I deleted my last post which stood separate but was supposed to be attached to reply (above)...So, that is, now, the same post above, placed where it was meant to be before I goofed.

Malleeboy said:

Is there an app or web pages that makes clear fasting days for ROCOR? Especially Fish or Oil days? Is today 29 Jan a Fish allowable day?

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I suggest saintjonah.org , which has rubrics for upcoming Holy Days. You can also buy a beautiful liturgical calendar from them that covers the entire year. By the way, the Triodion, which I think has information on fasting rules, is now downloadable from many sites.

In general, my experience has been the fasting rules are about the same between the North Slavic-derved denominations* like ROCOR, the MP, the OCA, the Church of Poland, the Church of Latvia, the Church of Lithuania, the Church of Belarus and the Church of Japan, except possibly the OCU and the UOCNA, which unfortunately has adopted several deviations from normal North Slavic practice implemented by the OCU (for example, switching from the Julian to the Revised Julian Calendar (previously, only some of the South Slavic churches such as the Bulgarians**, Czechs, Slovaks, and some OCA and Polish parishes used the Revised Julian Calendar)

*Excepting of course the Church of Finland and the EP portion of the Church of Estonia, whose canonical status is controversial, unlike the Church of Finland; these churches have adopted some Greek practices for example in the ranking of Metropolitans and Archbishops and in the use of the Gregorian Calendar and a somewhat toned down approach

** In terms of liturgical music and several other things, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church shares a great deal with the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian and other North Slavic heritage churches, whereas the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia have their own distinct identities, the latter influenced by the Carpatho-Rusyn people who represent a substantial portion of the Orthodox population of those countries, along with ethnic Czechs and Slovaks of Orthodox persuasion. In the US, about half of the Bulgarian Orthodox parishes are part of the OCA and the other half are under the direct control of the Patriarch in Sofia.

Almighty God, our Creator and Lord, what is it that You, the One who formed us, truly desire for us? I earnestly ask that You Yourself reveal this—not only to Ha-Young, Ye-Young, Eui-Sup, Jeong-Won, Eun-Tae, and In-Sook, but also to all who offer this prayer and their loved ones.

Lord God, we do not seek what we think we need, nor do we follow the desires that arise from our own hearts. Instead, we long for the thoughts and ways that You, the Sovereign Lord, have declared to be higher than ours. As You have said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Father, grant us the grace to walk in Your ways alone. While we are still alive, let us see Your truth so clearly that no one may force us to believe—but rather, that we may freely and willingly acknowledge the undeniable truth that You Yourself reveal and teach.‭‭(Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭34‬ )

We do not seek what people claim to be right. We do not seek what the world affirms as truth. We do not even seek what our ancestors have declared to be correct. Instead, we seek Your divine will alone, O Lord God, our Master and King. For only what comes from You is perfect, and only what You ordain will endure forever.

Father in Heaven, we ask that Your will be done. Keep us from the foolish paths that result from our own flawed choices. Lead us instead in the way of righteousness—the path that You, our Creator and Lord, have prepared for us. Let us not walk according to our own understanding but according to Your perfect plan.

I humbly ask that all of this be accomplished through Your Son, Jesus Christ, who alone has been given all authority in Heaven and on earth. May He Himself carry out Your will, and may all glory be given to You, our Father in Heaven, through Him alone.

In the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we pray. Amen.

Accidental double post on Pakistani girl. Sorry.​

By Christian Daily International/Morning Star News, Tuesday, January 21, 2025
ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty Images
Five Muslims abducted a 14-year-old Christian girl from outside her home in Pakistan, her father said.
Sharif Masih of the Korpur area of Sialkot, Punjab Province, said he fears the kidnappers might try to forcibly convert his daughter, Saneha Sharif, to Islam and force her to marry one of the Muslim suspects.
“Saneha was lured out of the house (on Jan. 9) by a Musliby the included two women, one of whom was the mother of the girl who had brought Saneha out of her home.”
A sweeper at a wedding marquee who is a member of the Brethren Church, Masih said the suspects included Muhammad Dildar, who had been making unwelcome advances toward his daughter that she always discouraged. He said he informed police as soon as he learned of her abduction.

