Acts 13:39 “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Plus nothing meaning you don't have to do anything to be saved, and minus nothing meaning you don't have to stop doing something to be saved (giving up all your sins, live a good life, etc.). The only thing you must do to be saved is Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved Acts 16:31. the simple gospel, Jesus paid it all, we pay nothing all our works are filthy rags before God and can never save us. Living a good life, stopping the sinning, that's not salvation, salvation is Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:19-28 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Over and over we have clear scriptures saying its faith alone, yet people still come along and say "I still think you gotta have the works" well Romans 4:5 destroys this wicked false teaching.

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

About time!

I bought a Samsung Galaxy phone recently and installed Mobile Device Management (MDM) software on it to prevent bypassing content protection software. There was a situation where Google disabled a Google account linked to the phone through the MDM software. I am using the MDM software to block factory reset because in the past I have factory reset devices to remove restrictions or get unfiltered Internet access. So it is essential that I block factory reset on all my devices.

I tried adding an Enterprise Factory Reset Protection (EFRP) Profile to the device with the MDM, and what an EFRP does is it links a Google account to the phone, and if the phone is ever factory reset, the phone requires you to log in with the Google username and password that was linked to the phone. I set up this profile so that I would be locked out of the phone if I ever was able to factory reset the phone (and keeping the password somewhere that is not convenient to access).

Well, the Google account I created for this restriction was disabled by Google about two days after I created the account, and they required verifying the account by receiving a code texted to a phone number. I had to use my mom's phone because Google said my own phone number had been used too many times to verify Google accounts. However when I first created this new Google account, Google allowed me to use my phone number to verify the account, so I'm not sure why they said I could't use the number for verification later.

What happened is that the very first email I sent, I sent to my self with an explanation of the EFRP and a link to the MDM website, just in case Google would look at the email I wrote. The very minute I sent the email to myself, I got an email that my Google account was disabled because it appeared like it was being used to violate Google's policies. I am not really understanding this and I am thinking it may have been something automated since it disabled my account so quickly and maybe the system saw an email with a complicated link and thought it looked spammy and that the Google account could have been created by a spammer.

Well this is causing me to think maybe I should wait a week to login to the Google Play store with my personal Google account until I can be more certain that Google won't ban the account used for the EFRP. The MDM company told me that if a personal Google account is logged into the phone, that in order to assign an EFRP profile, that I would have to factory reset the phone first so that the personal Google account doesn't activate the factory reset protection (factory reset can still be done in the MDM console and the password is kept somewhere that is not convenient to access). This is what tech support told me by email. However on the phone another tech support person told me I could just remove the Google accounts from the phone before assigning the EFRP and not have to factory reset. So since I received contradictory information, I am thinking if I login to Google Play too soon, that I would be inconvenienced if Google after a few days takes a closer look at the account and bans the Google account.

I also found a post on Reddit where someone shared that two days after they created an additional Google account, that it was disabled. However since I successfully used my mom's phone to verify the new Google account I created, maybe I cleared the hurdle and Google is not going to take any action against me.

What do you think? Should I wait a while to login to the Google Play Store? I am thinking I might wait two weeks to be double sure.

Hello folks. I just called my friend, Abby, that I met at a former job that I had (grocery) about the two verses below. Pray that she avoids and is freed from the teachings of Akashic spirituality, syncretism (buddhism + Christianity) and angels, as God told us to trust in Christ alone, and not angel cards. Also, pray that her partner of eleven years treats her with respect, instead of cussing her out, and that if the relationship fails, that her partner may find a Christian teacher to help him form a wholesome Christian marriage with someone. Pray that Abby may let go of this 11 year anchor, and be free in Christ to marry someone who walks closer to God.


Leviticus 19:31 (ESV): "Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God."

Isaiah 8:19 (NIV): "When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?"

In short, recently I felt led to fast and pray for 30 days. I've broken the fast early 2 or 3 times already. At around day 3.

My issue is that I feel so pointless on this fast. Whether listening to the Word, praying, journaling, meditating.... I don't feel like I hear Him. I know others say that they become more sensitive to His voice. I'm not having that experience right now. I feel like I'm checking boxes and not getting anywhere.

Vermont’s Bernie Sanders is a relative conservative in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate. And self-styled socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is hardly the hardest-Left House member.

The Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Legislative Analysis made these and other discoveries after reviewing 58 Senate votes and 133 House tallies in 2023. It then rated lawmakers from zero (most liberal) to 100 (most conservative). ILA figures confirm that Capitol Hill Democrats are almost uniformly left-wing radicals while Republicans are more moderate than even GOP voters imagine.

