In Romans 8:29-30 Paul says:

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

But what exactly is Paul saying about foreknowledge in this piece of scripture? Is it that God looked down the corridors of time and saw those who would believe and those who wouldn't and he chose those who he foreknew would believe in him? Absolutely not, because if he had looked through the corridors of time there wouldn't have been anybody to be saved. But, we're already debating total depravity in a different thread. I want to cover God's foreknowledge because its a beautiful and wonderful thing.

Another example of foreknowledge would be Genesis 4:1 where Adam "knew" his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. Do you think Adam knew his wife in the English sense? Of course he did! She was his wife and thy lived together for almost 1,000 years how could he have not known who she was! What about John 10:14 as another example when Jesus says "I know my own and my own know me." In the sense of knowledge his statements make no sense. Afterall, of course Jesus knows who his sheep is, he is God and of course his sheep know who Jesus is even the demons know who Jesus Christ is and that he's the messiah. But, its more in the Biblical sense of foreknowledge where it makes complete and total sense.

These are just a few examples of foreknowledge in the Bible, it's actually scattered quite well throughout Biblical history. Now, I don't know ancient Hebrew and Greek but I can say what foreknowledge is in the Bible based on being taught by people who do know ancient Greek and Hebrew. Its not that God foreknew in the sense of knowledge its that he foreknew his children in an incomprehensibly intimate sense. Adam knew his wife in the most intimate way possible, Jesus knows his sheep in the most intimate way possible and his sheep know him in the most intimate way possible. When Jesus says "I never knew you" in Matthew 7:23 for example what he means is he's never had an intimate and close relationship to them. Always when the Bible mentions foreknowledge it means a deep and intimate connection between man and God, or man and wife and this isn't just a normal loving relationship. God loves his sheep and his sheep love God in the deepest and most passionate of ways. Or in the example of Peter saying that Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world it means that God knew and deeply loved Jesus from the beginning of time.

Sometimes, when we are in the middle of difficult circumstances, and all seems to be going against us, and not for us, and Jesus enters into those circumstances, we may not even recognize that it is him there. We may be so focused on our problems that we don’t even see him there waiting to speak to us, to bring comfort and encouragement to our hearts, and to counsel us in the way that we should go. For all we see are the waves crashing against us, and all we see are impossible situations, when instead we need to see that Jesus is right there and he has it all under control.

And if we pray, and we ask the Lord to reveal himself to us, so that we know that it is him speaking to us, and he shows us that it is him, and that we should not be afraid, then we need to trust him to lead us in the right direction. And if we then step out in faith, and we walk by faith and not by sight, but then something happens that shakes our faith, we are not to give way to fear. We are not to lose sight of Jesus and that he is there and that he is in control of what is going on about us. And we need to trust him. For he has it all handled. We just need to believe that he does.

Now, this is certainly not teaching that we sit back and do nothing. For the Lord has things for us to do, by faith in him. He has given us gifts of his Spirit, and he has assigned us particular roles (body parts, functions) in his body which he intends for us to fill. And he has given us all sorts of instructions in the Scriptures regarding what we should be doing and not doing. But we must not go in the flesh, and we must not leave God out of the picture, but we must walk by faith in his strength and power, letting him lead and empower and equip us to do the work he has called us to do.

For he is not going to call all of us to easy stuff. In fact, he taught us that if we follow him that it means death to sin and to self and following him in obedience wherever he leads us, and it means we will be hated and persecuted and that we will be faced with a lot of challenges and difficult situations to try our faith. But we are to grow in our walks of faith through these trials and not let them defeat us. And we are to trust the Lord that he is there and that he has all things under his control, and then we must follow his lead and walk by faith and not by sight.

So, the encouragement here for all of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ is to trust the Lord fully with our lives, to surrender all to him, to die with him to sin, and to live for him and in righteousness, holiness, godliness, and in obedience to his commands. And then we are to walk by faith and not by sight, trusting the Lord to lead us in the way that he would have us go. And then we need to obey him, even if it means having all kinds of things crashing against us, and people hating us and disapproving of us. And we need to believe that God has all things under his control. So trust Him.

