An Iranian Christian who fled a decade-long prison sentence for participating in a house church was deported from Turkey and arrested on arrival in Iran. The 37-year-old man had attempted to travel from Turkey to Europe after fleeing Iran earlier this year.

Mehran Shamloui, a convert from Islam, was arrested by Turkish authorities in Istanbul while attempting to leave for Europe without valid travel documents. He was deported to Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where he was taken into custody by Iranian security forces on arrival, Middle East Concern reported.

Shamloui had left Iran earlier this year after he and two fellow converts were handed heavy prison sentences on March 8 by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The charges stemmed from their Christian beliefs and participation in house churches. The same verdict sentenced Shamloui to over 10 years in prison and fined him 250 million tomans ($2,750), according to Barnabas Aid.

Continued below.

Today, my wife, suspicious of AI, asked "what if the Founders had AI?" Which immediately intrigued me. So I asked Chatgpt to design a government/society reflecting the writings of the enlightenment philosophers. Here's what it said:

Declaration of Reason and the Rights of Man​

Issued in the Age of Enlightenment, In the Name of Liberty, Virtue, and Reason​

When, in the course of human development, it becomes necessary for a people to liberate themselves from ignorance, superstition, and tyranny, and to assume the station of free and equal beings—guided not by blind tradition but by reason and justice—it is proper and essential to declare the principles which give legitimacy to their society and government.

---

I. Of the Rights of Man and Citizen​

We hold these truths to be not self-evident by tradition, but proven by reason:

• That all men are born free and remain equal in rights.
• That the natural rights of man are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. (Locke, Rousseau)
• That liberty consists in the power to do anything which does not harm another; hence the law may only prohibit that which injures society. (Voltaire, Rousseau)
• That the free exercise of reason, in speech, in religion, in the press, and in public discourse, is sacred and inviolable. (Voltaire, Kant)
• That no man shall be judged by his birth, class, or creed, but only by his conduct, his virtue, and his contribution to the common good. (Rousseau, Kant)

---

II. Of the Origin and Purpose of Government​

• Government is not ordained by providence or tradition, but by the consent of the governed, formed through a social contract among rational individuals. (Locke, Rousseau)
• The sole purpose of government is to secure the rights of its citizens and to express the general will—the rational and moral interest of all. (Rousseau)
• Any government that becomes the instrument of private interest or arbitrary power is illegitimate and may be reformed or abolished. (Locke)
• Sovereignty resides in the people; no monarch, priest, or faction may claim power above them. (Rousseau, Voltaire)

---

III. Of Law and Justice​

• Laws must be just, public, and rational, framed by representatives of the people. (Montesquieu, Beccaria)
• The law is an expression of the general will and must apply equally to all. No one is above the law. (Rousseau, Montesquieu)
• Punishment shall be proportionate to the crime, intended not to avenge but to deter. Torture and cruelty offend both reason and humanity. (Beccaria)
• Every accused shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Secret trials and arbitrary detentions are hereby condemned. (Beccaria, Montesquieu)

---

IV. Of Knowledge and Enlightenment​

• Man's dignity consists in his capacity for reason. Ignorance is the tool of tyranny. (Kant)
• Education shall be universal, secular, and devoted to the cultivation of virtue, autonomy, and critical thinking. (Rousseau, Kant)
• Let every citizen have the freedom to speak, write, teach, and publish their thoughts without fear, for the free use of reason in public is the engine of enlightenment. (Voltaire, Kant)
• Dogma shall not rule where reason can inquire. Conscience shall not be coerced where truth can be persuaded.

---

V. Of Society and Economy​

• Commerce and labor, freely pursued, shall contribute to the common prosperity. (Adam Smith)
• The state shall protect property, ensure fair competition, and provide for the needs of those unable to provide for themselves. (Smith, Rousseau)
• Excessive inequality corrupts liberty and undermines fraternity; laws shall restrain monopolies and privilege. (Rousseau, Smith)

---

VI. Final Resolution​

We, the representatives of a free and enlightened people, do proclaim this declaration as a beacon for all nations and future generations:

Let ignorance give way to knowledge,
Let superstition yield to inquiry,
Let despotism bow before liberty,
And let mankind walk upright, governed not by fear but by reason and conscience.

Click to expand...

So shall we build a society worthy of man’s nature—free, rational, and just.