Hello everyone, I am a 28-year-old Haitian American male struggling badly with spiritual immaturity - among other things. Please pray for me

I'll share what I sent Dad,

I had a dream a couple nights ago and was in Iran. I had a church there but they began to persecute and say we couldn't preach no more, and not gather.
But what stood out was people were saying "See, Iran isn't all desert, there's plenty of green fields, and forests." I lost much detail of the dream but remember that much. I was not in a desert area.
So I looked it up, yup:








The girl on the right looks much like someone in the dream.

And this just posted yesterday too: Even that part was real:
Simin, a Christian Imprisoned for Leading a Church in Iran

Simin, a Christian Imprisoned for Leading a Church in Iran​

We should pray for the Christian believers in Iran. Except for the authorities telling me I couldn't preach in the building or hold meetings, it was actually not bad otherwise. I never looked to see if Iran had forests, and yesterday I was totally away from the computer till this afternoon, so this is more than just a random dream.

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28)

Old men? I had my first prophetic dream when I was 19! But I had more visions when younger, not a whole lot, but a few.

The bill – the Right to Contraception Act – would enshrine into federal law a right for individuals to buy and use contraceptives, as well as for health care providers to provide them. It would apply to birth control pills, the plan B pill, condoms and other forms of contraception.

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins crossed over to vote with Democrats in favor of advancing the bill. [but it didn't reach the 60 for cloture]

Democratic senators have also introduced a legislative package to establish a nationwide right to in-vitro fertilization, which is expected to come up for a vote as soon as next week.

That follows an Alabama state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that the destruction of embryos could be considered “wrongful deaths.” While the state’s Legislature took action aimed at protecting IVF in the wake of the ruling, Democrats argue that this is only one example of how access to reproductive health care is under threat across the nation.

Republicans have introduced their own bills on IVF and contraception in an effort to prove that Democrats are unfairly attempting to paint them as extreme. GOP Sens. Katie Britt and Ted Cruz introduced a bill called the IVF Protection Act in May, and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst has put forward a separate bill to promote access to contraception.

Asked how her effort is different from what Democrats want, Ernst said, “It does not include Plan B, which many folks on the right would consider abortive services."

The pill, which is a strong dose of the birth control hormone levonorgestrel, prevents or delays the release of an egg from a woman’s ovary – a step that occurs well before pregnancy.

Lest you think this is merely the retaliatory claims of one disgruntled former employee:

TXSE Chairman and CEO James Lee said the Dallas-headquartered group has raised $120 million with the support of more than two dozen investors.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the endeavor earlier, saying the exchange is billing itself as a “more-CEO friendly” alternative to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in the face of rising regulation and a “disaffection with increasing compliance costs.”

The Dallas Morning News reported TXSE will target companies in the “southeastern quadrant of the U.S.” In an interview with the newspaper, Lee thanked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his support and leadership.

--

The Stock Exchange of Northern Aggression?

Texas radio host Ryan Hamilton's world was shattered last month when his wife told him she was suffering a miscarriage at nearly 13 weeks pregnant and the fetus no longer had a heartbeat.

But for Hamilton and his wife, the nightmare was just beginning.

Medical records reviewed by CBS News show Hamilton's wife, who asked not to be named, was treated at a Surepoint Emergency Center branch near their home in North Texas. There, doctors confirmed the fetus — their second child — had no heartbeat, according to the records. His wife was prescribed the drug misoprostol, which induces labor and is used for both miscarriages and abortions. Hamilton says doctors told them the medication may need to be repeated, so they were prescribed one refill.

When the second round failed, Hamilton called the Surepoint Emergency Center and explained that the medication wasn't working. His wife returned to the medical center, where Hamilton says a different doctor told her they couldn't give her another refill to continue the process.

"You start thinking about the women that have to drive across state lines. We've heard these stories. And you — just as a husband, you go, 'Is that what we're gonna have to do?'" Hamilton wondered.

[they obtain a third dose from a different hospital]

Shortly after returning home, Hamilton recalled playing with his 9-month-old daughter when he noticed a missed call from his wife. He found her unconscious in the bathroom surrounded by blood. He carried her to the car and rushed to the emergency room.

The doctors told the couple that the third round of misoprostol was successful. Eventually, she was stable and the pair was able to return home. But the painful process of losing their child is something that will stick with them forever.

