This is a song about faith in Jesus Christ and about keeping that faith strong, vibrant and ongoing. It begins with repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ and to his commands for our lives. It moves from there to our daily walks of fellowship in his love. We cannot have fellowship with God if we are not obeying him or if we are still holding on to our past sins. Jesus said that if anyone is to follow him he must die daily to himself and to sin and must follow Christ in full obedience and surrender to his will for our lives (Luke 9:23-26). And from this foundation of faith, we then grow in our faith and in our trust in our Lord to meet us in all of our needs.

As well, we will face spiritual battles with the enemy of our souls, Satan. So we must put on the armor of God daily so that we can fight off Satan’s attacks against us. We must be determined and resolute that we will, in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit within us, not deny Christ Jesus, not bow to the gods of men or to men as our god, not stop speaking in the name of Jesus Christ, and not stop sharing the true gospel message that Jesus taught. And we must determine that by God’s grace of salvation at work within us in cleansing us of all sin that we will no longer allow sin to rule in our hearts, but we will make Jesus our only Lord (Romans 6:1-23). Amen!

Keep On!

An Original Work / December 15, 2011

Praise the Lord! Praise Him now!
Before Him humbly bow.
Repent of your sins now.
Turn to Him; obey now.
Walk in fellowship with Him daily,
And abide in His truth.
He will forgive you,
And He’ll cleanse you,
And He’ll give you new life.

Trust in Him. He is truth.
He will not forsake you.
Rest in Him. Let Him lead.
He will meet all your needs.
Obey His ev’ry word to you,
And listen to all He says.
He will be faithful
In all His promises,
So rest in Him.

Do not bow – gods of men.
Let Christ rule in your hearts.
Do not stop – share your faith.
Keep on: speak Jesus’ name.
Share His truth with all He leads you to
Be a witness for Him.
Never yield to sin
Against your God.
Obey Him in ev’ry way.

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All throughout biblical history we have had people called of God for the specific purpose of the perfecting of God’s people in preparation for them to serve the Lord God with their lives. First we had the prophets of the Old Testament, then Jesus Christ (on the earth), then the New Testament apostles, and then all those gifted of the Holy Spirit who are called of God to be teachers, pastors (shepherds), and evangelists, etc. But all of us within the body of Christ are to help one another to follow Jesus with our lives.

Therefore, you do not have to be in some official capacity within a congregation of followers of Christ to help your brothers and sisters in the Lord to walk with the Lord in obedience to his commands and to serve him in the areas of ministry to which the Lord has called and equipped them. For we all have our specific “body parts,” i.e. our roles (callings of God) within the Body of Christ, and we have all been given specific spiritual gifts (of the Spirit of God) so that we can minister to one another.

And none of us have to have human credentials and titles given to us by other humans in order to serve the Lord and one another in these capacities. If we believe in Jesus Christ to be our Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior, and we have died with him to sin, and we are now living for him and in his righteousness, in obedience to his commands, then we are qualified of God to encourage one another in our walks of faith in Jesus Christ and to help one another to grow to maturity in our relationships with the Lord Jesus.

And this “equipping” of the saints does not come through human marketing schemes and business plans and goals for how to grow people’s “churches” (businesses). For this is about preparing us spiritually to serve the Lord Jesus in the areas of ministry to which the Lord has called us. For you can be a great teacher in the eyes of the world, but if you are not anointed of the Holy Spirit, and if the Spirit of God is not the one guiding you in what to say to the people, then you may sound good, but you are not feeding the flock.

For the whole purpose of this “equipping of the saints” is so that we will help one another to follow Jesus Christ with our lives in pure devotion to him in walks of holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For we are all necessary to the proper working of the body of Christ and to the spiritual maturity of the saints of God. And it is so we will all warn one another, too, against sin’s deceitfulness, and against those who by human cunning and craftiness, in deceitful scheming, are leading people to follow after false doctrines and not the gospel of Christ that He taught.

