jesus was hated and persecuted and harassed and had people trying to trick him and to trip him up with his words, who were also falsely accusing him of wrong he did not commit, and who regularly criticized his ministry, the apostles experienced the same. And if we follow Jesus with our lives in the same respect, we will be treated likewise. We will be treated by some, even by people in positions of prominence in the gatherings of what are called “churches,” as though we are the scum of the world.

And that is because we live in a culture and a generation of people who are being taught that belief in Jesus Christ is a one-time decision they make in their lives to trust in Jesus to forgive them their sins so that when they die they get to go to heaven and not hell. And they are being taught that this secures heaven for them, and that it can’t be taken away from them, but regardless of how they live. For they are being taught that how they live does not matter for their salvation and for eternal life with God.

But that is not what Jesus taught. And it is not what his NT apostles taught, and that is why they were hated by the people. It is why they were persecuted and mistreated and falsely accused and abandoned and some (or many) of them were killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. For they taught that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. They taught, too, that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to the Lord, that we would not be saved. We would not have eternal life.

And that is not a popular message. And it isn’t what most people want to hear. For it appears that the majority like hearing that they can profess faith in Jesus Christ once in their lives and now salvation and eternal life with God are theirs for eternity regardless of how they live. And many are being taught that God requires nothing of them other than a profession of faith, and that they don’t have to repent of (turn from) their sins, and that they don’t have to obey God, for they call that “works salvation.”

But Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience (paraphrased). For if we hold on to our old lives of living for self and in sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord in holy living, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For he said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God.

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23; 1 John 3:4-10]

And if we are true followers of Christ who emulate him and who do and say the kinds of things he did and said, then we will be treated like he was. We will be treated like his NT apostles were treated, like we are the scum of the earth for people to just trample on. We will be treated as though what we do is not important or as though we are just wasting our time or as though we are some kind of religious fanatics who are to be ignored and avoided at all cost. And we will be treated as though we are the enemy.

But when we are mistreated, we are to do good to those who mistreat us. We are to pray for them and show them love, in return. We are not to retaliate. We are not to get even by doing evil back to them. But we are to forgive them. And we are to endure unjust treatment and suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus and for the sake of his gospel and for the sake of the genuine salvation of human souls from bondage to sin so that they can now live for Jesus and to do his will. And we are never to give up hope!

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Here is Your God!

An Original Work / July 18, 2012
Based off Isaiah 40:9-31 NIV


You who bring good tidings to Zion,
Lift up your voice; raise with a shout,
And do not be afraid of the people.
Say, “Here is your God!”
See how the Lord God comes now with power.
His arm rules for Him; His reward with Him.
He tends His flock just like a shepherd,
His lambs in His arms.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from beginning?
Our Lord sits enthroned above all things.
None to Him compare.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens.
Who made all of these? Who calls them by name?
Because of His great power and strength,
All accounted for.

Why do you say, “My way is hidden
From the Lord, and my cause forgotten”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord, He is your God.
He will not weary. He gives us power.
Those who trust in Him will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings just like eagles;
Walk and do faint not.

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Weary of Heart

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem." Isaiah 66:13

Our God is not weak. He is strong and powerful. And yet he is also gentle and tender like a mother hen is to her chicks. He comforts his children like a mother comforts her young. He gathers us in His arms like a shepherd gathers his sheep, if we are willing.

So, when we, his followers, and his servants, grow weak and tired; when we are sad or feeling lonely or forgotten; or when we lack the physical or emotional strength to keep going because of hardship, persecution and trouble in our lives, he brings us comfort.

He quiets our anxious hearts and fills us with his peace when we call on him in truth, trusting in his love and mercy. He will never leave us or forsake us. He knows what we are going through. He has not forgotten us. He will empower us and give us strength to endure, if we trust him.

Weary of Heart

An Original Work / January 23, 2016
Based off Isaiah 40


You who bring the Good News,
Lift up your voice.
Do not fear. Shout it out:
“Here is your God!”
The sovereign Lord comes
With power and strength.
He gathers His tender lambs
In His arms.

Lift up your eyes and look:
“Who made all things?”
God, our creator knows
All about you.
Your cause is not
Disregarded by God.
He will not leave;
He’ll not abandon you.

When you are troubled
And weary of heart,
Trust the Lord with your life.
Do not despair.
He will empower you;
Strengthen within.
Soar on wings like eagles,
Walk and not faint.

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Regarded as Servants of Christ

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1-5 ESV)

The apostle Paul, from the beginning of this letter, was addressing the issue of some of the people raising up some of the ministers of the gospel above others, sort of in a worshipful way or as to make idols of them and to make distinctions among them as to who was greater. They were becoming followers of man in place of followers of Christ and they were idolizing certain men over others who were all servants of the Lord Jesus. And this was causing divisions among the people.