[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]

VOICE OF TRUTH

By Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

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Executive Summary​

This report examines how well major faith traditions retain their members, the reasons people disaffiliate, and the reasons people attend religious services. Additionally, this report considers how atheists and agnostics differ from those who say they are “nothing in particular.” Finally, it analyzes the prevalence of charismatic elements as well as prophecy and prosperity theology in American churches and the role of charismatic Christianity in today’s Republican Party.

“Unaffiliated” is the only major religious category experiencing growth.

• Around one-quarter of Americans (26%) identify as religiously unaffiliated in 2023, a 5 percentage point increase from 21% in 2013.
• While the percentage of Americans who describe themselves as “nothing in particular” is similar to a decade ago (16% in 2013 to 17% in 2023), the numbers of both atheists and agnostics have doubled since 2013 (from 2% to 4% and from 2% to 5%, respectively).

Catholic loss continues to be highest among major religious groups; white Evangelical retention rate has improved since 2016.

While most disaffiliate because they stop believing, religious teachings on the LGBTQ community and clergy sexual abuse now play a more prominent role.


Most unaffiliated Americans are not looking for a religious or spiritual home.

Exploring the prevalence of charismatic elements in American churches.

• Half of American churchgoers say they have received a definitive answer to a specific prayer (50%), nearly four in ten say the “Spirit” has empowered them or someone else to do a specific task (39%), three in ten say they have received a direct revelation from God (29%) or witnessed divine healing of an injury or illness (27%), and roughly two in ten have seen people speaking in tongues (21%) in the past year.
  • Republican Christian nationalists are significantly more likely than non-Christian nationalist Republicans to have witnessed or experienced at least three charismatic events in the past year.

WaPo also has interesting graphs. I liked this one showing that white evangelical Protestants are currently holding steady, with about as many joining as leaving.

Trump calls his globe-trotting ex-diplomat ‘my envoy.’ Neither is in office.​

Richard Grenell is meeting with far-right foreign leaders, attacking President Biden and offering a glimpse at what U.S. foreign policy could be like in a second Trump term​

After an anti-corruption crusader unexpectedly won last year’s presidential election in Guatemala, democracy teetered on the edge in the Central American country. Amid law enforcement raids on election offices and threats of violence, the Biden administration worked feverishly to lay the groundwork for a peaceful transfer of power.

But not Richard Grenell, a former diplomat and intelligence official in Donald Trump’s administration, who arrived in Guatemala in January, days before the new president was to be sworn in — and threw his support behind a right-wing campaign to undermine the election.

Grenell met with a hard-line group that sued to block the inauguration, which thanked him for his “visit and trust.” He defended Guatemalanofficials who had seized ballot boxes in an effort to overturn a vote declared “free and fair” by the United States and international observers, and he attacked the U.S. State Department’s sanctions against hundreds of anti-democratic actors.

Grenell’s intervention highlights the extraordinary role he has carved out in the three years since Trump left the White House. From Central America to Eastern Europe and beyond, Grenell has been acting as a kind of shadow secretary of state, meeting with far-right leaders and movements, pledging Trump’s support, and at times, working against the current administration’s policies.

The former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., in an online chat with Grenell last month, touted his record as ambassador to Germany and called him a “top contender for Secretary of State.”

“Grenell fulfills the top priority that Trump is looking for in his second term, which is absolute loyalty,” said Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, who has called Trump “unfit” to be president and warned about a potential administration of enablers.

Bloomberg and the New York Times recently reported that Grenell and Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner are proposing major real estate developments in the Balkans that could pose conflicts of interest if either of them served in another Trump administration.

Last year, Grenell was elected to the board overseeing the Conservative Political Action Conference, a standard-bearer for the conservative movement that has become an unofficial arm of the Trump campaign.

Quite a career arc, from having to resign from the Romney campaign for being gay, to being on the board of CPAC and a top Secretary of State candidate.

