PLEASE LISTEN TO THE SERMONS AT THE BOTTOM, CLICK ON LINK OR COPY/PASTE INTO BROWSER

PLEASE PRAY THAT MY DAUGHTER SHERRY WOULD BE ABLE TO SLEEP.


WHY DO WE SUFFER
我们为何受苦
“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us… Romans 5:3-5.”
不但如此，就是在患难中也是欢欢喜喜的。因为知道患难生忍耐，忍耐生老练，老练生盼望，盼望不至于羞耻；因为所赐给我们的圣灵将　神的爱浇灌在我们心里。 罗马书 5:3-5

Dear Friends, in this devotion, I am not going to focus on one verse but on one book and this is the book of Job. As I was going to get my phone recharged, the Lord dropped something really important into my spirit. This year I have been reading the Bible through systematically and the book of Job impressed itself upon my heart.
亲爱的朋友们，在这篇敬拜中，我不再把目光关注在一个章节，而是一本书，这就是《约伯记》。当我要给手机充电的时候，主突然是使一些很重要的事情进入我的心。这一年我一直在系统地阅读圣经，以及给我的心留下深刻印象的《约伯记》这本书。

We all suffer and go through things, and sometimes our suffering is caused by our sin, but sometimes it is not. Let's look at Job's situation. He was a righteous man. He was fully consecrated to God. Yet, he went through some of the worst suffering recorded in the Bible. Why did this happen?
我们都曾经承受并经历过一些事情。有时我们所承受的是因为我们的罪而造成的，但有时并非如此。让我们看一看约伯的情况，他是一个义人，他完全把自己献祭给神，然而他经历了圣经里所记录的最坏最痛苦的一些事情。为何会发生这些事呢？

Sometimes our suffering has nothing to do with us. The devil came to God and accused Job, and we need to realize that he accuses us every minute of every day. Job was a pawn between God and the devil; Job's three friends’ came and gave him plausible and logical explanations. Sometimes we can give advice which in human terms is right and correct, but in spiritual terms is so way off the mark. I wonder if you are one of Job's friends who answer him from the flesh and not the spiritual.
有时我们所经历的事情与我们无关。魔鬼来到神面前指责约伯，我们需要认识到他每一天的每一分都在指责我们，约伯是神和魔鬼之间的抵押物，约伯的三个朋友来了，他们做出了貌似合理，富有逻辑的解释，有时我们也能给出一些建议，这些建议在人的立场上是正确的，但在灵魂层面就完全错了，我很好奇，如果你是约伯的一个朋友，是否会从肉体而不是从灵魂的层面给出他建议。

We need to look spiritually at all situations to see by the spirit and not the flesh. Let me give you some examples from Scripture. First, we have the man born blind in John Chapter 9. Why was he born blind? So that God's work through Jesus could be made manifest. His suffering was not the result of some sin, your suffering is because God wants to be glorified; whether in peace or in suffering, God will be glorified.
我们要从属灵的角度看待一切事，要用灵魂，而不是用肉体来看，让我从经文中给你举一些例子。第一个例子，在约翰福音第九章有一个生来就是瞎眼的人，他为何生来就是瞎眼的呢？神通过耶稣来做工就是显而易见的事了，他所承受的并不是某些罪的后果，你所承受的是神要获得荣耀，不管是在和平时期还是在经历困苦的时候，神都将被荣耀。

Second, The Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh and he wanted this removed. But what did God say and this is his most quoted answer to people who ask why? “My grace is sufficient for you.” Sometimes we can only say that the suffering is not because of us, we have to realize that there is a battle between God and the forces of darkness. Remember the story of Elisha in 2 Kings Chapter 6?
第二个例子，使徒保罗肉体中有一根刺，他想要拔除它，但神怎么说呢？这也是他经常向那些问为什么的人所引用的回答，”我的恩典足够你用。”有时我们只能说困苦不是因为我们，我们必须认识到在神和黑暗势力之间有一场斗争，还记得列王记下第六章以利亚的故事吗？

There is a spiritual battle raging all around us. We see a little of what is going on, it is a battle against spiritual wickedness in high places。
一场属灵的斗争在我们周围正激烈进行着，我们对最近发生的事知之甚少，这是灵魂与邪恶在高处的斗争。