In our day and age we have the same situation where certain men or women are being raised up to almost God-status to where the people appear to be worshiping the man (or woman) in place of God, or to where they are making idols of these people, but based on the wisdom of this age, which is not true wisdom, but is a false wisdom of man. And I will give you some examples of what I am talking about here and what I believe Paul is talking about here, for this is a critical issue in the church today.

If you have gone to Bible college or to seminary and so you have a degree from one of these places of learning, you are raised up above the rest of us who do not have such degrees. If you have accreditation through a particular church denomination or you have a religious title in front of your name, you are raised up to a status above the rest of us common people. If you are a pastor or an elder in a church, or you have the official title of missionary to a specific physical location, you are also idolized and raised above others.

But these could be people who are living worldly and fleshly lives, who are not really serving the Lord with their lives, whose lives are not surrendered to Christ, but who are still operating in the flesh. But because they have a degree or a title or an accreditation, then they are raised up above the rest of us to some special status that is above us common folk. And they could be called missionaries and pastors, but they may be teaching a false gospel to the people and using trickery to deceive the people under them.

But as soon as it is acknowledged that they have a title or some kind of official position within an official organization, they are automatically raised up above the rest of us. This should not be! And I am not saying that this happens in all cases, but from my observation over my 74 years of life and over 50 years of Christian ministry, I would say that this is more the norm than it is the exception. And so it puts this unnecessary separation between clergy and laity, and between “missionaries” and those not in official positions.

And this is what Paul was speaking against. For what does this also do? It lowers those who do not have these credentials as though they are less, or as though what they are doing is not as important as what someone is doing if he is called “pastor” or “missionary.” And that is just wrong! For someone not credentialed could be serving the Lord Jesus full-time in ministry without recognition and be leading people to faith in Jesus Christ and be treated as a nobody while the credentialed get acclamation for titles.

But all of us who believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ are all to be his servants and witnesses. All of us are to be sharing the gospel and ministering to one another in the areas of giftedness and calling where God has gifted us and assigned us. And titles and diplomas mean nothing in the sight of God. What matters to God is that our lives are surrendered to him, that we are committed to his service, that we are walking in obedience to his commands, and sin is not our practice.

And it is that we are ministering to one another in the ways in which the Scriptures teach that all of us should be ministering to each other, and that we are faithful in being lights in the darkness for the truth of the gospel of our salvation, and that we are sharing the truth and not the lies, and that we are not ashamed of the gospel, and that we are not more concerned with people liking us than we are with obeying our Lord. The Lord is looking for those who will serve him with their lives, no titles required.

And if people judge us because of our service to the Lord because of their own preconceived religious notions as to how things must be done within institutional Christianity, but not according to the Scriptures, then we cannot let that determine who we are and what we do in love response to our Lord. But we are not to be prideful, but to give God all the glory for what he accomplishes in us and through us. And we are to have fair and honest evaluations of ourselves, too, and to not think too highly of ourselves.

We must recognize that all that we are and do in accord with the Lord and with his teachings are only because of God’s grace to us, and have nothing to do with our greatness in our own flesh. All that we are able to do in ministry and to accomplish in the name of the Lord are only possible because of God’s love for us and his callings upon our lives, and because of his guidance and direction and empowerment in our lives. And if this is not our approach or belief, then we are operating in the flesh.

So be careful in making judgments of other people that you don’t raise some people up too high and put others way too low who are serving the Lord with their lives. Be careful, too, that you don’t make judgments based on your own way of thinking or based on human philosophy and tradition or on religious cultures and practices which have been passed down from generation to generation but which are not biblical, but which are just the opinions of humans who are of the flesh who are not listening to God.

Pray to the Lord that he will give you the discernment and the knowledge to make wise and just decisions in how to view all people regardless of their status or titles or education level, etc.

Servant of the Lord

An Original Work / July 26, 2012
Based off Romans 1:1-17


Servant of the Lord;
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.
Through Him, and for His name alone,
We receive His grace
To call people, Him to obey;
Coming from their faith.
Servant of the Lord,
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.

You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ;
Always praying for others’ needs;
Helping hand to lend;
Giving courage to others’ faith,
For the praise of God.
You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ.

Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.
In the gospel find righteousness:
Being right with God.
Turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By faith, live in Him.
Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.

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Was Mary Magdalene a Former Prostitute?

That's what I always thought. One reason I don't buy into the idea they are the same person.