"I want people to know that this really happens. My fear is that stories like ours will continue to get told and not believed," Hamilton said. "Everything in her life right now that she's having to do to get better is not just a reminder of the baby that we lost, it's a reminder of what they put her through, and she has to do it every day."

When President Biden met with congressional leaders in the West Wing in January to negotiate a Ukraine funding deal, he spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him, according to five people familiar with the meeting. He read from notes to make obvious points, paused for extended periods and sometimes closed his eyes for so long that some in the room wondered whether he had tuned out.

I'm not a doctor, but from what I have seen I don't think Joe is mentally fit to serve as president.

Luke 12:

49 I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!

51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.

52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter

and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Christians above all people should be the least surprised by divisions in society.

While we are instructed to “come out and be separate”, it is a challenge to set boundaries

for ourselves against the world. Among Christians saved by Grace, there must be liberty of conscience

for someone’s social activities. If the body of Christ judges one another based on a political spectrum,

whether left or right, they fail to remain Christ centered in violation of “judge not lest you be judged.”

They have every right to speak against something in society without fear of offense to someone

who deems that thing acceptable. All must follow the godly admonition:

Romans 14:22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God.

Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

The Golden Rule

Luke 6:

31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?

For even sinners love those who love them.

Again, it is acceptable to speak freely about an issue, but directly condemning an individual,

or entire domination based on that issue is an unacceptable violation of the law of liberty.

How much liberty do you desire? I remember in grade school back in the 60’s,

our library had the “We Were There” book series. One of those books featured Patrick Henry,

whose famous quote was “Give me liberty, or give me death!”

So yeah, that is a thing.

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peacefully with all men.

I've identified as a Catholic for many years and am always ready to defend my faith. However, I sometimes question if I'm truly Catholic.
I've taken so many "what denomination are you" online polls, and each of them indicate I'm more aligned with Anglicanism than Catholicism. Anglicanism leads by just a hair.

I know that online polls may seem insignigicant to many of you however as I evaluated myself, I just feel caught in a dilemma about what side of faith I actually am. I do have things about the Catholic church that I just never could believe in.

My skepticism about being fully Catholic stems from three main issues:

1. The Holy Eucharist: I struggle to believe the Eucharist is the literal body and blood of Christ without scientific evidence, though I see its biblical significance and feel incomplete without it at Mass.
2. The One True Church: I view the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox churches as equally valid branches of the one true church, rather than believing the RCC is the only one. We are pieces of the 1 true church.
3. Canonization of Saints: While I believe in the communion of saints, I'm skeptical about the canonization of some post-biblical saints, like Carlo Acutis. It sometimes seems more like an award system than a proven recognition of holiness.

Because of this, I guess i'm in a state of confusion and I'm wondering if any of you have gone through this or are going through this as well?

The Republicans need to DITCH their conspiracy theories.
There is no evidence to support them.


This attraction to EXPLANATIONS that seem to explain an event, but do not
carefully examine the evidence, is something that Christians should label
as GOSSIP.

Note that this type of gossip is very common in America today. I'm not
sure why. But I speculate that gossip does not require any of the due process
of carefully hunting for evidence, in order to carefully describe an event.

Note that Alex Jones made hundreds of millions of dollars, by spreading lies
about the Sandy Hook school shooting. He described it as a "Deep State" hoax,
that really, never happened. But it did. Still, millions of people liked to listen
to Jones spin his lies, while he was damaging the lives of the survivors of the
Sandy Hook school shooting.

You will see a similar system of urban legends growing up around the school
shooting at Columbine, by the screwed up kids Dylon and Eric. Try reading the
detailed journalism of Dave Cullen in his book on this shooting.


The urban legend is that Dylon and Eric were rejects of the high school social
life (they were not), who were into Goth and trench coats (they were not), who
were persecuted by jocks (they were not), and who planned the school shooting
in order to target the jocks who persecuted them (this was not their intention).

But the news media covering the Columbine massacre offered up these explanations,
without proof, and the student body at Columbine began to belief these explanations,
as did much of America. But, this was all gossip. The facts, point to a very different
reality.

In modern America, we have gossip outrunning facts. And this makes America
terrifically vulnerable to those who feed "explanations" out to the public, in
social media.
---------- ----------

It may seem emotionally appealing for Americans to hear someone say "The Justice
Department unfairly tried and convicted me. And if they can do this to me, then they
can do this to anyone in America."

There is no basis in fact for the story that the Justice department is persecuting
Trump. That is a conspiracy theory. Just as it is a conspiracy theory that the 2020
election was stolen from Trump, through systematic fraud.

