• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Pay Back Evil With Good

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. ‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14-21 NASB1995)

People persecute other people for many different reasons. Sometimes it is because someone is different from them, such as poorer or richer, smarter or not as smart, highly educated or lacking in education, popular or not popular, talkative or quiet, tall or short, funny or serious, male or female, overweight or underweight, or they have white skin or black skin, etc.

Sometimes people persecute others because of what they believe and what they put into practice. And this can cover the subject of politics and republicans against democrats, or vice versa. Or it can cover people’s views on education, taxes, and laws which govern the land. And it can certainly cover the subject of religion and religious beliefs and practices.

And here the subject matter is speaking of persecution against those who are of God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, who follow the Lord in sincerity, with purpose, and with direction and empowerment of God to live for the Lord and to do his will. The closer that one walks with the Lord, in obedience to God, in surrender of their wills to the Lord, in service to the Lord, fulfilling their calling of God to take the biblical message of salvation to the people of the world and to refute the enemy’s lies, the greater the risk of persecution.

And this persecution doesn’t necessarily come just from those people in the world who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ. For who were Jesus’ greatest persecutors? They were people of his own faith. They were some of his family members. They were people of his own nationality. But primarily they were the leaders and rulers and people of influence in the temple and in the synagogues who hounded and persecuted him continuously because of who he said he was and because of what he taught to the people.

Some of your greatest persecutors may turn out to be the same. They may be pastors and elders of “church” congregations. They may be others who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who take their Christianity less serious than you do. They may not believe the biblical gospel taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, but they may believe in a more altered and diluted gospel which gives them more freedom to live however they want. For they may believe they have the freedom to keep sinning deliberately.

And so you may be an offense to them. Or you may be a nuisance to them because of your stand on the truth of the gospel when they are trying to present to the people an altered gospel which makes no requirements that we die to sin and that we obey God. And so they may attack you and call you “legalistic,” or they may accuse you falsely of teaching “works salvation.” And they may find ways to get rid of you so that you do not influence the people of their congregations to believe the truth and to reject the lies.

But when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and because we stand on the truth of God’s word, and we do not yield to making spiritual compromises in order to blend in with the world, we are to treat our persecutors with love and kindness, and never should we even think of retaliation. And we should pray for them. For we are never to pay back evil for evil. We are never to take our own revenge. But we should respond with love and kindness and let God be the one to cast judgment and sentence.

But when it says here that we are to be of the same mind toward one another (in the body of Christ), and as far as it depends on us that we should be at peace with all men, this is not teaching that it is okay for us to compromise truth and righteousness in order to make peace or in order to be likeminded with others who also profess faith in Jesus Christ. We need to remain faithful to the Lord and to the teachings of the Scriptures in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands in holy living always.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

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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Pay Back Evil With Good
An Original Work / October 15, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

‘If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked’: 7 months of shocking private messages among rising GOP leaders

A YouGov poll indicates that a portion of individuals with progressive viewpoints publicly expressed condolences for Kirk, while privately exhibiting a different stance.
Do you have a link? This was the closest I could find What Americans really think about political violence | YouGov but it doesn't really say that.
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Labor Dept warns Immigration Policies Threaten Stability of the Domestic Food Supply

@rjs330 Since I mentioned social security I thought you’d be interested in what I found. The information was archived but its accessible and you’ll get a feel for what they have in mind. It was produced by The Heritage Foundation which originated the manifesto for Project 2025. I think they left it out on purpose.

The Heritage Foundation recommends an array of spending cuts for the 2023-2032 fiscal years, including raising the retirement age to 69 or 70 to reflect longer life expectancy and switching to a flat benefit instead of tying it to one's lifetime wages.

Should the Social Security Retirement Age Be Raised? Yes.

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Are the Jews Israel, or is the church Israel? Or does it depend on the context of the passage?

Consider the verse below when thinking about the modern nation of Israel.

Isaiah 54:9 To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.

