Archaeologists examining finds dug up in a Spanish cave network in 1989 found skull fragments of a 6-year-old Neanderthal, which would have been exciting on its own, but the skull carried two major surprises.

The first is that an analysis of the inner ear canal showed signs of Down Syndrome, the earliest-known evidence of the genetic condition.

The second is that the child survived until 6, indicating compassion and willingness to bear extra work on behalf of individuals in a group who couldn’t take care of themselves. It gives a new perspective on the instincts for kindness and caring among our earlier ancestors.

Continued below.

I was disappointed by both candidates.

Trump did not mention many of his strident assertions, that he has
demanded that his followers believe. As with his tea party candidates,
they seem to hide their true beliefs, until they are elected. Then they try
to destroy the democratic system from within.

Biden is a man who seems unable to present basic facts about the current
strength of the U.S. economy, AND point out some new challenges that
America faces.

I do not find the Democratic Party or the Republican Party as representing
the moderate middle of American voters.

St. Irenaeus of Lyon. | Credit: Wolfymoza via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

On June 28, the Catholic Church celebrates St. Irenaeus of Lyon, who as a boy sat at the feet of Polycarp, eagerly listening to the sermons of the early Christian bishop and disciple of the apostle John.

The boy Irenaeus grew up to write vastly influential documents that witnessed to the early Church’s understanding of topics ranging from the Old Testament to the Eucharist.

Though he has long been considered an early Church father, Pope Francis named him the 27th doctor of the Church in 2022, more than 1,800 years after his death, naming him “Doctor Unitatis,” or Doctor of Unity.

While his work was foundational to the Church, Irenaeus did not consider himself a scholar, and his most famous work, “Against Heresies,” written in about 185 A.D., stemmed from a pastoral desire to defend the Church from the rampant heresy of Gnosticism.

Continued below.

Decision

Supreme Court Overturns 40-Year Precedent You Didn't Know Existed: 'You Could See Things Descend into Chaos'​

The "Chevron deference" has long been the backbone of how corporations are regulated. The new ruling strips federal agencies of their power to determine what's best for Americans

On Friday, June 28, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of overturning the "Chevron deference," a backbone principle for how the federal government keeps corporations in check. Chevron is the practice by which federal courts defer to federal agencies when sorting out ambiguities in a law.

"Using environmental law as an example, most statues use words like 'pollutant' or 'human health' or 'environmental health' or even words as seemingly straightforward as ‘water,' " he says.

But the way those words are defined might differ between a large corporation that doesn't want their factory runoff to be regulated, and the agency meant to enforce human health.

In those cases, when a company or person takes a federal agency to court, the court sides with the agency itself.

[Now, individual judges in individual courts will decide these issues. Neither the plaintiffs nor the government know for sure what the law means.]

"Removing the Chevron deference creates a situation where you could see things descend into chaos," he says. "It’s kind of unimaginable what the regulatory space looks like in a world where administrators and regulators can't be confident that their reasonable interpretations of their mandates are respected by courts."

Psalm 18:1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

Such a beautiful sentiment expressed here in the
translation of this verse. Examining the Hebrew,
we find these words: racham YHVH khayzek
racham is used 47 times in the OT, and means
mercy and compassion. Yet in one single verse,
it is translated Love. Welcome to that verse.
Translators are very effective in presenting the
Psalms of David in beautiful, poetic language.
However, what this actually says is
"(In) The mercy of the Lord is (my) strength."
So why the outlier translation of racham?
The problem for the translator is the word khayzek,
and relating mercy to strength. The dictionary definition
of mercy is clemency, forbearance, forgiveness.
This is only the correct understanding from the perspective
of a man being granted mercy. From the perspective of the one
granting mercy, i.e. the heavenly Father, it is imparting strength.
Consider this verse:
Zechariah 10:6 I will strengthen the house of Judah, and
I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because
I have mercy on them.

We can now take from this verse 'strength and salvation are found
in the mercy of the Lord'.
A statement that is not the least bit controversial.

Now we can apply this knowledge to a parable of Jesus in Matthew.
Matthew 18:
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants.
24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him
who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold,
with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience
with me, and I will pay you all.
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him,
and forgave him the debt.

