"Despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.
Talk about biased news. My concern is that the radical lower-court judges are going to continue to try and sabotage the presidency unless and until they are sanctioned.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – had just been put to death by his enemies on a cross, and he had just been resurrected from the dead, and he appeared to his disciples and to many other people over a period of 40 days, I believe, before he ascended back to heaven to be with God the Father, and then to send his Holy Spirit to indwell the lives of his followers.

But while he was still on the earth, after he had been resurrected from the dead, he spoke these words to his disciples, but not just for the 11 who were left, for this is a commission for all of us who follow Jesus Christ with our lives in repentance and in walks of obedience to our Lord. For we, too, are his disciples, and we are to be those who are the light of the world and the salt of the earth who proclaim the excellencies of God who delivered us out of our slavery to sin and who gave us new lives in him to be lived for him.

But in order for us to go and make disciples of Christ of people of all the nations, in today’s world, we are not all going to go physically to all these nations. Some of us go with the gospel to many nations via the internet, where God has placed us to share his gospel and the truth of his word. And so we are not going to be able to physically baptize all those who believe in Jesus, either. But all of us are to be teaching the people that, as followers of Christ, we must be those who obey our Lord and his commands.

So many people today, though, who claim that they are making disciples of Christ of people, are not teaching them that they must obey our Lord and his commands for us who are under the New Covenant. And so many are not being taught that they must deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to our Lord as part of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ, to know God, to be forgiven of our sins, and to have eternal life with God in heaven.

But this is essential that we teach this. For many people are making verbal professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but their lives are not changing. Many are continuing on a sinful course, still doing what their sinful hearts desire, and who are not obeying the Lord. But the Scriptures teach that we must die to sin and obey God, for if sin is still what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, then we do not have the hope of salvation from sin nor of eternal life with God, for we don’t really know God, and Jesus is not our Lord.


[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Seek the Lord

Based off Isaiah 55
Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”

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Go Therefore and Make Disciples
An Original Work / July 8, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Four Quebecers, including two active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who were allegedly involved in activities of “ideologically motivated violent extremism” with the intention of “forcibly take possession of land in the Quebec City area” have been arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Three of the accused — Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, of Quebec City, Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville and Raphaël Lagacé, 25, of Quebec City — allegedly “took concrete actions to facilitate terrorist activity,” the RCMP states.

“The three accused were planning to create [an] anti-government militia,” the force notes.

Numerous weapons and military equipment related charges as well as the terror charge.

Occasionally when I witness a particularly breathtaking starry night, I recall the phrases from Coldplay’s song, “Yellow” — “Look at the stars — look how they shine for you” — and Tyler Brown William’s refrain “Forever Was Made For Me and You.” This summer, one of my plans entailed hiking in the desert and witnessing the majesty of the stars under the open desert sky. Although the trip ended up being postponed, I found myself out in the country, nestled in an open plain where the grandeur of the stars was often displayed.

On such nights, the stars silently proclaim the words of the psalms: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor” (Ps 8:5-6). Similar to any encounter with authentic beauty, the stars invite us to ponder universal truths and reveal the truth about ourselves and of our destiny: We are designed for eternity.

In his poem, “The Stars Are Mansions Built By Nature’s Hand,” Wordsworth refers to the stars as “mansions” where “happily, there the spirits of the blest dwell, clothed in radiance.” These guiding lights, the poet continues, reflect “a habitation marvelously planned, for life to occupy in love and rest.”

Continued below.

Is it a sin to buy and wear these? Made in Kathmandu, Nepal. They were described as sort of Hindu-y once but I don’t see it now. They’re beautiful and on sale.

Q: My brother is an alcoholic and has already had one failed marriage because of it. He recently got an annulment and is now planning his second wedding. How can the Church let him marry again when it seems obvious that his second marriage is going to fail as well?

A: Naturally I cannot comment on your brother’s specific case here. I don’t have all the information, and even if I did, I would still refrain from commenting for the sake of respecting your brother’s privacy. However, I can share some observations about these kinds of situations in general.

Why is a marriage declared null?​

Continued below.

(OSV News) — A contested Washington state law that would require priests to violate the seal of confession to report abuse “represents an egregious violation of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment,” Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who is a member of the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission, told OSV News.

“That the state could interfere in this most sacred discipline of the church should alarm not only Catholics, but indeed all Americans who revere religious liberty,” he said in a statement emailed to OSV News July 7.

Bishop Barron, founder of the Word on Fire media ministry, filed a friend-of-the-court brief July 4 in a case brought May 29 by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle and other bishops and clergy against Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and his administration over the recently passed law on mandated abuse reporting, which lacks exceptions for the clergy-penitent privilege.

Continued below.

In a recent episode of her podcast "Ex-Psychic Saved," former medium Jenn Nizza sounded the alarm on grounding, or “earthing,” calling it a deceptive New Age practice built on pseudoscience and spiritually dangerous ideas.

