durangodawood said:

I think you mean incompetence drives the bus. (Because, generally, competence has a lot to lose signing on to this corrupt clown show.)

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This was all strategic by the Trump DOJ, in order to beat the statute of limitations deadline on charging Comey. They beat it by 36 hours i heard.
Now that Kalligan is disqualified, the Court gives them several weeks to replace her and reinstate the charges.

It was very clever, by Bondi.

FreeinChrist said:

Sad to see folks repeat lies.

Per AI (Google)

No, the claim that U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar married her brother is a persistent conspiracy theory that has been widely debunked by multiple fact-checkers and investigations. There is no credible evidence to support it.​

The allegation first appeared in 2016 on an anonymous internet forum and was later amplified by conservative blogs and political commentators, including President Donald Trump.​

Here is a summary of the facts:​

• Denials Omar has consistently called the rumors "absolutely false and ridiculous".
• Investigations Reputable news organizations like the Star Tribune and non-partisan fact-checkers such as PolitiFact and Snopes have investigated the claims and found them to be unfounded.
• Documentation Records from Omar's family's 1995 entry into the United States list her as the youngest of seven children, and the name of the man she supposedly married (Ahmed Nur Said Elmi) does not appear in those documents as a sibling.

FactCheck.org has catagorized the story as untrue.

So please stop with the misinformation.

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Be careful - there are a number of poster who take great exception to the use of AI - Just wanted to let you know.

I'm not one.

Larry Bird

Hentenza said:

You don’t really believe that we are saved by grace through faith because you and your church also believed that keeping the sabbath is necessary for salvation. So you and your church believe in salvation by faith plus works.

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That's what's faith is about, obeying God, God never separated the 4th commandment from the other 9 comamndment Deut4:13 Exo34:28 Exo20:6 Heb8:10 2Cor3:3. Why anyone comes to the conclusion we can break the law of God and continue in that path and that's an example of faith is not something I will ever understand. Not something Jesus ever taught. But we were warned about this type of teaching 1 Tim4:3-4

Disobedience to God and His commandments is rebellion, sin unbelief and disobedience Heb3:7-19. I already posted the words of Jesus, if one won't believe His plain teachings, nothing more I can say.

Dale said:

Where did Jesus ever say that Genesis is a literal historical accvount? I don't see where He ever said this.

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We often refer to fictional characters as if they were literal historical. Someone out if context could think we mean them that way.

Yarddog said:

No President has been so wackadoodles as Trump. That was the consensus of all the living Presidents and VPs.

Even first term Trump thinks 2nd term Trump is wackadoodles. Lol

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You lay it on so think it almost comes off as a parody.

The Church isn’t (to be)


[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

The Church is (to be)


[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Therefore, when we gather together as the church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in our Lord, it is for the purpose of our mutual encouragement and edification where each part is able to do its work, as we have been gifted by the Holy Spirit in spiritual gifts, and as we have been given our assignments by God as to our specific body parts (roles, ministries) within the body of believers in Jesus Christ.

So, this is not a “one man show,” where one man does all the preaching, and leads every gathering, and whose sermons are never tested to see if they are of God or not… And where the “pastor” is treated more like a CEO of a corporation, or more like a cult leader who is surrounded by a faithful few who are protecting him and his position, regardless of whether he is right or wrong, or if he is living the Christian life, or not, which is all about running a business. And it is not about a show, period, where a few gifted and talented people (in speaking and in music) put on a stage production intended to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings.

Yes, the early church had overseers, but they were overseers of the entire church (the body of believers in Christ) within a particular city, so they were not the singular pastors of all these gatherings, which usually met in people’s homes, which is where the people were able to share their gifts and mutual encouragements. And since the body of Christ was to meet daily, and to encourage one another daily, and they met in people’s homes, it may be that there wasn’t always an overseer at every one of their gatherings.