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Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

"As Christians celebrate the Holy Week, they do so with varying beliefs depending on their sect. Evangelical Christians are the most likely (92% say yes) to believe in life after death, while Roman Catholics express more doubt (67%). Among the other Abrahamic faiths, Muslims (87%) strongly believe while Jews predominately doubt the existence of life after death at a majority level (60%). Hindus (71%), who celebrated the arrival of spring with Holi this week, and Sikhs (67%) are also firm in their belief of life after death."
Is there life after death? Majority of Canadians believe they may have more than one life to live - Angus Reid Institute

The apostle Paul felt confident enough in the Lord and in his walk of faith, by the grace of God, that he could encourage other Christians to imitate his walk of faith and to use him as a model or as an example of what genuine faith in Jesus Christ really looks like. He never claimed to be perfect, but he walked the walk, and he did not just talk it. He took God and his word to heart, and he obeyed the Lord in doing what he said to do, and he did not walk in sin, but he led a holy and a godly life committed to Jesus Christ.

For, although he had not yet finished the race, he was running the race every day, fighting off the lies of the enemy, opposing enemy forces, proclaiming the truth of God’s word, and exposing the fruitless works of darkness and the liars and the deceivers who were trying to lead other Christians astray. He was committed to truth and to righteousness and to leading other people to do the same. And he continued on this path despite being hated and persecuted and falsely accused, and all for the glory of God. Amen!

But then he also encouraged the Christians to keep their eyes on those who walk according to the example that they had in Paul and in the other apostles. And this is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to speak, i.e. this is the most important point, i.e. the moment of truth. And this is where it is critical that we know and understand the truth of God’s word and what a genuine follower of Christ should look like. So we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context.

For the image being presented to us today of what a “good Christian” looks like is often the opposite of what the Scriptures teach us, and the opposite of what Paul and the other apostles modeled to us. For in today’s world we have this image of a good Christian as someone who is just a “good deed doer” and who is “nice” to everyone and who goes around just making people feel good about themselves. And this, too, is the image that many today are painting of Jesus Christ, which is not the truth.

Was Jesus kind? Yes, he was. And kindness is being willing to tell people the truth even if they end up hating you and murdering you in return, which is what they did to Jesus Christ. For they didn’t like it that he told them the truth about their lives and that he told them that they needed to change and that they needed to surrender their lives over to him to make him Lord of their lives. And they didn’t like it that he did not conform to their worldly standards and to their religious hypocrisy and to their human traditions.

So, it is critical that we follow the model that Paul provided for us as to what it means to be a Christian. And Paul, contrary to what many people are presenting of him, was not someone who was “struggling” with (regularly giving in to) sin. For he taught that if sin is our practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, that we are not in true fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we will not inherit eternal life with God unless we repent and we obey our Lord, in practice.

So, be very careful about who you are listening to, and who you are following, for not everyone is of true faith in Jesus Christ who claims to be. Not everyone tells the truth. Liars and deceivers abound these days, in and out of the gatherings of “the church.” So learn to be those who test everything you read and hear against the teachings of the Scriptures, but do so within the appropriate context, and not out of context. For many lies are being perpetrated today via teaching Scriptures out of context.

Take for example, Ephesians 2:8-9 is being taught absent of verse 10, and so many are teaching that we are to do no works at all. But verse 10 dispels that by telling us that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. And John 10:28-30 is being taught absent of verse 27 which tells us that Jesus’ sheep listen (adhere) to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him, and they have eternal life, and they will never perish.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, in practice, then we have the hope of eternal life. For he also said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 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 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

VOICE OF TRUTH

By Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth..

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I honestly don’t know what I’m going through. But it does feel like I’ve been cast out. I’m a faithful Christian who lives the typical Christian lifestyle. Bible, sermons, church, etc. But I know I sinned earlier this year and I honestly seek to change. I’ve already asked for forgiveness of my sin. However the circumstances of my situation are confusing as I had a biblical vision that lasted several days. It was awful. It went about as wrong as one could go. With that said, I was painting a car for several days straight. I don’t know if my vision was from paint fumes or some form of failed spiritual attack. I know my ventilation was poor. Plus I read online that it takes about 5 days for one’s body to rebound from paint fume exposure. But also Christians frequently have spiritual warfare. So I’m very unsure what I experienced.

I know the various Bible quotes about salvation is forever and also not being left or forsaken. But it doesn’t explain what I’m feeling. This is why I’m asking for prayers. Thank you.