But this isn’t just the job of the “preacher,” many of whom today are not following Jesus with their lives but who are following after other humans and their marketing schemes and goals for how to “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings. And so many of them, thus, are not teaching the gospel that Jesus taught, because the message of the cross is an offense to them. And so they alter and dilute and misrepresent the truth of the gospel to make it more appealing to human flesh.

So, we who believe in Jesus Christ are to be, first and foremost, followers of God/Christ who are in the practice of denying self, dying daily to sin, and following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands (Luke 9:23-26; Titus 2:11-14; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24). And then we are to be listening to the Lord and following him wherever he leads us, and who are answering to his callings upon our lives, and who are doing what he has called us collectively and individually to do in service to God.

And then we are to be those who are putting into practice, by the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit within us in ministry to the Body of Christ and to the people of the world. And we are to be those who are speaking the truth of the gospel (of God’s Word) to one another, in love, in order that none of us will be led astray by those crafty ones in their deceitful scheming, and so that we all grow to maturity in our walks of faith in Jesus Christ.

And we are to be addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and who are teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom (of God), and who are exhorting one another every day so that none of us will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to be stirring one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet with one another, for we are to be encouraging (exhorting, urging) one another in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in faithful service to the Lord, for his glory.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

In Truth

An Original Work / January 10, 2012

Fellowshipping with my Lord, Savior, King.
He is Lord of all; Lord of ev’rything.
He is with me through ev’ry hour of day,
List’ning to me speak, as I humbly pray.
He cares for my needs,
and He intercedes for me,
‘cause He loves me in ev’ry way.

Obey His commands, and do all He says.
Sitting at His feet, daily in His word,
Let His word speak to me in ev’ry way,
Giving comfort and healing through each day.
Oh, how Jesus loves,
And He cares for you,
Which is why He died for our sins, in truth.

Love our Lord God, Savior, and King of kings.
Worship Him in truth, for He reigns supreme.
He created us with a plan in mind
For us to be His servants, and Him mind.
Follow Him in truth;
Go where’er He leads.
Share His love with others, and their needs meet.
Others: their needs meet.

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French priest Matthieu Raffray disclosed that the Paris prosecutor’s office has dismissed a case initiated against him for stating that homosexual relations are a sin and for calling homosexuality a “weakness.”

In a legal document addressed to the priest and shared by him April 26, it stated that “on March 19, the interministerial delegation for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-LGBT hatred went to the Paris prosecutor’s office” regarding “two posts made on your X (Twitter) and Instagram accounts” in January and March.

The priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd — created in 2006 in Rome for “the defense and dissemination of Catholic tradition in all its forms,” according to the website of this society of apostolic life — had posted in late January a comment on Xabout “conversion therapies.”

“The LGBT Corner” had asked in a Jan. 28 mocking post on X whether “a person can get conversion therapy for 10 euros in France. That’s what Father LeCoq implies whom I contacted to help my son suffering from ‘homophile tendencies.’ He directed me to the retreat ‘Be a Man’ to be held again in Annecy.”

Continued below.

U.S. president Joe Biden has come under fire for making the sign of the cross during a rally criticizing measures that restrict abortion.

Among his critics are José Ignacio Munilla, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain, who called Biden’s gesture a “sacrilege.”

Biden went to Tampa, Florida, on April 23 for a campaign stop one week before a law restricting abortion in the state from 15 to six weeks of gestation was due to go into effect.

While a Biden supporter on stage criticized Florida governor and former Republican candidate for president Ron DeSantis for signing the bill, Biden made the sign of the cross.

On his weekday radio program on Radio María España, Munilla said that making the sign of the cross in support of abortion constitutes a “sacrilegious” gesture and “the desecration of the sign of the cross.”

“Invoking Jesus Christ in support of abortion” has drawn strong criticism “in many pro-life and Catholic circles,” the bishop pointed out.