We need to realize that like Job sometimes our suffering is not because of our sin, but it is a fight between forces that are spiritual. Going back to Job, God restored to him and gave him twice as much as he had before. He did not give Job an explanation for his suffering and he owes us no explanations although sometimes He does graciously tell us why.
我们需要认识到像约伯这种情况，我们的痛苦并非来自我们的罪，但它是属灵层面力量的斗争。回到约伯记，神拯救了他，给了他比之前两倍那么多，他没有对约伯所经历的痛苦给出解释，尽管有时他会充满恩典的告诉我们为什么。

When God is silent about the reasons for suffering, remember He is your loving Father and will never ever do anything to hurt you. Everything He does is for our benefit. If you are bearing fruit, he will prune you, not to hurt you, but so that you bear more fruit. He doesn't have to explain why he does things to us, our suffering is to benefit us and for His glory. The suffering of this present world is nothing to the glory when we spend eternity living in the light of His glory and presence.
当神对我们承受痛苦的原因保持沉默的时候，记得他是你慈爱的父，永远不会做伤害你的事，他做的每件事都是为了你的益处，如果你要结出果实，他就会修剪你，而不是伤害你，因此你会结出更多的果实，他不会解释为什么他会对我们这么做，我们所经历的是对我们有益的，也是为了他的荣耀。当我们基于神的荣耀和他的同在，消耗我们永恒生命的时候，这现今世界的痛苦与荣耀无关。
God bless you, Keith
愿神祝福你，Keith


SOAK IN SCRIPTURE

CLICK ON OR COPY INTO BROWSER. CHINESE AND ENGLISH SEMONS

CHINESE

PRAYER BY GERARD PROCEE

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ENGLISH

WESTMINISTER SHORTER CATECHISM




John Knox Institute of Higher Education


John Knox Institute of Higher Education







The Glory of Suffering

Dominic Smart

Coro Baptist Church

sermonaudio.com/sermon/7280792658




The Double-Edged Sword of Suffering

Nathan White | My Servant Job

Christ Reformed Baptist Church

sermonaudio.com/sermon/72121202610315

Pray that my job references will give me good remarks Amen

What are your thoughts and opinions about this question?

Click here =>The ENVIROPIG PDF

This is something the Zack Bauer alerted his followers to on Youtube some time back. Then he directed our attention to Isaiah 66.

For those of you that are unaware, Enviropig is a genetically engineered pig that was conceived in 1995 and actually became reality 5 years later. Canada has recently changed their policies concerning GMO food sources that allows the food producers to decide what is acceptable. After all, they are the experts, right? What could go wrong? But from what I understand, this is already in the food chain.

Short version: this pig is engineered with rodent DNA and E-Coli bacteria DNA. E-Coli is the bacteria that is found in Human excrement. So let's take a look at Isaiah 66, shall we?

CLV Isa 66:15 - 18
15 For behold, Yahweh, with fire shall He come, And His chariots like a sweeping whirlwind, To bring back His anger with fury, And His rebuke with blazes of fire.
16 For with fire Yahweh shall come to judge, And with His sword upon all flesh; And Yahweh's slain will be multitudinous.
17 Those who sanctify themselves and who cleansed themselves for the gardens, going after one in their midst, eating the flesh of swine and the abominable thing and the rodent, They shall be swept up together, averring is Yahweh;
18 I know their deeds and their devisings; I shall come to convene all nations and tongues, And they will come and see My glory.

Note: Averring definition: to state positively ; to assert

If you prefer the NKJV:

Isa 66:15 - 18

15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many.
17 "Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together," says the Lord.
18 "For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory.

My understanding of the above is this. The reference to 'Those who sanctify themselves and who cleansed themselves for the gardens, going after one in their midst' speaks to those that set up and decorate Ashtaroth poles (also know as Ashtar and Ishtar) (e.g., decorate evergreen trees and place offerings [presents] beneath them) in their homes and in their gardens.

The above refers to a tradition found in Ashtaroth and Tammuz mythology where cakes and presents were placed (bowing down) under these decorated trees for the annual resurrection of Tammuz at the Winter solstice, which is also tangential to the celebrations of Saturnalia and the Bacchanal. Ashtaroth is a fertility, sexuality and war goddess. For an image, look at your Starbuck's logo. (I know, it's supposed to be a mermaid. But we all remember where Venus came from, right? It's worthy of note that Roman mythology is based on mythologies of various older civilizations and cultures.)

