You have to be born of the Spirit to inherit eternal life. Pets do not have the Paraclete in them. They do not bear the image of God. They are not resurrected on the last day, as per Jesus.

However, if you miss your pets and feel sad after the resurrection, God will do something to ensure you are not sad for eternity. God may even give you your pets back. Matthew 7:

11 if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

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There will be animals on the new earth (heaven), Isaiah 65:

25 the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

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There will be new pets.

See also No worries in the new heavens and earth.

Matthew 15:

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”

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Why would Jesus speak against washing hands?
He didn't. Mark gave more details in Chapter 7:

1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed

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i.e., so-called unwashed.
The Greek word here rendered "defiled", literally signifies "common". The Pharisees prescribed a hand-washing procedure. New Living Translation is helpful for Mark 7:

2 They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating.

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Jesus and his disciples did not ceremonially follow that system.

3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly

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ESV footnote: Greek: unless they wash their hands with a fist, probably indicating a kind of ceremonial washing

holding to the tradition of the elders,

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i.e., the traditional procedure

4and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.

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Greek: unless they baptize; some manuscripts unless they purify themselves

And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)

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They were overdoing the washing ceremonies.

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

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Then Jesus explained to them that they did not eat with defiled hands.
Pulpit thought that they did wash their hands but not according to the procedure prescribed by the Pharisees:

St. Mark explains the meaning of the word κοιναῖς (literally, common), by the word (ἀνίπτοις) "unwashen." The disciples, doubtless, washed their hands, but they abstained from the multiplied ceremonial washings of the Pharisees, which they had received by tradition and punctiliously observed. The scribes and Pharisees, who had come from Jerusalem, were doubtless sent as spies, to watch and to report in no friendly spirit the proceedings of the great Prophet of Nazareth.

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The Pharisees were watching and nitpicking.
Back to Matthew 15:

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the wordb of God. 7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

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Jesus wasn't against washing hands; he was against the practice of washing hands ritualistically as a doctrine of worshiping God. You can wash your hands any time you want, but it is not a form of worship.

Surely he knew that this was of great health benefit. He might have had an issue with the ritual but why do you think he would speak against a practice that would save many lives?

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Jesus did not recommend anyone to eat with filthy hands, and Jesus ate with his hands without using any fork.

Hello folks. Kids are probably not in it for me, unless via adoption, as this world is a strange, dark place. This final devotional for the month focuses on how we can raise and protect our children from the world in this strange new world.

Lock the doors. If the doors are locked he can't get in.

A New York jury on Thursday found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records after a weeks-long trial. The verdict appears to have energized his supporters, however, as the campaign's donation page crashed, evidently due to the volume of traffic.

The campaign on Friday initially announced it had brought in $34.8 million in small dollar donations, marking a near-doubling of its single largest day total on WinRed. Later, it updated the total to $52.8 million raised in the 24 hours following the verdict.

“In the 24 hours since Crooked Joe Biden and his New York henchmen got their sham trial verdict, the Trump Campaign has raised $52.8 million through the online digital fundraising platform,” the campaign said in a statement reported by the Daily Wire. “THAT’S MORE THAN $2 MILLION PER HOUR!”

I had been mentally preparing all week to go to the 11 o'clock Mass this coming weekend because of a Corpus Christi Procession but by the looks of it, it might not be happening. I'm utterly dismayed. No one did this to me, I did this to myself. Praying for a miracle but miracles are exceptionally rare.

There is no longer a Democratic majority in the Senate

Police officers put their lives on the line daily, going out on patrol to ensure their community is safe. Unfortunately, some bad actors, bolstered by the establishment media have decided to paint all cops as evil, based on the actions of a few, and have encouraged others to harm the people who are protecting us. That’s exactly what happened in Minneapolis when police officer Jamal Mitchell was ambushed and killed Thursday evening.

Mitchell, 36, was an accomplished cop, earning an award just last year for running into a burning building to save an elderly couple just days after taking up the job, according to KMSP-TV.
He remained extremely humble when interviewed after the incident and restated his commitment to his job.

It is interesting during Philip's ministry in Samaria where there was a mighty revival, and Peter and John came to impart the Holy Spirit to the converts. Simon the Sorcerer offered money to the Apostles for the power of the Spirit, but Peter turned him down flat, and gave him a severe rebuke, saying that basically that he was a false convert.

I reckon that if it were Benny Hinn instead of Peter, he would have taken the money from Simon as a "seed offering" for the filling of the Holy Spirit and the power that went with him.

Hi,

So after some observations, some claims they hear the voice of God, but now I have my doubts, sometimes some of them say that to put themselves above you, they kinda imply: " I can hear the voice of God you not, so you better listen to me"

I am honest to myself, I never really heard the voice of God, what I do is, I read the bible and listen to other people and then I formulate what I think the voice of God is. Some things are easy, do not steal, do not fornicate, do not murder etc, some things are not that easy, like the 3 topics mentioned below.