Crossing oneself, Munilla said, is meant to be used as a sign “in which we remember that Jesus gave his life for us, he gave his life for all the innocents, he gave his life to restore innocence and to make us saints.”

To use the sign of the cross as Biden did, however, is to “invoke the cross in a sacrilegious manner.”

Referring to the incident, the Spanish prelate warned of the risk that a Catholic might publicly show his faith by crossing himself while at the same time twisting its meaning “in a sacrilegious manner.”

Continued below.

Hello folks. Are any of you excited for the new Spider-Man? Yes, Spider-Man 4 has been delayed until 2025.

Spider-Man 4 was canceled in 2010, but a new one may release next year: What’s Going On With Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 4?
Potential 2025 release: 'Spider-Man 4' Production Update May Confirm Daredevil Appearance, 2025 Release - Murphy's Multiverse.

This is the DNA on the shroud.

Once again, big companies are at it again, defiling our one planet we live on. Seems that the curse in Isaiah 24:4-6 is from greedy corporations wrecking our planet. Article link: Paperwork filed for gold-mine exploration near North Star Nature Preserve as county eyes land exchange - Aspen Journalism

Isaiah 24:4-6: "The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left."


Short summary of the open-access article by Apen Journalism (<20% in length, for fair usage reasons):

In an article published on April 28, 2024, in Aspen Journalism by Elizabeth Stewart-Severy, land near the North Star Nature Preserve is being evaluated as a potential site for a gold mine. The area's management plan is being updated by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, who are also considering a land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service. A local family, the Boyles, have held a mining claim on Forest Service land near the Wildwood Lane put-in for decades and recently filed a notice of intent to conduct mineral exploration for gold. The claim sits on public land used by thousands of paddleboarders and boaters to access the Roaring Fork River and North Star Nature Preserve. If mineral exploration moves forward, a plan of operations and NEPA review would be required. The Boyles family's primary concern is that any land exchange or management changes may not adequately protect the nature preserve, as commercial use has increased and concerns have been raised about the conservation easement's compliance. The county maintains that management plans have been in line with founding documents, but some argue commercial use conflicts with the conservation easement and resource management plan from 2000.

Pitkin County Open Space and Trails is gathering data to update the management plan, which will include public input, and is considering a land exchange with the US Forest Service to improve management efficiency. The Forest Service owns the land at the put-in but may not limit access due to resource limitations, while the county is considering limiting commercial operators and all use to reduce congestion. The Boyles family, who own a mining claim near the put-in, want to ensure they are included in discussions on the land exchange and believe the Forest Service is best suited to manage the area due to potential environmental review requirements. The mining claim, which covers sand and gravel containing gold or other minerals, may undergo exploration using sonic drilling and will include plans for revegetation. The potential land exchange and mining claim developments come as North Star Nature Preserve experiences increased use and concerns about impacts on wildlife habitat and a delicate riparian ecosystem.

So I feel for sure I need meds.
My intrusive thoughts make me swing between anxiety and depression..

Trying to muster the strength to be honest with my DR so I cn get them.
Trying to muster strength to endure possible withdrawls..

Just trying to be happy is all. That and pass my TEAS feel I won't bc I can't concentrate long enough to study.

By September 2021, Stern had decided to draft a criminal referral against Trump to the Justice Department after documents were still not returned, according to an FBI interview summary with a NARA employee, identified as “Person 53” in the court documents.

“Stern approached [Per. 53] to formally draft a letter to DOJ raising concerns about PRA materials from the TRUMP administration which remained unaccounted for by NARA,” the FBI memo stated.

In his interview with the FBI, Person 53 noted in his “years of experience,” he “understood NARA never had to make such a referral to DOJ…to accomplish such an ask.”

When he circulated the draft letter internally, Stern told colleagues he had been in contact with “DOJ counsel” about the matter and was continuing to communicate with the White House Counsel’s Office, showing the Biden administration was in the loop about the efforts to repossess Trump’s documents.