The Apostle Paul declares the obvious in Galatians 4:26-27. That Isaiah 54 is a prophecy about the New Jerusalem. The context of that chapter is Old Testament believer’s being illustrated as the wife of God suffering at the hands of their own wicked kings and the gentile nations; someday winning the nations by the gospel and through that inheriting the world. This is why Paul called the New Jerusalem the mother of all New Testament believers. OT saints in Ancient Israel gave birth to NT saints, both Jew and Gentile.

Here is how Isaiah 54:9 ties into the debate over the two extremes between those who teach the name Israel IS ONLY referring to the Jews and modern Israel and God's covenant with them. Verses those who say Israel is now the church and God's NT covenant. In both the OT and NT we see God is almost continuously angry with Ancient Israel for its sin. The reason for this is God chose both the saints and sinners out of one nation, Ancient Israel, to bring his word and the Messiah into the earth. It was his Normandy beach head for his long-planned invasion of planet earth to spread the influence of his invisible kingdom.

Once the mission God chose all of Ancient Israel for was complete. His focus became the expansion of that influence worldwide. First through Jewish believers that naturally added Gentile believers to that mix. This new mix of believers, illustrated in the Bible’s prophecy was given a new name- The New Jerusalem

Isaiah 62;1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; YOU WILL BE CALLED BY A NEW NAME that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.

That is why God would no longer be angry with his people. They are no longer a mix of ethnic Israeli's who had the faith of Abraham along with the ethnic Israeli's who refused that faith. Instead, his people, illustratively spoken of as God’s bride and the New Jerusalem consist of a mix of ethnic Israelis and gentiles who have embraced the faith of Abraham- in and of the Messiah.

Speaking to both extremes about this issue. This IS the Bible’s OT and NT doctrine on the matter. God will not smile upon anything else that is taught.

Does this mean ethnic Israelis, or Jews, who do not have or refuse the faith of Abraham are no longer God’s chosen people? That would depend on narrative you look at Bible's prophecy through. Which by the way is the main point of friction between the two extremes. One extreme says yes because there is end of the world prophecy in the Bible that revolves around a modern nation of Israel. One says no because only believers count as the children of Abraham by faith so the modern nation is an aberration not mentioned in scripture.

But what says the scripture? Well, according to many chapters of prophecy like Isaiah 54, 60, 61, 62, 65 Rev 20-22. Daniel 2 & 7 They say billions would come to Christ after the Roman Empire ends which happened in 1453 AD; and the natural result of that would be a world transforming for the better. We now know this was due to the general public, (illegally) beginning to gain access to their own Bibles to read themselves right when that empire ended. This is what the Bible means when it said the meek, or the saints, shall inherit the earth. It's why we went from the perpetual rule of kings and emperors to a growing free world of republics as it states in the passage below.

Isaiah 29:18-20 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the tyrannical oppressor is brought to nothing…….

Now we have the key to understanding why modern Israel exists. The process of meek inheriting the earth would providentially lead to the world having mercy on the Jewish people and bringing them back to the land promised to Abraham. NOT for some end of the world apocalypse. But rather as part of the process of the meek inheriting the earth. As stated in the prophecy below. The regions future is 10’s of millions of Jews, Arabs, Egyptians and Syrians finding the faith of Abraham in Jesus their savior. The natural result of theirs and the Bible’s influence will be the transformation of the region. It's how the prophecy below is being fulfilled. All the war, death and destruction is Satan’s doings through darkened hearts to try to stop this from happening. Over the long run, it is not going to work.

Isaiah 19: 23-25 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Good news is it not? Peace on earth, good will towards men news.
Jews, or church is Israel.
  • Agree
Reactions: keras
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Trump sends troops to the 'warzone' of Portland...

Yes this is what happens when you have and support sanctuary cities. When you allow illegals in there are bad illegals that come too. Then you have to sort them out. Which takes time during an operation like this.

People in Chicago VOTED and choose to be a sanctuary city. You have to accept the consequences of such actions.
The President is the Head of the Government of the United States of America, not the Daddy for the States.

If he is, then that’s not how our federalist system operates, and we’re in extra-constitutional waters.