Psychologists tell us that the practice of lying is universal (or nearly so) amongst humans. They also tell us this practice begins at a very young age. Parents with toddlers, or with long memories of having had toddlers, may well be able to relate to that. However, the object of this thread is not to debate the truth of these assertions. For the purposes of this discussion I would like you to take these as true. I wish to discuss whether the practice of lying differs between participation in forums such as this and how it is practiced in "real life".

In the real world I periodically lie. I do not know to what extent my lying compares with human norms. Do I lie more frequently, or tell much bigger whoppers than the average human? I don't know. I like to think that my lying is less intensive than average, but I would like to think that wouldn't I? (I reviewed my interactions yesterday and the closest I can come to a lie was in omitting to truthfully tell a high pressure salesman that I was not making a decision today because I did not entirely trust what he was telling me.)

And finally I get to the point. I have, as far as I am able to recall, despite telling lies in the real world from time to time I have never told a lie on this forum, or on any other forum several of which I was active on for over a decade and a half. I find this odd and am uncertain as to what compels me to be scrupulously truthful online, but not elsewhere. I have some thoughts, but I would welcome suggestions as to what you think might be the cause. Also, if you feel comfortable doing so, comment on whether you have had similar experiences. And if any of you can identify an instance in any of my posts where I demonstrably lied that would be helpful, as it would remove the anomalous contrast.

Every single story I hear goes something like this.
Someone grew up in a family that was religious, they went to Church and did Church activities, they never took it seriously or wanted to go to Church but went because their family made them, and now as they got older, they no longer go.

So now according to them they left the faith, even though in the beginning they seemed to want nothing to do with, and they have no mention of having a life changing spiritual experience or believing in God or Jesus with all their heart at one time, it all centered around "Church activities" whatever that means, and them no longer wanting to go.

We must ask, what does it mean to be a Christian? Does it mean to go to a Church one time, and be raised in a family of people who say they are Christians?

Now if they said they believed in Jesus and God with all their heart at one time in the past and no longer do, then that's a different story. But they never imply or claim they did, only that they went to a Chruch building.

I try to be kind to everyone, even when they don't speak kindly to me. But the toughest thing is to speak with non-believers because as soon as I mention God or Jesus, they no longer want to speak. That's not what they want to hear, but as it is a huge part of my life, it's mostly what I talk about. And so I'm finding it difficult to make friends and find a romantic partner because of this. Now I don't want a non-believer as a romantic partner anyway, so that doesn't really matter. But it's so difficult to find faithful people. People who actually know the Bible and live by Biblical principles. The same thing goes for friends. And I'm not sure where to look, so all I feel like I can do is trust God that the right people will cross my path at the right time. Any advice is welcome. Thanks for listening, my fellow believers. May God bring you blessings and joy.

“He was ordered removed by an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review Sept. 24, 2020, and was removed to Mexico Sept. 29, 2020,” the immigration rep said.
“At an unknown date and location Ortiz-Vite reentered the United States without inspection by an immigration official.”
Ortiz-Vite has now been charged with felony murder, open murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon, and felony use of a firearm after Garcia’s bullet-riddled body was found on US 131 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, around 11:40 p.m. Friday.

Border policies have consequences.

Hi, I'm Ingrid Guerci. This is my first post here. I hope to participate in some interesting discussions. I enjoy gardening, hiking, watch movie, photography, and an am avid reader.

The Venezuelan TikToker who went viral last month after defending illegal immigrant criminals and urging migrants to squat in U.S. homes is now on the run from immigration authorities, according to a new report.

Leonel Moreno has claimed that his family, which includes his wife and young daughter, has received $350 a week in government handouts since entering the U.S. illegally.

On top of that, he had claimed to be making $1,000 a day as a TikTok influencer. However, his account, which at one point had more than 500,000 followers, appeared inactive Wednesday morning. His verified Instagram account, however, has about 17,000 followers and posted two videos Wednesday morning showing him waving a stack of $100 bills as he posed with his baby girl.
Moreno allegedly cut off his ankle monitor after receiving border parole and is now listed as an "absconder" from immigration authorities, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moreno reportedly received border parole in April 2022 as part of the government's Alternatives to Detention program, which is supposed to track catch-and-release migrants when there is not enough room to detain them.

