What is the gospel? The predominate position seems to be “Repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.”


Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. NKJV


People are saved by God's grace through faith. The faith they have is a gift from God. Just before Jesus died on the cross, He said “It is finished”, He meant that everything needed for man to be saved was accomplished by Him. The things needed for salvation are a sinless sacrifice for our sins, repentance toward God and saving faith. God gives all three when people believe in Jesus.


Since faith is a gift from God and God wants everyone to come to repentance, why isn't everyone given faith? First, the person hearing the message must believe the message. Next, to receive a gift one must want the gift. How do people show that they want the gift? When people hear the gospel, they must want the gift of life eternal in heaven. If that is appealing to them and they hear that all they need do is believe in Jesus, hope springs to life in their heart for an eternity in heaven with Jesus.


Colossians 1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope, which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, NKJV

The saving faith all believers have comes from the hope they have for going to heaven. People who hear the gospel message and do not want to go to heaven will not get hope from the message. People who want to go to heaven will hear the message and hope will well up in their heart. The moment they believe they get the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of the Father in their heart. Jesus gave them hope which gives them faith. Therefore, Jesus gave them faith.


Saving Faith: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. NKJV


The substance of things hoped for is Jesus.


Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. NKJV


The Spirit of Jesus is also the evidence of things unseen in the definition of faith.


In the gospel message they are told the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, died for their sins. They are also told that Jesus was resurrected from the dead for their justification, proof of their forgiveness. When they placed their faith in Him, believed that His sacrifice was for their sins, they repented toward God by believing that He sent Jesus to die for them.


John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. NKJV


Because they believed in Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, they admitted they were sinners, and their sins were forgiven.


Acts 5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. NKJV


Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." NKJV


Because they believed Jesus was the Son of God, they knew that He would expect his children to behave like sons of God. If they agree to His discipline God grants repentance of their sins.


Romans 7:25 I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. NKJV


Romans 8:6 in order for a person to agree to be disciplined a person must be spiritually minded. Romans 7 a spiritually minded person agrees that God's laws are holy, just and good. They want to serve the law of God. Unfortunately, all spiritual minds are in a body of flesh. All humans are sold under sin. This means all people are slaves to sin. Christians have a choice to walk in the Spirit and put to death the sins of the flesh or to be disciplined to physical death. If they are disciplined to physical death they die and go to heaven.


2 Timothy 2:11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. 12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him,
He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. NKJV


People of little faith under discipline do not have the faith to face withdrawal from sin. They want to walk in the Spirit because they have a spiritual mind, but they do not have the faith to face withdrawal from sin. Their spiritual mind pleases God and keeps them in Jesus. Jesus cannot deny them.


1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. NKJV


The purpose of discipline is to keep us from losing salvation.


John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. NKJV


As long as people have hope in Jesus, they believe Jesus is their savior. The only people judged with the world are people that do not believe that Jesus is their savior.

A while back, I was debating with a nominal Catholic relative of mine about why same-sex marriage was sinful.
My nominal Catholic relative said that she felt that it was wrong to reject same-sex marriage because Christian can Not enforce their Christian view of marriage on others who are Not Christian. She essentially felt that homosexuals' rights should be respected, and Christians can Not criticize the LGBTQ+ approval and acceptance of same-sex marriage because their perspectives are Not the same as Christians.

My immediate response was more aligned with "fire and brimstone preaching" by passionately criticizing the LGBTQ+ culture by using the following scriptures:

Leviticus 18:22
New American Standard Bible 1995

22 You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

Click to expand...

Genesis 19:4-38
4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people [a]from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly......more scripture.....more scripture......12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

Click to expand...

Even though the aforementioned bible verses and passages are correct in condemning LGBTQ+ culture, I was Not satisfied with how I debated with my relative. The reason being is that I was quick to condemn by resorting to "fire and brimstone preaching"

It made me think by asking the following question:

"How can Christians graciously & compassionately argue against homosexuality, adultery, perversion, sexual assualt, rape, abortion alcohol and/or drug addiction?"

