If our faith in Jesus Christ is biblical faith, authored by Jesus Christ, persuaded of God, and gifted to us by God, and not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man – then we will be followers of Christ, his sheep, who listen to him and who obey him. Our lives will be surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will and to live out the lives that he has for us to live in the callings that we have received from him, and not to please ourselves.

We will be those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Our lives will no longer be our own to be lived out however we want to live them, for we were bought back for God (redeemed) by the blood of Christ shed for us on that cross to deliver us out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we can now honor God with our lives and with our bodies – all in the power of God within us.

But we are still human beings who live in flesh bodies who may be tempted to fall back into sin or to follow the ways of the world and of the flesh, for the influences out there in the gatherings of the church and in the world are enormous, especially in the times we now live when we are being bombarded with media of all sorts 24/7. And it can be so easy to slip and to fall back into the ways of living to please the flesh if we are not careful, and if our hearts are not guarded, and if we are not fully committed to Christ.

So we need to hear encouragements like this to remind us of why we are here, and of why Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross, and what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and to be his servants and messengers and not to please ourselves. For if our faith in Christ is biblical and genuine, our lives are to be surrendered to Jesus Christ to now live for him, and to do his will, and to follow him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living.

And that is what it means if our lives are given over to the Lord as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. We do not consider our lives to be our own to be lived however we want, but our goal is to please our Lord in whatever we do. For to be holy is to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because our lives are now being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. We are now becoming more and more like Jesus and less and less like who we were when we lived in the flesh.

So, what this means for us in our day-to-day living is that we will consider our Lord in all that we do and we will inquire of him if we have any concern about whether or not we should go a particular direction. Our minds and our hearts will be open and receptive to hearing him speak truth to our hearts 24/7, and we will not shut him out just so we can do what we want to do. And we will be guided by him in our day-to-day living so that we are following in his footsteps and so that we are no longer going our own way.

And now this is our spiritual worship of God. Worship is not just gathering together with a bunch of people and singing songs and raising our hands and getting all emotional, at least not in itself. For we can do all that and never truly worship God. True biblical worship of God, although it may include singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, is surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ on his altar of sacrifice, denying self, dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, and walking in the ways of the Lord, according to his commands.

So, we are no longer to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We should no longer be participating in anything that is immoral, evil, wicked, deceptive, and anything that is contrary to God and to his will and purpose for our lives and that robs us of our relationships with Jesus Christ and us working for the Lord and that keeps us entertaining and pleasing the flesh, instead. So many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are not much different from those who make no professions of faith, and this should not be!

So, if we have drifted from what God has called us to do, and if we are being captivated once again by the sinful pleasures of the flesh or by what the world is offering us in the way of entertainment that is contrary to God’s moral values for our lives, and with regard to what our minds should be set on, then we need some more transforming of our minds back to the ways of the Lord and away from the desires of the flesh so that we can live lives fully pleasing to the Lord, and so we can discern and do the will of God.

[Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Php 2:5-11: Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

My Sheep

An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-30 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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hislegacy said:

The shape of the cross used in crucifixion's changed from country to country- Andrews Cross was indicative of Egypt The others are similar. Northern Africa used a straight piece, where the hands were nailed above the head.

G4716 - stauros - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv)

G4716 - σταυρός staurós, stow-ros'; from the base of ; a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (specially), a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively, exposure to death, i.e. self-denial; by implication, the atonement of Christ:—cross.

www.blueletterbible.org

1. a cross
   1. a well known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment, borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians; to it were affixed among the Romans, down to the time of Constantine the Great, the guiltiest criminals, particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors and abetters of insurrections, and occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of the governors, upright and peaceable men also, and even Roman citizens themselves
   2. the crucifixion which Christ underwent
2. an upright "stake", esp. a pointed one, used as such in fences or palisades

The definition is based on usage

When speaking of the instrument of torture and death - it translates to English as cross
When speaking of a fence post or support member - it translates to English as stake.

That is really all there is to the question.