Please pray for strength today, I am not feeling well and have some pain but have a big work day ahead that I have to do. Thank you.

"A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side." Luke 10

Trying to stay pure and obey the law, and yet missing the point of the law.

Let's not judge the priest and Levite so quickly. wouldn't we do the same?

The Belgian artist’s works will hang in place of “The Last Supper” and “The People of Israel in the Desert” while the masterpieces undergo restoration​

The Belgian artist Luc Tuymans has created two major new works for the altar of a 16th-century church on a Venetian island. Tuymans's paintings, entitled Heat and Musicians (2025), go on show in the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore next month, across from St Mark’s Square.

Tuymans’s works replace a pair of canvases by the 16th-century artist Jacopo Tintoretto—The Last Supper and The People of Israel in the Desert—which will undergo restoration funded by the Save Venice conservation charity.

“My paintings—Heat, and Musicians (both 2025)—aren't installed in a museum; rather they are installed at the centre of a space of worship, where people regularly attend services,” Tuymans says. “This situation provides a completely different assessment of how an artwork is to be perceived, and responded to.

“How the paintings engage with the architecture of the space is also important. My work is wholly integrated into the Palladian basilica, not placed next to it, or around it, like previous installations before—Anish Kapoor, Berlinde Der Bruyckere.”

Continued below.

​

Father Alphonsus Afina, a Nigerian priest who served in the the Diocese of Fairbanks Alaska (2017-2024), was abducted June 1, 2025, by Islamist militants in his home country. Father Alphonsus is pictured in an undated photo.

A Nigerian priest who previously served in Alaska remains missing after being captured by Boko Haram operatives in his homeland, OSV News has learned.

Father Alphonsus Afina, assigned to several parishes across Alaska from September 2017 through 2024, was abducted June 1 along with an unspecified number of fellow travelers while in Nigeria's Borno state, near the northeastern town of Gwoza.

Bishop John Bogma Bakeni of Maiduguri, Nigeria, told The Associated Press June 8 that the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram was responsible for the kidnapping.

Continued below.

​

If TC remains in place and if I could control just one reform of the Modern Mass, I would state emphatically that that reform should be a return to receiving Holy Communion kneeling at the altar railing or kneeler and receiving on the tongue. Doing this is, in my most humble opinion, more important than ad orientem, although ad orientem would be second.

The outdated 1960’s apologetics, most of which are not just outdated but wrong, goes like this:

1. We must recover processing to receive Holy Communion as we are a walking, pilgrim people and the Holy Communion procession indicates this!

(WRONG!) Of course we have to process to the altar railing but not necessarily in any regimented, organized way. We all come to Christ in unique ways, but always by the grace of God who calls us! Secondly, the most important procession, the first procession is Christ processing to us! This is most evident in Eucharistic Processions, like the one Pope Leo led for Corpus Christi. It is Christ moving to us, around us and leading us that is important and comes first. The priest distributing Holy Communion to those at a railing makes clear the first and most important Eucharistic Procession! It is our Lord processing to us!!!!

2. Standing to receive Holy Communion recovers an older tradition and represents symbolically being raised up in Christ.

Continued below.

A large crowd of protesters gathered outside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa on Friday afternoon after local officials rumored a possible vacation visit from Vice President JD Vance.

Orange County officials received intel of the VP’s visit to the area on Thursday. In an interview with KTLA 5, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said the VP’s visit “comes at a time when trust in government feels fragile.”

The Santanero, a local Santa Ana newspaper, reported that Air Force 2 landed at John Wayne Airport on Friday shortly after 5 p.m. It was not immediately confirmed whether Vance was on the aircraft on official business following his latest visit to California when he attended a $2,500-per-seat conservative event at a high-end sushi restaurant in San Diego.

Neither a weekend schedule nor fundraising event were posted by the vice president’s office, which has led to speculation that Vance might be on a family vacation. Online footage began to circulate of a C-17 motorcade entering the Disneyland Park in Anaheim.

“I would tell [Vance] to go home,” one protestor told Fox 11. “We don’t want him here.”

[Vance is about as popular as Nikita Khrushchev in California.]

YouTuber Matt Desmond posted a short video to his channel, DisneyScoopGuy, Saturday morning of Vance and two of his children at Disneyland walking through the park and riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

[How could he stand to be on such a WOKE ride, having erased all memory of the Song of the South?]