So apparently, the phrase, 'Eating the flesh of swine and the abominable thing and the rodent' is a direct reference to the Enviropig (made from the DNA of pigs, rodents and the bacteria of human excrement), over three thousand years before it was created in a lab in Canada.

Evidently, the people that celebrate the winter solstice with decorated trees, bowing down to place and retrieve presents and then sitting down to enjoy a honey roasted ham, are going to be judged with fire and the sword, by our Creator! This is a direct warning to the followers of Ashtaroth and Tammuz. Beware!

Blessings,

Jamie Dimon warns ‘all these very powerful forces’ will impact U.S. economy in 2024 and 2025​

KEY POINTS

• JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he remains cautious on the U.S. economy over the next two years because of a combination of financial and geopolitical risks.
• “You have all these very powerful forces that are going to be affecting us in ’24 and ’25,” Dimon told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
• Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon added that he was concerned about soaring U.S. debt levels.

In this article


Jamie Dimon warns ‘all these very powerful forces’ will affect U.S. economy in 2024 and 2025

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he remains cautious on the U.S. economy over the next two years because of a combination of financial and geopolitical risks.
“You have all these very powerful forces that are going to be affecting us in ’24 and ’25,” Dimon told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Ukraine, the terrorist activity in Israel [and] the Red Sea, quantitative tightening, which I still question if we understand exactly how that works,” Dimon said. Quantitative tightening refers to moves by the Federal Reserve to reduce its balance sheet and rein in previous efforts including bond-purchasing programs.
Dimon has advocated caution over the past few years, despite record profits at JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, and a U.S. economy that has defied expectations. Despite the corrosive impact of inflation, the American consumer has mostly remained healthy because of good employment levels and pandemic-era savings.
In Dimon’s view, the relatively buoyant stock market of recent months has lulled investors on the potential risks ahead. The S&P 500 market index rose 19% in the past year and isn’t far from peak levels.
“I think it’s a mistake to assume that everything’s hunky-dory,” Dimon said. “When stock markets are up, it’s kind of like this little drug we all feel like it’s just great. But remember, we’ve had so much fiscal monetary stimulation, so I’m a little more on the cautious side.”

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Wednesday that while the market environment excluding geopolitical issues “feels better today” than a year ago, he was troubled by soaring U.S. debt levels.

“I’m very concerned about the growing debt,” Solomon said. “It’s a big risk issue that we’re going to have to deal with and reckon with, it just might not happen in the next six months.”
Dimon is no stranger to dire predictions: In 2022, he warned investors of an economic “hurricane” ahead because of quantitative tightening and the Ukraine conflict.

I am having a really weird thing happen. Certain thoughts will trigger a very sharp "Prick" somewhere on my body. It feels like ive been stung. Something in my head tells me this prick means whatever I was thinking about is false and it is God letting me know its false. The issue is, these things are ACCURATE and are always right. Even when im not thinking about them, if "God" doesn't like something I think about, ill get one. And, I gotta admit they are starting to scare me.

Has anyone else experienced this? Could this be from God?

Hobbs said when Homeland Security identified media literacy as a “promising practice” for addressing the need for society to be resilient against propaganda, she noticed that government officials had read her book.

Homeland security should not be involved, monetarily or otherwise, in public education. That is not their job and not what they are supposed to be doing with the money they said they needed. The $700,000 could be spent to prevent terrorists and other criminals from entering and setting up shop in our country. The Biden administration had to back down on the their ministry of truth so they get their initiatives implemented through the back door. Teach the kids math and English.

We who are followers of Jesus Christ are called to suffer for the sake of Christ and for the sake of his gospel. For if truly we are becoming like him in his death, we are going to be hated and rejected and cast aside and treated like we are dirt underneath other people’s feet for them to stomp on, for that is how Jesus Christ was treated when he walked this earth. But suffering is for our good to make us holy and patient and steadfast in faith and to bring us to maturity in Christ and to keep us from falling.

Through suffering, if we respond to it in faith, we draw closer to God in our walks of faith in Jesus Christ. And we are being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ in mind, heart, thinking, attitudes, words and deeds. And we are becoming much less like the world around us, and we have less and less desire for the pleasures that the world has to offer us, and we become less earthly minded and more heavenly minded. For this is all about us dying with Christ to sin daily and obeying his commandments.

But this is a life-long journey that we are on, and none of us will be absolutely perfect (complete, finished) until Jesus comes back to take his faithful and pure bride to be with him for eternity. But we should all be moving in a forward direction, and none of us should be in the practice of sinning against our Lord and ignoring his commandments. We should all be living holy lives in moral purity, honesty, integrity, faithfulness, godliness, uprightness and in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his ways.