It was interesting to me when I ran across that passage about the woman who annointed and wiped Christ's feet with her hair was Lazarus' sister Mary though. My assumption has been that she had lost faith in Christ when Lazarus died. She who sat so devotedly at his feet stayed home while Martha went out to meet him to tell him that if he had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Seemed like she was angry, or had lost her faith in him or something. She didn't want to see him. So afterwards it would seem much in her character to have had that kind of act of repentance.
Thanks for the info! That definitely makes more sense to me!
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Did Jesus visit England

I love this song. If it isn't literally true I wish it was. Got to sing it with a mixed group of Brits and Yanks after a football match in London last spring, and it was wonderful. England!

Jerusalem
And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land.
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God's will versus choice & Destiny versus free will...

To be born again, is a choice.
When the decision has been made,
2 choices lay await after
To be an eternal servant of God,
or to be a slave.

Choosing to be a servant is not choosing to be a slave.
For all eternity, the servant will be tempted with the choice of being a slave.
However, the choice will always be in choosing the chosen who chose Christ.
For he choose us out of the world of no choice.
for the world without Christ is choiceless.

In a big bang universe,
Which starts the same, (big bang)
And end the same (entropy)
Thinking there is any difference between the middle and in between,
IS ACTUALLY INSANE!

It's only through Christ that we get a choice!
For in God's eternal rock tumbler,
That which go in without Christ,
Go back out into the sands,
While that which go in with Christ, back into salt at the supper of the Lamb!

Therefore, Those without Christ have zero choice
They are program operated and are merely organic props.
Those with Christ have 2 choices,
To be an eternal servant, free will,

Or to be a slave, no will.

Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding FEAST [or FEASTS] as many as you find

Literal Standard Version, Matthew 22:


feasts
γάμους (gamous)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural

English Standard Version:


Why did ESV use the singular form?

In those days, a Jewish wedding ceremony could last for days, Young's Literal Translation, Judges 14:


Now fast-forward to Matthew 22:


the entire series of feasts, plural


i.e., the 1st of the marriage-feasts, singular


i.e., the singular "marriage-feast" is used as an adjective.

ἐπλήσθη ὁ γάμος ἀνακειμένων
was filled marriage-feast with guests

New King James Version translated γάμος as "wedding":


The noun "hall" is implied by the Greek article.


singular, the one that was ongoing now.


A similar plural usage was in YLT Mt 25:


How might the ESV justify translating both in the singular?

Today, English-speaking countries are not familiar with wedding ceremonies that go on for days. The singular marriage-feast would simplify the translation and understanding.
The wedding feast, The Kingdom of Heaven as described in revelations will be eternal!

Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Blessings.
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Bible Vs. Faith Alone: Acts 15:9

I am a protestant that stumbled across your post. I agree with what you are saying, so I guess I'm not a very good protestant, am I? :)

KT
There are many Protestants that believe the same but there are many that don’t. The ones that don’t are usually the ones Catholics have to wrangle with.
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Evangelical Arminianism

I understand Scripture to mean what it says.
Do you see it is meaning:

Rom 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

When we, present ourselves, give ourselves, to sin, what happens? We become a slave to sinly obedience. We can no longer control our sinful habit. It has a slavish effect.

Jesus came to give us the Holy Spirit so we can have power over that binding power. So we are no longer slaves to sin.

So He stated:

Joh 8:33-36 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Note that Jesus said "a slave does not abide in the house forever", the one who gives themselves to sin (as a habit) is in danger of hell fire.

1Jn 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus was not saying "we all sin", he was saying "I have come to free you from the slavery to sin".
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Catholic University hosts transgender and drag queen book display for children

Riley, she is quoting books that she hasnt read, and are only railing against because of somebody else told her to be upset about it. The one book, the one that “teaches kids as young as 7” to cross dress? It does not. It doesn’t even imply it. She’s upset about something that doesn’t exist.

The other article? The one from 2022? The one she linked? It is about Muslim parents protesting the inclusion of books that have LGBT characters. They’re not protesting specific content and no specific books are mentioned, they don’t say there is “very graphic” content, only that heteronormative relationships should be the only thing in books in the library because that’s what they, as Muslims, feel is religiously appropriate.

She is just parroting what other people say. She has no knowledge of these books, or even what the protests are. She’s upset because a website told her she should be. She is poorly informed, at best.
I have no opinion on these books, but per Amazon reviews it appears they are geared at children? I honestly don’t know.

Unless I read it for myself, I won’t comment on it. That’s only fair.
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Creatio Ex Nihilo vs. Creatio Ex Materia vs. Ordo Ab Chao

God did all 3 modes of creation. This isn't an either or.
God created light and matter out of nothing, He created chaos first. The Earth was formless and void.. chaos in other words, then God began creating things out of the matter He'd created, organizing it, so both ex Materia and Order out of Chaos simultaneously. He created living organisms in the world from previously existing material.