Please do Not misunderstand me. The use of "fire and brimstone" biblical passages and verses certainly have their place in defending Christian values. However, "fire and brimstone" biblical passages and verses should Not be the sole approach, and in many cases Not the first step in arguing against homosexuality, adultery, perversion, sexual assualt, rape, abortion alcohol and/or drug addiction.

"How can Christians graciously & compassionately argue against homosexuality, adultery, perversion, sexual assualt, rape, abortion alcohol and/or drug addiction?"

I work in a Catholic hospital with crucifixes in every room. Some people seem offended by this and rip the corpus off leaving the empty cross.

The crucifix is a reminder of the ongoing solidarity of Christ suffering with us and our sharing in his suffering.

Why do people find this offensive enough to take this action on property not their own?.

Perhaps most shockingly, the FBI team included a medic to tend to anyone “injured” during the raid. The operations order identified a nearby trauma center with directions how to get there:​

Not a two-tiered system of justice?

I'm going to combine 2 reports here:

Russia-Ukraine war – latest: Zelensky calls on Nato to shoot down Putin’s missiles amid glide bomb attacks​

Volodymyr Zelensky called on Nato allies to shoot down Russian missiles if they are not prepared to provide Ukraine with more air defence systems.

The president issued the plea as he called on Western allies to boost military aid to his country as Russia puts Ukraine under pressure along the frontline in the northeast, east and south of the country.

“You can’t provide that right now? Ok…returning to the planes that you have on the territory of neighbouring Nato countries: raise them up ... shoot down targets, protect civilians,” he said.

Elsewhere, Germany’s foreign minister on Tuesday visited Kyiv in the latest display of support for Ukraine by its Western partners, although deliveries of promised weapons and ammunition from Nato countries like Germany have been slow and have left Ukraine vulnerable to a recent Russian push along parts of the front line.

Annalena Baerbock renewed Berlin’s calls for partners to send more air defense systems, as Russia pounds Ukraine with missiles, glide bombs and rockets.

Zelensky calls on Nato to shoot down Putin’s missiles - Ukraine-Russia war live

Annalena Baerbock, German foreign minister also calls on Nato allies to provide Kyiv with more defensive weapons

www.independent.co.uk

#2)
UPDATED TUE, MAY 21 20241:49 PM EDT

Kremlin says Zelenskyy ‘slipping into hysterics’ wanting the West to get directly involved in the war

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest appeal for more Western aid and involvement in the conflict is due to Ukraine’s “extremely unfavorable” situation on the battlefield.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that new arms supplies will not change the dynamic on the battlefield either.

Russia begins exercise with tactical nuclear weapons​

Russian forces on Tuesday began the first stage of training in the “preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the Ministry of Defense said in a post on Telegram.
“As part of this stage, the personnel of the missile formations of the Southern Military District are practicing combat training tasks of obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, equipping launch vehicles with them and covertly advancing to the designated position area in preparation for missile launches,” the post read.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the drills earlier this month in a move he said was designed to deter military involvement in Ukraine by the West.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/21/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html

Hi everyone, I would greatly appreciate your prayers. I have alot of things wrong with me at the same time. My eyes are blinking uncontrollably, my foot is twitching constantly, and I am in severe pain in my body constantly, all at the same time. Please pray that all of this stops. Thank you!

Police say the former Atlanta police officer who admitted to shooting and killing his Lyft driver thought the man was a member of a “gay fraternity” and was trying to recruit him and kidnap him, according to a witness.

Minor said Folks [the victim] began talking on the phone through the car’s Bluetooth radio in a language he didn’t understand.

Minor said he asked Folks to stop the car so he could get out, but Folks did not stop. Minor said when the car stopped at a red light, he tried to unlock and open the door, but it would not open. Minor then told police that he did not know if Folks was gay or not, but when Folks reached into the back seat, he shot at him approximately three times.

At the time of his arrest, he was on unpaid leave after being arrested in Milton in December 2023 when police found 20 Xanax pills in a bag after he crashed his car.

[Following this arrest, he resigned.]