The Biden administration concealed this from the American people.

1 being pointless, 10 being productive.
(or is it 1 being productive, 10 being pointless?)

This is based on a real conversation I had with my dad (I didn't start it by the way. I wouldn't dream of it)

Dad: How can Jesus be GOD?! He never SAID he was God!!!

Me: Well, OK. Suppose Jesus came out and said it directly. Would you believe him?

Dad: No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well - OK, what's the point of even going back and forth about it then?!

Genesis 4:

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

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Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

No man is the absolute keeper of his brother, so as to be responsible for his safety when he is not present. This is what Cain means to insinuate. But every man is his brother's keeper so far that he is not himself to lay the hand of violence on him, nor suffer another to do so if he can hinder it. This sort of keeping the Almighty has a right to demand of every one - the first part of it on the ground of mere justice, the second on that of love. But Cain's reply betrays a desperate resort to falsehood, a total estrangement of feeling, a quenching of brotherly love, a predominence of that selfishness which freezes affection and kindles hatred. This is the way of Cain.

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Hi,

My dog was diagnosed with diabetes, I ask that you pray for the health of her, I also pray that I can financially afford her treatments. Thank you

Dogs were unclean animals according to Leviticus 11:27. It had negative connotations.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:

In the East in ancient times as at the present day, dogs, although used for guarding flocks and houses (Job 30:1; Isaiah 56:10), were chiefly seen prowling about towns in a half-wild condition, owning no master, living on offal and garbage. Cp. Psalm 59:14-15; 1 Kings 21:19; 1 Kings 21:23-24; 1 Kings 22:38. Hence the aversion with which they were regarded, and “dog” became (1), as here, a term of reproach and contempt; cp. 1 Samuel 17:43; 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 9:8; 2 Samuel 16:9; 2 Kings 8:13 : (2) an expression for fierce and cruel men (Psalm 22:16): (3) a name for impure persons (Matthew 7:6; Php 3:2; Revelation 22:15).

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Proverbs 26:

11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

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2 Samuel 9:

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

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On the other hand,

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Vol 32.4 (2008): 487-500

In 1960, D. Winton Thomas published an influential article entitled, ‘Kelebh “Dog”: Its Origin and Some Uses of It in the Old Testament’. In the article, Thomas argued that the Israelites held a negative attitude toward dogs. They viewed the dog as ‘a vile and contemptible animal’, ‘the most ignoble and contemptible of animals’, ‘that lowly animal … despised and generally wretched’.
...
A look at the book of Tobit, as well as archaeological and textual evidence from Israel’s neighboring cultures, will demonstrate that the claims of Winton are exaggerations. The Israelites often used the word 3=6<6! derisively, but their attitude towards dogs was not entirely negative.
...
Tobit 6.2 reads, ‘When the boy left home, accompanied by the angel, the dog followed Tobiah out of the house and went with them’. In ch. 11, Tobiah and the angel return from their trip, and ‘the dog ran along behind them’ (Tob. 11.4). Although these texts are brief, they demonstrate that the dog is a travel companion who protects Tobiah and the angel from predators and bandits. Notice, too, that the dog follows Tobiah ‘out of the house’. He obviously shares the same living quarters with his owners and is not ‘excluded from dwelling-houses’ as Gray asserts. This dog may even be a pet.
...
the Israelites of the exilic and pre-exilic periods also interacted with Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, all of whom valued dogs as well.

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Tobiah's dog showed obedience to his master. The paper's author convinced me that the Israelites saw dogs in both positive and negative ways.

By the time of the New Testament, we see in Matthew 15:

25 The woman came and knelt before him [Jesus]. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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How can anyone not like a man's best friend?

See also

• It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the DOGS

This is really cool, if someone has seen this before or knows more information let me know. All I can find is this picture, I'm assuming theres a more interactive version perhaps?