“The police registered a case but arrested only two accused, including Samina Usman and Shabbir Ahmed,” Masih said. “Samina has been sent into judicial custody, while Ahmed is still in police custody, but both of the accused have not yet provided any lead that could help recover Saneha.”

The Christian father said that police have been lax since making the two arrests and have done nothing to recover his daughter.

“Despite repeated pleas to the police, they are not making any effort to recover Saneha or arrest the other accused,” Masih said. “We even gave them some cell phone numbers to trace the whereabouts of Dildar, but nothing has been done to find him.”

Masih said his poverty and Christian faith were the reasons the police were not responding to his requests.

“The investigating officer of the case, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ihsan Ullah, is making no effort to track the accused,” he said. “It’s been nearly two weeks Saneha has been missing, and we fear that the accused will force her to convert to Islam and marry Dildar to give a legal cover to their crime.”

His wife has fallen ill since their daughter’s disappearance, requiring her to be taken to the hospital twice for treatment, he said.

Appealing to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the inspector general of police for intervention, Masih said such brazen criminal acts should be dealt with sternly to protect the vulnerable minority communities.

“We are very weak and can only plead for the higher authorities to save our daughter from these criminals,” he said.

The incident drew widespread condemnation from rights advocates. They demanded the government pass a bill pending in the Punjab Assembly since April that would increase the legal age for marriage for both boys and girls to 18 years.

“The provincial government should pass the new anti-child marriage bill at the earliest to protect minor girls, especially those from the Christian and Hindu minority communities, from forced conversions in guise of marriages,” said Christian attorney Lazar Allah Rakha.

Until the government passes and strictly implements the new law, minority girls and women will continue to be victimized by predators for sexual exploitation, Rakha said.

Pending approval of the bill, the minimum age for girls to marry is still 16. Nationally, the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act 2024 set the marriageable age at 18 only for Christians; if they convert to Islam, girls considered Muslims come under Sharia (Islamic law), which allows them to marry younger.

Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic “marriages” and are then pressured to record false statements in favor of the kidnappers, rights advocates say. Judges routinely ignore documentary evidence related to the children’s ages, handing them back to kidnappers as their “legal wives.”

The U.N.’s Human Rights Committee on Nov. 7, 2024, expressed concern about persistent reports of abduction and forced marriages of girls from minority religions in Pakistan, regardless of their age and prevailing law. Forced to convert to Islam under threat of violence, they suffer rape, trafficking and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence.

The U.N. body expressed concern about reports of the widespread impunity surrounding these cases.

“Victims are usually not returned to their families during investigations but forced to stay with their abductors, including members of organized criminal groups, or placed in unnecessary and inappropriate alternative care facilities, with no or limited regard for child protection standards, exposing victims to further risk of exploitation, abuse and harmful practices,” the committee stated in its concluding observations on Pakistan’s second periodic review of its human rights situation.

It urged Pakistan to intensify efforts to eradicate forced conversions and marriages, including strengthening its legal framework and enforcement mechanisms.

“The state party should also ensure that all allegations of forced conversions and forced marriages of girls are promptly, impartially and effectively investigated, that those responsible are brought to justice, and that all victims have access to effective remedies and support services such as adequate shelters, legal aid, psychological counselling and rehabilitation programs,” it stated.

Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.

RileyG said:

May God bless him abundantly, and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen!

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Amen!

I didn't think planes would start falling out of the sky this early in Trump's presidency.

The person who was arrested Monday for allegedly plotting to kill Trump officials has been identified as 24-year-old Ryan Michael English, who prefers to go by Riley Jane.

WWLP reported that English was arrested Monday after traveling from Massachusetts to D.C., allegedly to kill some high-ranking Republicans.

English’s alleged would-be targets included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Continued below.