What’s “conservative” about upending the delicate balance-of-powers between the Federal Government and the several States?
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The History of the “Two Laws” Theory in Romans 3:20

Not true.

EVERY reference to Paul in a worship service on Sabbath is a reference to the 7th day Sabbath of Gen 2:2,3 and Ex 20;11
This is irrefutable.
;) You're trying to use a truism as proof! Of course, every case in which Paul observes Sabbath rest is a genuine example of him practicing Sabbath rest! But that doesn't mean he was ever doing this out of observance of the OT Law!
Paul repeatedly affirms the unit of TEN as God's Commandments
If Paul did so he was affirming that they were ten commandments *under the Law of Moses.*
No text says that.

Mark 2:27 says it is for "mankind" not 'just Jews"
Sorry, it doesn't have to spelled out that Jesus was speaking of Jews. Obviously, he was speaking to Jews and knew that the Sabbath Law had only been given to the Jews.
It is :"still a sin to take God's name in vain"
James to "he who is guilty of breaking one is guilty of breaking all?
James was using OT Law as an example of how *any sin* keeps Mankind from obtaining Eternal Life by his own works. That was the lesson of the Fall in the garden of Eden. A single sin contaminated Adam and Eve, and got them kicked out of the garden and away from the Tree of Life.

The Law of Moses was designed to affirm this truth to Israel, to make them hope for God's mercy, which would be revealed in Christ. Christ provided a Salvation *apart from the Law of Moses* so that they could find mercy in Jesus despite their record of sin under the Law.

Israel no longer has to serve God under the bondage of the Law, which bound them to Sin and Death. They can simply follow Jesus. The 10 Commandments, and Sabbath Law, are completely fulfilled in his righteousness. And he was not subject to the Law. He *gave* the Law!
God's commandments are part of the Jer 31:31-34 New Covenant as Heb 8 reminds us.
We are told in Jer 31.32 that the New Covenant will be for Israel something different from the Commandments and Laws given at Horeb.
Until you read Isaiah 66;23
I've read it and explained it. OT language was used in the OT period in order not to discourage continued respect for the Law. But Sabbath to Sabbath simply means Week to Week.
Jesus condemned anyone teaching against God's Law in Matt 5
I don't know when you will begin to understand that Jesus spoke, during his earthly ministry, to Israel while they were *still under the Law.* The veil had not yet been rent. The New Covenant had not yet been sealed in Jesus' blood. Therefore, the Law of Moses was still in play, and Jesus indicated that every requirement was needed to show every aspect of what Messiah would do.

You gotta believe what you want to believe is true.
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Heating up down under

Not when those hottest places have measurements going back to 1910.



Yes - as if this is news to any actual scientist - let alone climate scientist. Or any humanities geek like myself who has read a bit. Do you know WHY the climate changes? What the top drivers are? What causes a glacial period and interglacial period over tens of thousands of years - or what about LONGER term climate trends over the 10's of millions of years?

Like I said - I'm not even a scientist. But even I know some of these things.


A couple of degrees hotter? Maybe you're thinking of weather.
A couple of degrees of CLIMATE change should scare you - should make you angry - should make you think of the inter-generational immorality of us living as if we allowed to squander our children and grandchildren's futures!

Didn't Calvin himself say the farmer should leave his fields in better condition than he found them? He had basic ideas of stewardship in mind.

Maybe you don't understand the difference between weather and climate?


Think of water in a bathtub. Weather is the toddler splashing and making waves. The amount of water stays the same, but the waves rock back and forth with the water level. Climate change is that someone left the tap on, and soon that toddler could drown!

Climate change is the energy imbalance of the planet - the extra energy 'trapped' by the sunlight bouncing off the earth's surface as heat, and being trapped by the thicker blanket of gases surrounding the earth.

It's going up about to 2 Hiroshima bombs per second, every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every day of the year. All year around. It shows up in glaciers melting, heat records toppling, seasons out of whack, grubs hatching and dying before the baby birds hatch so they can eat the grubs. It's the very food web is out of whack.