Trump has not produced evidence that his conspiracy theories are true.
And until he does, Christians should not be embracing them.

Greetings everyone, I find myself at a point in my life where I'm questioning my beliefs and seeking more meaning. I've become interested in Christianity and would love to learn more about what it means to be a believer. I'm hoping to find someone who is compassionate and patient, who would be willing to mentor me as I explore this path. I'm open to hearing about your personal experiences and any advice you might have for someone like me who is just starting out on this journey. Your guidance and friendship would be truly appreciated. Thank you for your willingness to help.

Hi, I'm a 35-year-old Indian man who isn't religious. My parents are Christians, and I attended church until I was 13. I stopped because I found church boring, and once I learned about evolution, I lost any faith I may have had before.

I suffer from a lot of mental health problems that prevent me from working. Thankfully, my parents support me. I am looking for community, not faith, and will not try to de-convert you guys. And trying to convert me to Christianity will likely be futile as well.

Ephesians 5:

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Click to expand...

be filled
πληροῦσθε (plērousthe)
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4137: From pleres; to make replete, i.e. to cram, level up, or to furnish, satisfy, execute, finish, verify, etc.

The present tense means "Be filled" repeatedly. This is not a one-time event.

The human spirit animates a person. The Holy Spirit empowers a person to act according to the Spirit.

The filling with the Spirit is sometimes associated with prophesying. Acts 2:

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Click to expand...

How to get filled?

Paul lists some pointers in 1 Thessalonians 5:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.

Click to expand...

Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks to the media during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium on February 05, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Chris Unger/Getty Images

Pop star Katy Perry released an edited, pro-gay version on Sunday of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker's viral commencement address at Benedictine College last month.

"Fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays — you can do anything, congratulations and happy pride," Perry wrote in an Instagram post that cut up Butker's remarks to make him say things such as "Happy Pride Month."

Perry's version of Butker's speech removed the portions of his remarks that emphasized the importance of motherhood and family for many women, which stoked a firestorm of backlash from many who accused him of misogyny for his traditional Catholic worldview.

Continued below.

Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was despised, rejected, persecuted, abandoned, denied, betrayed, beaten, mocked, and killed, although he had done no wrong.

God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might be saved from sin and have eternal life with Him in glory. Jesus was crucified on a cross, and he buried our sin with him, and then he rose from the dead in victory over Satan, death, hell and sin. He did this so that you and I might be free from slavery to sin, spiritually healed, freed to walk in his holiness and righteousness, and freed from eternal punishment in hell.

Yet, we can do nothing to earn or to deserve such a great salvation. It is a free gift to us by God’s grace through our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives (Ephesians 2:8-10). Yet, he did this so that we might die to our sin and live for his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). For the grace of God teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-14).

So Jesus Christ, by His Spirit within us, will counsel, direct, guide and instruct us in the way of Christ’s righteousness, as well as he will empower and equip us, and he will give us all we need to live upright and godly lives. Also, because he loves us, he regularly disciplines us for our good, to mature us in our walks of faith, to teach us perseverance, and to draw us close to him. Yet he will also heal us. Amen!

[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 26:26-29; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 17:25; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24,58; Jn 10:27-33; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 11:23-32; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:15,21; Eph 4:17-24; Php 2:5-11; Col 2:9; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 2:14-15; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 John 3:4-10]

Praise Be Told!

An Original Work / December 28, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures

He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for all our sin.
Our chastisement was upon Him.
By His stripes, we now are healed.

He has witnessed all our trials,
And the sins we choose to wear.
Yet, while we were dead in our sin,
Jesus died, our sins to bear.

He himself bore all of our sins
In His body on a cross,
So that we might die to our sin,
And live for His righteousness.

By faith in the pow’r of Jesus
And His blood shed for our sins,
We can be forgiven our sin,
And have life with God in heav’n.

He will lead us and He’ll guide us
In the way that we should go.
He will comfort and protect us,
Because Jesus, we do know.

Though He disciplines for our good,
He will heal us – Praise be told!
Do not fear, your Lord is with you.
Just have faith in Christ your Lord.

Login to view embedded media

A state bureaucrat orchestrating an attack on pro-life centers has taken a hit on her campaign in court.

Thomas More Society officials say a court has rejected a demand from New York Attorney General Letitia James to move litigation against her into her back yard.

Peter Breen, the head of litigation for the society, explained, "For the past month, Letitia James has tried to illegally frighten and harass New York’s pregnancy help organizations into silence, threatening them with lawsuits if they keep speaking their truthful message about Abortion Pill Reversal. We brought suit in Rochester, near to where most of the organizations are headquartered and work.