Now, the body of Christ cannot function as the biblical body of Christ in large gatherings where a few people put on the show while the rest of the people largely sit in pews or chairs as spectators, and then they go home and live their normal lives until the next week. The Bible, in fact, teaches that we are to be speaking the truth of God’s word to one another in love, and we are to be speaking to one another in spiritual songs, and we are to be admonishing and teaching one another, and exhorting one another EVERY DAY.

Do we need overseers? Yes! But the shepherds of the people are not to be the only ones doing the talking and the preaching and sharing of gifts. But they are to be those who are leading the sheep in how they are to live and operate together as the body of Christ, who are training and equipping the saints of God in the work of the ministry. For all of us are to be ministers, not just one person. And those who are overseers need to meet the spiritual qualifications of an overseer, and they need to be accountable to the church.


No Less

An Original Work / March 19, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.

I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.

I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.

Login to view embedded media
Church is, Church isn’t
An Original Work / December 11, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

BasedLutheran said:

Oops. The only ones politicizing it were the leftists.

Yes, Some Children May Have Died From COVID Shots

Denial only serves the aims of anti-vaxxers.

www.theatlantic.com

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I saw this story yesterday at The Atlantic. The headline is clearly meant to be attention-grabbing. But WOW, what an admission! If you had suggested that a child could have died from the COVID vaccine just a few years ago, you would have been accused of spreading misinformation and censored. That the mainstream media now readily admits that children died from the COVID vaccine is honesty quite astounding. If COVID taught us anything, it's that the only thing that separates conspiracy and "misinformation" from truth is often just time.

But the blasé way that the article approaches this very serious issue is kind of like (my paraphrase)...


Absent from that article is any mea culpa or retrospection that, hmm, maybe mandating vaccines for children to attend school was ill-advised, given that children were at an infinitesimal risk from COVID. It's almost like we just have to accept that mandating interventions absent evidence means that, yeah, sure, we're going to lose a child here and there. But SCIENCE!

It would be laughable if it weren't so sad. But the thing that concerns me the most is the lack of concern and the blind trust that so many people still have in the industry and those funded by them. They still truly believe that this is about public health. They can easily spot when Joe Schmo is grifting and making a buck or two on false claims from vaccines, but they are completely, utterly, and I believe in many cases willfully blind to the IMMENSE financial incentives driving our public health "recommendations".

Dan Perez said:

# 1 THAT //. HOTI. is a CONJUNCATION

# 2 IF. // EAN. is a CONDISITIONAL. PARTICLE

# 3 THOU SHALL CONFESS //. HOMOLOGEP. in v the AORIST TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE SUBJUNCTIVE in. the SINGULAR

# 4 WITH. ///. is a PREPOSITION

# 5 THY. /// SOU. is a PERSONAL POSSESSIVE PRONOUN. in. the GENITE CASE in the SINGULAR

# 6. MOUTH /// STOMA. in. the DATIVE CASE in the SINGULAR in. the NEUTER.

# 7. THE LORD ///. KYNOS. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 8 JESUS ///. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 9 AND. /// is a CONJUNCATION

# 10. SHALL BELIEVE. /// PISTEUO. in. the AORIST TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE is a SUBJUNCTIVE in. the SINGULAR

# 11. IN ///. iOS a PREPOSITION

# 12. THINE /// SOU is a PERSONAL POSSESSIVE PRONOUN in. the in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 13 HEART /// KARDIA. in. the DATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 14 THAT ///. HOTI is a CONJUNCATION

# 15 GOD /// THEOS in. the NOMINATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 16 HATH. RAISED. ///. EGEIRO. in. the AORIST TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE in. the INDICATIVE MOOD in. the SINGULAR

# 17 HIM /// is a PERSONAL POSSESSETIVE PRONOUN in. the ACCUSATIVE TENSE in. the SINGULAR

# 18 FROM //. EK. is a PREPOSTION

# 19. THE DEAD /// NEKROS. in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the PLURAL

# 20 THOU SHALL BE SAVED //. SOZO. in. the FUTURE TENSE. in. the PASSIVE VOICE in. the INDICATIVE MOOD

and. that mood means you. BETTER BELIEVE IT. in. the SINGULAR

And all these tenses can. be GOOGLED

AND YOUR LAST. REPLY. is good and I BELIEVE it BUT. all the BIBLE is FOR all. but nor ALL TOO US