It's global crop yields down a quarter as the population goes UP a quarter by 2050.

View attachment 371600


And Exxon knew about it all from their own scientists way back in 1977.


View attachment 371601

Exxon scientists said...


In 1982 they sent a document marked “not to be distributed externally.”

“Preventing global warming … would require major reductions in fossil fuel combustion. Unless that happened, there are some potentially catastrophic events that must be considered … Once the effects are measurable, they might not be reversible.”


It seems sir - that you have a lot more reading and thinking to do.

Unless of course, like most MAGA you just think "That's what you CHOOSE to believe - I choose to believe something else."

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I see you skipped talking about how much huge money the $8,000,000,000,000 Green Industry, and the DNC, has to gain from Climate Change Panic. That the Green Industry made an extra $2,000,000,000,000 in 2024 and has given millions in political donations.

I wonder how much money the 8 Trillion Dollar and growing Green Industry is putting into Climate Change Science? According to AI it's over a Trillion Dollars, and expected to increase substantially.
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Trump sparks concern among Christians for saying he's 'maybe not Heaven-bound'

We don’t do the ‘once saved, always saved’ stuff.
The idea though as I understand it is not having assurance of salvation is what is taught. With 1 Corinthians 9:27 being the primary verse. During a ‘once saved, always saved’ debate on CF, I asked a Catholic on CF if he believed he was saved and he said "I don't know".

There's a Greek Orthodox Bishop named Kallistos Ware, who when asked the question "are you saved?" said he wasn't sure how to answer. That if he had said "I am saved", isn't that overconfidence?

Time stamped video only takes a few second to hear the crucial part:

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(Just for the record I'm not a proponent of 'once saved always saved', and I liked what Kallistos Ware had to say in the video)
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New York Times, AP, Newsmax among news outlets who say they won’t sign new Pentagon rules





Sounds like this Hegseth directive is being broadly rejected by media outlets, big & small, and across the political spectrum.

All of the big ones are in broad agreement (ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox News), and even the very "MAGA-friendly" Newsmax is opposing it as well.
How dare members of the fourth estate not kowtow to the Secretary of War!?
Mercy me, whatever shall we do?
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USA military air force wore a My Little Pony badge

There seems to have been some kind of fad that was popular with the military. I just do not understand how this qualifies as current events. We might as well be talking about Sarah Palin hunting wolves from a helicopter.
People are free to be irrational.
Americans both bought and sold something called a Pet Rock, after all.
Back in 2013, a U.S. Air Force unit training to fly America’s most advanced military aircraft wore a patch inspired by the television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

The Air Force confirmed it: bronies were flying jets.
“We train world-class pilots who will go on to defend our great nation,” said 1st Lt. Tom Barger, a public affairs officer at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. “Fostering camaraderie, morale and unity on a regular basis and through small means—like a tastefully humorous patch—enhances our ability to complete the mission when working as a team is essential.”

The pink and purple patch—first spotted by My Little Pony fan site Equestria Daily—and worn by 24 flight students from Joint Undergraduate Specialized Pilot Class 14-05, referenced the cable cartoon show about a team of magical ponies.



Yooooo, this is just too awesome. :) As a brony myself I'm happy to see this happened.

And it helps combat stereotypes and shows cartoons aren't just for kids and can be enjoyed by anybody.
“Flight crews carry lucky-charms” too on-point?
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Heading to Bangladesh.

We had breakfast at 7am and left for Be Well. Soon enough it was time to go do outreach in a neighboring community.
We walked toward the highway and got a ride in a CNG; a three-wheeled vehicle that sits 5, and made our way down the highway.
Before getting to our destination there was an accident. A pickup was speeding and rammed us from behind.
The front windshield shattered and we turned off the road.
All three of us in the back were impacted by the crash.
My wife hit her head, I hit my head and my back was impacted, and our leader was hit on the head.
My wife only got a bump on her head.
My nose was cut and I needed stitches on my head.
Jonathan, our leader got a concussion. He doesn't remember the crash.
We are just grateful that God protected us from something worse.
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