Moreno previously told his audience he planned to make a business out of "invading" abandoned houses and taking them over with squatters' rights laws, then selling them for a profit.

Most of us should be aware by now that we are in the middle a war against the globalists and that Trump and his team are the tip of spear in this war , along with over 200 generals in over 30 countries all helping to destroy the globalist infrastructure.

Anyway one part of that infrastructure is underground tunnels that are all around the world used for child trafficking and other evils , and from what i'm hearing , the soldiers fighting in these tunnels are not just fighting against humans but non humans as well , some say they are chimeras.

Also I am hearing that the globalists through their puppet governments have been hiding things from us like cures for cancer , alternative energy etc.
And that they have also been hiding from us people that they call non human entities or off worlders. Apparently there not calling them aliens because the entities are telling them that they have always been here , even before us and that they live underground , also in Antarctica I believe.

Now the point is , the talk out there is that once Trump is back in office , and he will be , then all of this stuff that has been hidden from us is going to be revealed , including the non human entities that are going to share their technology and lots of other wonderful things with us.

The majority of secular society are exited by all this and can't wait for us to begin OUR NWO once this war is won.
And many of them are into new age thinking , tarot cards , crystals etc.

Obviously what looks good to them is not looking too good to me , because i'm thinking bible prophecy. So what are your thoughts on the matter?

I have changed a lot in the last several years, which is not a shocker, I know. Most people do, but I have changed somewhat radically.

I once got deep into studying my Catholic faith.. not a bad idea at all. I recommend all Catholics do this. But the problem is, you have to be careful what your sources are. I happened to serendipitously run into a book written by the late archbishop Lefebvre, who whole heartedly disagreed with the changes of Vatican II and wrote books on this. Then from there I studied Sedevacantism, which I have no problem with, to speak of. However, it seems to me that most professional Sedes are more into mocking "new church" and Francis than they are into.. well, works of charity or what have you. I know I shouldn't even say this because I do not know these people well. I just know that I went to this site once that was run by Sedevacantists and all they ever seemed to post were articles or videos on how awful new church is. The thing is, though.. It really IS awful.

So what am I trying to say here? I don't know... I mean, I am just disturbed, is all. I feel confused because the Catholic Church is divided into 3 parts: novus ordo, SSPX and Sedevantists. I can't say I whole-heartedly endorse the NO (new) church, but on the other hand, I just don't believe that Jesus would allow His Church to utterly fail, as they seem to think, just because anti-Christs took over the buildings (1958). He said that He would never leave us (Mt 28:20) He said his Church would not fail (Mt 16:18).

I feel very alone and misunderstood a lot of the time. It seems that priests in the NO don't want to talk about V2 (and why would they? it doesn't make them look good). I liked a SSPX priest I confessed to years ago.. very good in confession, acted interested in what I was saying. A Sede priest I went to for confession was OK but didn't seem half as interested. Maybe I shouldn't have expected him to be like the SSPX priest, and I do realize that... OK, never mind. I was going to go into some other things but I'll leave things @ that for now.

Please pray that those who are now in my life will be forgiving, open their minds and allow certain truths to be revealed. Truths that maybe will help us to form a better, more authentic friendship with one another.

More importantly, pray that GOD will soften the hearts of Jake, Brandon and Daniel. Remove the spiritual blindness from their eyes, and help them to understand the truth about you. Bring them to repentance and salvation. Help me to let my light shine before men that they may see my good deeds and glorify my Father in heaven.

Glory to GOD

Can you please prayer that Jesus would fix this situation. So there is this girl at my work she used to say always hello to me when see me and she is from other departament. We barely spoke once she got my attention and i message her so we talked online and she was really friendly until i started to like her and became a bit nedy and asking her out for coffee,lunch when we talked on teams. She never said no,but also never said yes only saying thank you for invitation and she stopped replaying me and stopped showing interest talking. After this i started to feel that she rejected me and as she saw i am no value guy. Now everytime i see her i get so nervious i start feeling anexy and fear takes over.i didnt prayer to let her go ,but the feelings still come. I really wish Jesus could fix my situation that i would stop feeling anexy when see her and that God would provide me ways to fix the situation and let her get to know me. Her name is Andzela

See Which came first: the earth or the sun?