We often discuss the shortcomings of churches and how they fail to meet the expected standards. While it's true that there are times when we need to make tough decisions about churches that consistently act contrary to God's teachings and His will, we should also consider how we demonstrate love for our neighbours within our families and workplaces.

How have we treated and supported our fellow community members over the years, especially considering that the people themselves make up the church? What about this forum? How have you contributed to your brothers and sisters in Christ over the years in this place, the sons and daughters of your Heavenly Father? Have we forgotten that we are married to Christ before anything else?

There were occasions when Jesus had to slip away from the crowd because they were only seeking him for the bread. “Jesus replied, Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life" John 6.

Are we seeking God and the Church like that crowd, to fill our needs and our wants? I'm asking that we learn to love our neighbour as ourselves and show ourselves worthy in the tasks already assigned to us before seeking a partner. In Christ we are all married to one another. He offered us His fullness. Himself as The Bridegroom and His Holy Sprit, Your Sister, Your Bride, Your Church, Your People, Your Home. We are not alone or hopeless.

In a place with a history of hate, an unlikely fight against GOP extremism (gift link)​

North Idaho has beaten the far right before. Now renegade Republicans are seeking to root it out of their own party, with a crucial test in Tuesday’s primary.

For much of the two decades since [an Aryan Nations compound was bankrupted and destroyed], civic leaders have focused on moving beyond the image of North Idaho as a white-power fiefdom.

This time, activists say, the threat is no longer on the fringes of society, dressed in Nazi garb at a hideout in the woods. Instead, they see it in theleadership of the local Republican Party, which has mirrored the lurch to the right of the national conservative movement during the Trump era on matters of race, religion and sexuality. The bigotry of the past, they say, now has mainstream political cover.

In this ruby-red state, the pushback is being led from within the party. A group of disaffected, self-described “traditional” Republicans has spent the past two years planning to wrest back control from leaders who they accuse of steering the local GOP toward extremism, a charge the officials vehemently deny. A crucial measure of the challengers’ efforts comes Tuesday, Idaho’s primary day.

The rebels have focused their efforts on precinct committee seats, the building blocks of local party power. On Tuesday, they need to win 37 seats out of 73 to force a change in local party leadership, but they’re hoping for a rout.

“I want a full sweep,” said Christa Hazel, 50, a Republican organizer who has been doxed and harassed since resigning from the party’s central committee in 2017 over concerns about extremism and a lack of transparency. “I want a full referendum on the ugliness, chaos and division.”

Hazel and her allies blame local leaders for ideological fights that have left North Idaho College on the brink of losing its accreditation. Doctors, especially reproductive health specialists, are leaving the area, with one local hospital recently shuttering its maternity ward. Extremism researchers and local media outlets have documented the ties between GOP officials and far-right figures.

--

Other background:

Pregnant with no OB-GYNs around: In Idaho, maternity care became a casualty of its abortion ban​

Two far-right school board members recalled in far-right Idaho County​

MAGA-style GOP trustees take over North Idaho College Board; results in 5 presidents in one year, credit rating drop, and maybe loss of accreditation​

‘The beginning of the collapse of an entire system’​

Back in Idaho, Miller says five of the nine remaining full-time maternal-fetal medicine physicians in the state will have left by the end of this year.

...and does anyone really care anymore?


AP News story:

Trump's social media account shares a campaign video with a headline about a 'unified Reich'

The headline appears among messages flashing across the screen such as “Trump wins!!” and “Economy booms!” Other headlines appear to be references to World War I.

apnews.com

Newsweek has the ad (See the subhead lines at 5 seconds and 28 seconds)

"Overeager staffer" posts video to Trump's personal Truth Social account predicting “the creation of a unified Reich”
A video posted to Donald Trump’s social media platform featured references to “the creation of a unified Reich” along with hypothetical news headlines should the former president win the election in 2024.

In the 30-second video posted Monday, which was deleted from his Truth Social account Tuesday morning, mock-up headlines and newspaper clippings envisioned media coverage after a potential Trump victory.

Under a black-and-white photo of Trump, one all-caps headline states: “What’s next for America?” with text underneath that reads: “Strength significantly increased by the creation of a unified Reich.”

