What's on your mind?

Got called by someone claiming to be the Canadian Red Cross. After finding contradictions in his claims, I asked, "Sir... I never made a monthly contribution, and now you're asking me if I want to contribute $15 a month. Why is that?" The guy hung up. If I made an honest mistake, he should've clarified instead of wasting an opportunity for much-needed COVID-19 relief funds.

Either extremely unprofessional (Luke 16:1-15, Matt. 7:12, Prov. 22:29), or a scammer couldn't answer simple questions (John 10:10, 1 John 4:1-6, Luke 16:1-15). I've had both. Interestingly enough, they prefer get-rich-quick targets (Prov. 13:11, 13:16, 13:19, 28:19-22). Below are good videos about the power of asking questions:

Video Description: Former FBI interrogator explains how he did his job. 11:20 to 13:10 is especially interesting: Simple questions should evoke simple answers.


Video Description: Christian apologetics video describing the importance of asking questions after giving answers.

What would Jesus do? Ask Questions:

Jesus at a Pharisee’s House
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.

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~Luke 14:1-6 (NIV)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

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~Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)

^^^ This one is especially interesting, because the bolded and underlined part can go two ways: The neighbour is declared to be the merciful one either because of character over background (Col. 3:11, Gal. 3:28, John 3:16, Matt. 22:34-40, Rom. 3:23), or because the expert didn't want to acknowledge such a source of compassion (John 4:9 + James 4:6, Luke 14:11, Prov. 16:18 + Luke 11:37-12:12, Matt. 23).

The Authority of Jesus Questioned
1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

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~Luke 20:1-8 (NIV)

By asking questions, you're putting others in the position of displaying their actual knowledge of the topic. A lack of an answer is itself an answer.

Video Description: A satirical video of Daniel's executioner giving what you expect from a press conference: Saying much without saying anything at all.

Saying much without saying anything at all. Satan does this (Job 1:6-7, John 8:44). I once watched a press conference video of a woman asking a politician if he's willing to provide COVID-19 relief. Predictably, the politician answered in a similar way, only for the woman to keep pressing for a 'yes' or 'no' answer. She persisted until the COVID-19 relief got secured with a straight out 'yes' answer. The Parable of the Persistent Widow at play here:

The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

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~Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)

Always conduct yourself in a Christ-like manner, especially in the social media age. People are watching and presentation is key. Not everything in life is logical.

COVID-19 is the widow-maker. Love your neighbour as yourself (1 Cor. 13, John 3:16, 1 John 4:20-21, Matt. 22:34-40, Rom. 13:1-10). God bless!

On April 28, 2022, at roughly 7:55 PM Eastern Time, added another paragraph of the importance of presentation. My apologies, I'm a fallible human being who's predisposed towards selfishness.
On April 28, 2022, at roughly 6:50 PM Eastern Time, added more Scripture related to hypocrisy and a grammar fix. My apologies, I'm a fallible human being who's predisposed towards selfishness.
On April 28, 2022, at roughly 6:20 PM Eastern Time, repeated a line to prevent confusion. My apologies, I'm a fallible human being who's predisposed towards selfishness.

VMaeLove said:

Everything is amazing.
Then terrible.
Then great.
Then awfule.
And I'm like. What is happening

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Better than this, that's for sure:

bèlla said:

[COLOR=#000000]Beseech the Lord for what you lack by demonstrating a willingness to serve and act as He instructs. Ask Him where He needs you and how you can aid the kingdom during this period and help others do the same. Tell Him you want to know your divine mission and fulfill His plans for your life.

This is the greater meaning behind setting your mind on things above. You inevitably run into the people you’re meant to encounter by following the Lord.

When you pursue your own agenda its frustrating. You have to make things happen. You’re not flowing because you don’t have a roadmap. You’re making it up as you go along. [/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]The Holy Spirit is your GPS. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#0000ff]
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000]It depends on the situation. Sometimes my spirit knows something’s amiss. In other instances He informs me. I don’t forge alliances without His blessing. There’s too much at stake.