Joined by researcher Marcia Montenegro, a former astrologer and the founder of Christian Answers for the New Age, the pair offered an extensive breakdown of the spiritual, scientific and financial dangers behind the popular wellness trend.

“Is it an innocent healing modality or a New Age deception?” Nizza asked at the top of the episode. “We’re going to dive into this topic of grounding today.”

Continued below.

The United States government has revoked its designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a foreign terrorist organization, seven months after the group overthrew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and seized control of Damascus, drawing concern from a Christian advoacy group.

The revocation, effective Tuesday, marks a significant shift in U.S. policy toward the formerly Al-Qaeda-linked group.

The U.S. Department of State announcedthe revocation of the Foreign Terrorist Organization label under the Immigration and Nationality Act, citing the "momentum" created by President Donald Trump's June 30 Executive Order that lifted sanctions on Syria and praised the "positive actions" of the new government.

Continued below.

Public school teachers can no longer demand that staff and students refer to them as the opposite sex, an appeals court has ruled.

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled 2-1 that Katie Wood, a high school math teacher who is a man but identifies as a woman, could not require the use of feminine pronouns or the honorific “Ms.”

At issue was a state law passed in 2023, known as Florida Statute § 1000.071, which reads that “[a]n employee or contractor of a public K-12 educational institution may not provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.”

Continued below.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump met for dinner at the White House on Monday evening amid efforts to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza and attempts by Washington to resume talks with Iran following the Israeli and U.S. strikes on nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic.

The two leaders sat down for dinner together with various aides and advisors in the Blue Room of the White House where they celebrated the successful Iranian operation and discussed the ongoing hostage-ceasefire negotiations in Qatar. It was their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House in January.

At the beginning of the dinner, Netanyahu also surprised Trump by presenting him with a letter of nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Continued below.

This is interesting.

A Danish friend asked who wrote this:
My best guess was Calvin, but I thought Luther maybe, if the quote was a little imprecise, and Saint Augustine if it was a biased translation.

An AI said this:

I drew up this very brief and not very nuanced comparison.

Comparison with Calvin

Pope Leo XIV has been given two electric vehicles that can be transported by air and will accompany him on his international travels.

According to a statement from the Governorate of Vatican City State, the delivery took place during a July 3 private meeting held at the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo, with the participation of a delegation from the Exelentia company and the Club Car Group, responsible for the vehicle design project.

The two vehicles are the result of collaboration between the Italian company Exelentia — founded by Domenico and Giovanni Zappia and specializing in the design, customization, and distribution of electric commuter vehicles for individuals, businesses, and public entities — and the Vatican Gendarmerie, which supervised and validated every stage of development.

The cars, based on electric models from the Garia company (part of the Club Car Group), have been completely customized by hand with high-precision technical and artisanal craftsmanship.

Continued below.

Allies of the new Syrian government and other non-state actors have continued violence and discrimination against Christians, Druze, and Shia Muslims, according to a new report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

Syrian rebels, many of whom were affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024. The report notes that HTS members, many of whom were foreign fighters, engaged in mass killings and other forms of persecution against religious minorities during the overthrow of Assad and have continued violations after taking control of the government.

Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, commanded HTS during the revolution. He was also previously a member of al-Qaeda. In addition to HTS, the report also noted that members of Turkish-backed political opposition and militias (TSOs) and other organizations that engaged in mass killings and religious liberty violations have been welcomed into high-ranking positions in the new Syrian government.

Despite these developments, the new Syrian government has vowed to protect religious liberty as it sets up its new government. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to work with the new leadership and has lifted sanctions and removed HTS’ designation as a terrorist organization.

Continued below.

I want so badly to live
Here on earth today
And it is the hottest day
Of the Summer today
It is 48
I can't take the heat
The heat
Is killing all of us
It is very bad for the people
Who have asthma
And heart problem
I am thinking about
Going on for a swim
On lake Ontario
That will cool me off
Also I am not crazy about swimming
I prefer to go for walks
On the boardwalk
First thing in the morning
Because there is nobody around
Also we haven't had any rain for a long
Time
Every day I hope it will rain
But it never does

At just 19 years old, Austin Baron is taking college classes, competing on sports reality television, making handmade dog toys, and raising tens of thousands of dollars to feed the hungry. How does he do it all? According to him, it’s all thanks to “the gifts God’s given” him.

Baron is a rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame and the founder of Knot Perfect, a nonprofit that has provided more than 100,000 meals to children and families across the globe. He is now using his participation on NBC’s reality television show “American Ninja Warrior” to help expand his outreach.

Discovering his mission​

Baron was first moved to feed the hungry when he was 12 years old and volunteered at his parish, St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ashburn, Virginia, to pack meals for Cross Catholic Outreach’s food distribution ministry You(th) vs. Hunger.

Continued below.

Two Midwest Catholic universities are merging in the hopes of making Catholic education more accessible — a “proactive” step amid decreasing enrollment numbers across the nation.

The small, historic institutions — St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids — have both had a presence in eastern Iowa for more than a century.