"Instead of agreeing to a convenient venue, James then sued these charitable organizations in Manhattan, despite the fact that not a single one of the organizations is located there. We are pleased that the court in Monroe County agreed that the cases should be consolidated together and heard in Rochester, the 'most fair, appropriate and logistically convenient venue,' and not in Manhattan, which has no connection to the case."

Thank you for this forum. My name is Christine but I use Rota for personal reasons so either is fine. I am a wife and a mother and I live in the UK. I have joined these forums to connect with other Christians.

I am initially looking for some simple daily prayers for a variety of situations. Hope, thanks etc, a morning prayer/evening prayer.

I say the Lord's Prayer often but it would also be nice to have others so I can maintain that connection with God throughout the day.

By simple I suppose I mean uncomplicated - I am Catholic by upbringing but over the years find myself drawn more and more to a simpler form of worship.

“The anointing” is not something talked about much these days, at least not that I am aware of. So I looked the word up in a Greek interlinear, and I learned that the word “anointing” refers “to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, guiding the receptive believer into fullness of God’s preferred-will. This anointing functions through faith (pístis), i.e. God inwardly persuading the believer of His preferences.” And what God prefers is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to him.

For, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, and 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 as slaves to righteousness, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within us and to guide us into all truth, and to teach, encourage, warn, counsel, empower, and instruct us in the ways of righteousness and in holy living. Now God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, dwells within those of us of true faith in Christ.

[Mk 13:11; Lu 2:26; Lu 4:18-19; Lu 10:21; Lu 12:11-12; Jn 14:26; Jn 15:26; Jn 16:13; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:17-18; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2; Acts 20:23; Rom 8:9,14; 1 Co 2:14-16; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Co 12:1-31; Rom 12:1-8; Eph 4:1-16, etc.]

Yet, when this says that, since the anointing that we received from him abides in us, that we have no need that anyone should teach us, this is not doing away with the spiritual gift of teaching or the need for us, as the body of Christ, to instruct and to teach one another. Otherwise we would not be given those gifts of the Spirit, and we would not be instructed in the Scriptures that we are to instruct and encourage and exhort one another, and that we are to speak the truth in love, one to the other, too.

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

What I believe this is teaching us is that we now have the Holy Spirit living within us teaching us, if we are willing to be taught by him, and if we will listen to him and obey him. For we now have the Word dwelling within us. But we must still test whatever we hear against the Scriptures, in their full context, to make certain that “the spirit” that we are listening to is the Holy Spirit and not another spirit which may be trying to influence us in any particular direction. But it is the Holy Spirit who enlightens us to all truth.

And in order that we not be deceived by other human beings who are trying to teach us the Word of God, we must be listening to the Holy Spirit, and we must test all that we hear or read against the teachings of the Scriptures in their full context. For many false teachers are among us who take Scriptures out of context, and who twist them to make them say what they do not say if taught in their appropriate context. And this is trickery that is widely being used today in order to deceive those who are lacking in biblical knowledge.

And now, we who believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded faith in him must abide in him. And to abide in Christ is to live in him, and him in us, and it is to continue in him, and to keep on walking in obedience to his commands, and to keep on in holy living, and in denying self and dying daily to sin. And it is for us to surrender our lives and our wills to the will of God for our lives, and to submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God.

For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, the good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them as his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10).

So, faith in Jesus Christ, that is genuine God-persuaded faith, denies self, dies daily to sin, and follows Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in practice, though not necessarily in absolute perfection. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God. For if sin is what we practice, we will die in our sins (Luke 9:23-26).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; 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 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Only in Him

An Original Work / February 19, 2014
Based off Isaiah 30

Woe to those who look to man’s help;
Who turn away from Jesus Christ;
Forming an alliance not in step with God;
Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,
They close their ears to what is right.
Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;
Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.
Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.
Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.
Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.

Your Lord will be gracious to you.
He cares all about you, ‘tis true.
He forgives you all of your sin
When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be
When you bow to Him on your knees;
Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.
He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.

Now you will sing praises to Him.
He delivered you from your sin.
You’ll tell others now of His grace,
So they may see Christ face-to-face.

Login to view embedded media

35 years ago today, one Chinese man stared down eighteen PLA tanks in a brave stand for freedom and human rights in China.

That image remains forever seared in our collective imaginations as a visible representation of man’s deep and abiding desire for freedom and liberty.

Click to expand...