Therefore, lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for continued and deliberate and habitual and sometimes premeditated sin against God and against our fellow humans. But we are to be those who are pressing on in our walks of faith in the Lord in pursuing all that is godly, holy, pure, righteous, and obedient to our Lord. We are to be our Lord’s sheep who listen to him and who follow him in obedience, who daily deny self and take up our cross (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him (Luke 9:23-26).

And when this talks about forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, it is not saying that we are to forget everything we have ever done in this life, for we still have our testimonies to share, as did Paul, and the Lord has allowed us to have the experiences we have had in our lives to teach us lessons which we then can pass along to others who may be going through similar circumstances (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-14). But we should be moving forward and not still living in the past.

And that really is the point that he is making to us here is that our past lives should not be our present lives, too, at least the part that we have control over. We should no longer be walking in sin and living selfish lives. But now we should be walking according to the Spirit so that we do not gratify the sinful cravings of the flesh. Sinful practices should be put to death in our lives so that we can now live holy lives pleasing to the Lord, and so that we can now be his witnesses in sharing his gospel with the people of the world.

Those of us who are mature in our thinking and in our faith will understand this, for we are those who are daily putting these truths into practice. Those who are immature and childish and self-indulgent will not get this. So please be among the mature and don’t remain in living according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. For our eternity depends on us walking in obedience to our Lord and not in sin. So we need to hold true to the word of God taught in the appropriate context and keep on obeying our Lord.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

My Lord, What a Morning

Spiritual, United States, 18th or 19th Century

My Lord, what a morning!
My Lord, what a morning!
Oh, my Lord, what a morning
when the stars begin to fall.

Oh, you will hear the trumpet sound
to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my Lord's right hand
when the stars begin to fall.

Oh, you will see my Jesus come,
His glory shining like the sun,
Looking to my Lord's right hand
When the stars begin to fall.

Oh, you will hear all Christians shout,
'Cause there's a new day come about,
Looking to my Lord's right hand
When the stars begin to fall

My Lord, what a morning!
My Lord, what a morning!
Oh, my Lord, what a morning
when the stars begin to fall.

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Like the guy just can't help himself, even if what he was saying was true, or he truly believes it, is it a good idea, to continue to defame the person DURING the trial your accused of defaming? How is this a winning strategy to lower damages, or least not make it worse.

Yesterday he defamed her 22 times during the jury selection, today he's muttering under his breath and banging his hand so that the jury can hear him after being told not to do it multiple times.

I know the guy can't help himself, but you would think if nothing else, narcacism and self preservation would stop him.

Reminds me of how during his second trial alex jones was on air defaming the defendants and at the end of the trial they just ran a 5-10 minute clip of everything he said, and I wouldn't be surprised if a big part of that 1 billion dollar loss was just his continual contrition showing no remorse or even feeling bad about it.

How much of world history as well as current events hang on this prophetic word?

Genesis 16:
1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid;
it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan,
and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that
she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleases thee. And when Sarai dealt
hardly with her, she fled from her face.

7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said,
I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;
because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell
in the presence of all his brethren.

13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked
after him that seeth me?

14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

This thought sprung to mind on seeing the last pair of threads that got quite quickly (and rightly) shut down that... the Creationist and Intelligent Design side does not really have anything new that they can try and levy against evolution as a science.

Unless I can be proven wrong...

"Claims that [Texas Military Dept] prevented Border Patrol from saving the lives of drowning migrants are wholly inaccurate. At the time that Border Patrol requested access, the drownings had occurred, Mexican authorities were recovering the bodies, and Border Patrol expressed these facts to the TMD personnel on site," the Texas Military Department said in a statement.
Abbott blamed lawmakers and some media outlets for being "so eager to point [the] finger at Texas for [the] drowning of migrants, they forgot to get the facts."
Sadly, I must say this comes as no surprise to me.

“NBC and CNN refused to air my victory speech. Think of it — because they are crooked. They’re dishonest, and frankly, they should have their licenses or whatever they have: Take it away.” Those networks should be recognized as political arms of the Democrats.

Study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666379123005402

One never sees the peaceful Gaza scenario these days - as was there prior to Hamas' unprovoked assault on Israel at the start of the Hamas' war against its neighbor -- Hamas' great plans for Gaza. As if getting Israel to attack Gaza was going to be such a great outcome for Gaza.