Topic: how should the church be organized ? what is God's opinion regarding this ?
possibilities are: elder board, one man at the top decides everything, democratic meaning the members of the church decides etc etc.
Each type of church organisation claiming they heard the voice of God, really I have my doubts now.

Personally I think elder board is best church organisation.

Another Topic: Should churches publish financial transparancy what happens to the collected money ? what is God opinion regarding this ?

You see, this topic, you also have people claiming to hear the voice of God regarding this.

Another topic: which denomination is right, which denomination has heard the voice of God ? Every denomination claiming they have heard right from God, the others wrong.

Br,

In Mark 7:8-13, The Lord condemns the practice of designating personal wealth as korban (a gift) rather than
providing parental care, undermining the commandment of God. This Word is in support of the previous statement:

Mark 7:
6 He answered and said unto them, Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written,
These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

To fully comprehend this, we find that throughout the Law, korban is preceded by the word korab, with
the typical translation being "to bring an offering". However, a more literal meaning of korab is "to draw near".

The daily offerings [Exodus 29:38-46] were made specifically to sanctify the tabernacle to enable
the children of Israel to "draw near" to the presence of the Lord.

Exodus 29:
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door
of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.

This condemnation of only drawing near with hypocritical lips but not in heart came upon not only the leaders
the Lord is addressing, but also Jerusalem, the city of the great King, fulfilling the word of the prophet against Her:

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received corrections;
She has not trusted the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.

For this the Lord raised this lamentation:

Matthew 23:
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gather her chickens under her wings,
and you would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say,
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.

I don't think so.

One of the Book of Job's lessons is trusting God regardless. His faith had to operate without full knowledge. He never learned about the interactions between God and Satan in Heaven. God did not explain it to Job. He didn't want to.

Like Job, we often don't see the full picture of what God is doing. In our lives, often, we have no idea what is happening in God's plan for us. But we still trust in God's sovereignty and believe that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. God is the potter, and we are the clay. He does not need to explain everything to us. This life is a testing place for everyone. The focus is on trusting God's character, not understanding His methods. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him

Vanity of vanities.

I studied the phenomena of NDE:s and made an interesting find.

First of all, you may notice that no two NDE:s are the same. Whether they are good or bad, they are never in the same universe.

Also, here are spirits who say they are able to tailor, in their words, a character to the person.

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However I would suggest they do more than that.

Thus we enter the CUBE, also known as the flower of life, or marriage.

As some of you may already know, the cube can be unfolded into a cross. As well as the hypercube.

Thus we conclude, that when transitioning, both at the time of death and in the body, there is room for only one spirit and one reality.

Hello Christians!

I read the Bible often, not only in English but also in Greek and sometimes Hebrew. I've recently finished reading Romans with the assistance of commentaries by Cranfield and Bruce, and I'm now reading Paul R House's commentary on the beautiful book of Daniel. So far I've never got around to learning Aramaic, but I could reasonably be described as an expert on the Bible, in comparison with most people. I'm also aware that one of the things the Bible teaches is that my scholarly knowledge is nothing to be proud of!

I want to be a Christian. I try to live as a Christian. I pray, sometimes for hours and hours...

But the end result is always that I think: none of it is true, is it?

So I'm joining your forum as a sympathetic and knowledgeable atheist. I hope you don't mind.

Nov 2016 the vote was cast for the Presidential term that started in 2017​

from: Hush money, catch and kill and more: A guide to unique terms used at Trump’s New York criminal trial ​

FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS​

==================== next the 30,000 payment

from: $30,000 rumor? Tabloid paid for, spiked, salacious Trump tip

By JAKE PEARSON and JEFF HORWITZ Published 4:23 PM EDT, (Thursday) April 12, 2018



==================== Next the 130,000 payment stormy was supposed to pay back


==========================end quote

Wanted Daniels to repay 130k??

In any case, all of this is about "incorrect business records" (which is not legal, possibly misdemeanor, like jaywalking) not about "paying hush money" (which the article says is not illegal)

So then when is jaywalking a felony? Answer: "when one is jaywalking in order to rob a bank".
IN other words - all the "talk" was supposed to be about how problems with business records - was on the way to "robbing bank" and would mean that they should be pushing the crime of "robbing the bank" and not the crime of hush money or incorrect bank records.

So where has all the "Robbing the bank" sort of news been all this time??

Seems to be conspicuously absent.

See What is the last day?

Ukraine war updates: Russia says it isn’t bluffing over threats to use nuclear weapons; ‘difficult night’ for Kharkiv​

Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that the Kremlin isn’t bluffing over its threats to use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

In a Google-translated post published on his official Telegram channel, Russia’s former president said Moscow’s use of tactical nuclear weapons can be “miscalculated” but that the Kremlin’s position on the potential deployment of these weapons was not “not intimidation or nuclear bluff.”

His comments come shortly after reports said U.S. President Joe Biden had quietly given permission to Ukraine to allow its forces use U.S. weapons inside Russia. The decision only applies to counter-fire purposes in the area around Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv.
Russian missiles hit several locations in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, killing five people and injuring at least 25, according to the regional head. Oleh Syniehubov described the evening as a “difficult night for Kharkiv.”