And ONLY Paul says HOW all can show how to be saved Eph. 2 : 8 and 9 as we ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW

BUT UNDER GRACE and what I wrote is UNDENYABLE. and Paul only wrote 14 espistles. AND did not write

the ESPISTLE of JOHN

dan p

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Romans 10:9 is not even a salvation verse

DaisyDay said:

ICE agents tackle, arrest American citizen in Minneapolis

Federal immigration agents tackled and arrested a Somali American man in Minneapolis on Tuesday and detained him for about two hours for no apparent reason other than his ethnicity.

www.mprnews.org

​

Federal immigration agents tackled and arrested a Somali American man in Minneapolis on Tuesday and detained him for about two hours for no apparent reason other than his ethnicity. The man who was arrested said that the agents had trouble finding the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Ft. Snelling while driving him there.​

​

The 20-year-old was not suspected of any crime, and described his ordeal during a Wednesday news conference alongside Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who each denounced the agents’ actions.​

​

Login to view embedded media ​

​

This is state sponsored terrorism.

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I’ve heard this referred to as a “Kavanaugh Stop”. CF

SabbathBlessings said:

Those who abide in Him and He in them. John15:4-10 1 John2:3-6

Sadly many people believe the devil has more power to keep us in sin than Jesus does to save us from our sins Mat1:21, I happen to believe we can overcome through our love of Jesus John14:15-18 Rev14:12 , the book of Revelations repeats this over and over again before His revelation, He has a people who overcomes. I think the bigger issue, is most people like their sins more than their love for Jesus to seek His help in forsaking their sins. Mat 4:17 John3:19-21 Pro28:13 1 John5:14

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Salvation by works. No one can be saved then.

Wow, this thread has become incredibly boring all of a sudden.

HARK! said:

Yes behold. Right out of the gate, the disinformation from your uncited source

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Uncited?

The citation is right at the bottom of the image!

HARK! said:

View attachment 374337

One year after the gold confiscation in 1933, the value of gold was set at $35 per ounce following the Gold Reserve Act of 1934. This was an increase from the previous value of $20.67 per ounce at the time of the confiscation.

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As you can see, the chart is by decade.

HARK! said:

Ooops! The price is still climbing; and the demand is higher than what is being mined. Aside from it being categorized as a strategic metal, what is being used to create the growing solar panel market is unrecoverable.

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Not sure how this is relevant, or that it refutes the chart.

Luke 1:15 Even from his birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

If someone can be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth then surely a child can be saved

stevevw said:

I think the body of Christ reigns today even more than ever because theres too many wolves. Now more than ever is the world open to turning a truth into a lie and a lie into the truth. The postmodern age where words, narratives and feelings make relaity and there is no way to tell the truth.

So we need a clear and truthful example in among all that white noise of Enlightened relativism that will be different and stand out as worthy and without fault. One that is above reproach.

As Christians we know this is Christ. But we have often failed to differentiate ourselves from the culture wars and the church has become just another identity among many even divided among itself. In a never ending war of words and alternative truth claims.

So that means the only way to stand out from all this is to actually be like Christ. To become part of the body of Christ. Which means actually living like Christ and not just speaking the words. This means actually doing what the bible says. Not half doing it but doing it all the way. Just as they did in the early church.

That means being willing to lay down your life literally. Put God above world desires and wants. Not having those material goods and doinging everything as Gods will and not our own.

When we see how even churches don't live to much different to the world then its no wonder people hate the church and God. Most people today do not do what they say. They are good at pointing out the wrongs of others or how people should live. But don't actually live that way themselves.

People are more respected when they live what they preach or teach. In fact for the early church and for Christ they were fairly silent when it came to their own opinion and getting into culture wars. They lived the gospel and example and the few words they did say were well respected. Because people seen that they lived what they preached and it was the truth.