Obviously this particular source has a bias, but I think some of the data points are still worth discussing given that there are still proposals out there for rent control.


Rental listings in Buenos Aires increased by 180% after Milei repealed rent control laws.
Real (inflation-adjusted) rents fell by 40% year-over-year following deregulation.
Property sales transactions in Buenos Aires exceeded 2023 levels by 35% in early 2024.
Mortgage-backed home sales in Buenos Aires tripled in 2024 compared to 2023.

I've noted before that rent controls are one of the few areas where economists from across the spectrum seem to be in agreement (Paul Krugman, Thomas Sowell, and Milton Friedman have all criticized the practice)

Is it time we start thinking about doing the same here in some cities where rent control has been grandfathered in?

Given the fact that in many of the US cities where these policies are still in play:
- a disproportionate number are occupied by affluent tenants (who've lived their for a long time, and their financial situation has changed quite a bit since they initially moved in decades ago)
- about 1 in 4 landlords leave the controlled units vacant, as there's no real incentive to rent it out since repairs and appliance replacements can exceed what they'd make on rent
- a substantial number of them get passed from family down to other family members, so it's still boxing a lot of people out of being able to take advantage of them

On May 29, 10 days following a joint statement made by Canada, France and the UK which told Israel it was behaving in a way which righteous countries would not put up with, a communion of Canadian religious sisters wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney to express “gratitude for, and solidarity with” the position.

Srs. Margo Ritchie and Linda Haydock, on behalf of some 30 religious congregations in Canada, wrote that the situation in Gaza was desperate.

“For months now, humanitarian supplies have been blocked from entering Gaza. Community kitchens are closed. Warehouses are empty. War-traumatized families, including children, are slowly starving.”

Though Ritchie and Haydock called on Hamas to release the “remaining hostages,” the blame for the humanitarian crisis was laid squarely at the feet of Israel.

Continued below.

The Big Beautiful Bill has passed, and many on the right are celebrating the parts that attract them the most. Among those celebrating, although somewhat subdued, are the pro-lifers.

For the first time in American history, a federal administration actually defunded Planned Parenthood. It is not without cause that the abortion provider immediately secured a fourteen-day injunction of the defunding order.

This defunding of the nation’s largest abortion provider will deprived it of fungible funds that will help keep Planned Parenthood operating, freeing up monies that can be used for promoting abortion.

Thus, everyone knows that the loss of hundreds of millions in operating funds translates into the indirect saving of countless unborn lives and perhaps the closure of as many as 200 abortion mills nationwide. This is certainly something to celebrate, and fight hard to defeat the injunction.

Failure to Deliver the Knockout Blow

Continued below.

Why Congress Must Defund Planned Parenthood Permanently

The Big Beautiful Bill has passed, and many on the right are celebrating the parts that attract them the most. Among those celebrating, although somewhat subdue

www.tfp.org

In his 1947 encyclical on St. Benedict of Nursia, Pope Pius XII praised the great saint: “Like a star in the darkness of night, Benedict of Nursia brilliantly shines.”1 If Benedict (480–547), a patron saint of Europe, shines like a star, his Order of Saint Benedict has illuminated history with a thousand constellations. Guided by the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Benedictines have profoundly influenced the development of Western Civilization. In the words of Thomas Woods:

Mere statistics can hardly do justice to the Benedictine achievement, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, the order had supplied the Church with 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, and 1,500 canonized saints. At its height, the Benedictine order could boast 37,000 Monasteries. —How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Jr.2

Click to expand...

Benedictine Contributions to Science​

Continued below.

The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — has led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to ‘become Catholic.’
A young woman is baptized at the Easter vigil 2024 at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M. (photo: Courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Texas A&M)

The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to “become Catholic.”

This follows several years of anecdotal reports of a surge of people joining the Catholic Church, especially among young people, across many dioceses in numerous countries.

The Catholic Church’s requirements to join may seem, at first, to be complicated. The process involves some important rites of initiation as well as spiritual preparation, fellowship with other Catholics and prospective Catholics, and instruction in the teachings of the faith.

Here’s a guide to becoming Catholic in 2025.

1) Are you baptized?

Continued below.