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

China has reportedly turned down the chance to attend Ukraine’s peace conference in Switzerland next month.

Beijing has declined an invitation to join the June 15-16 summit because the conditions necessary for them to participate were not met, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.


Oh, strangely, I found a bouncy ball today, and put it in my pocket. When I took it out a red star was stuck to it. A Soviet Star! I fear they'll send me to the Ukrainian front now! (jk)

Is that for God’s will or against it ?

Psalms 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts.

Throughout Psalms 119, David speaks of commandments, statutes,
judgments, precepts and testimonies.
All are Torah. A precept is a personal mandate.
It is beyond the do’s and don’ts of covenant law;
to the Lord’s Will for you personally.
Notice that David says he “seeks Thy precepts”.

This is what Paul is referring to here:

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God.

To seek and find the Lord’s personal mandate,
is to know The Father’s Will for you.

Psalms 119:27 Make me understand the way of Thy precepts:
so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works.

Every saint has a unique voice in the kingdom of heaven,
that is accessed by the Lord’s precepts.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

The Lord’s Mandates, established in the Spirit of Christ, keeps us in the Light of Life.

Colossians 3:
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Other references to having a personal mandate in Psalm 119

4 You have commanded me to keep Your precepts diligently.

15 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.

Under our personal mandate, we choose our companions wisely.

63 I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts.

Notice how the world’s hostility is magnified against someone who seeks,
finds, and walks in the personal mandate given by the Lord’s precepts.

69 The proud have forged a lie against me,
but I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.

78 Let the proud be ashamed,
for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
but I will meditate on Your precepts.

87 They almost made an end of me on earth,
but I did not forsake Your precepts.

110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.

134 Redeem me from the oppression of man,
that I may keep Your precepts.

141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget Your precepts.

We walk in the Light of Life when we follow our personal mandates.

40 Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness.

93 I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.

159 Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me,
O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.

We cannot read about precepts in the scriptures,
we must seek and find that good, and perfect and
acceptable Will of God for us personally.

94 I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts.

When we are born again from above, we receive the Spirit of Wisdom

100 I understand more than the elders, because I keep Your precepts.

We overcome false teaching by following our personal mandate.

104 Through Your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.

128 Therefore all your precepts, all I consider right;
and I hate every false way.

The Lord is an ever present help to those who seek His precepts.

168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
for all my ways are before You.

173 Let Your hand become my help, for I have chosen Your precepts.

A key explanation of why happiness is so elusive is in the answer to this question: Why are some homes more a ‘home’ than others? This is no surprise, since the wise tell us that home is where our heart is at rest. Indeed, where else would our heart be at rest?

Life experience brings to light what to the young might not be so clear. Real rest is elusive. Ironically, or rather paradoxically, rest must be cultivated with much effort. The natural starting point is in the home. And marriage most makes a home be a home; and this especially where spouses forge a friendship with one another. We might say a home begins in marriage; a happy home begins in a happy marriage; and a happy marriage is where spouses are deep friends.

This is a matter of good philosophy and logic. In an assertion with far-reaching implications, Aristotle wrote:

Continued below.

Peace reigns inside Dar Mariam, the residence of the Salesian Sisters in Sudan, despite the fact that it has been surrounded by heavy gunfire and bombed multiple times as war rages on in the northeastern African country.

At the community, located in Shajara, about four and a half miles from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, people displaced by the war, which has been raging there for two years now, say their relationship with God has grown.

According to Father Jacob Thelekkadan, a Catholic priest of Indian descent who served in Sudan for years before the war broke out and now can’t leave, residents of Dar Mariam have had a number of life-threatening experiences — a situation that Thelekkadan, a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, describes as “the experience of the nearness of God” from the time the community was first bombed on Nov. 3, 2023.

Continued below.

Tennessee has enacted a law making it illegal for an adult to take a child 17 or younger out of the state for gender transitioning without the permission of one of the child’s parents.

The measure, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, is scheduled to take effect July 1 unless blocked by a court. Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law on Tuesday, May 28.

Supporters call it a parental rights bill. Opponents say it’s unnecessary and a shot at transgender people.

The Republican-dominated Tennessee Legislature approved the bill by wide margins on April 25 — the state Senate on a 25-4 vote and the state House of Representatives by 63-16.

Continued below.

Representatives of the Australian Catholic Medical Association, with the support of several Catholic moral theologians and bioethicists, have criticized a book published by the Pontifical Academy for Life for its lack of understanding of “current science” and specific areas of medicine.

The experts argue that the book spreads “misleading and confusing” theological and medical information that contradicts established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.

The book in question, “Etica Teologica Della Vita” (ETV), covers “Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition, and Practical Challenges.” The 528-page Italian publication is a synthesis of a seminar sponsored by the academy in 2021.

The critique, published April 23 in the Linacre Quarterly, the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association, describes contradictions between the book and established Church teachings on contraception and assisted reproductive technologies.

Continued below.