"The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israel on 7 October, with hundreds of gunmen infiltrating communities near the Gaza Strip.

About 1,200 people were killed, while the Israeli military says more than 200 soldiers and civilians, including women and children, were taken to Gaza as hostages."

Oct 6 - no state of war existed and Israel did not seem to be too concerned with the idea that Hamas terrorists would launch 2500 missiles into Israel and then rush across the board to take women and children hostages back to Gaza.

The massive tunnel network in Gaza shows the intent to let all the citizens "above ground" suffer the brunt of any efforts to rescue hostages or rid the place of terrorists.

To many people Hamas looks like 'evil' with a capital "E".

So now let's consider all 'the good Hamas has done for Gaza" in its scheme to totally ruin the place.

hmmmm... can't think of one good outcome for Gaza in this "brilliant" plan by Hamas.

So given their F minus result on their last initiative - what were they thinking should happen "now" to make Gaza an even better place to live. Oh wait maybe Hamas could simple leave the ruins of Gaza and go back to Iran/Syria etc. It is king of interesting that the neighboring countries don't want Hamas and all the Gaza citizens -- to go there.

So then it is really puzzling to see how they get any support at all

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
[Jas 1:27]

'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
[Mat 25:34-36]

By setting forth to all the world the good works of his faithful servants, the Sovereign Judge silences the murmurs of the reprobate, who might otherwise object that they had it not in their power to do good. In the same manner, the conduct of the wise virgins was the condemnation of the foolish ones; the diligence of the faithful servant, of the sloth and drunkenness of the idle one; the zeal of the servants who multiplied the talents entrusted to them, of his that hid his talent in the ground; and the fervour of the observers of the commandments, of the negligence and remissness of those who are ever transgressing them. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxxx.)

These works of mercy, says St. Augustine, prevail towards life everlasting, and to the blotting out of former sins; in Psalm 49.

[Psa 49:1-20]

My 90 year old dad is growing weak, but won't go see a doctor. My sister lives in Colorado and needs to go home. She's been at my dad's taking care of him for 5 weeks now. My dad won't let visiting nurses come to see him or get a Life Alert button if he should fall. He just wants my sister there all the time. I go out there once a week to visit, but he said one day a week is enough. But my sister really needs a break. I'm really stressed by all of this. Any prayers would be appreciated.

It is true that we can do nothing in ourselves to earn or to deserve our own salvation. The good works of our flesh will never be good enough to secure for us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. It is only by the grace of God, through God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, that any of us are saved from our sins and have the hope of eternal life with God. But faith in Jesus, which comes from God, and is gifted to us by God, and is persuaded of God, demands that we die with Christ to sin and obey our Lord’s commands.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 5:9; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6; Gal 6:8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 5:10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 1 Thes 2:4; 1 Thes 4:1; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:4,21; Tit 2:11-14; Tit 3:8; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 11:6; Heb 12:1-2; Heb 13:6; Jas 2:17; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 Jn 3:22]

So, what is grace? It is God’s kindness, his favor to us, as Jesus Christ freely gave himself away for us to die on a cross for our sins so that we will be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to righteousness. And God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await his return. For he 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. (See Titus 2:11-14)

So, working out our own salvation is not us trying, in our flesh, to earn our salvation, which cannot be done in the flesh. It is us walking by the grace of God in the salvation already provided according to the commands of our Lord under the New Covenant. It is us walking in obedience to our Lord in faithful surrender to him and to his will for our lives so that, by his grace, we are saved at the end, and we have eternal life with God. And it is us walking in holiness and in righteousness and no longer in sin, by his power.

And we should not be those who grumble and complain to God about our circumstances and about having to obey him and to repent of our sins. We should want to obey the Lord because we love him. And because we love him we should want to walk in his ways and in his truth and not in sin. For as his followers we are to be blameless, not absolutely perfect, but we are to be those who are walking in righteousness and holiness and in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin, in practice.

And we are to be those who are shining the light of the truth of the gospel in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, both in the words that we speak (or write), and in our actions and attitudes. For we are not to blend in with the world. We are not to immerse ourselves in our culture. We are not to be those who are becoming more like the world to win the people of the world to our businesses, called “church.” But we are to be living and teaching the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, in full biblical context.