The video appears to feature parts of a sentence referring to a “unified Reich” three times alongside text saying Trump “puts America first” or “Law & order restored.”

In a statement, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the video was not produced by the campaign and that it was posted while Trump was in court in New York on Monday for his ongoing hush money trial. The video, she said, “was created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word.”

--
ETA:
Posters have indicated the juxtaposition may be incidental. Without more info on the creator/creation of the video, I may just have to Emily Litella this one.

“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director, said in a statement to The Times. “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store[.] t belongs in a dumpster fire.”

[Fortunately, director Ali Abbasi knows his subject.]

“Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people,” he said Tuesday at the film’s Cannes press conference, to laughter and applause from many in the room. “They don’t talk about his success rate, though.”

“This is really not a movie about Donald Trump,” he said, calling the notion of a partisan divide between conservative and liberal elites in the U.S. “a fantasy.” “This is a movie about a system and the way the system works, and the way the system is built and the way the power runs through the system.”

Written by former journalist Gabe Sherman, “The Apprentice” tracks Trump’s rise to prominence in 1970s and 1980s New York, where, under [Roy] Cohn’s wing, he develops the ruthlessness that will make him a power broker and media darling.

(A Canadian, Danish and Irish co-production, “The Apprentice” has not yet sold for U.S. distribution.)

At this instant, 67% fresh on rottentomatoes

I think we trust Google with the final word. As if they'never make a mistake at least i just realized that i do.

I keep worrying that daydreaming is adding to revelations or that breathing is adding to revelations or that anything I say is adding to revelations. I feel worried I will sin and feel disconnected from God. Every time I try to read particular verses in the Bible that seem to disprove these thoughts I feel I cannot understand them and quickly forget what I read. I will read a word over and over until it makes no sense to me trying to make sure I understand it but I can't.

First of all, this is not teaching that the message of the gospel of Christ is folly or that it is foolishness or that it is weak and powerless. But it is saying that to those who do not accept the truth of the gospel, to them the message is foolishness. And it is foolishness to them because the message of the cross is that, by faith in Jesus Christ, we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, in daily practice (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14).

So to those who do not want to deny self, and who do not want to die to their sins, and who do not want to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ and to come under his authority and rule over their lives, the message of the cross, i.e. the message of the gospel of Christ is foolishness. For they want to hold on to their own lives. They want to be in control over their own decisions and choices. And they want to live their lives according to their own pleasure and desires, and not according to the will of God.

And so many of them will reject the gospel message altogether and will not even consider any kind of confession of Christ as Lord and Savior. But then there are others who want to believe in Jesus because they think it is going to get them a free ride into heaven when they die and that they will escape hell if they just make a profession of faith in him. And so they will accept or they will participate in creating an altered and diluted gospel message which cuts out repentance and submission and obedience to the Lord Jesus.

So, although they may consider themselves to be wise in their own eyes, in the eyes of the Lord their wisdom is folly, and he is destroying and he will destroy all wisdom that is earthly and that is not of him and that is contrary to him and to the teachings of his word and of his gospel message. Obviously that kind of earthly wisdom has not yet been totally destroyed which is why we have so many false teachings and teachers today that so many people are believing in place of believing in the truth of the gospel.

But the Lord is presently destroying the lies through his servants and messengers who are taking the truth of the gospel to the people, and who are refuting the lies of the enemy and all these “gospel” messages which are diluted and altered in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the people of the world. For they don’t want to offend the world because they are trying to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they are modifying the gospel to make it more appealing and acceptable to human flesh.

So, please know what the truth of the gospel of Christ is so that you don’t end up believing the lies and end up in hell and not in heaven, and so that you live the Christian life that God has for you to live and not the selfish life that your flesh wants you to live. But the only way that you can be sure that you are hearing the truth is if you study the Scriptures for yourselves, where possible, but you must study them IN CONTEXT. For many false teachings stem from Scriptures taught outside of context.

For example, Ephesians 2:8-9 is being taught absent of verse 10. And so many people, thus, are teaching that as Christians we don’t have to do any works at all. And many are teaching that we do not have to obey the Lord, either. But verse 10 says that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. And Titus 2:11-14 teaches us that God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.

