Chrystal-J said:

I understand putting Jesus first always, even to the point of going against your parents wishes. (Like Mother Angelica did by running away to become a nun.) But, where do you draw the line between "honoring" your parents and following Christ? At what point do you turn away from your parents and devote yourself wholly to Jesus?
If I had agreed with my parents (particularly my mom) I would of turned away from my conservative values--including being anti-abortion, against the lbqtq extreme agendas, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior etc.
Maybe when Christ said the passages I mentioned in Matthew, He was opening a new way to think about who you devote your life to--Jesus over everyone.

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The typical Catholic answer to this is to obey your parents unless they command you to commit sin. As Riley said, Jesus comes first--trusting in Him will give you the discernment to apply the principle I mention to more delicate situations.

That's pretty awesome!

Amen!

I would appreciate it if all of the unsaved pursued Stoicism. They desire to obtain virtue. Without the Holy Spirit to help the overcome the flesh, they have a difficult path. However, for Christians Stoicism tends to be of the flesh and can actually frustrate becoming the better person that is possible by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Vambram said:

The endorsement was signed by several prominent officials from the Trump administration, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, and many more.

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They have won a no-prize.

Trump rules out two GOP stalwarts from joining his administration: 'Will not be inviting'​

Both Pompeo and Haley endorsed Trump in the Nov. 5 election​

rjs330 said:

Except he's going to be a facist dictator now and the Supreme Court has ruled he's immune to any actions. He could go down himself and start killing college kids and he'll be fine. I mean he did say he could shoot someone in tge street and we'd all support him for it.

I do expect he'll start rounding up trans people and put them in concentration camps with Rachel Madow.

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But he’s giving amnesty to Rosie O’Donnell and she won’t be in a camp because he no longer considers her a threat

How we live and choices we make have enough effect, with the responsibilities we were given from the very start, for good stewardship in this world, we will be answerable to God.

Carrying capacity for us in this world is with need for much more simplicity in living by many of us. Things just cannot continue in the same way.
Has Civilization a Future? Simplicity Institute Report by Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich | The Simplicity Collective 'We don't really consider it low probability anymore': Collapse of key Atlantic current could have catastrophic impacts, says oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf
10 devastating signs of climate change satellites can see from space
Marks of the Anthropocene: 7 signs we have made our own epoch
Sea-Level Changes

FaithT said:

It doesn’t sound like it.

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I guess we should pray for her then.

Fantine said:

He did have a travel ban from Muslim countries.
He courts the Proud Boys and white militia groups.
I am not sure about Holocaust denial.

Trump wants to give his friend Netanyahu the go-ahead to launch his own Holocaust.
While Biden tries to repress Netanyahu's evil instincts, Trump would cheer him on.

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Only from hostile Islamic countries, not Muslims in general.

Livingstones2020 said:

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1) Convictions are silenced, Truth is obscured,
In a sense, trampled, the line has been blurred;
Conscience is crumbled as morals decay,
All we have left are a few shades of gray.
But there are still those who will not be dismayed,
A remnant of God-fearing men;
And we pledge to not be ashamed or afraid,
Stand up to show that we still can:

Chorus:
Be strong in the faith, Be strong in the fight,
Be strong on the line between wrong and what's right;
Be strong in the power, Be strong in the Lord,
Be more courageous than ever before;
Faithful, determined, standfast and true,
Willing to sacrifice everything to be strong.

2) Champions of honor, Heros of faith,
Warriors of valor, empowered by grace;
Cold to temptation, callous to pain,
And even through hard times, our vows will remain.
Men who went tested refused to deny
The Gospel we firmly believed;
Rather it means that we live or we die,
Be certain that we'll always be: (Chorus)

Spoken:

In a time where concessions were applauded, Compromises glorified,
It's time to be strong;
On principles that are proven, On standards that stand,
On values that have value, And on truths that are timeless.
It is time to stand up and stand out.
We do not need more superstars or celebrities,
We need men to be heroes of honor, examples of character,
Role models of integrity, and inspirations of Godliness.
It's time to be strong!
We have the power if we only receive it,
We have the call if we will answer,
We have the duty if we will obey.
So take courage friend,
There is nothing to fear, nothing to dread, and nothing to regret,
For God Almighty is on our side.
We are more than conquerors if only we choose to be strong!​

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Love to hear this! Good lyrics and performed well. And great work too putting the video together and recording it.