Relationally speaking, He addressed two parties most. While He’s commented on others I received greater insight on them. [/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]They’re the ones He laid on my heart or asked me to pray for over lengthy periods. They’re my 3am assignments.

Silence is equally important. I consider that in my interactions. You can’t be into me and He never brings you up. I wouldn’t assume its a green light. [/COLOR]

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I will beseech the Lord in the way you posted. As you know I have pursued things on my own for years. It did not amount to anything in the past. This is new territory for me and I am super stoked.
Psalms 16:11

Thanks for the clarification. It's good to know. It sounds like, it will make things a whole lot easier, to avoid people that ain't good in ones life.

VMaeLove said:

followed a path that I was very sure God wanted me to. It went wonderful but ended awful. Am I sure it was His path all along? It's difficult.

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He is God, and we are mortal, Miss VMae. Who among us can know, understand, and fully trust? The Bible but gives us a glimpse of His mind. Feelings of doubt and wavering and questioning will only naturally be common in even us believers in Jesus Christ. For me personally, I can only resolve these problems such as that which you've described - wondering if you chose the right path that He wanted for you - with a firm belief that no matter what, He is ultimately good (ALL good, in fact) and is for us, not against us, and we can continually run to Him for refuge and forgiveness for when we fail or commit a transgression ... or doubt.

Saucy said:

I could use some prayers. I'm preaching this Saturday at our men's breakfast and it is one of the toughest messages I've ever given. It's about how we tend to fall short in how we love one another, especially as brothers in the Lord.

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Whew. I can see that being a rough one. I remember doing that once at the same kind of event once at my current home church back when I was still in college. And the message wasn't entirely pretty; I had realized a few nights before that I might be heading into dangerous territory, however accidentally, when I spoke aloud the name of the girl who I then loved in start of a prayer that was of course intended to be toward the Lord, and I confessed this during my "sermon" and compared the incident to the rather straightforward and graphic language that God has used a few times in the Old Testament prophecy books to indict Isreal when its people were unfaithful to Him.

It was a good lesson for me, though. It convinced me that it was time to affably relinquish my love for the woman. Despite my sin in speaking her name in reverence rather than the proper level of esteem, the Lord graciously brought good out of the experience and, I believe, He intended for me to hold the values that I now do as Sarah's Knight because of it.

.Mikha'el. said:

May I ask what good thing is happening then?

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Of course! My favorite band is coming out with a new song.

Just a tip for savings on gas for anybody who might be reading this. Upside gas app has an initial savings of $5 off your first gas purchase with a code. I will have to post that code here later. I already used it and it worked well. You have to register a credit card that you're going to use with it. Any of the cash back can either go to a bank account or rewards gift cards. Minimum $10.

If you are signed up for hero parking there is a code for that also to get $0.35 off per gallon at BP station if you sign up for the app. And also this month Citi dividend has $10 off a $30 gas purchase. Of course you would have to enroll with it.

GasBuddy is another option and good to compare with upside. So far for myself upside has been beating gas prices that GasBuddy offers. This one you do have to use a bank account to connect. Just a heads up I had problems with one of my bank accounts connecting with it. I didn't want my main bank account to be connected so I made a separate bank account. This one's only going to be used for gas. Also I prefer to use a credit card that has promotions of 5% cash back or more going on. So I lean more towards the upside app.

There's another one that I was referred to but I haven't seen any savings much out of it. What I have noticed with other people is that sometimes they're savings are greater than mine on a certain app. So I'm guessing that the more that you use an app the more savings you get over time. I need all the savings I can get as gas prices in my area went to $4.20 2 months ago. That's 50% more than I spent a year ago. I even have a picture of gas prices February of 2021 being $2.50.

This morning hurts. Dating is too hard for me. God doesn't want me to date

VMaeLove said:

Hi Bella It's been along time. I'm sure alot has happened to us both since we talked. I hope it has been overall positive for you.

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Indeed it has. God has kept us and allowed our paths to cross once more. Perhaps its not by chance.

Thank you for support. Your words are always refreshing. I did question. It seems like my life, I am sure everyone experiences, goes from lows to highs. Especially the few years before.