And many are teaching John 10:28-30 absent of verse 27 which tells us who verses 28-30 apply to. For verse 27 says that Jesus’ sheep listen to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him. And they have eternal life, and they will never perish, and none of them can be snatched out of the Lord’s hands. So this is not a general promise to all who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but is only for those followers of Christ who are listening to the Lord and who are following him in obedience, in life practice.

So, please be people of God who study the Scriptures in full context, and who do so prayerfully, willing to obey the Lord in every way. Please don’t accept the wisdom of this world in place of the wisdom of God. And please don’t accept teachings that are taken out of context and taught against what they teach if taught in context. Please surrender your lives to the Lord Jesus, and follow him wherever he leads you in doing all that he commands you to do. And then be his witnesses in sharing the truth with others.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Video Talk

Login to view embedded media
Caution: This link may contain ads

Myopic

An Original Work / August 19, 2013
Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11

Jesus has given ev’rything
Needed for life and godliness.
His great and precious promises
Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;
Knowledge; patience; godliness;
Brotherly love and mutual affection;
Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,
Growing in your maturity,
They will keep you from vanity.
You will bear fruit effectually.

Nonetheless, if you lack them;
Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,
Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.
You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,
Your calling and your election.
Do this by showing diligence:
Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities
God provided on a tree.
He died for our sins so we’d be given
Life with Him eternally.

Login to view embedded media

In today’s vernacular, this could be like saying, “I am a Baptist,” or “I am a Methodist,” or “I am a Lutheran,” or “I am a Catholic,” or “I am Pentecostal,” or “I am a Presbyterian,” etc. Or, it can be like, “I follow Rick Warren,” or “I follow Billy Graham,” or “I follow Max Lucado,” or “I follow John MacArthur,” or “I follow Steven Furtick,” or “I follow Joel Osteen,” etc. Or, it can be like, “I am an Arminian,” or “I am a Calvinist.” For what it all comes down to is being followers of man over being followers of God, of Christ Jesus. It comes down to identifying more with a human being than with Jesus Christ.

Years ago I recall some people coming to my front door (back when I lived in a house, and not in an apartment) and asking me what religion I was. I told them that I was a Christian. But that is not the answer that they wanted. So they tried to get me to say that I was a Baptist or a Methodist or a Lutheran or a Presbyterian, etc. But I just kept answering back to them that I was a Christian. So then they were trying to tie that in with a particular church denomination, for they just couldn’t understand that I identified as a follower of Christ alone and not as a follower of any man or church denomination.

Now, I am well aware that Paul’s list of men were all men of God who followed Jesus Christ with their lives. At least, that is my understanding. But my lists include some men and/or church denominations and/or church theologies who/which are or were false teachers and teachings or they are or were those who diluted and/or altered the message of the gospel to make it more appealing to human flesh. And I include them in these lists because the greater danger here is not just in being man followers but followers of false theologies or church doctrines and teachings regarding Christ’s gospel.

But the bottom line here, in reality, is that we are not to be followers of men (or women), nor should we be followers of church denominations and their particular theologies, some of which, or many of which are now succumbing to the flesh of man and to marketing schemes for how to attract the people of the world to their “Christian” gatherings. But we are to be followers of Jesus Christ and those who study the Scriptures for ourselves (IN CONTEXT) under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, and who are willing to change our belief systems if we find them to not agree with the Scriptures.

For if we are truly followers of Jesus Christ then we should be able to be united together with other followers of Christ, and we should not be divided by church doctrines and theologies and denominations and affiliations, etc. And we should all be those who are paying close attention to what we are being taught and who are testing whatever we hear and read against the teachings of the Scriptures, in their full context. For so many false teachings stem from Scriptures taught outside their context and made to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate biblical context.