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Indeed, there is also St. Peter’s Cross - he was crucified upside down at his own request to avoid being crucified in the same position as our Lord.

Unfortunately we have lately seen this version of the cross abused by people associated with various anti-Christian occult groups, such as actual devil worshippers, which is entirely disgusting and distressing. They have no moral right to appropriate Christian symbols for their own purpose.

Indeed the National Socialists did this to the Swastika, which was, prior to their adoption of it, primarily used as a religious symbol by Buddhists, but it saw some use by some Christians in Europe, but it was effectively adopted as a logo as part of the very well-planned branding and corporate identity program adopted by the National Socialists.

Basil the Great said:

The only way to ever achieve peace is for both sides to make major compromises in their current positions. Sadly, neither side seems ready and willing to make said compromises at this time.

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True.

wing2000 said:

...or he had fried pork chop on his mind.

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I was about eight years old when I was told, “When Daddy asks ‘does anyone want that last pork chop?’, the correct answer is ‘no’!” Fortunately, I was a slow learner.

DEI needs to go away.

Let people make their own opinions.

I don't know how I feel about this. If he was outside the clinic protesting and praying, I would have supported him.

Inside? Eh.

Lord have mercy!

The leftish media doesn't care.

Simple.

Thanks for posting!

Thanks for sharing.

Amen!

Adam and Eve in the garden. It makes sense why marriage is the oldest institution and oldest sacrament.

I'm just rambling. Forgive me.

Hazelelponi said:

Quoted from a recent article:

Walz’s weaknesses become even more concerning when they are paired with those of Kamala Harris. The Harris-Walz approach to public safety is so radical that it defies common sense and puts the public at serious risk. In fact, to the types of criminals I worked to put away, the pairing of Harris and Walz probably seems like a match made in heaven.

There is possibly no better example to illustrate this than the case of Myon Burrell.

Burrell, a Bloods gang member, was convicted for shooting and killing 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards as she sat doing homework at her kitchen table. Burrell had tried to shoot a rival gang member but killed Edwards in the crossfire. He was a hardened criminal who had no remorse and deserved the life sentence he was given.

But Walz thought otherwise and in 2020, to the backdrop of the “Defund the Police” movement, he commuted Burrell’s sentence. A murderer was released back onto our streets.

While Walz was busy commuting Burrell’s sentence, Kamala Harris was out soliciting money for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, an organization that posts bail for criminals, including murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. This turned out to be quite helpful to Burrell because, as most anybody could have predicted, his criminal behavior didn’t end when he was released from prison.

In August 2023, after being off probation for 3 months, Burrell was caught by police with an illegal gun and drugs. Despite being a convicted murderer, the Kamala Harris-backed Minnesota Freedom Fund bailed Burrell out. Burrell was set free again.

Not even a year later, Burrell was arrested a second time while out on bail, this time after selling fentanyl. He got caught with more drugs and $60,000 in drug proceeds. And wouldn’t you know it, he was bailed out again.

Op-ed: Joe Teirab: Don’t buy Gov. Tim Walz’s dangerous bill of goods

America is being sold a bill of goods with Gov.

washingtonreporter.news

I don't even want to imagine what kind of a DOJ they would be fostering...

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As so often happens with these articles, the important detail was left out.

An independent national legal panel determined that there was a "failure to investigate that illustrates tunnel vision" and that evidence that could have helped exonerate Burrell was either ignored or minimized. His case was an example of the faulty handling of criminal investigations

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I'm not arguing that this guy was a good person. But he served 18 years after being convicted on potentially dodgy grounds. A fact that was found not by Walz, but by an independent legal panel.

Meanwhile some Trump supporters argue for total exoneration of January 6th rioters who stormed the parliament and tried to bring down your government. So much for "tough on crime".

I think society as a whole has a lot of contempt for the faithful. Jesus warned the world would hate us.

God remains faithful and always raises up Saints throughout all generations.

Amen!

Love365 said:

Would you give the Russians a famous painting,
for something you want?

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Depends on what I could steal from the Hermitage.