Danthemailman said:

Florida Gov. DeSantis Launches Probe After FEMA Worker Fired for Not Aiding Trump Supporters​

https://www.newsmax.com/headline/FEMA-worker-fired-hurricane-Trump/2024/11/10/id/1187421/?utm_source=nmapp&utm_medium=topnews

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From the article:

“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said on social media.

Amen to that.

May God draw the people in China close to himself

And send workers there to preach the gospel

Akita Suggagaki said:

Tr

Trump is a populist. I intend to track only objective facts all can agree on..

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If, by "populist" you mean this:

"The true populist leader claims to represent the unified "will of the people". He stands in opposition to an enemy, often embodied by the current system - aiming to "drain the swamp" or tackle the "liberal elite"." (What is populism, and what does the term actually mean?)

Isn't that what the government is supposed to be? I mean, in all seriousness, it's supposed to be by the people and for the people.

IMO, in the past decades, the governments of many of the G7 countries have slowly been hijacked by the mega elite who contribute to political parties and then pressure them to do their bidding. The "people", the "Joe Blow's" of this world, were the ones electing leaders of their municipalities, states, provinces and countries, only to have these elected people of power Kowtow to the wealthy establishment who funded them.

That's when the corruption starts.

How many Presidents, and others in elected offices, have become mega millionaires while in office, on a salary that would not logically produce this kind of wealth?

It's no wonder that a presidential candidate, that promises the people to hear their voice and make their lives more like their parents and grand parents... would win.

It's no wonder that a presidential candidate, that comes in with their own money and funding, who cannot be controlled by the mega elite, would get all kinds of bad press and opposition from those under such control.

The ultra wealthy do not like it when they cannot control the government. They have agendas and plans in place to perpetuate their generation of power and wealth.

This is why many of the republican party were so against DJT. They were owned by their supporters.

This election is a historical event. DJT beat the system, the mega elite, the corrupt overseers of the election process. It's like winning a world series when the umpires are against you and the strike zone for your pitcher was the size of a golf ball, while the opposing team threw only strikes.

It is apparently clear that God's hand was in this. DJT is back in the office that God wanted him to be in, in the time line that God wanted.

Xeno.of.athens said:

I shall, God willing, take up and read. That is a start is it not? A reply that offers both original post and this poster something to be thankful for.

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If I can add to the list, Sr. Marie-Aimee de Jesus wrote a book titled The Twelve Degrees of Silence which is something I'd like to get my hands on. The second chapter of The Systematic Sayings of the Desert Fathers devotes itself entirely to the topic of hesychia, silence, that the believer experiences while praying and attending liturgy. This chapter in particular is my favorite.

Introduction;

I am stepping out in faith, am going to write a series of devotions on the book of Ephesians. I hope you will follow along, as we go through this great book.



1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God

WHAT A CALLING


Why are we Christians at all?
Why are we in the place we are?
Why for example, am I in China?

We are Christians, because God has chosen and called us, he has called us to serve him and to be his children.

The reason is his will.

Paul was a Pharisee, he was an educated man, who didn't ever imagine, he would be a preacher of the gospel.

But he became an apostle, by the WILL OF GOD.

We are, what we are, because of the will of God.

Praise God that he has set you apart and placed you in a unique place.

To be called a child of God and called into his service, is the highest privilege in the world.

Let's never complain of who we are and where we are, because it is by the will of God.

Thanks

KK


1 To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus

SET APART ONE

In the first devotion, we saw that we are, what we are, because of the will of God.

So, what are we:

We are saints, literally, set apart ones. God has set us apart for himself, he has personally chosen us. That is so amazing.

