FutureAndAHope said:

The idea (above) of God fixing destinies was not believed for the first 400 years of recorded Christian history. Those who came directly after the Apostles believed our actions determine if we are saved. The Earliest Church Leaders believed in Free Will theology. The idea that we work in Synergy with God, that our actions, either good or evil, determine if we are saved. Making statements like.

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I am completely against Calvinism, but this is a sad statement about the people who came directly after the Apostles. That is, if they did believe that actions determined if people are saved and that our actions either good or bad determine if we are saved.

No wonder Calvinism and election came about, one incorrect theology going against another incorrect works based theology of good and evil being the determiner of a person eternal life salvation.

GoldenBoy89 said:

Very telling language.

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Right word, but wrong party. Rather I'd say the people rejected what was taking place in Trump's absence and brought him back.

Michie said:

The clerical sexual abuse crisis in the Cathollic Church has demonstrated how clever predators are in covering up their predatory behavior just like homosexual clergy are good at covering up their sexual orientation and misconduct. Two young priests who lived with Monsignor Francis B. McCaa, whom the Pennsylvania Grand Jury identified as a sexual “monster,” had no idea that their supervisory pastor was sexually abusing boys in their Ebensburg parish. Likewise, when I served with Father Robert Kelly for three years and Father Martin Cingle for two years, both the pastor and I had no idea that they were abusing teenage boys in our State College parish. One reason this happens is that we often assume that people with whom we live and work are very much like ourselves. Consequently, priests and parishioners who would never even think of harming a child often think other coworkers feel and act the same way,

Because most Catholics are heterosexuals, they have a difficult time believing studies that show how over 80 percent of American-born bishops and priests today are homosexuals. Likewise, because most Catholic couples are faithful in marriage, they have a hard time believing studies that show how, at any given moment in time, no more than half of all priests are leading celibate lives. If it were not for my years of supervisory and confessional experience, I too might question these findings. Consequently, I am not surprised if a devout Catholic might say to me, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” However, when asked about the validity of studies involving the high celibacy failure rate, Cardinal Jose Sanchez, a former Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons, responded, “I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of those figures.”

Continued below.

DOES THE SEXUAL ORIENTATION OF THE POPE AND BISHOPS MATTER?

The clerical sexual abuse crisis in the Cathollic Church has demonstrated how clever predators are in covering up their predatory behavior just like homosexual clergy are good at covering up their sexual orientation and misconduct.

johneighteenthirtyseven.substack.com

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Dear Michie, my post above was truly not intended to ignore or hi-jack the OP, but to address the symptom-problem with the larger problem. A broader still address to that larger problem is recently addressed by Bp. Strickland here:

When Wolves Wear Vestments​

armchairscholar said:

Works don’t save us, but they’re the fruit of a living faith, showing the world what God’s doing in our hearts.

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Well said!

Tuur said:

I know that those who oppose Christianity do not first go:

"I say there, old chap: What do you think of the Nicene Creed? Don't want to make a mistake, you know."

Uh-uh.

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I am not interested in a vague conversation like "Christians like blue color, somebody criticizes blue color, therefore he is anti-Christian." Which is a logical fallacy.

I am interested in how is this report anti-Christian and how it leads to godlessness.

While it might be good to be principled on the use of money, when funds from the Federal Government are allotted, the default position should be to take them. Why? Because you paid into the system. Of course if there is no benefit then sure it seems ok to refuse but this was not the case and so poor policy guided this decision.

I saw the same in Medicaid expansion in my former state. They refused to expand it for several years, because they thought it would hurt the state finances later on. It is true that the Federal government may shift costs down the road. Still, monies could help people get the medical care they need for the years the Feds will provide it. Eventually this and many other red states took the Medicaid money. Yes, down the line there can be cuts. So the state can then cut services if they need to. This alarm program though was basically a one time cost so it is a shame that ideology got in the way of safety. Alternatively, the county could have funded a system on their own and maintained their ideology had they wanted.

I too lived in a state that has no tornado warning system. It is not tornado alley but there are tornadoes sometimes at night, a time when alarms are the most needed. I fear that they too will lose lives because of poor planning.
Democrats too have failures in safety. Often they refuse solutions that can control mass shootings in schools because of their ideology. Hopefully everyone thinks wisely on the options especially when lives are at risk.

Bradskii said:

I'm not saying that it's true. But one of the options I gave must logically be true. Either Hegseth stopped the shipments (or knew they were being stopped) without telling Trump. Or someone else did without telling either of them.