The size of the colored arch shows where that verse in the bible is mentioned, or how often a thing was mentioned in the bible in other parts of the bible? the black lines at the bottom are the verse ( or chapter I guess)

Made by Christopher Harisson. So I'm guessing the largest arch is how often the creation is mentioned, or God, or the laws perhaps.
Edit: Apparently you can buy this through his site? But does it actually tell you the name of the verse/chapter and stuff? or is it just a blown up version where you can see the lines better?

Greetings! I haven't posted in a while but am looking for some accountability partners. I have Psychosis and occasionally I can see shifts in my environment. It happens daily multiple times a day. Sometimes its beautiful to look at and other times it seems barren or malevolent. I am 100% certain that the beauty is Jesus but sometimes when I lose the beautiful landscape I think God is mad at me. When I say God why are you mad, He sort of rings my bell. I think He is telling me it's not Him that its something evil. The problem is I always go back to this Divine Discipline thing that God is mad at me. And its a vicious cycle because God gets frustrated with me and then after a while its hard for me. When he gets mad at me I get frustrated so I'm kind of hamstrung. When I get frustrated I get mad at God and that makes it even worse. Would some loving Christians with compassion please connect with me here. I feel sometimes like God is done with me and my attitude. I'll be honest I dont like the attitude either it makes me feel evil. Thanks! Ryan

It seems like I often feel some anxiety even to a slight extent. Some of the anxiety is sleep related. Because in the past there were a few occasions where I had serious trouble sleeping, sometimes I feel some anxiety if it is getting close to my bedtime and I don’t feel tired. This is especially true on Sunday night where I have slept in during the weekend and have to readjust to getting up at 5 in the morning for work.



When I say serious trouble sleeping, there were a number of occasions in the past number of years where I would get no sleep for two nights / days in a row, and sometimes these experiences were connected to going to the psych ward. Whenever two nights in a row with no sleep happens, I have to call off of work, and it would put me in a place where what I think I remember is if I wasn’t able to fall asleep after getting home from work after the first night, I would try to call off in the evening, but if I ended up falling asleep I would go in to work after all. So somehow sleep is connected to anxiety related to the workplace, especially when you have to report this to someone and they may not understand or want to know if you have caught something.



Another source of anxiety where I have felt a tinge of anxiety is knowing about terrible things happening in other countries and imagining what it would be like if it happened here. For instance, I heard on the news recently that a missile landed on an apartment complex in Ukraine killing or injuring residents, and living at an apartment myself, I think that could be horrific.



Additionally before moving to a large city I live by currently, I heard reports of crime in the area. On a radio station in the area I had heard that the crime was spreading from the city into the suburbs and if I remember correctly, they reported a shooting at a gas station. Furthermore, I had visited a guys Bible study in the area where it was shared that one of the guys was jumped at a gas station in the area.



As Christians we are supposed to have no fear of death, but if I am honest, I will say that the idea of my body falling apart in the future is something that makes me uncomfortable, and if I suddenly faced that risk, I think I could be afraid in that moment.



Has anyone else dealt with these kind of anxiety issues?

Thankfully in this case the cat lived.

CHARLOTTE — Sources tell Channel 9 three law enforcement officers, including one U.S. Marshal, were killed Monday while serving a warrant in east Charlotte. At least one suspect was found dead at the scene, police confirmed.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department shared news of the shooting just before 2 p.m. They said it happened while the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force was trying to serve a warrant in a neighborhood along Galway Drive.

Around 2:15 p.m., CMPD said “multiple” people have been taken to local hospitals and an active investigation is underway.

Karen Oliveto previously claimed Jesus had bigotries, raised concerns about making Him into 'an idol'

United Methodist Church Bishop Karen Oliveto preaches a sermon at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 28, 2024, during the UMC General Conference. Oliveto's election was ruled invalid by the United Methodist Judicial Council in 2017 due to her being in a same-sex marriage, however, she has remained a bishop of the UMC Mountain Sky Episcopal Area. | Paul Jeffrey/UM News


A United Methodist Church bishop, whose election was declared invalid in 2017 for being in a same-sex marriage but who remains in office, has denounced the denomination’s ban on “queer clergy” in a General Conference sermon.