There is a good reason that the Ace of Spades is known as the 'death card'…​

I have held playing cards in my hands countless thousand times over the decades, but until today it never occurred to me to wonder where and when they came from. It turns out that they have a long and fascinating history which I will share with you now!


Mamluk kanjifah playing cards (Wikipedia CC-BY-4.0)

Playing cards were probably invented in China during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) though they were rather different to the ones that we are familiar with today. There is a reference to something called the ‘leaf game’ being played by Princess Tongchang in 868 CE but it is unclear exactly what these leaves were. We know that this game often involved drinking – it was reported that the Emperor Muzong went on a 25-day drinking spree in the year 969 and on New Year’s Eve (26th February) “he played the game of leaves with his ministers”. This game would have been yezi ge (Rules of Leaves) but as long ago as 1067 CE it was recorded that there was no one alive who remembered how to play the game.

It is thought that these early cards were used in conjunction with dice, or were simply drawn at random and the recipients had to perform the forfeits (generally consuming alcohol) that were indicated upon them. Early in the second millennium domino cards emerged; these were, as the name suggests, paper equivalents of domino tiles, and as such very different from modern playing cards. The true forerunners of today’s cards were most likely Chinese money cards which, significantly, had four different suits: cash (single coins), strings (of cash), myriads (of strings) and tens of myriads. These cards were combined to form a deck of 38 cards:


Continued below.

As he gleefully plots how he will turn what--until today--has been a highly respected institution into Trump's personal retaliation machine. Does not compute.

The world around me falls apart,
It truly needs a brand new start.
But humans not the ones to give,
In Christ alone will our hearts live.

The hope for us is not in man,
But only in our Father’s plan.
He sent His Son to die for us,
So we’d forsake our sinful lusts.

His grace to us frees us from sin,
So we will now live just for Him.
Obey Him freely, do His will,
And with His word our lives now fill.

Go where He leads, do what He says,
His servants be, not of the pres.
Now share His Word throughout the world,
No comprise of truth unfurled.

An Original Work / January 31, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The doctor is not a lawyer. She does not say she went over every state law that has been enacted since Dobbs.
There must because reason why OBGYNS are leaving certain states and why medical students are shunning that specialty. There must be a reason for the shortages that exist in many red states.
I am sure this doctor is well intentioned but she has a skill set that isn't a good match for the task at hand.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) recently issued a press release announcing a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Catholic Medical Association. The group, a national network of about 2,500 physicians and health care providers, argues that a Biden-Harris era mandate violates their conscience rights, and that it oversteps executive authority.

In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration issued a mandate for hospitals to commit so-called medically necessary abortions, claiming that it’s required under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) claimed the requirement preempts state laws, even though every state in the country with abortion restrictions already includes exceptions to save the mother’s life. (Technically, however, intentionally and directly killing a preborn child is not medically necessary; preterm emergency delivery is not an induced abortion.)

“If a physician believes that a pregnant patient presenting at an emergency department is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by EMTALA, and that abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve that condition, the physician must provide that treatment,” the HHS guidance said. “When a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life of the pregnant person — or draws the exception more narrowly than EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition — that state law is preempted.”

Continued below.

BCP1928 said:

Nor am I opposing competitive sports for students. For those who enjoy them competitive sports are healthy and fun. What I am particularly criticizing in this thread is the tendency for competitive interscholastic sports to dominate daily school physical education classes at the expense of authentic fitness and health education for all students.

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Ok fair enough. Yes too much competition is unhealthy. But competition is a part of life and it allows us to achieve amazing results. I mean isn't the whole idea of testing and exams to guage a students academic level for futher eduction and job suitability. Competition of jobs allows for the best qualified people to be in positions where high skill is needed.

I think competition is a natural outcome of society. We want the best airline pilots so we advertise with good pay. THis becomes an attractive career choice and people compete for the job pushing up the standards of qualification and the standards of life.

Competition was behind conquering mountains, dicovering the world and getting to the moon.