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2:39

It won't be in Rio de Janeiro or Bolivia or Colombia. The largest statue of Christ in the world will be in Madrid by 2030. A whopping 37-meter-tall sculpture is expected to be built in Spain, and the project is being led by Javier Viver

When I first decided to embark on the journey of seeking Christ, I thought it was the end to all fun. I pictured a boring life and everything in the world as off limits. I thought I would be living a life ruled by guilt and shame. I was led to believe all the joy was to be sucked out of my life and led in a direction that I had no idea of the outcome. This is what the world tells us about Catholicism, right? This seems to be the underlying theme of today’s culture.

However, when we posture our hearts towards the Lord and make Him the focal point of our lives, all of those earthly things seem to move down the ranks of importance. Not to say our desires for those earthly aspects immediately disappear, but there is a tugging on our hearts to follow Him. As long as we remain on this earth, we will always be tested with temptation and to stray from Christ.

Continued below.

Scroll down for today's

Saint of the Day/ Feast
Reading of the Martyrology
Dedication of the Month
Dedication of the Day
Rosary
Five Wounds Rosary in Latin
Seven Sorrows Rosary in English
Latin Monastic Office
Reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict
Celebration of Mass
Reading from the School of Jesus Crucified



Feast of Pope Saint Anicletus

The second successor of St. Peter. Whether he was the same as Cletus, who is also called Anencletus as well as Anacletus, has been the subject of endless discussion. Irenaeus, Eusebius, Augustine, Optatus, use both names indifferently as of one person. Tertullian omits him altogether. To add to the confusion, the order is different. Thus Irenaeus has Linus, Anacletus, Clement; whereas Augustine and Optatus put Clement before Anacletus. On the other hand, the "Catalogus Liberianus", the "Carmen contra Marcionem" and the "Liber Pontificalis", all most respectable for their antiquity, make Cletus and Anacletus distinct from each other; while the "Catalogus Felicianus" even sets the latter down as a Greek, the former as a Roman. Among the moderns, Hergenröther (Hist. de l'église, I 542, note) pronounces for their identity. So also the Bollandist De Smedt (Dissert. vii, 1). Döllinger (Christenth. u K., 315) declares that "they are, without doubt, the same person" and that "the 'Catalogue of Liberius' merits little confidence before 230." Duchesne, "Origines chretiennes", ranges himself on that side also but Jungmann (Dissert. Hist. Eccl., I, 123) leaves the question in doubt. The chronology is, of course, in consequence of all this, very undetermined, but Duchesne, in his "Origines", says "we are far from the day when the years, months, and days of the Pontifical Catalog can be given with any guarantee of exactness. But is it necessary to be exact about popes of whom we know so little? We can accept the list of Irenaeus — Linus, Anacletus, Clement, Evaristus, Alexander, Xystus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, and Anicetus. Anicetus reigned certainly in 154. That is all we can say with assurance about primitive pontifical chronology." That he ordained a certain number of priests is nearly all we have of positive record about him, but we know he died a martyr, perhaps about 91.



sperm est sanguis Christianorum
The blood of Christians is the seed of the Church
Tertullian, Apologeticum, 50

The Reading from the Martyrology

Continued below.

Catholic devotions for 13th July

cathcon.blogspot.com

When it comes to addiction, a few saints in particular show us that the path to healing is not only possible — it can even be holy ground.

Addiction can feel like a cage with no key — whether it’s a craving, a compulsion, or a cycle that keeps looping back. The shame, isolation, and powerlessness that come with it aren’t just psychological; they can weigh heavy on the soul. But holiness isn’t about never falling. It’s about what we do next.

The Church doesn’t offer saints as superheroes, but as companions. And when it comes to addiction, a few saints in particular show us that the path to healing is not only possible — it can even be holy ground.

St. Mark Ji Tianxiang: The addict who never gave up​

Continued below.

Pope Leo XIV called on every parish and church group or association to become part of a "revolution" of care and gratitude by regularly visiting older people.

"Christian hope always urges us to be more daring, to think big, to be dissatisfied with things the way they are," the Pope wrote in his message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a Church celebration that will take place July 27.

"In this case, it urges us to work for a change that can restore the esteem and affection to which the elderly are entitled," he wrote in the message released July 10.

Continued below.