LoriSaysHey2U said:

A primeira coisa que você precisa fazer é confiar somente em Deus, em mais ninguém. Você está em uma batalha espiritual e se você é um verdadeiro crente, Deus lhe deu armas para lutar essa batalha. A Bíblia chama essas armas que Deus lhe deu de Armadura Espiritual. O apóstolo Paulo lidou com isso frequentemente. Ele explica o que são e como usá-las em sua carta às pessoas na igreja em uma cidade na Ásia Menor chamada Éfeso. Leia Efésios 6:10-17. Tiago 4:7-8 diz "Cheguem perto de Deus, resistam ao diabo e ele fugirá de vocês." Como você se aproxima de Deus? Seja um cristão PRO (O)re, (R)leia e (obedeça). Ore a Jesus frequentemente. Agradeça a Ele durante todo o dia, mesmo pelas pequenas coisas (Ele ama isso), peça a Ele para ajudá-lo ao longo do dia, mesmo com as pequenas coisas, e agradeça a Ele todas as vezes, então leia Sua Palavra diariamente. Realmente funciona! Eu subi no meu sótão ano passado e acidentalmente caí do teto. Então agora, toda vez que vou ao sótão, oro para que o Senhor me proteja e me leve para baixo em segurança, e Ele o faz. Sou próximo de alguém que foi diagnosticado com transtorno bipolar há muitos anos. O psiquiatra dele o receitou Olanzapina e ele é altamente viciado e não consegue parar. Quando ele tem pesadelos repugnantemente horríveis, isso é guerra espiritual. A única coisa que o ajuda a voltar à paz que só Deus pode dar é se aproximar imediatamente de Deus e orar, ler, obedecer. A Palavra de Deus é mais afiada do que uma espada de dois gumes. O inimigo odeia quando você faz isso, então eles fogem - por um tempo, mas sempre voltam. Estarei orando por você, minha querida!

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MThank you very much for your text.

tonychanyt said:

Deuteronomy 7:7-8


Moses wrote that just before he died.

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Your posts always trigger some useful thinking .. thanks

For a very nice overview of the Hebrew words for love that makes an educational read see:

God's Loving Graciousness - American Torah

Maybe the most important part:

There are essentially 3 Hebrew words that are frequently translated as love in the Old Testament.

אהב (H157), pronounced as ahab
חשׁק (H2836), pronounced as chasak
חסד (H2617), pronounced as chesed

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Deuteronomy 7:7-8 is of the second form; but it's also used for very dysfunctional/damaging 'love' like in the story of Dinah in Genesis 34:8.

Stephen777 said:

Honestly I always thought this was homosexual marriages and inner family marriage.

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Today, marriage is a merely a corporation between two slaves.
Chances are that these two slaves work for another corporation/s.
Fact is that none of the corporations have payed tribute to the Son of Man.
Whom, is alive today, and will be alive tomorrow and the day to come.

Michie said:

The number of Catholic priests serving Nigeria’s Diocese of Nsukka has surpassed 400 following the ordination of 23 new priests on Aug. 10.

In remarks at the end of the ordination, Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah expressed gratitude and joy for the growing number of priests serving in his diocese.

“I must render one apology to all the Nsukka priests who are not in the sanctuary. With the ordination today we are now 417 priests in this diocese,” Onah said during the Mass at St. Theresa Cathedral. “Now you understand why some of you for the past 10 years have not been able to impose hands on your newly ordained brothers, because if all of us were to impose hands, we would still be [doing it].”


Continued below.

Number of Catholic priests for Nigerian diocese surpasses 400

The number of Catholic priests serving Nigeria’s Diocese of Nsukka has surpassed 400 following the ordination of 23 new priests on Aug. 10.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Amen to this. Hopefully, these priests are free from any persecution and are protected by God.

Nice speech. Thanks, Joe.

Rebecca Jo said:

Just right for me!

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I do agree. It reminds me of Run DMC, but a Christian version. In other words, we must Run to Jesus.

Amen

Lord have mercy!

Glory to God!