BCP1928 said:

Yes, that's one way to do it, but it's not the only way.

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I agree but it seems getting that education to get that job, to get that shiny car is what we promote. We set ourselves up for this by the way we promote having that job and material things equals success.

BCP1928 said:

I oppose DEI myself. because it's a dumb solution to a real problem. It's not about equal outcomes, it's about equal opportunity, and that, I think is why you oppose it.

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Yes exactly. Are we agreeing.

If there was any doubt that the Regime Media have fully transitioned back into Resistance Mode, one need look no further than coverage of the Office of Management and Budget’s pullback of its funding freeze memo. Without evidence, ABC and CBS misrepresented the rescission of the memo as a full rescission of the decision to freeze funding for certain government programs.

The most egregious instance of this comes via ABC’s Mary Bruce, former Biden Chief Apple Polisher, who uses a partial and out of context quote in order to misrepresent a complete pullback of the funding freeze:

MARY BRUCE: Still, this morning, The White House was adamant.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: The American people should not be confused about this.

BRUCE: But just hours later, in that two-sentence memo, the administration rescinding the freeze in funding. The White House still insists the president's plan to root out spending that doesn't align with his agenda, like diversity, equity and inclusion programs, climate initiatives, and foreign aid will be rigorously implemented.

Continued below.

Prosperity teaching is self-serving in many respects. Of course a ministry needs to appeal for funds. But Prosperity Teaching has at times called upon poor people to exercise "faith" to give without the minister paying a price for the failure of this "faith." In the meantime he swims in money, and appears to have little compassion for those who were misled into giving in "faith."

Chapter Five

Now Faithful to The Calling

May 27, 2023

The following is just one chapter of a 7 chapter internet book the Lord gave me to write two years ago. I've been posting these chapters in my blog, Run With It, on CF, but I feel led of the Lord to share this chapter here on Deeper Fellowship. If you would like a link to the entire book (29 pages), just ask me. I hope this will serve as an encouragement to some of you on this forum:

I am still reading in the book of Acts. Recap: Paul was giving his defense to King Agrippa, and so he relayed to him how he had been on the road to Damascus to persecute and perhaps put to death even more Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) when Jesus met him in a vision while he was on his way. Jesus spoke to him audibly, though not visibly, and there Paul (Saul at that time) received his life calling from the Lord to open spiritually blinded eyes, so they may turn from darkness (sin) to light (Christ) and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ. Then he said this:


Do you know what your life calling of God is? Are you being steadfast and faithful to that calling? Now we are all called to holy living and to leave our lives of sin behind us to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands under the New Covenant. But the Lord has assigned us specific callings and ministries, and he has gifted us accordingly so that we can serve him faithfully in those callings and in those areas of ministry. For these are our “body parts” within the whole of the body of Christ, his church.

Now most of you probably know this but let me say here that if we answer the call of Jesus Christ, not only to be his possession and to follow him wherever he leads us, but to fulfill the very specific purpose the Lord Jesus has for our lives individually, this may not go well for us in many respects. And Paul’s life is a great example of what I mean here, and so is the life of Jesus. For Jesus told us that if we follow him with our lives that we are going to be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted.

Especially if you are telling people that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance, you are not going to be well liked and well received even in the Christian culture in America. For so many professing Christians are believing lies which are telling them outright, or which are giving them the impression, that they do not have to repent of their sins, that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, that they don’t have to obey the Lord, and that no works (deeds) are required of them by God whatsoever.

But let me get back to the subject of our specific callings of God to special areas of ministry that God prepared in advance for us to do them. Paul was not disobedient to the vision and neither should we be disobedient, either to the calling that God has on all of our lives collectively, or to the particular callings he has on each of our lives individually. But then we should be prepared that we are going to be persecuted, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even by pastors and elders of church fellowships.