Bishop Karen Oliveto of the UMC Mountain Sky Area gave a message on Monday morning before the churchwide UMC General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

During her remarks, Oliveto asked those gathered if they were “willing to make God’s love visible in all you do” and if they would “meet and serve Jesus in the outcast, the downcast, and the cast aside.”

Continued below.

A 2,000-year-old ancient clay token uncovered near the temple mount in Jerusalem likely was used by Jewish pilgrims traveling to the city as money to “exchange for offerings during their sacred visits,” according to the organization that is studying it and other items.


The clay token features a “seal imprint of a wine jar accompanied by a Greek inscription” and was “likely associated in some way with the activities that took place in the Temple” during the centuries prior to Christ’s birth, according to the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

Continued below.

Judges 7:

5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

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A soldier was chosen to continue iff he did not kneel down to drink.

Ellicott:

Rashi says that those who went down on their knees to drink were secret idolators, who had “bowed the knee to Baal” (1Kings 19:18).

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1 Kings 19:

18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

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Today my husband and I went out to a restaurant for lunch. While I was eating my salad, suddenly a bug of some sort was inside my salad bowl crawling up toward me, and I am not used to that sort of thing. Now this bug was the size of a gnat (or a flea) but it was in the shape of a grasshopper and it had a transparent appearance (no color). And so I called the management, and someone came and took away the food. But now I had lost my appetite and so I did not want a replacement salad.

A Parable

Now sometimes the Lord uses real life situations in my life like parables to teach spiritual truths, and I believe this is one of these. For a bug can be an error or an infection or a virus (disease, contamination, corruption), and this was in my food. And, in the Bible, food is often used as a symbol for the Word of God, which is our spiritual food, which is the gospel of Christ. And today we have many of these contaminations and corruptions of the Scriptures being taught (served to the people) in the churches.

Now this bug had a transparent appearance, and transparent is obvious, and it was very obvious to me that there was a bug crawling around in my food coming straight toward me. For it was out in the open where I could see it and it was no longer hidden. For I had been eating away at the food and that seems to have been what drew the bug out. And when I feed on the Word of God, which is my spiritual food, then these “bugs” in these presentations of “the gospel,” which so many are spewing forth, become obvious to me, too.

Now this bug was in the shape of a grasshopper. And the Scriptures use the term “grass” to describe human flesh, i.e. “all men are like grass..” And a hopper is someone who goes from this to that to another, for it means not to remain in one place, like to pass quickly from one place to another. So these are contaminations of the Scriptures, of the flesh of man, which do not stay true to the Scriptures but which often remove Scriptures from their context in order to twist them into saying what they do not say if taught in context.

So if I lose my appetite for this kind of food it means that I reject these tainted and bug-infested presentations of the Word of God, and so I ask for them to be removed from my presence, for I do not want them! And I don’t want a replacement for the untainted Word of the Lord, either. I want the pure Word of God without these contaminations. So, in essence, I “rebuked” this bug (corruption) in the spiritual Word (food) of God and I refused any kind of replacement food (that replaces the truth of God’s word with lies).

Oh, and one more thing. Both my husband and I were feeling as though I was not being believed by the management. I had so wished that I had had the sense to take a picture of the bug with my phone to prove what I was saying was the truth. And this relates to the teachings of the Scriptures, too. For even though God has called me to “rebuke” and to call out these “bugs” inside the teachings of the Scriptures by what seems to be the majority, it appears that not many believe me and take these warnings seriously.