In Genesis 1 and 2 God shows He is capable of creating things multiple different ways, speaking something into existence out of nothing, taking existing non living material and making it alive, and cloning life from other life. Eve was made from Adam's rib, the rib bone being one of the best sources of stem cells in an adult human, where hematopoiesis (formation of new blood cells) takes place in the marrow of flat bones, God picked the most logical place to find stem bells to clone Eve from (as taking Adam's pelvis or sternum or shoulder blade would not make sense) This fact is one of the things that convinces me the bible is true, because an Ancient human would have no way of knowing about Hematopoiesis, stem bells, or surgery, and yet it's in the bible, it's a scientific process that makes sense to someone with a background in biology.
Frankly if God had just spoken things into existence, or made clay sculptures and used magic to make them alive as our creation origin.. I might write it off as faerie tales.
But because something I can understand was done, in a way that ancient people could not understand it, and yet they wrote about it... I believe it. It's like how did Solomon know that worker ants are female, and write about it in Proverbs thousands of years before it could be observed in microscopes? Consider her ways.

So for at least me, it is important that God created in a variety of ways, including one that grabbed my attention.
Because lots of mythology has magic beings creating sculptures of men and making them alive.
Lots of mythology has gods creating with snapping their fingers or some other magic.

But only Genesis shows God doing something that makes biological sense to someone modern, but totally nonsensical to an ancient person.
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Biden tests positive for COVID --rushed back to Delaware from Nevada

The losses at Bull run, Carthage, Blackburns ford, and Kessler's cross, were not "one bad night"
your original statement had to do with Lincoln's assassination, not Civil War battlefield losses

and you are wrong

Biden is being forced out of the race by his own party after a series of disastrous public appearances and record-low approval rating. We might see the 25th Amendment invoked next week if he doesn't discontinue his campaign

at no point in his administration was Lincoln's own party considering dragging him out of the Whitehouse
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None of them is lost except the son of PERDITION

Judas made his choice the wrong choice, he betrayed the son of GOD knowing very well who Jesus was.

will you also claim that satan will be saved?
We would first need to define who or what Satan is. That would take awhile, a very long while.

So here is my exceedingly condensed thinking on the subject, without details:

I believe Satan to be the ordained adversary and accuser of the soul (Job chapters 1-2), who is providentially used by God for testing His creation through which His creation was subjected to vanity, in Hope (ie: Christ), (Rom 8:20-8:21).

I believe Satan as represented in scripture is a metaphor for the mind of the flesh that wars and lusts against the mind of the spirit (Rom 8:6-8:8, Gal 5:17). The mind of the spirit being the very breath of God that gives life to all (Gen 2:7).

So, no, I don't make the claim that Satan will be saved. I believe in the final and total destruction of the flesh to the saving of the spirit. And, I believe this to be not only for the elect in this age who know they've been crucified with Christ, but for all of humanity in the resurrection, in the age of judgment to come.
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Hindu extremists seize Bibles from children, beat women in attack on worship service

HYDERABAD, India — Worship services at a church in a village in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state have been suspended since Hindu extremists attacked the congregation on June 1, sources said.

The mob of about 20 villagers led by members of the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal intruded into the house of Pastor Madia Damor in Thuvadara village, Jabua District, disrupting the worship service and beating the 50 people gathered for fasting prayer, including women and children.

The assailants arrived at about 4 p.m., seized Bibles from children and began beating male and female members, Pastor Damor said.


“There was all chaos,” he told Morning Star News. “The children and women were crying, shouting, asking them to stop, but they forcefully dragged them out of my house,” Pastor Damor told Morning Star News. “When I tried to stop the mob from attacking the women and children, they pushed me off and threatened me that they would kill me if I conducted church prayers in the village again.”

Continued below.
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Crossroads: God, Providence and the Trump bullet

The New York Times spots a religion ghost and runs away from a serious discussion​


I don’t have solid poll data backing me up on the following.

But, in my experience, if you walk up to church-going, scripture-quoting evangelical Protestants and Pentecostals and say that you are trying to think of a Bible verse defined by “6:11” many, if not most, will say, “You mean Ephesians 6:11?”

That would be the following (and I have included verses 12-13, as well):

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
There is no mention, however, of brave believers shaking their fists and shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

That said, glance through these Google search results — “Trump,” “assassination,” “Ephesians”— and read some of the chatter about Americans who truly believe they saw the hand of God in this dramatic event. Needless to say, connections of this kind showed up in this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.

Yes, the term “conspiracy theory” pops up in that Google search. I guess that’s what happens when people believe God has the ability to affect what happens in real life.

Here is one statement of this thesis. A veteran, and very media-savvy, evangelical pastor that I know (from a blue zip code) sent me an email after my Rational Sheep post about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and the niche-news business models that shaped the news coverage. This pastor responded with:

Last Saturday, 6:11 PM. What happened?
To really know what happened, read Ephesians 6:11.

Continued below.

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