And in being faithful to the calling of God on my life, he has been leading me to share some of my own “Paul” experiences. Only those who are opposing me are not Jews, but many of them are those who claim faith in Jesus, and some are even pastors and elders of church congregations. Now, like Paul said, if what I was doing was wrong, if it was evil, and if it was sinful and disobedient and rebellious, then I would accept their discipline. But if they are disciplining me for obeying the Lord, according to the Scriptures, and if they are judging me by their own standards, then that is wrong.

My “Paul” Experiences

The year was 2004. My husband and I were training to be church planters under the Christian & Missionary Alliance (same denomination as A.W. Tozer). I was training for my consecration as an official worker of the C&MA and my husband was training for his ordination to be a pastor of our small group which was meeting in our home. It was now September and we were invited to their annual official workers prayer conference. But my husband hurt his back and could not go, so he encouraged me to go without him.

And the Lord started speaking to my heart the moment I walked into that first meeting, for I was a few minutes late due to car trouble. And the messages I heard at that conference via the speakers and via my quiet times with the Lord just spoke directly to my heart in a very powerful way.

The messages spoke to me and to my heart like they were right from the mouth of God to me specifically. The messages said, “Preach the Word of God, not the teachings of man.” “Listen to God, hear what he is saying, and then obey him.” “You were appointed by God as a herald and a teacher of true faith.” “Give your ministry over to God – it is not yours. It is his.” “God may have something else for you to do that you have not even thought of.”

“Write down what God shows you and then wait on him to bring it about.” “What you are going through is much bigger than you can imagine.” “NOW is your time! For such a time as this you were placed upon the earth.” “The church is in crisis – the crisis of Supremacy. It is indistinguishable between the lives of evangelical Christians and the world. We need to get back to the basics – we need to put our focus on Jesus and the cross of Christ instead of on the teachings of man.” Amen!

Since I was the only one there representing our small church plant, I was also invited to speak before a room full of pastors and other official workers of the C&MA, and before their district heads. And I just let the Holy Spirit lead me in what to say, for I was not prepared in advance that I was going to be asked to speak. And based upon what others were teaching at this conference, and what the Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart, I shared with them what the Lord was saying to me, from the Spirit within me.

When I went back to my chair, though, the wife of the district head over church plants said, “Well, that was the shortest-lived church plant.” Wow! But after the gathering was dismissed, and we went to lunch (or supper), I had maybe a fourth of the pastors there encourage me that what I said needed to be said. But they also recognized that it was the death of me, even though it was the right thing to say, and it was what needed to be said. But I was being led of the Holy Spirit, and there was nothing anti-biblical in what I shared, but it was fully supported by the Scriptures.

So, I got called to see the heads of the district, and they told me that I was not hearing from God, even though they had confessed that they were not actually listening to me speak, from what I recall. And so at that moment I had to make the decision to remain with the C&MA and to ignore God’s calling on my life, or to depart from the C&MA and to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience. I did the latter, and here I am today nearly 20 years later still answering that appointment by God to be one of his heralds in these last days before the return of Jesus Christ. And I have no regrets!

I Surrender All

Hymn lyrics by Judson W. Van De Venter, 1896
Music by Winfield S. Weeden, 1896

… Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee. (Mark 10:28)

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame;
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

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The Church Under Fire, Now Faithful to The Calling
An Original Work / Originally posted May 27, 2023
Reposted January 31, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I missed the statement but I’m praying for you Ladybug. I’m fighting some depression and tears here. So I’d appreciate your prayers as well.

The sacred performance signals a deepening of Catholic-Orthodox dialogue and a potential step toward a papal visit to Serbia.

The past week featured an event with significant ecumenical meaning: a joint performance of the Sistine Chapel Choir and the Choir of the Cathedral of Niš (Serbia) on Jan. 25 at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

The performance — a joint initiative of the Serbian Embassy to the Holy See and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, led by Sima Avramović — strengthens ties with the Serbian Orthodox Church and may help pave the way toward an eventual visit by Pope Francis to Serbia.

This is an idea that has been worked on since Cardinal Pietro Parolin's visit in 2018 — and could perhaps be realized this year.