As reported in America magazine (Link), Pope Leo XIV is not sitting idle while on his Castel Gandalfo vacation. According to Augustinian Father Alejandro Moral Antón, a longtime friend, Pope Leo plans to draft the framework of his first encyclical during his vacation break, possibly touching on peace, unity or artificial intelligence. “I know he will begin work on his first encyclical.” ​

​

Asked whether the title is known yet, the cleric replied: “I don’t think so, the other day he just told me that he will use these two weeks to develop the main structure of the text. Obviously, he is already working on it, but he is forced to do it in the evening or in spare moments and would need more time, which will happen during the vacation.”​

​

Regarding the encyclical’s topic, Father MoraI said: “I can imagine it will be something related to the concepts evoked since the first hours of his election. The theme of peace, social doctrine, unity, artificial intelligence. But these are just my deductions.”​

Continued below.

These scouts were certainly brave, trustworthy, loyal and reverent, putting to test the oath that they took before being killed for their faith.

On June 20, 2025, Pope Leo XIV officially recognized a large group of French priests and laymen who were persecuted by the Nazi regime.

Many French men were sent to the German front through a Compulsory Work Service. In response to this order, various French priests, religious, and laymen followed these workers into German territory. However, because they were caring for the physical and spiritual needs of these workers, they were arrested, tortured and put to death mainly in concentration camps.
Included in this number of martyrs are 14 men who were part of the Scouts de France movement.

Catholic scouting​

Continued below.

“The only males allowed in our meetings will be very young ones,” said Ruth Lewis, one of the founders of MoMa Breastfeeding, a newly launched support group for breastfeeding mothers.

The group was founded by former trustees of La Leche League Great Britain, who say they were ousted from the group for their belief that only women can breastfeed.

“As experienced breastfeeding counselors, we saw skills and knowledge being lost through changes in language and the abandonment of mother-centered practice,” says the website of MoMa Breastfeeding.

“Support for mothers and children that protects the mother-baby dyad is needed more than ever.”

Continued below.

At present I am in a thread about the early church and happen to be researching on how the early church transitioned from the Jewish Temple and synagouges to the Christ church we know in some part today.

It dawned on me how vital Paul was in this transition to the Gentiles and how this related to the new covenant of Christ for the church and how this was a fullfillement of the old covenant.

In some ways Paul was the practical instrument that Christ used to teach this transition to the Jews and also to teach to the Gentiles how this Jewish religion was also theirs.. A sticky situation right in the middle of both sides.

Up until Pentecost and even until Paul this was a Jewish religion being fullfilled. There was no thought of Gentiles and it was strict Judaism. But after Paul we have a situation where the church is being open to the Gentiles but still influennced and directed by Jewish tradition.

Paul is in both camps and teaching that circumcision and other rituals are not necessary while at the same time adhering when necessary. So the Jewish factor was still there. In fact from what I have discovered the Jewish factor was there for a very long time and in many ways Christian worship is premised on Jewish worship but modified.

Such as the prophesies of the old testament that the Gentiles would become a pure sacrifice replacing the animal sacrifice. The breaking of bread becoming a participation in Christs sacrifice of bringing ourselves to the alter as a sacrifice to God imitating Christ in sacrificing our lives for Christ in return. Paul in this sense seen himself fullfilling the old testament priesthood.

Because of the grace given me by God, [I am] a minister (λειτουργός, [leitourgos]) of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service (ἱερουργοῦντα [hierourgounta], literally serving as a priest, i.e. sacerdos) of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:16).

So in some ways though Peter was the Rock on which Christ built His church I think Paul was the Rock on which the fullfillment of Gods covenent to Abraham in that all nations (Gentiles) would become part of Christ church.

I think this is captured in that Peter and Paul were both executed in Rome by the decree of Emperor Nero. Two great men parting the church leaving it to the world. But their influence was enough to establish Christs church as He instructed that would never be defeated by Hades.

Jesus Christ, when he lived on the earth, was fully God and fully human (God incarnate), but without sin. He who is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and was born as a human baby to a virgin woman of God, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, and thus he was not born with a sin nature as we are. He grew to manhood, and in the last few years of his life he, along with his 12 disciples, spread the message of the gospel of our salvation to the people.

But he was hated by many of his people, many of whom were people of importance, prestige, and/or authority in the temple of God. A group of them followed him around, continually accusing him of things he did not do, looking for ways to trip him up with his words in order to accuse him, so that the people would not listen to him. For they were jealous of him and of his temporary popularity among the people, and they were threatened by him, worried that their own positions of authority might be compromised.