Application

And this is exactly what this passage of Scripture is talking about here. For there are indeed many who are insubordinate (defiant, disobedient, rebellious and undisciplined) who are teaching lies disguised as the true gospel message, but which are just “bugs” in the food which are intended to contaminate the truth of the gospel and to alter it to say what it does not say, and for the purpose to attract human flesh and the ungodly to “church” gatherings, and so as to not offend them with the truth of the gospel.

And they must be silenced! They must be rebuked! For they have gained such popularity among the people that it appears that the majority of those professing faith in Christ, at least here in America, are following after this bug-infested spiritual food rather than them following after the pure word of God and his gospel message, as Jesus taught, and as his NT apostles taught. And so many people are eating these “bug-infested” meals (spiritual food) without even being aware of the bug (or bugs) contained within.

And so we cannot just teach the pure Word of God anymore, but we have to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness and these bugs (corruptions) that are being taught (served up) as truth so that, hopefully, others will reject these corrupted gospel messages, and that they will discard them, and that they will refuse all replacements for the pure word of God. And then hopefully they will get into the pure word of God and read it for themselves, IN CONTEXT, so that they know what the Word is teaching us, in reality.

For so many people profess to know the Lord, but they deny him by their works (actions, behaviors). And Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father (Matthew 7:21-23). And John said that if we profess to be in fellowship with God, but while we make sin our practice (walk in sin), we are liars. And if we claim to know God, but we do not obey his commandments (New Covenant), in practice, we are liars (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10).

And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For if we deny Jesus by our actions, when he returns, he will disown us. So please take this seriously, repent, and obey the Lord (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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I say Churches (whereas I once said Church, singular) because the CC is divided into 3 parts at this time in history. You have the novus ordo Church, which is the one you see in your local area, the one most people attend. Then you have the SSPX (Society of St Pius X) Churches who agree with the late archbishop Lefebvre who defied the NO Church (novus ordo) because it was beginning to teach heresy, beginning at Vatican II (one was the heresy of: All religions can lead you to God/Heaven, but that's not what Jesus said).

I have always had a lot of respect for Archbishp Lefebvre, have read a few books on him. I think I liked the one called Horn of the Unicorn best.

So anyway, then you have the Sedevacantists who say that we haven't had a valid pope since Pius XII, which I say is true (it means the Seat [of St Peter, first pope] is Vacant). Their position explains why we have an alleged pope who teaches un-Christian, un-Catholic things, who blesses same sex marriages, so called, and etc.

But there are few Sedevacantist Churches in the US or anywhere else. Most people cannot afford to drive to one every Sunday. Then there's this:

I may not be able to put my finger on this and articulate about it so tht everyone understands (catholic or otherwise) but there just seems to be something missing in the Sede Churches, something that the NO Churches (some anyway) do have. It has to do with the Real Presence of Christ, apparently. I just FEEL that something is lacking in the Sede Churches. On top of that, people are required to dress a certain way. Women have to have veils on and that kind of thing. I wouldn't mind if it were not mandatory but it kind of is or appears to be. What if someone just came in from a labor job and doesn't have time to dress up or whatever? I just think the Church should be welcoming to all. Anyway, I wonder what other Catholics have to say about all this. It is bewildering.... on some level. Jesus prayed for UNITY (John 17?)

Very Nice!

Kazakhstan, which is upgrading its air fleet, auctioned off 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber aircraft, including MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter bombers, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 bombers from the 1970s and 1980s.

The outlet cited reports from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA and the Russian news site Reporter saying the US purchased 81 of the aged, unusable warplanes.

The Kyiv Post reported that the motive behind the US purchase remained undisclosed but that the aircraft could be used in Ukraine, where similar aircraft are in service.

Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, has maintained close ties to Russia and historically was one of its strongest allies. But the relationship has shifted since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Kazakhstan aligning itself more with the West, drawing the fury of some in Russia.

One Russian TV commentator, Vladimir Solovyov, said his country "must pay attention to the fact that Kazakhstan is the next problem because the same Nazi processes can start there as in Ukraine."