The Choir of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Niš has a distinguished history dating back to 1887 and has continued uninterrupted since its founding.

Continued below.

01 February 2025 – Sri Lanka​

Lift up to God Release International’s partners as they minister to believers in Sri Lanka, providing encouragement and support to those who have been persecuted.
YES - I will Pray

31 January 2025 – Nigeria​

Thank God for the work of Release International partner the Stefanos Foundation, which provides trauma healing for the many Christians such as Luka Abba who have lost family and home.
YES - I will Pray

30 January 2025 – Nigeria​

Magnificent, the only surviving child of Luka Abba (see yesterday’s prayer), was shot in the mouth during a brutal raid on their home. Pray that he would receive the medical care he needs and for his complete physical and emotional healing.
YES - I will Pray

29 January 2025 – Nigeria​

Pray for Luka Abba whose wife, Nancy, children and parents were all killed by Fulani militants.
YES - I will Pray

28 January 2025 – Somalia​

Thank God for Somali families who are coming to faith in Christ, and pray for those who have recently been baptised. Remember too those who are genuinely seeking to know the truth of the gospel.
YES - I will Pray

27 January 2025 – Somalia​

Pray for Somali believers who, thanks to our partners, are able to set up small businesses to provide for their daily needs.
YES - I will Pray

26 January 2025 – Somalia​

Pray that counselling run by our partners would, by God’s grace, strengthen and encourage those who have been adversely affected by persecution, rejection and other challenges.
YES - I will Pray

5Sudan​

Sudan was on a path towards religious freedom, but a coup and devastating war dashed these hopes. Christians are once again in danger. The conflict has given Islamist extremists more opportunity to target Christians. More than 100 churches have been damaged so far, and Christians have been abducted and killed.
Sudanese Christians who have come to faith from a Muslim background face severe backlash from their families and communities. These believers tend to keep their faith secret, even from their own children.
After a year and a half of war, Sudan is now home to the world’s largest displacement and the world’s largest hunger crisis, with nearly nine million people having been forced to flee their homes. Christians are also experiencing exceptional hardship in the hunger crisis because local communities discriminate against them and won’t give them support. Much of the Church in Sudan, which might have been able to help with aid distribution, is on the run.

Meet Alia​

“There are many diseases, we fall sick, we need medicine to cure us and our children. We have so many challenges. I pray that what I say God will hear, and [that He will] see my tears due to this situation and war.”
Alia (name changed), Christian IDP at a displacement camp in southern Sudan.

What does Open Doors do to help?​

Open Doors works through local church partners in Sudan to strengthen persecuted Christians through persecution survival training, discipleship training and economic empowerment projects.

Please pray​

• Pray for peace and for believers caught in the crossfire of the civil war not to be targeted.
• Thank God for the Christians serving the vulnerable during the war. Pray that God will preserve and protect their brave witness.
• Ask God to be with and deliver believers displaced by the violence in Sudan.

prodromos said:

Alas, too many of our priests here seem to have accepted every offer of food out of humility. Maybe we should offer them gym membership instead

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I tell my people to centralize all food at a final potluck when I am at the last house for house blessings.

There are many speculative theories on who this beast is, and the second beast, too, and I don’t believe any of us are going to be able to prove, at this point, if what we believe to be true, indeed, is the whole of the picture. But time will reveal these things. So I am going to share with you what I believe to be the truth, as best as I understand it, from my times spent in the word with the Lord. For I believe some of these things are already becoming evident for those who are willing to see them in the right light.

It wouldn’t take much research on the internet to find out about the United Nations, or to listen to some of their sessions, and to learn that what they are promoting is a one world order. It is not a deep dark secret that the world, as we know it, is headed in that direction, and this fits with the prophecies of Scripture regarding these last days before the return of Christ, too. And if we read in the Scriptures much about the signs of the last days, I don’t think that we can miss that we are in them right now.