First consider how this falls on the ears of His listeners. How unlikely a scenario!
Can a ruler dare sully his reputation by allowing someone to walk away with this
great debt forgiven outright? Rulers tend toward ruthless in their reputation out
of necessity. If he becomes known as someone who just wipes away someone's
debt, he will surely be taken advantage of by others.
For the sake of His parable, this serves Yeshua well, because in this
scenario, the One granting the mercy is His heavenly Father.
When Moses asked the Lord to reveal His name unto him, he received this
description of God's desired reputation:
Exodus 34:
6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.

Our Heavenly Father, unlike a king of the earth, can afford to be merciful
and gracious, and desires to be known as such. However, He makes it clear
that He by no means clears the guilty.
This is why the people were instructed in the Gospels:
Matthew 3:8. Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Returning to the parable, we now find the servant who received forgiveness
engaging in unacceptable behavior.
Matthew 18:
28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed
him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat,
saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying,
‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should
pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very
grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant,
just as I had pity on you?
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until
he should pay all that was due to him.

A judge in Montana has struck down a state statute that says “there are exactly two sexes, male and female,” setting up a possible appeal.

The judge found that the title of the bill that created the law isn’t specific enough to pass muster under the state constitution because it doesn’t say whether the word “sex” refers to sexual intercourse or the two main categories of human beings based on reproductive functions, according to the Associated Press.

“The title does not give general notice of the character of the legislation in a way that guards against deceptive or misleading titles,” wrote Judge Shane Vannatta, a state district court judge. The long title of the bill begins “An Act Generally Revising the Laws to Provide a Common Definition for the Word Sex When Referring to a Human …”

Vannatta is the state’s first openly homosexual judge, according to the American Bar Association. He was appointed in 2019 by then-Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat. His appointment was confirmed by local voters in the November 2020 state election.

Continued below.

The Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund (KCCF) has exceeded $100 million in awards given since the project was founded five years ago, the fraternal organization said in a press release this week.

The fund “has crossed a significant milestone” in surpassing the six-figure mark, the organization said in the release. The charity, founded in 2019, is run out of the Knights’ New Haven, Connecticut, headquarters.

The charity on its website says it is meant to “inspire a legacy of generosity within the Catholic Church.” The organization ensures that “all charities supported by the fund are deeply consistent with the values and teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Among the causes to which the KCCF awards grants are “higher education, evangelization, religious formation, and pro-life apostolates.”

Continued below.

A Belgian civil court has fined two Catholic prelates after they denied a woman entry into a diaconate formation program.

According to the Belgian newspaper De Morgen, the woman, Veer Dusauchoit, asked the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels to register for training as a deacon in June 2023 and again in October 2023.

Dusauchoit made her first request to Cardinal Jozef De Kesel and her second to Archbishop Luc Terlinden after De Kesel’s 2023 resignation at age 76. Both times, her request to join the four-year diaconal training program was denied.

The two prelates will have to pay 1,500 euro (about $1,605) each, the court ordered.

Continued below.

The issue of Catholic schools in Canada celebrating “Pride” month continues to generate controversy.

For the third year in a row, St. Denis Catholic School in Toronto, Ontario, raised the Pride flag on school grounds. St. Denis Principal Anthony Pauk told students that the Pride flag and related activities “showcase how Catholicity and love come together.”

Parents and students over 14 were invited on June 12 to a free screening of the movie “With Wonder,” according to Beach Metro Community News. The documentary addresses reconciling homosexuality with faith and LGBTQ+ advocacy.

Other Catholic schools in Ontario have also featured LGBTQ+ programming this month. For example, the X account of Our Lady of Fatima of Milton, Ontario, displayed the motto “We all belong” with rainbow colors, while the the Halton Catholic District School Board declared that it raised the Pride flag “as a symbol of our commitment to nurturing safe and inclusive schools.”

Continued below.

Catholic university graduates are more likely to report higher fulfillment and more emphasis on morality in their decision-making than non-Catholic school students, according to a recent study out of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

The study found that in areas such as life goals, graduates of Catholic universities and colleges had more of a sense of “direction,” with 9% more responding to that effect.

Catholic university graduates were 10% more likely than graduates of secular universities to report that their life closely matches their ideal. The study also found that Catholic graduates were 14% more likely than secular graduates to report that they are engaged in “a continuous search for purpose.”