Now I began teaching the Scriptures at the age of 16 and I am now 74. I had a period of time where I was not teaching, so I probably have taught for 50 years. And I have learned a lot over those years, and I had to unlearn some things I was taught wrongly, too. And I am still learning and growing in my understanding of what the Scriptures teach. But I was teaching a ladies’ Bible study and I was teaching what the Scriptures taught, but some ladies objected because that is not what their pastor taught them. But even though they could see what the Scriptures said, they chose their pastor.

And this is what I am seeing on a much larger scale today as so many people calling themselves “Christians” (followers of Christ) are really followers of man, and they will choose to listen to what men are telling them rather than to listen to what the Scriptures themselves are teaching, if read and understood in their appropriate context. And many of them will absolutely rebel at the thought that what they are being taught may not be the truth (or the whole truth) and that they may be being led astray by lies, instead. And if you try to show them the truth, they may hate you for it.

So, what is the point of all of this? We are not to be followers of man, and that includes being followers of church denominations and particular church theologies which may or may not be true to the Scriptures. But our lives are to be surrendered to Jesus Christ alone, and we are to be students of the Scriptures who study them for ourselves (IN CONTEXT), and who rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us to all truth. Can we use Bible helps? Absolutely! But we should not let Bible helps replace the Holy Spirit or the pure word of God. But we must trust in the Lord to guide us into all truth – His truth!!

But by doing that we must be willing to receive from the Lord that we may have gotten some things wrong. And we must be open to being corrected and to changing our beliefs if the Lord shows us through his word that what we had been taught is not what the Scriptures teach. And we must cease being followers of man and instead be followers of Christ alone. And we must cease raising up man to God status and to think that any man (or woman) is infallible (without error). For not one of us is without error, and we won’t be complete until Jesus returns and takes us to be with him.

For the gospel of our salvation that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught is that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and 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. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, and not godliness and righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, then regardless of what our lips profess, we will NOT inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, please take this to heart. Please believe what these Scriptures teach, and please study them in their full context. Then please follow Jesus in obedience to his commands and live holy lives, pleasing to him, because you love him.

My Heart’s Desire

An Original Work / June 29, 2013
Based off Romans 10:1-21; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-24

Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire
Is that you might come to Jesus.
Many appear zealous for God,
But they do not trust in Him.
They have not submitted to the One
Who saved them from their sins;
Not forsaken their sins,
Nor have they obeyed their King.

The word of the Lord is near you:
The word of faith we’re proclaiming:
That you must confess your faith
In Jesus as your Lord and King:
Believe in Him as your Lord,
And follow Him where’er He leads.
Share the gospel; be a witness,
And meet others’ needs.

Beautiful are the feet of those
Who bring the good news of Jesus:
Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself today;
Die to sin and self, and
Let the Spirit transform you in heart;
Put on your new self in Jesus,
Yielding to the cross.

Login to view embedded media

Judges 7:​

1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod,
so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands,
lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once
from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

“claim glory for itself” =[6286] pa-ar​

With the Lord, less is more.
Post scriptures to support this, if applicable.

Before everyone starts screaming at me and insulting me, in saying "where have you been!? This has already been answered! Heretic!", Life hasnt been the best to me, I've had some pretty difficult times, and I haven't been able to keep up with this these forums at all... A simple explanation would be fine, and after that, the moderators can close and delete this thread.
so, my question: why is it closed?

Since I couldn't find a sketch I did around 1980s, I made a quick one with the same technique, Unfortunately the years have taken their toll. Couldn't the the boulder right

If an actor is playing Joe Biden can he still debate Donald Trump , run for President , and even become the President ?

A lot of disturbing information in this article from newsnationnow.com
Is the DEA and US law enforcement doing enough to oppose the drug cartels? What more can, or should, our American government and law enforcement do against the threat posed by the Mexican fentanyl drug cartels?

Speaking at a dinner for the NAACP in Detroit, Michigan, Biden went on a tangent proclaiming he was on the ground in the state to help out, at the request of former President Barack Obama.
“And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic,” Biden said. It was unclear which pandemic Biden was referring to, or if he instead meant the Great Recession.
Ah, the article says perhaps Joe was referring to the Great Recession. Was that a kind of pandemic? I hadn't realized. Expect the newscasters at the debate to be just as objective.