In what St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak called a “defining moment,” St. Ambrose has become the parent organization of Mount Mercy, according to a recent press release.

Continued below.

With the arrival of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, many people take a vacation, a period of rest away from their routine but also a unique opportunity to reconnect with their faith.

A bishop, a mother, and a priest shared some tips from their own experiences for “sanctifying vacations” and evangelizing at vacation spots.

1. Take time to connect with God.​

Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, the bishop of Matamoros-Reynosa in Mexico, Eugenio Lira, emphasized that summer is a time of rest to “recreate” ourselves, that is, to “completely renew ourselves.”

Continued below.

Was not sure where to put this so I thought I’d try it here.
***********************

There’s a famous story of how The Times of London once put out a query: “What’s wrong with the world today?” G.K. Chesterton wrote back simply, “Dear Sir, I am.”

It’s always worth reflecting on his answer and his very scriptural awareness that human sin is at the root of the world’s problems. It’s especially worthwhile at a time when so much of what’s wrong with the world is being blamed on non-human, “Artificial Intelligence.”

Alongside those who think AI will save the world and revolutionize everything are a growing number who think it will destroy it, or at least come close. In a recent episode of Ross Douthat’s “Interesting Times” podcast, former Open AI researcher Daniel Kokotajlo warned that Artificial Intelligence will become an existential threat to humanity within two years.

While we await his apocalypse, the damage AI is doing to education by making cheating normal has become the stuff of regular headlines. “AI is Destroying a Generation of Students,” declared the tech news website Futurism. And thanks to AI, “Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College,” warned New York Magazine.

Continued below.

The Generations’ Rhyme
(with apologies to the days of the week)


Greatest were born with grit in their bones,
Raised on rations and rotary phones.
They fought the wars and fixed the land,
With Brylcreem hair and steady hand.


Boomers came next with a rock 'n' roll shout,
Built suburbs wide and tuned Hendrix out.
They bought the house, the car, the boat—
And now they grumble 'bout kids who won’t vote.


Gen X arrived with a Walkman in tow,
Sarcastic, cool, and “whatever” on show.
Latchkey legends with flannel pride,
They saw the Cold War, then it died.


Millennials bloomed with dial-up dreams,
Crushed by debt and startup schemes.
They killed off napkins, malls, and soap—
But still hold tight to avocado hope.


Gen Z scrolled in with memes and flair,
TikTok move on digital air.
They speak in vibes and mental health,
And define success sans the wealth.


Alpha’s still young, but watch this space—
Just out of diaps they'll conquer space.
With AI mates and climate plans,
They might save us from our cruel hands.

While most U.S. Protestant churches have policies in place to address significant misbehavior by members, formalized church discipline is rarely practiced, according to newly released data from Lifeway Research.

The survey, conducted among over 1,000 Protestant pastors between August and September 2024, found that one in six pastors reported their church had disciplined a member in the past year.

“The infrequency of church discipline is not because church members aren’t sinning,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Church discipline typically occurs when a member is not repentant for a sin or is no longer qualified for a role because of sin.”

Continued below.

Tim Tebow and his wife, Demi-Leigh Tebow, are now parents.

The couple announced the birth of their first child, a baby girl named Daphne Reign Tebow, on social media Sunday, calling her arrival a blessing and an answered prayer.

“Our daughter is here! We couldn’t be more grateful for the blessing and gift of this new little life,” Demi-Leigh wrote on social media on July 6. “We are so incredibly thankful for all of the love and support we’ve felt.”

Continued below.

A pastor who led a small Hispanic church in Florida was deported to Guatemala after more than two decades of living in the United States, leaving his wife and five children feeling that the world as they knew it had come to an end.

Maurilio Ambrocio, a 42-year-old pastor who led the 50-member Iglesia de Santidad Vida Nueva in Wimauma, told the Tampa Bay Times he was among 100 Guatemalan immigrants deported from New Orleans through a charter flight. He was allowed to contact his family once he arrived and was provided with information to help with reintegration into Guatemalan society.

Ambrocio was arrested in mid-April during a check-in at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Tampa. He lived in Florida for more than 20 years after entering the U.S. illegally. He left his home in Guatemala when he was 15 years old.

Continued below.

LINK

The security breach involved voicemails, sent via the Signal messaging app, and text messages to “at least five non-Department individuals, including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a U.S. member of Congress,” a diplomatic cable, obtained by The Washington Post, stated.

The impostor, whose identity is unknown to U.S. authorities, was able to mimic Rubio’s voice and writing style using AI-powered software, an unnamed senior official told the newspaper.

In mid-June, the impostor created a Signal account under the display name: “Marco.Rubio@state.gov,” which is not a real email address.

The Rubio security breach took place in the wake of the Signalgate scandal, where a journalist was inadvertently added to a group chat with military leaders and members of the Trump administration. In that group chat, which included Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared minute-by-minute plans of sensitive military operations in Yemen.

[For that Waltz was ultimately removed from his national security role, which was then given to Rubio (who is also SecState)]

Security experts have warned against using Signal to discuss government business