This is all about embodying the gospel and Christ. This example speaks volumes and is power. People cannot argue against it because you are what you say.

But the important thing is that no human idea could ever be good enough that it would make a person untouchable and above reproach. Because we are weak.

So when people embody and like as Christ and actually putting others above themselves, loving their enermies and dying for them. Thet see God without one word being spoken. This is the power of Christs example. People do not even have to say where the truth and power of this testimony comes from. They immediate see it is from God as Christ is God and we are reflecting that to others.

I think the body of Christ is rising again because the world strayed so far away from God. When this happens God reminds people and Christs light shines in the darkness so that people can know Him when the chaos and darkness becomes too great in the world. Bold and pure Christians will restore Gods truth in among all the lies and wolves and Pharisees who are hypocrites.

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And most here will never believe that the LAW has been set aside AS is written. in. ACTS 28:25-28 and in. ISA 6:1-13

and 2 Tim 2:15 will not believe >

and HEB 9:18. is the MOST POWERFUL verse that says why the LAW HAD TO BE SET ASIDE !!

dan p

What does one expect to happen when cocktail of antivaxxers and conspiracy theorists are in control?

essentialsaltes said:

Can Tish cheer yet?

2nd grand jury refuses to indict New York AG Letitia James: Sources​

For a second time in recent days, a federal grand jury in Virginia has refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud, sources said.

The grand jury rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to refile the case after a federal judge dismissed an earlier case based on the unlawful appointment of the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The charges were presented to a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia's Alexandria branch after a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, last week rejected the charges.

"This unprecedented rejection makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day," James' attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. "Career prosecutors who knew better refused to bring it, and now two different grand juries in two different cities have refused to allow these baseless charges to be brought. Any further attempt to revive these discredited charges would be a mockery of our system of justice."

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As New York Judge Sol Wachtler said in 1985, “If a district attorney wanted, a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich.”

That is how incompetent the Trump DOJ is.
In fact in one case, the ham sandwich won.

Brightfame52 said:

This sounds like salvation by works and forsakes Salvation by Grace. It elevates man and dishonors God.

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It’s starts off with repentance, that’s one of the first thing Jesus says when he got started in his ministry, Jesus says in Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Stop sinning is the first forms of repentance, that's a lot work on it's on. Learning how to get self out the way. Now, Grace is nothing more than a free gift. And that free gift is our access back to the tree of life (Jesus) which Adam caused us to lose by disobeying God. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5: 12) But to maintain your grace you must keep the law. (1John 3:4) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Now we have just read the biblical definition of sin, the transgression (breaking) of the law (commandments.) It doesn’t matter what you or I think sin is, it’s what God says sin is that counts.

JulieB67 said:

Again, unquenchable by human standards. But God's eternal fire did not last forever in the OT. They are set as our example. Jesus used Gehenna as example because that's where stuff was thrown into. It continually burned and that's what will happen with the LOF but it doesn't mean that things will not be destroyed. Christ states fear the one that can destroy (first meaning -fully) both body and soul in hell.

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If the wicked are burned to nothing, then the language of ongoing torment makes no sense. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes conscious, eternal punishment:
* Mark 9:48, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
Here, the “worm” is the person themselves, reduced to utter shame and contempt. This parallels Psalm 22:6, where the psalmist says, “I am a worm and not a man,” meaning he is utterly scorned. The text shows that the person exists in a state of ongoing ruin, they are the worm.
* Revelation 14:11 — “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night.”
* Revelation 20:10 — “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

The Lake of Fire is called the second death, but Scripture consistently shows that death is conscious ruin and separation from God (Eph 2:1; 1 Tim 5:6), not extinction. If people simply ceased to exist, Christ’s warnings about weeping, gnashing of teeth, and fear of the One who can destroy both body and soul would be meaningless.