And we have to face the reality that this beast (these beasts) are deceptive, which is how they deceive and fool a whole lot of people. And remember with me that the Scriptures teach about “wolves in sheep’s clothing” and messengers of Satan who masquerade as servants of righteousness. So, just because someone claims to be a Christian and to believe in Jesus doesn’t mean at all that the person really is a Christian, in the purest biblical sense. So we cannot take people only at face value, especially those who are rulers.

Now we live in a day and age when anything, and I mean anything can be faked, photoshopped, altered, and made to look one way while it might be something else entirely. Especially with the use of AI (artificial intelligence) most anything can be made to look one way while it is something altogether different. So we can’t trust everything that we see with our eyes or hear with our ears or read and take in with our brains. Liars abound in the government, in the media, and in “the church.” So test EVERYONE!

So, just because it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it doesn’t mean that it is a duck. So we need to be very discerning people who test the spirits and who do not believe everyone and everything at face value. Believe me when I tell you that deception abounds everywhere. And here I recall the words of my marketing teacher in college. He said the US government is way advanced in technology beyond what we can see with our eyes, like 20 years out, but they keep that knowledge from us people.

And so what they say to us, and what they show us regular people, may not be at all the reality of what is really going on. And we must be so careful to not buy into this idea that everything that conflicts the “official narrative” is a “conspiracy theory.” That is being used to keep us from knowing the truth, although there are a lot of wild theories out there, too. Same thing is in the church where they call those who teach the truth of the gospel as those who teach “works based salvation,” so as to keep people from hearing the truth.

There is a whole lot of corruption going on in the world, and within our individual nations and their governments, and within the institutional (incorporated under the government) “churches.” And this corruption begins at the top and trickles its way down to the people. So test everyone! Don’t believe it just because “so and so” says it, no matter who they are. And just because someone claims to be “not one of them,” it does not mean that they are not “one of them.” As the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.”

So, pull the curtain back, and look at who the man is behind the curtain, and don’t rely only on what you can see on the surface. For we are living in the days of Revelation 13. And liars are all over the place deceiving naïve and gullible minds. And I used to be one of those “naïve and gullible” people before the Lord started opening up my eyes to see what is going on all around me. And I am not saying that I have everything right yet. But I believe the Scriptures and what they teach about deception in the last days.

And one of the things that these deceivers like to do is to play with our minds, to see what they can get away with, and who they can fool. And they are monitoring all of us who are connected to the internet, smartphones, TV sets, and who use credit cards or the internet to make financial transactions, etc. So they have a footprint on all of us, and like the devil, they know our weak points, and they will target those. And they like to leave hints for us, too, for it is one of the games they play, like clues to see who gets it.

So, be wise, be discerning, and pray through everything. We need to ask the Lord to open our eyes and minds to see the traps being laid for us so that we don’t fall into one of them. For they are very clever in how they lay their traps, too, for they wouldn’t be traps if they were easily discernable. And we have to get inside the mind of an addict, really, i.e. the mind of one who is a compulsive liar and manipulator who does set traps for his opponents in hopes to trip them up. For, in reality, this is what we are up against.

False Messengers: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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I Saw a Beast Rising
An Original Work / January 31, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Inokuma said:

Please pray for my dad who's in the hospital. He has a serious infection and bladder problems. They said his bladder was stretched to the size of a watermelon and they had to use a catheter to drain it. He's dehydrated as well. They're giving him fluids and treating his infection and doing more scans, but he's gotten worse overnight and he didn't even know who my mom was when she visited him. Please pray for God to heal him.

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Praying now!

Lord God I lift up Inokuma's dad to You right now and I pray for a miracle in his situation and for the complete healing and restoration of his health! I pray for an end to the infection and all bladder problems and for complete elimination of all symptoms with no pain or discomfort! I pray for wisdom for all doctors and for supernatural strength for the entire family to endure this situation and that You would deliver them all from the situation! Thank You God!