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You’re welcome. Life ebbs and flows. We have summits and valleys. How we handle them is the difference. You have a lot in your tool belt. Strength, introspection, and a willingness to tell the truth and see it.

When you embrace a thought or belief you’ll inevitably encounter contradictions and things that challenge it. Refuting is the norm. Some bury their head in the sand. But asking the question requires a willingness to consider and turn back.

That’s a frightening prospect for most. Dismantlement is terrifying. We long for sameness and certainty. But sometimes you have to upset the apple cart. Because you’re carrying the wrong thing, heading in the wrong direction or using the wrong tool.

Don’t be afraid to let it go. There’s liberty in release. The truth can set us free when we’re willing to accept it. If you made a mistake dissect it. What landed you there? Look for the smoking guns. The triggers that bring reactions that place you on its path and get rid of them.

Pray them away. Keep knocking like the lady with the unjust judge. Don’t stop asking until He responds.

The blessings of the Lord make rich and He adds no sorrow. What are His blessings and their conditions? You can’t claim the good without meeting the criteria. Become conversant in it. Consider the consequences of your thoughts, feelings and actions from a spiritual perspective.

Then you’re ready to play the game. That’s what it is. A grand chess board. Every move begets a response in the natural and spiritual realms.

You’ll view your experiences differently and see the patterns — good and bad. And you’ll understand the strategies. The landmines he erects for your destruction. And you can sidestep them. Counter them with the word and truth.

This allows you to contemplate the outcome before you start. Do I want the consequence or result this will bring? Everything is a seed. What are you watering? Look at the harvests in your life and speak them by name.

Don’t water confusion. Don’t water doubt. They’re weeds. Counter them strategically. Find the holy opposite. The fruit or virtue that references the other. The good thing you want to manifest.

My friend tells me a therapist and pills is what I need.
But I want to find inner strength not artificial. Maybe I am stubborn.

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You don’t need pills or shrinking. All you need is the Lord and support. You have more mettle than you realize. It’s carried you this far.

So let’s pray and see what He does. The effective prayers of a righteous man avails much.

Vinter said:

As you know I have pursued things on my own for years. It did not amount to anything in the past. This is new territory for me and I am super stoked.
Psalms 16:11

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Yesterday holds no sway over you unless you empower it. You’re no longer that person. Reiterate the man you’ve become verbally. Speak in those terms.

Thanks for the clarification. It's good to know. It sounds like, it will make things a whole lot easier, to avoid people that ain't good in ones life.

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Cling to the Lord and you’ll be alright no matter your encounters.

I’ve had a word in my mind the last two days. My projects are done or winding down and my spirit is settled. While chaos looms elsewhere I’m at peace. I’m not afraid or worried. I remembered Jeremiah’s message.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.

Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

I’m ready to resume my classes and get on with things. Nevermind the markets, shortages, etc. I’ve done my part. The rest is in His hands.

bèlla said:

Reiterate the man you’ve become verbally. Speak in those terms.

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Okay.

*chants softly to himself*

I am Sarah's Knight, Protector of Angels ....

I am Sarah's Knight, Protector of Angels ....

... I AM SARAH'S KNIGHT, PROTECTOR OF ANGELS!

*unleashes a huge burst of magical energy to wipe out every demon from Hell surrounding him, akin to the BFG from Doom*






^-^

DISCLAIMER: Not making fun of you, Bella. What you say is good, I think. Just trying to be lighthearted, is all.

SarahsKnight said:

DISCLAIMER: Not making fun of you, Bella. What you say is good, I think. Just trying to be lighthearted, is all.

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No offense taken.

It’s a spiritual precept. Words have power.

I don't want to die.

It's nice weather today.

I love warm weather.

It is certainly a beautiful day today! Blue skies and warmer temps. It finally looks like winter is done.

ChocolateVanillaLion said:

It's nice weather today.

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HI!

i can't find a wave hi emoji

DragonFox91 said:

HI!

i can't find a wave hi emoji

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Hi! =]