In short, the Bible presents the Lake of Fire as a place of ongoing, conscious punishment, with the wicked themselves enduring it, they are the worm, the object of God’s righteous judgment, not extinguished into nothing.

JulieB67 said:

Malachi 4:1 "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave then neither root nor branch."

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Malachi 4:1 is describing temporal, symbolic judgment, not the eternal Lake of Fire. The imagery of stubble being burned up emphasizes complete ruin and loss, not annihilation. God often uses vivid pictures in the prophets to show the utter defeat and destruction of the wicked’s power, influence, and earthly life.

Compare that to Jesus’ teaching about the Lake of Fire:
-Mark 9:48 — “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” The worm is the person themselves, echoing Psalm 22:6 — they exist in a state of utter shame and contempt, not destroyed into nothing.
-Revelation 14:11 — “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night.”
-Revelation 20:10 — “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Malachi speaks of temporal judgment on nations or people, often fulfilled in historical events, where stubble is consumed as a metaphor of destruction. Jesus and John describe eternal judgment, conscious and ongoing. The prophetic imagery of being “burned up” does not contradict the clear, literal teaching of the New Testament about eternal conscious punishment.

In short: Malachi illustrates ruin; Revelation and Christ reveal eternal conscious judgment. One is temporal imagery, the other is literal and final.

JulieB67 said:

There's a reason that Christ calls it the "second" death. You are confusing earthly death with the second death which is to destroy both body and soul.

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Actually, it’s you who seems to be confusing the two. A person is a soul with a shell, which is the body.
When our physical body dies, it is not the end of the person. The soul sleeps in the ground and so is still alive. Earthly death is not a finality which is how you view it. Viewing it as such is a misunderstanding.
The Bible repeatedly shows that when people die, they go into the grave in an unconscious state:
-Ecclesiastes 9:5 — “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing…”
-Psalm 146:4 — “…in that very day his thoughts perish.”

The dead are asleep in the grave, knowing nothing, until the resurrection on the last day (John 5:28–29; Daniel 12:2). At that time, God raises all people, believers and unbelievers, for judgment. Just as the first death does not annihilate the person, the second death does not annihilate them either. Viewing death purely as the physical end of the shell of the person leads to misunderstanding.

In short, earthly death is only the end of the shell, the physical body, not the person. The soul continues asleep until the resurrection. The second death is eternal, conscious, and the final state of judgment. Confusing the two obscures the true nature of God’s justice and the eternal consequences of rejecting Him.

JulieB67 said:

Context matters. We should always take the first meaning unless the verse indicates otherwise. All of the verses that contrast life verses death should give us the meaning that only one gets life in that equation.

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The context of John 3:16 is spiritual life versus spiritual ruin, not physical existence. Scripture repeatedly uses “death” or “perish” to mean separation from God, loss, or ruin (Eccl 9:5; Ps 146:4; Eph 2:1). So “perish” here does not imply ceasing to exist, but failing to receive eternal life.

6 years.

Several. Then again, I live in the most conservative diocese in the nation. That's when I attend my parish. A vast majority do NOT.

At the tradional Latin Mass, almost all females (including infant girls and little girls) wear the veil. I've only seen maybe 1-2 at the TLM that don't.

Bible distribution continues in Pakistan despite devestating floods.

While flooded rivers and fields have made travel difficult in Pakistan, some Christian teams continue to carry on the important work of distributing Bibles there. Devastating floods have led to the deaths of more than 800 people and forced over 1 million Pakistanis to evacuate their homes and villages. “Please pray for them,” said a front-line worker. “It is very difficult, and they need to know where they can go because of the many flooded areas and also because of ongoing security threats.” Around 2% of Pakistan’s population, roughly about 4 million people, are believed to be Christians. Even during dry seasons, Christians must use care in distributing Bibles, knowing the opposition they could face at the hands of fanatical Muslims.

Click here to find out about Christian persecution in Pakistan and learn how to pray.

Commitment to prayer counters fear.