Catholic grads were 17% more likely to say that they are searching for something that makes their life feel significant.

Continued below.

The Safe Haven Baby Box organization is celebrating saving a baby who was safely dropped off last week at a fire station in Kentucky.

With the rescue of this baby, the U.S.-based pro-life organization counts a total of 50 newborns saved since the first safe haven box was installed in 2015. This is the first time that this particular box, which was just installed on April 4, has been used.

The Kentucky Safe Infants Act allows parents to drop off newborns under 30 days old at a police station, fire station, hospital, or place of worship that has a baby box without fear of being criminally prosecuted.

The device resembles a safe that, once closed, cannot be opened from the outside, but only from the inside wall of the building and by medical personnel. The box is monitored 24 hours a day and has temperature control and an alarm.

Continued below.

Universalism is the belief that everyone will be saved eventually.

Jesus says in Matthew 25:

46 "these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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Some will go to eternal punishment; others to eternal life.

Will everyone have eternal life?

No, John 5:

28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

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Is universalism true?

I doubt it. To be on the safe side for myself, I will not rely on universalism for salvation. To be safe for others, I would not tell others that universalism is true.

Eternal life starts now while I am alive. Right now, I have the Paraclete dwelling in my spirit. I have been born of the Spirit. There is no need to wait until after the resurrection to experience eternal life.

See also Conscious torment/torture over an infinite period of time?.

Jerome wrote to Eustochium:

In every act we do, in every step we take, let our hand trace the Lord's cross.

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To Demetrias:

You must shut the door of your breast and fortify your brow by often making the sign of the cross.

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Today, Catholics make the sign of the cross with their right hand. The gesture predated the Roman Catholic institution. Wiki:

The use of the sign of the cross traces back to early Christianity, with the third-century treatise Apostolic Tradition directing that it be used during the minor exorcism of baptism, during ablutions before praying at fixed prayer times, and in times of temptation.[2]

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Lutherans, Methodists, and Anglicans also perform it, and Eastern Orthodox Christians do it with slight variations.

Can any Christians do it?

Yes, if you do it with respect, the Catholics will not be offended.

Peace in Christ.

Our Savior ….our Deliverer…has rendered death idle for us today in this mortal body through the end of this age we are living in. Galatians 1:4

He delivers us out of this present evil age by giving our mortal bodies an age-lasting life so that we might mortally live to the very end when at the “last trump” of this age this mortal body puts on immortality. 1st Corinthians 15:52-53

We shall never see mortal death as we shall continue to mortally live to the end of this present evil age. This is truly good news for us now.

John 11:26
Young's Literal Translation
and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die -- to the age;

He has brought life and immortality (Greek: “aphtharsia” – unending existence) to light through the good news (gospel). He brings all of this to light through the gospel....the manifest Truth of the gospel... which is not currently being preached by all of the man-based churches.

Our lives from hence shall not cease to exist when we believe in Him and His voice that preaches the truth of the good news. Death has been rendered idle by His sacrifice for us and He is the Way the Truth and the Life.

2Ti 1:
(10) But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

This truth of the gospel has not been preached because of the lack of understanding of it as it has been hid from the eyes of the understanding of men because of their earthly-mindedness. They preach for their own belly (their "god") ...how to fill it: what to eat, what to drink, what to wear. They are minding earthly things and so the gospel is hid from their understanding. The whole world also goes after these things. The "god of this age" that they go after is their belly.

There will be some who will raise up to defend their denominational teachings in the face of the hearing of the truth of the gospel…..and will persecute those who will preach it.

We are not to be “ashamed” of His testimony of the good news but be partaker of the “afflictions of the gospel” according to the power of God.

The “afflictions” = the persecutions that come with the preaching of the truth of the gospel which is not being preached in the churches of earthly-minded men.

We must not become “ashamed” and stop preaching it because of their persecutions that come from their unbelief in it. They will want you to cease your preaching of it.

2nd Timothy 1:
(8) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
(9) Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

But, what He tells us in the “ear” of our minds we are to preach upon the “housetops” without fear of persecutions.