But this will cost us. It will cost us friends and supporters and people who will not want to be with us and who may discard and abandon us, and who may even speak evil against us and fight against us and who will falsely accuse us of what we did not do just because they disagree with us. For the Scriptures teach that if we are true followers of Christ that we will be hated and persecuted like he was. And so there may be times when we have to stand alone with the majority against us, and it will be hard.

[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]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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ISRAEL AND JUDAH – not rejoined as yet.
The Bible has over 160 instances in the same verse, where Israel and Judah are mentioned as different, separate entities. It’s clear that they are not to be rejoined until after the Middle East is cleared and His people are regathered, judged and settled together in all of the Holy Land, Deuteronomy 32:34-43, Ezekiel 20:32-38

Mainstream Church teaching, especially Catholic, says that the Jews now in the Land are all Israel. Some teach Replacement theology, where their Church is now the new Israel.
Have they rejoined already? Josephus, the Jewish historian, circa 100AD, wrote that the 10 lost tribes were a great multitude, then living beyond the Euphrates River.
In the Talmud, Rabbi’s Akiva and Eliezer circa 200AD, discuss the question of when the 10 lost tribes would return. So, only Judah was present at that time.
At the establishment of the State of Israel, in 1948, the name was to have been Judah, but David Ben Gurion changed to Israel at the last minute. A serious misnomer.

So, we await the fulfilment of these prophecies;
Ezekiel 37:21-22 I am going to take the Israelites [the 2 tribes of Judah and the 10 tribes of Israel.] from their places of exile among the nations. I shall assemble them from every quarter and restore them to their own soil. I shall make them a single nation in the Land and one King will be over them all. No longer will they be two nations or divided into two Kingdoms.

Jeremiah 50:4-5 In those days and at that time [ after the land has been cleansed] The people of Israel and the people of Judah will come together and in tears go in search of their God. They will ask the way to Zion, turning towards her and saying; Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in everlasting covenant.

Hosea 1:11 The people of Judah and Israel will be reunited and will choose for themselves one leader. [This must be before the Return of Jesus]

Micah 7:8-10 My enemies, do not exult over me [ Israel] Though I have fallen, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against the Lord I must bear His anger until He pleads my case, gives judgement and establishes my rights. Then my enemies will see it and be shamed – those who said “where is your God “. I will see their downfall, they will be trampled like mud on the streets.

Micah 7:11-12 The day for rebuilding and extending your boundaries will come. A day when Your people will return to the Land, from every sea and every mountain.
Isaiah 66:18b-21, Psalms 107, Revelation 7:9-13

Zechariah 1:18-21 The four horns [ nations, peoples.] that scattered Judah and Israel.
Assyria, Babylon, Rome and now Islam. The four smiths [destroyers] have come to overthrow them.

Hosea 2:23 [New] Israel will be My new sowing in the Land, I will love them and say to them: “You are My people” and they will say “You are our God”. Romans 9:24-26

EZEKIEL 28:25-29:21


The prophet speaks through the Holy Spirit and affirms that even though Israel has been scattered throughout the countries of the world, they will be returned to their land in the future, it is already happening, Israel was recognized as a nation in 1948, and since then, the people have been returning.

One positive thing to dwell upon is that the Jewish people made known to the nations of the ONE GOD, Adonai-Elohim-YHVH” and through the migration of the Jewish peoples to different parts of the world, we now have the Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Falashim, people groups which make up most of the Jewish peoples today. These people groups have introduced many varieties of foods, customs, and ways of worship in today's Judaism, many are also Messianic believers.

Adonai also states that "Israel will live in peace" which has not happened yet as we all know, even now, there is war against Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, yet in the future, God will have judged all the nations that have warred against Israel. That is why we call the "Millenium" and period of "Shalom"

Bad news for Egypt, just as the Israelites were scattered among the nations, the Egyptians will also be scattered among the nations for 40 years, Egypt will be desolate and people-less, for this period of time. This will probably happen during the millennium since Egypt has always had a population, even today. The Egyptian people will come back after that time, but Egypt will never be a prosperous country. Since the fall of Egypt after the time of Passover, Egypt was conquered by the Babylonians, the Greeks, and Romans. Even today, Egyptians are living in many countries in the world, but Egypt has never been left completely without people and animals, at least not yet.