For Christians in Buddhist-dominated Bhutan, fear of the government and the reaction of neighbors to Christian witness runs deep. Anti-conversion laws can bring punishments up to life imprisonment for carrying out the activities of the Christian faith. However, many faithful brothers and sisters in Christ remain committed to him despite the risk. A front-line worker shared the example of one Christian woman dedicated to praying continuously. Seven days each week, she comes to the church to pray, returning home only to sleep. “Her trust and passion for the Lord was humbling,” the worker said. Pray for Bhutanese Christians to have strength and courage to persevere in the face of fears and pressure. Pray also for protection and encouragement for those who are facing opposition, imprisonment or family rejection.

Click here to find out about Christian persecution in Bhutan and learn how to pray.

Sentenced for practicing their faith.

Eleven Christians in Libya have been sentenced to 3 to 15 years in prison for practicing their faith. The 11 were arrested in March 2023 and sentenced in April 2025. Members of the group, which includes 9 Libyan men, one woman and one Pakistani national, were sentenced on several charges including “insulting Islam” and “calling for the establishment of a banned group,” according to various reports. They also faced charges of apostasy for converting from Islam and could have been sentenced to death, but the court did not pursue that penalty. Pray that our imprisoned brothers and sister will stand firm in their faith amid the challenges of prison; that they will have opportunities to share the gospel with their fellow inmates; and that they will be released. Pray also for their families to experience God’s comfort and provision.

Click here to find out about Christian persecution in Libya and learn how to pray.

Off topic, I was able to livestream an entire episode of Better call Saul in the time it took to load this page. I suppose I should be watching Narcos.

I don't have a problem with taking an unregistered ship in international water. Let the owners/insurers sue in international court the legality of the ship and cargo. I I am not sure if rank and file crew members would know about the fake registration. Some are assigned from agencies, that recruit from owners/operators. I am glad that the U.S. military handled this without any loss of life on either side, that Trump got a warrant and given the value of the cargo, I think that the legalities can be worked out later.

From google ai:
Who can justify the taking of a ship that is flying under a false flag? Anyone?




"Yes, a warship or authorized government vessel from any state can legally stop, board, and potentially seize a ship on the high seas that is flying a false flag.

Under international maritime law, specifically Article 92 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a ship must sail under the flag of only one State. If a ship sails under two or more flags according to convenience, or under a false flag (without the authorization of that country), it may be treated as a stateless vessel.

Stateless vessels are not entitled to the protection or the exclusive jurisdiction of any flag state. This means that the principle of freedom of navigation, which generally prevents interference by other nations on the high seas, does not apply.

Article 110 of UNCLOS explicitly grants any warship the right to board a merchant ship on the high seas if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that:

• The ship is engaged in piracy or the slave trade.
• The ship is involved in unauthorized broadcasting.
• The ship is, in reality, of the same nationality as the warship, despite flying a foreign flag.
• The ship is without nationality (stateless).

The recent seizure of the oil tanker Skipper by the U.S. demonstrates this principle. The U.S. government justified the seizure by pointing out that the vessel was falsely flying the flag of Guyana, a fact confirmed by the Guyanese Maritime Administration. Additionally, the U.S. had a federal judicial warrant to seize the vessel due to its alleged involvement in an illicit "dark fleet" oil trafficking network that violated sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, which further solidifies the legal basis for the action.

In summary, any state with the capability and reasonable grounds for suspicion can act against a ship using a false flag, as it is considered a matter of enforcing public order and security on the high seas."

Interestingly, neither the USA or Venezuela are signatories of this nearly universal law. Google ai still justifies it by "customary law."

It is also interesting that "Overall "Dark Fleet" Percentage: The "dark" or "shadow" fleet (vessels with obscured ownership and operations, often using deceptive practices like false flags) now accounts for an estimated 10% to 17% of all global seaborne oil transportation."
There should be more done about false flag ships. I hope they do not get their oil or their ship back unless they have a good legal reason. In those ships that cut the underwater cables, some officers are charged with crimes. Typically the ships were returned though.