DarkSoul999 said:

I think you are making a lot of assumptions here. Over the last four months I've been supporting a man who lives in a condo down the street. He used to work as a trucker and then had a stroke. The state said he had to wait 4 months before receiving his first disability check. Perhaps it was God telling me that this guy was legit or maybe it was my own intuition but perhaps we can go with the former. So I've been supporting this guy over the last four months because absolutely everyone else in the local area told the guy to shove off. He was grateful enough to offer to help in return at some future date.

I did not feel any serenity or happiness during this period whatsoever. Only anger. I am angry that a regular working class guy can turn instantly destitute over a single freak medical accident. The state is going to continue running dry and the cost of everything will only go up. I didn't save anyone. Maybe if I invent something and become wealthy it will have a longer effect but the problems in the world will always be far far greater than my pathetic attempts at fixing them.

If you really want to understand why I have no faith it all comes from one question:

why did God go through the trouble of sending his son to die on the cross and then completely abandon this world?

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God created a perfect world; satan corrupted it. If God had not sent His Son to die on the cross, THEN He would have abandoned this world!
Jesus' finished work on the cross is God's way of redeeming the world back to Himself.
Before we became born-again believers in Christ, we were living in the darkness of unbelief just as you are. The truth is that when we look inside ourselves our heart condemns us, but God does not condemn us; He reached out to us to save us when He sent His Son into the world to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins; a penalty we cannot pay.
I don't know that I can speak for every born-again child of God, but I can say for myself that before I became a "believer" I was in total spiritual darkness and had serious doubts that the bible was true or that God existed. But the thought that I might be wrong in my unbelief, that the bible might be true, and the fear of possibly spending eternity in hell, and the possibility that God IS real created a fear in me that drove me to search for the truth of the matter.
My search began with me questioning known Christians about their beliefs, reading books about the bible, reading bible tracts, etc, begging the God I wasn't sure existed to save me, and never finding any answers. It ended when I became so desperate to know God that I gave up on myself and turned to Him out of a sense of hopelessness and helplessness and doing that while still doubting His existence. I did not know what I would find, but I asked Him to show me the truth about Him and opened a bible to the Gospel of John. As I began to read John 1:1 God sent His Holy Spirit to open my blind spiritual eyes so I could see the truth in His Word. By the time I read through chapter 14 of the Gospel of John I saw that there was NOTHING I could do, nor nothing I needed to do because Jesus had already done everything God required for me to be forgiven. I found my answer; not from asking questions of men, not from reading books written by men, not from internet forums, but from God Himself. God convinced me that His Word, the Bible, is the truth, that He is real, and that Jesus took care of my sin problem, and of my heart problem at the cross. He brought me out of the darkness of unbelief into the light of His Word. I did not know about this verse at that time, but Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." When God saw that I was seeking Him in a way that nothing else in my life mattered more that finding the truth about Him, then He led me to His Word and gave me my answer. I found peace there many years ago and still have that peace. It is a peace that is impossible to explain to anyone who has never found that peace for themselves.

Atheists call what I just described, how God himself convinced me that He is real, as circular reasoning. Some of them have told me that they have read the Bible and found nothing there to convince them of the truth that can be found there. My answer to their "circular reasoning" claim is that "I agree, it is circular reasoning. The difference is that when a person is earnestly seeking the truth about God, and searches scripture for that truth, the Holy Spirit does His work in that person's heart which allows him/her to find the truth. But, when someone reads scripture, and is not expecting to find anything there, they probably won't find anything because God's Spirit isn't involved.

Below are some of the things Jesus said about believing in Him.
Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Jesus said in chapter 14 verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father, but by me." He said in chapter 8 verse 24, ".....for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." He said in chapter 6 verse 29, "....This the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Jesus said in John 6:44, "No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him ....." and in vers45 "........every man who hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh to me." Finally, in verse 37 He said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will no wise cast out."
Do you believe Him?

When you look inside your unbelieving heart you will only find condemnation; when you look to Jesus in faith, you will find forgiveness.

Knowing God and believing in Jesus, in His Gospel, is not about you; it is about Him.

Regards,
John