His opponents, though, were so bent on destroying his life that they did not give up, but they continued to accuse him falsely and to try to do everything they could to discredit him and his ministry. And eventually they plotted and carried out his death on a cross, hoping to get rid of him for good. But that backfired on them, for in Jesus’ death, he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and obey our Lord. And then Jesus rose from the dead, ascended back to heaven, and sent us the Holy Spirit to continue his work in the hearts of those who believed on the Lord.

And so the gospel of our salvation continued to spread among the people. And many people came to faith in Jesus Christ whose lives were also committed to serving him with their lives, because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and because in his resurrection he conquered sin and death on our behalf so that, by faith in him, we will now live godly and holy lives, pleasing to our Lord, and so we will no longer walk in sin, living to please our flesh and not God. His enemies intended to destroy him and his messages, but God had another purpose in mind. And many people were saved.

Now, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, to be Lord of our lives, and so we have died with him to sin, and we are now walking with him in obedience to his commands, in holy living, and so we are serving him with our lives in the areas of ministry to which he called us, we are going to be opposed as Jesus was. We will have people who will make it their aim to try to accuse us falsely of what we did not do, and to try to trip us up with our words, because they don’t want people to hear the truth of the gospel.

But despite how we are treated, we must continue in spreading the truth of the gospel and in sharing the truth of what the Scriptures teach about what it means to believe in Jesus. Because we love people with the love of God, we want to see them believe in Jesus, to die to their sins, and to now live for God in walks of obedience to his commands, that they might have salvation (deliverance from addiction to sin) and the hope of eternal life with God. In that way we are having the same attitude as Jesus had, out of love for us.

[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]

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

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The Attitude of Christ
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

What should “encouragement in Christ” look like? How did Jesus and his New Testament apostles encourage the followers of Christ of their day? And how do the Scriptures encourage us who believe in Jesus today? For those who have died with Christ to sin, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commandments, who are in genuine fellowship with Christ, doing his will, they were and we are encouraged to keep pressing forward, to keep obeying the Lord, to keep resisting the devil, and to remain strong in faith.

Those who were still making sin their practice, still holding on to some of their old sinful habits, who were not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, but who were living immoral and ungodly lives, who were treating others with hate, and who were being hypocritical by presenting one image outwardly while they were, instead, living in sin and for self, they were and are encouraged to put those sins to death, to repent, and to obey God with their lives in faithful surrender to the will of God for their lives.

And what is consolation of love? Well, consolation is encouragement, but it is also exhortation, an appeal, a strong urging, counsel, or caution. And love (agápē) centers in moral preference and refers to what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful and obedient to God and to his commands. So this isn’t about lying to people to make them feel good while they go on living in sin. This is about loving people enough to tell them the truth which can save their souls from hell.

And what is fellowship of the Spirit? The word is koinónia, and it means sharing, contribution, participation, cooperation and partnership with the Spirit in the work of God in our lives, in obedience and in submission to the Lord. So this involves us dying with Christ to sin and walking in obedience to his commands in living our lives to please God and no longer to live to please the sinful desires of our flesh. And all Christian affection and compassion should then be a result of this, in agreement with God.

And what does that look like if we are “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose”? Well, the “same mind” is the mind of Christ (of God) and of the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context. And the same love is agápē, which centers in moral preference, and which prefers all that God prefers. And the one purpose is the purpose that God has for our lives, that we should die to sin and obey God and walk in holiness and righteousness, no longer in sin.

And if that is how we are living, in truth, with purpose, then we will not be those who are selfish and self-centered who care only for ourselves and for what we want, regardless of how that impacts other people. But we will be those who love God and our fellows humans enough to tell them the truth of what the Scriptures teach, even knowing that we will be hated and rejected in return. For we put the true needs of others above our own needs, and we love as Jesus loves, even willing to die to see others go free from their sin.

[Proverbs 24:17-20; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:8-12,43-48; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 10:27; John 13:33-35; John 15:12; Romans 12:9-11,14-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:7]

Refiner’s Fire

By Brian Doerksen

Purify my heart,
let me be as gold and precious silver.
Purify my heart,
let me be as gold, pure gold.

Purify my heart,
cleanse me from within
and make me holy.
Purify my heart,
cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

Refiner's fire,
my heart's one desire
is to be holy;
set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be holy;
set apart for You, my Master,
ready to do Your will.

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Intent on One Purpose
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love