Yet a good note to ponder on, Egypt opened its doors to receive young Yeshua with Mary, and Joseph when they were fleeing from Herod. There are quite a few believers in Egypt today, making up the “Coptic Church.” Back in the days of Pharoah, the Egyptian people used the Nile River to get water for crops, to swim in, and bathe, (a little dangerous because of Hippos and crocs). The Nile was considered to be protected by the Nile goddess "Anuket" who was depicted as a beautiful woman wearing and crown of reeds. So when Pharaoh went to the river to bathe and worship, He was worshiping and paying homage to Anuket. Perhaps the ancient Egyptian word for "Nile River" would have been "Iteru Anuket" or "Iteru Kemet" (The River of Anuket) or (The River of Egypt)

Ezekiel states that Adonai will judge Pharaoh, and during the plagues, the first plague was against the Nile River, converting it into blood. The fish died and stank. Just the opposite of the "Life-giving waters of the Nile" The Nile became a "River of Death". In ancient Egypt, there was no word for "Death" The words used were "ceasing to live" So, the Nile became a "River where life ceased"

Today there are barges that take tourists up and down the river for rides while playing Middle Eastern music and serving great-tasting food. like "Hawaushi" (Egyptian-style hamburgers) Our family visited Egypt in 1999. Nice memories.

MATT 24:1-51

Yeshua tells his talmidim about the “end times” and we all know and have read this chapter, of “wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, etc. As we look around today, we can be certain that we are living in these “end times” for sure, yet the end is not yet...we still have a way to go. We have heard of many “false-Messiahs” leaders claiming to be “Jesus” yet we know better than believing on them. When Yeshua returns, the “Whole World” will see him returning, what will modern satellite cameras, etc.

Verse 15 is interesting; It talks about the “Abomination of Desolation” set up in the Mishkan, the “Holy Place” in the third temple. This takes us back to Hanukkah, reminding us of Antiochus Epiphanes, who set up a “Statue of Zeus” in the Holy Place. The future Anti-Messiah, a second “Antiochus” will also set up a statue, perhaps of himself, and command all to bow down and worship it.

Verse 30 talks about the “Sign of the Son of Man (Ben Adam) shall appear in the Heavens, and all the tribes (peoples) of the earth will mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with all power. We might ask ourselves, what is this sign? It will be visible since all will see it. Some might say the “Star of David” but that existed even before the formation of the Nation of Israel in Egypt. Many believe it will be the cross, the instrument of suffering and death, but for us, it is the sign of salvation from our sins.

Yet why do the peoples of the earth mourn? Should they not be joyous of Messiah’s coming? Happy that the tribulation will end and HIS kingdom established? One thought is that those “peoples” might be the unredeemed, the lost that follow the Anti-Christ. They know that their end is near and that their leader will be vanquished and thrown into the fires of hell. They also fear for their fate as well. Yet many will remain alive on earth and will have to subject themselves to Messiah’s millennial rule, like it or not. What an opportunity for them to accept Messiah Yeshua with all heart and willingly submit themselves to HIS rule.

We, as believers, will return with him. We are his servants and we must be around and occupied with the Master’s work, HIS work is to share the “Good News” of Salvation with all who are willing to hear, and to teach HIS Word to those who wish to learn it and apply it to their lives, thus is the work of Torah teachers and Sunday School teachers, pastors, rabbis, missionaries, etc…

The gospel will be preached to the whole world, which is happening now, we need to be ready for his return, those of us who are alive will be gathered together as well as those who have gone on before us and who are now in heaven, we will be ONE FAMILY and share life together in the Millennial Kingdom of Yeshua (Jesus) and for all eternity.

Shalom

I've tried to learn this for years. I don't know where to post my question or where to find a legitimate answer.

I want a definition of child abuse. Why can't it be defined?

How can someone ignore a Christian lifestyle, be disobedient to scriptures about treatment of others, and the preacher(or priest) think that it doesn't mean that person isn't a Christian.

If any man be in Christ is he a child abuser or incapable of controlling his anger?

Where can I get answers?

After seeing the Iowa results, Cruz said Trump had clearly won the GOP nomination. He called on Republicans to unite behind Trump to focus on beating President Joe Biden.
“At this point, I think the contrast needs to be on substance and policy and records,” Cruz said. Cruz criticized Biden’s handling of border security and called for a crackdown on illegal immigration, which has an outsized impact on Texas, he said. Cruz, and other GOP leaders across the country, routinely attack Biden’s immigration policies.

May the best man win.

Is it ever righteous for believers to hate the Jews?