They are in Ephesus, of all the places to start a church, this must have been one of the most difficult, full of idol worship, black magic and the like, but in that place, God set apart some to be saints, as he does in every place.

Despite persecution, which you can read about in the book of Acts, this little group of saints are faithful, that is what we are called to do, wherever we are.. amen.

These believers are grounded in Christ Jesus, they are not faithful to a creed or a theory, they are faithful to a person, CHRIST JESUS.

Why can we be faithful to HIM? Because he is always faithful to us.

It is all about a relationship, a relationship based on HIM, although we are sometimes unfaithful, he never is.

Glory in the fact, that you are his set apart one and that you are and always will be:

HIS SET APART ONE

Thanks

God bless you

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THE BOTTOM LINE


TBL China – The Bottom Line, Ministries

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THIS MINISTRY AND PRAY FOR CHINA

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Soundslikereign.. beautiful music, you can download this music for free

Sounds Like Reign

Persecuted church

News of the persecuted church

The Voice of the Martyrs


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Occusis said:

I was thinking, let`s say it all started with the big bang, a sun that exploded, what decided the amount of energy in it? I have a little problem with this issue, because something must have decided how much energy and matter there was in the beginning, but how can anything be finite in amount also? Something must have decided how much it was then?

Was there a sun in the beginning, with x-amount of energy and mass? Or did it come from a source of infinite amounts?

I`m not so much talking about the amount of mass, because if you set mass on fire, it`s energy, so perhaps mass came from energy itself. Like, when energy cooled down after the big bang, and frose a little into mass?

Everyone says the universe will end also, because energy won`t burn forever, but I mean, there can`t be an finite amount of it, something must have decided how much it was then in the beginning. Is energy infinite instead then perhaps, like it`s never gonna run out for new suns to form? Where is this source of infinite energy then, like in another dimention next to our own space?

I struggle with the idea of energy just being finite, something must have decided how much it is then. I kinda get that space can be finite in size, like a bubble, expanding, and that there`s walls with nothing behind it. But, most people would agree perhaps, that the universe is infinite in all directions. Is everything infinite?

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No scientist can say this because we cannot view the entirety of the evidence. But a Christian can say by faith that God is infinite and that his creation is finite in scope, mass, energy, and time.

Blocking, stalking, fans are flocking,
Strange bedfellows, they’re not knocking.
Peeking through the windows plenty,
As if love they ain’t got any.

Window chasers, they are gazers,
Destitute, they are debasers.
Lusts a plenty, not without,
They go there, without a doubt.

All is for them, them not caring,
Who it is on they are staring,
Self-indulging, wasted effort,
They are hiding, not transparent.

Loving others not their practice,
Selfishness, their apparatus.
Think of self and not of others,
Not their spouses, not their brothers.

Them professing Christ as Savior,
Does not do them any favor.
They’re not willing to obey Him,
They do not, in truth, believe Him.

Words a plenty, not in action,
Lusts of flesh are their distraction.
Jesus Christ says, “I not knew you,
Depart from Me, evil you do.”

An Original Work / August 22, 2023
See Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21

Bobber said:

Oh yeah sure. If Clooney had said right away Harris was the solution that would have changed everything. LOL It's almost comical the way these people reason.

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It's like the narcissist who is convinced that the world stopped revolving around them because they pressed the wrong "celebrity like" button.

The human heart from faith departs,
The flesh of man, it kicks the can,
It dwells in cannots, all things failed,
A change in life course, it has bailed.

The heart of man, it feeds the flesh,
It leaves the person in a mess,
And few are those who will confess,
Results of sin they’ll not address.

For many live in ureal worlds,
Their private sins they’ve not unfurled,
They keep them secret, not to share,
So masquerades are what they wear.

The human heart is selfish, grim,
It will not bow to God, not Him,
It keeps its distance, sin to guard,
For faith in Christ is just too hard.

An Original Work / November 6, 2023

essentialsaltes said:

According to court documents, Iranian officials asked one of the men charged, Farhad Shakeri, in September to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump. Shakeri is still at large in Iran, the Justice Department said.