Mat 10:27 KJV
(27) What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Some will shrink back in their preaching of it (the “spirit of fear”) and stop because of the persecutions that will arise by our own “countrymen”…our own church people…because of their unbelief in the truth of the gospel.

2Ti 1:7 KJV
(7) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Those who will preach in His “name”…His authority…shall be hated….but he that endures to the end (of this age) shall be saved. The gospel cannot be changed even in the face of their persecutions because of their unbelief. The Truth is never popular among men.

Mat 10:
(22) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

“fear not them….”

(28) And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Our “foes” shall be of our own “household”…our own church family…and He comes with a “sword” to divide us: to divide those who will believe from those who will not believe.

Mat 10:34-37 KJV
(34) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
(35) For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
(36) And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
(37) He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And we …the believers of the truth of the gospel…are called out of the churches of men. If we love them more than Him (by staying put in their churches) , then we are not worthy of Him.

We must “come out from among them and be separate”. When we do leave them, they will hate us and persecute us but we are to suffer their persecutions with Him….taking up our cross and follow after Him. We are to die to sin (as Jesus died on the cross)….not rendering evil for their evil speaking of us who will call us “evil doers” and “devils” for doing so.

Mat 10:38-39 KJV
(38) And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
(39) He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

We must not be “unequally yoked together with the unbelievers” in their churches. This is not about the unbelievers of the world but the unbelievers of the Word of Truth in the churches of men They will not believe in the truth of the gospel.

What will we who believe in the truth of the gospel have in common with them any longer?

2Co 6:14-18 KJV
(14) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
(15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
(16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We must no longer be attached (“touch” = attached) to the unclean (the unbelievers) in their churches. Our sanctification depends on it. We must no longer be attached to a “dead body” as they have no life in them. This is the "holy commandment"....to separate from them. "Holy" = "separate".

(17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
(18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

We are to “go forth” unto Him outside the “camp” bearing His reproach as they will persecute us for doing so. We are to bear His reproach by not returning evil for their evil.

Our sanctification is to go forth to Him outside their churches…and His blood sanctifies us when we do so.

Heb 13:12-14 KJV
(12) Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
(13) Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
(14) For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

Let us hear the full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who brings to light the truth of the gospel.

Let us hear the "holy commandment" that is delivered to us to keep and not turn away from what we hear. We are to come out from among them and be separate. This is our sanctification. "Holy" = to be "separate". The separation from them cleanses us. It is our sanctification for we are "unclean" when we are attached to the churches of men.

This is the Way of righteousness. This is the Way that leads to life...to having the promised age-lasting life in this mortal body. We shall not see our mortal death as He died for us in our place.

We must "escape" from the man-based churches for our lives. They will seek to get us back in them. Remember Lot's wife. Let us not then return to them.

2Pe 2:20-22 KJV
(20) For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge (epignosis = full knowledge) of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
(21) For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
(22) But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Job 40:

15 Take a look at Behemoth, which I made, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox.

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Job 41:

1 Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?

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Some thought Leviathan and Behemoth were amphibious. Benson Commentary:

But some later and very learned men take the leviathan to be the crocodile, and the behemoth to be a creature called the hippopotamus, or river-horse, which may seem to be fitly joined with the crocodile, both being very well known to Job and his friends, as being frequent in the adjacent places, both amphibious, living and preying both in the water and upon the land, and both being creatures of great bulk and strength.

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown:

behemoth—The description in part agrees with the hippopotamus, in part with the elephant, but exactly in all details with neither. It is rather a poetical personification of the great Pachydermata, or Herbivora (so "he eateth grass"), the idea of the hippopotamus being predominant. In Job 40:17, "the tail like a cedar," hardly applies to the latter (so also Job 40:20, 23, "Jordan," a river which elephants alone could reach, but see on [560]Job 40:23). On the other hand, Job 40:21, 22 are characteristic of the amphibious river horse. So leviathan (the twisting animal), Job 41:1, is a generalized term for cetacea, pythons, saurians of the neighboring seas and rivers, including the crocodile, which is the most prominent, and is often associated with the river horse by old writers. "Behemoth" seems to be the Egyptian Pehemout, "water-ox," Hebraized, so-called as being like an ox, whence the Italian bombarino.