I was raised Catholic, except that we were not devout. We went to Mass on Sunday and the rest of the week we lived like... everyone else in the secular world. So it was not surprising that I ended up not doing well, spiritually. I had a big conversion experience as a teen, but as the years went by and my family made it clear they were not with me spiritually, etc... I fell away from Jesus, although I continued to love Him "my way." So anyway, my life became a colossal mess of sin, and several times I felt like ending it all... LONG story. Then I had a 2nd conversion 20 some years ago, began going to Mass, which I had not done since a youth. It was a holy experience, met an awesome priest... and I began studying Catholicism, history/doctrine, etc. I agreed with all that the ancient Catholic Church taught, yet the CC stopped teaching a lot of that, more/less, due to the modernizations that happened @ Vatican II. I didn't study V2 until just a few years ago, and boy, was it a shocker! All Christians should study up on the late Catholic archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who disagreed heartily with V2. He wrote books on the disagreements and etc.. and I could find no argument w/ him. But then I moved on Sedevacantism and.. well, I couldn't disagree w/ them either, except for one thing. Basically, the Sedes say that Jesus cannot be found in the new church, as they call it, since they do not have a valid Eucharist. I disagreed once w/ a Sede on this because the awesome priest aforementioned had told me about the Real Presence and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever experienced.. But the Sede said I was just imagining this Presence of Christ (in "new church") and just shut me out of his life completely--over THAT. So much for charity! I thought that was basically what Jesus focused on? If you can shut people out, stop communicating with them altogether, people who agree with you RE Jesus 99% of the time...(!). I mean, I don't get that.

So now I feel I am in this weird no-man's land. .. I have to say that I've had some very negative experiences in the "new church" also, problems that make that problem with the Sede (above) look like Heaven on Earth... SIGH. I can see why Jesus said that FEW find the narrow way to Heaven... It seems so many people are focused on religious beliefs and how right they are and everyone else therefore has to be totally wrong... rather than on what God requires of us.

By months?

The word I happen to be looking for rhythm with itch, to say I happen to be reacting like one is a great insult to them. It is much worse but after so many years of trying to believe God for His mercy and just being slapped with His justice I cannot any longer see Him as my Father just my Judge and Executioner so much for rejoicing in the Resurrection of Jesus this weekend. Because I no longer believe in pray(I should say I believe I will deliver my heart’s desire to Him so the reply will always be an Empathetic NO!) That is tough enough to swallow but boy can God really deliver on many of my nightmares.

So any advice for someone who is living in the old man now and so sure that if I desire it God won’t grant it but if I fear it, it is highly likely right around the corner heading my way as God gives me justice without mercy?

Mr Trump proudly crowed: “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible.”

The ex President is selling personally endorsed Bibles via CIC Ventures LLC (which he owns) for his own profit. Is this an example of Mr Trump's devoting to spreading the good news or is the 'God Bless the USA Bible' yet another grift with the same spiritual integrity as his Trump sneakers, steaks and bathroom towels?

When I go to meetings of a local pro-Israel organization, I notice that most of the people there fervently believe that Donald Trump is good for Israel. I long ago decided that Trump simply doesn’t understand Israel or the Middle East.

Yesterday’s Jerusalem Post quotes Dr. Michael Oren, who was the Israeli Ambassador to the US until recently. Oren: “Trump also hates Netanyahu and does not forgive him for congratulating Biden when he was elected.” Given President Biden’s criticism of the war with Hamas and Israeli settlements, he concludes, “There is no pro-Israeli option here.”

Oren also points out that Biden has sometimes stood up to Congress and to many in his own party to stand with Israel. Biden does pay a political price for this, and he has used the veto power in Israel’s favor.

This is not a clear cut case of good versus evil. There are no simple answers.


Story:

Michael Oren: Trump unclear on Israel;​

Biden is supportive​

Link
Michael Oren: Trump unclear on Israel; Biden is supportive