This is a newly disclosed plot and marks yet another alleged attempt on Trump’s life by the Iranian regime.

Prosecutors allege Shakeri – who participated in recorded conversations with law enforcement – was originally tasked by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps to carrying out other assassinations against US and Israeli citizens inside the US. But IRGC officials told Shakeri on October 7 to focus only on Trump, court documents say, and that he had seven days to formulate an assassination plan.

The two other individuals charged, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, who are American citizens, were arrested in New York and are accused of helping the Iranian government surveil a separate US citizen of Iranian origin.

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I don’t believe Iran wants to kill Trump and risk getting wiped out by the most powerful war machine on the planet and start WWIII. But there are plenty crazies in the US govt and Israel that want the US to invade Iran and start WWIII. Staging some sort of false flag to blame it on Iran and drag US into a war is a serious threat. However, I think Trump is smart enough to not blindly trust anything coming out of the current Dem regime, the DOJ and the “fake news”.

I recommend here that you read all of Hebrews 4 along with Hebrews 3, and along with 1 Corinthians 10, for all three are on the same subject, and each adds to the other. Basically, this is talking in reference to the children of Israel who God led out of captivity in Egypt via Moses, and who spent 40 years in the wilderness before a remnant of them were able to enter the Promised Land. With most of them God was not pleased because they were idolaters, the sexually immoral, drunkards, and revelers who put Christ to the test and who grumbled against God and against his servant Moses.

And in 1 Corinthians 10 it tells us that these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. We are not to do as they did, for if this is what we practice, we will die in our sins, and we will not have eternal life with God. So these things were written down for our instruction, so that we do not follow their example and end up with the same result. So, if God is speaking to any of us, and if he is pointing out to us any areas of our lives which are displeasing to him, we are not to ignore him. We are not to harden our hearts against what he is communicating to us.

We are not to follow the example of the Israelites who thought that they could live however they wanted and that they would still get to go into the Promised Land, and that they would still get to enter into God’s eternal rest, because they were physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah. We are not to presume upon God’s grace that he will allow those who profess his name carte blanche to continue in deliberate and habitual sin without punishment. For Jesus said that not everyone saying to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God (Matthew 7:21-23).

And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to (save) our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self (lose ourselves), die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, then we have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God provided that we continue on that course of obedience to God in the forsaking of our sins, and that we do not go back to living in sin and for self (Luke 9:23-26).

[Matt 24:9-14; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 8:24; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 6:7-8; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 3:6,14-15; 1 Pet 1:5; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

So, just because you make a profession of Christ as your Lord and Savior, it does not assure you salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For lip service only will not get anyone into heaven. Yes, it is only by the grace of God, via God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him that any of us are saved from our sins and given the hope of heaven when we die. None of us can believe in Jesus of our own accord. But the faith to believe in Jesus requires that we deny self, die to sin daily, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. For if we do not, we will not have eternal life in him.

All of us are going to be judged by God according to the genuiness of our faith in him which is evidenced as being genuine by us dying with him to sin and via walks of righteousness in obedience to his commands, by his grace, in his strength, and by his power. So we need to be students of the Scriptures who are studying them in their full context so that we know what they are teaching, and who are then obeying them in the power of God living within us. And we need to take seriously all these warnings in the New Testament that if we sin, deliberately and habitually, we will die, not live.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; 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; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

He Gives Purpose

An Original Work / June 9, 2012

“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.
Obey freely My word.
Follow Me in all of My ways.
Do all that I say.
Hear Me gently whisper to you
My will for your life and future.
Give all of your life and heart to
Follow Me always.”

Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.
He’s your Lord and Master.
He died for your sins so you could
Live with Him today.
He has a plan for your life and
He gives purpose and direction.
He gives meaning to your life,
So follow Him today.

“I love you so much I gave My life for
You to walk in My ways,
Living for Me each day as you
Bow to Me and pray.
Witness for Me of your love for Me and
Of My grace and mercy,
How I died to save you of your
Sins now and always.”

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Lord have mercy!