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Barnes:

It is an amphibious animal, or an animal whose usual resort is the river, though he is occasionally on land. This is evident, because he is mentioned as lying under the covert of the reed and the fens; as abiding in marshy places, or among the willows of the brook, Job 40:21-22, while at other times he is on the mountains, or among other animals, and feeds on grass like the ox, Job 40:15, Job 40:20. This account would not agree well with the elephant, whose residence is not among marshes and fens, but on solid ground.

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Ancient writers often paired crocodiles and hippopotamuses together. Then perhaps Leviathan was a crocodile, and Behemoth was a hippopotamus.

As they are here grouped together in the argument, it is probable that they belong to the same class; and if by the leviathan is meant the "crocodile," then the presumption is that the river-horse, or the hippopotamus, is here intended. These two animals, as being Egyptian wonders, are everywhere mentioned together by ancient writers; see Herodotus, ii.-69-71; Diod. Sic. i. 35; and Pliny, "Hist. Nat." xxviii. 8.

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Job 40:

17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

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Benson thought it could be a hippo:

Job 40:17. He moveth his tail like a cedar — Though the tail be but short, both in the elephant, and in the hippopotamus; yet, when it is erected, it is exceeding stiff and strong. The sinews of his stones, &c. — Rather, of his thighs, as the Hebrew may be rendered. The thighs and feet of the river- horse are so sinewy and strong that one of them is able to break or overturn a large boat.

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These were guesses.

According to paleontologists, dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago.

See also Dinosaurs.

Again, Protestant Fundamentalists do not distinguish between teaching the Judea-Christian moral-ethical (ME) system, and "teaching the Bible".

In general, the Judea-Christian ME model is compatible with the concepts of reality, evidence, a fair rule of law, and justice, that the founding American documents uphold. (These are not compatible with Trump's view of reality and morality.)

But this is not what Protestant Fundamentalists want. They want their own theology taught. And that, is not teaching a generally accepted ME model.

As long as the Protestant Fundamentalists demand that their own theology is taught in American schools, this will be a violation of church and state, under the founding America documents. It will also not be in agreement with the sacramental form of Christianity, of the first 4 centuries. (That is, this theology does not agree with the other major European Christian groups coming out of Europe -- Catholic and Lutheran.)

The anti-intellectualism of many of the Christian groups that want to dictate what is taught in public schools, disqualifies them from deciding the intellectual curricula of schools.

That's the core problem.

Oklahoma's top education official orders schools to teach the Bible

Hello Everyone , I am a 42 year old Nigerian female living in Luxembourg. I work in Finance and I love to read and also love anything fitness, even though I have an incurable sweet tooth. Lol I am happy to be here with other WOFs to learn , re- learn and unlearn.

I didnt watch the debate as it has reached a level of politics that I dont care for, but the newscasters this morning were almost cataclysmic of the shocking feedback they are getting. We can see it in the headlines..












I think Biden will have to refuse the nomination and they pick another candidate other than Kamala Harris, it cannot be seen as anything but a catastrophic failure.

Having watched the presidential debate, and not caring to make a comment about party politics, all I have to say on the debate is that the debate amounted to saying:
Indeed, the scriptures urge both Christians and Israelites to honor the elderly and cherish their wisdom. The debate emerges over whether this principle is absolute or if there might be a point when someone is too aged to govern a nation.

Scripture teaches respect for the elderly, as seen in Leviticus 19:32, which instructs people to stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, emphasizing the importance of showing reverence and care to senior citizens.

As voters seek divine wisdom on their journey to the ballot box, these teachings remain a guiding light.

Those before Christ was born how were they saved?
Imagine you are a normal citizen during Moses time, you heard about the Ten commandments, you follow Sabath day, you give sacrifice of animals,
you tried to do good, but you are not perfect.
You really fear God and believe in Him.
However, you are still a sinner.
You never have chance to listen to the Gospel.
In this case, how can you be saved by faith?

1. Immersed into water
2. Sprinkled by water
3. Pouring water over the head

Is this just ritual?
What matters is your confession of Faith in the public.
Did the Bible specify the method?
Should we be immersed as Jesus did in the Jordan river?

9 in 10.

What does this mean to work out our own salvation? Well, when we have a correct biblical perspective of our salvation it helps us in understanding what this is saying. For this is not about us trying to earn or to deserve our own salvation through our own fleshly “good works” that we think we are doing for God but while we still live the way that we want without regard for God and for his will and purpose for our lives.

For, by God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Therefore, we are to not let sin continue to reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins, not live for eternity.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come after him means that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) 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 the sake of Christ we deny self, and die daily to sin, by his grace, and we follow him in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), then we have eternal life with him (see Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).

And then we learn in the Scriptures that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness and that we might live for him and no longer for ourselves. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of living in sin and for self so that we will now honor God with our bodies, and so that we will now live holy lives pleasing to him in walks of obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives.

1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 4:17-24

So, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling just means that we are walking in the salvation already provided for us via Jesus’ death and resurrection, and by his grace, and by God-given faith in him, which comes from him, and which is not of our own doing. So, we walk in obedience to our Lord, and we put sin to death in our lives, and we now live holy lives pleasing unto the Lord, but all because of God’s grace, and in his power!


And this here is evidence of what it means to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

We are not to be people who fight and quarrel with other people, especially not with others of like faith in Jesus Christ. Now this is not teaching that we cannot stand up for what is right and contend with what is evil. We can! And we should! Jesus definitely did, and so did his NT apostles. And we are instructed in the Scriptures that we are not only to be sharing the truth of the gospel, and living it, but we are to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are so that others do not fall into their evil traps.

But we need to learn how to do this without getting into heated arguments with others to the point to where we do and say things we should not do or say. We all have to guard against this, for Satan loves to provoke us to the point of anger. And so we must control that anger by the Spirit. And we must walk away from pointless discussions that go nowhere, especially if they are ones that get repeated over again. In some cases, wisdom says to walk away, for it will only go badly if we stay and try to prove our point.

Yes, we definitely live in a crooked and twisted generation, and so much of that has also creeped into the gatherings of what are called “churches.” But remember here that the church is not a building, not a corporation, not a church denomination, and not a specific physical location. The church is us who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-persuaded faith in Christ. We are the church, the living stones in God’s spiritual house, his building, of which he is our cornerstone and head.

But we are not to be part of that crooked and twisted generation. For God has called us to be his holy people who are living different (unlike, separate) from the world because God is now conforming us to the likeness in character of Jesus Christ, by our faith in Christ Jesus as Lord of our lives. We are not to blend in with our culture so that people will like us, but we are to walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord and to his calling on our lives to be his holy people.

Therefore, we are to stand out as different, as odd, as peculiar because we aren’t like the world, because we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. And we are to shine the light of truth and of the gospel of our salvation via how we live our lives to the glory of God, and via our witness and our testimonies for Jesus Christ and for his gospel. And this engages refuting the lies of Satan, for so many people professing faith in Jesus Christ are following the lies and not the truth that Jesus taught.

And we are to be people of God who are willing to be hated and rejected and thought peculiar and cast away and forsaken and mistreated by others who do not believe and live the same gospel we believe and obey, by the grace of God. And this is so that we can share the truth of the gospel of Christ with others without fear of their rejection or persecution of us. For many people are believing the lies, and so they need to hear the truth, and so we need to be those who are willing to sacrifice our lives for the sake of their salvation.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

I Stand in Awe

By Mark Altrogge

… You are beautiful beyond description
Yet God crushed You for my sin
In agony and deep affliction
Cut off that I might enter in
Who can grasp such tender compassion?
Who can fathom this mercy so free?
You are beautiful beyond description
Lamb of God who died for me

And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God, to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You

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Oh, Lord, You are my heart’s desire
I want to do what You require
To meet with You at break of day
To read Your word, to bow and pray

To listen to Your every word
To think not that it is absurd
To drink its truths into my heart
So, from You, Lord, I’ll not depart

To love You, Lord, as you love me
You gave Your life upon a tree
You sacrificed for all my sin
So, by Your Spirit, pure within

To love Your people, the world, too
To share with them all that You do
To show them why for us You died
Our sins, with You, be crucified

Now we can live for You each day
To do all that You do and say
To minister Your word, in truth
To dissipate the lies uncouth

To give such hope as You gave me
That from my sin I would be free
To walk with You, serve You each day
Surrendered to You, Lord, I pray

An Original Work / April 15, 2021