Either way, you have a big problem. Which do you prefer? The president being kept in the dark by his Defence Secretary? Or both of of them being kept in the dark by someone else?

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Or Trump forgot. He's doing that more & more.

166. 77





How many times do we have to forgive, asks Peter? Here is Jesus’s answer:

“Seventy-seven times.” Matthew, chapter 18, verse 22



Jesus answers as only God can answer. Forgive all the time. Do not stop forgiving. This is another way of liberating the world and especially of converting us to God’s Heart.



It’s not always easy to understand, especially if we’re experiencing a painful injustice. But to forgive remains the best heart remedy for us, and for the people of our time. To forgive in our heart is a mission. Teaching others to forgive is evangelization. And when we confess, we free people from our mistakes.



The new American Bible, 2011-2014

Book: Watch with faith, Normand Thomas

All I know is that Christ did pretty good to resist temptation from satans best when He was physically weak which would make most people give in.

Wasn't there some sort of meal at the end of a fast they had to break the fast. Breaking the fast itself was a ritual and so it wasn't a case of get food as soon as possible and dig in don't wait. The meal was planned, setup and followed in good order to break the fast.

I could imagine Jesus telling His disciples He is going out into the desert for 40 days and them offering to come. Then Jesus coming back and looking like half the man lol with all the weight He lost. The disciples and especially the women the Marys and His mum would have been fussing, to get Jesus another fish and bread to fatten Him up again for what was ahead.

In reality I think Jesus would have had what he needed and no more and was proably still in pain and anguish most of the time. So fasting was the least of His problems. But still He could be obedient all the way to the end.

gzt said:

Yes putinism and Trumpism are the two greatest threats to world peace

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The biggest threat to world peace is US-led NATO's post-1991 desire for world domination and Bush snr's New World Order.
Trump has clearly taken a half-step back from his predecessors' policies whilst Putin is actively fighting against it.

Jesus encouraged his disciples to struggle against sins. We are also his disciples. We also struggle against sins.

Saints like Maximilian Kolbe taught that repeated falls can be occasions for deeper humility and dependence on grace—not despair.

The Church sees the struggle with sin as a path to holiness, not a sign of failure. As Augustine said, “God would not allow evil if He were not powerful enough to bring a greater good from it.”

The Church offers Confession and the Eucharist as means of grace to strengthen the soul against sin.

Prayer, fasting, and cultivating virtues like chastity, humility, and temperance are essential tools in this struggle.

I encourage every reader of this post, Catholic and non-Catholic to take courage from the holy scriptures and from the example of the saints and the teaching of the Church in their struggle against sins.

ozso said:

Sounds like you're going by conspiracy theory.

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I’m going by the complete lack of any evidence to support the claim.

I mean when I was young I use to think I was Elvis or Bowie lol. As a young teen your standing in front of the mirror with a fake microphone pretending to be a rock star. There have been groups like the Mods and Rockers or Punks who expressed themselves through a certain iconic identity. To say something about themselves.

But they were emulating humans, their pop icons. Young people still do that today and probably more than ever with the power celebs have today with social media and all that.

I keep forgetting that I grew up as a teen without the internet and social media. No mobile phones let alone smart phones. Now there instant connection to anything on the web if you have access to a smart phone. I see this generational gap with my son and daughter who speak another language with texting and social media.

So really theres been a whole generation or more that has only grown up with this tech and have known nothing else,

I can see this change and I am pretty familiar with tech but rarely use social media or blogs and all that. Compared to no internet it seems like a virtual world has been created where anything can come true because people have detached from the face to face and real world for so long now.

So along with the already developing identities that people were expressing the internet has taken this to a new level. But underlying this has been the cultivation of ideology which has shifted from the outside world, others and God to 'self'. Media has a strong influence on young peoples self worth and identity and we know this is all plastic and unreal.

Identity politics has also contributed where the identity is made the measure of reality. Its about feeling good, comfortable, safe to be able to express your real self in however you may feel that to be.

Its a sort of perfect storm for cultivating unrealities of all sorts.

I can see some paganism as well. I think in many of these pagan spiritual beliefs animals and humans are mixed as spirits and gods. You see the natives wearing the bear or fox skin or wearing the eagles feathers like they are taking on the animals spirit. I wonder if this is related but a different twist where young people are relating to animals better than humans. Some sort of spiritual and emotional connection.

This section of Scripture speaks the message of the gospel of Christ, of our salvation, for it begins with a call to repent of (to die to) our sins and then is followed by a call to leave our old lives behind us and to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, without delay, without hesitation, but immediately when called of God. So this is not about lip service only. The disciples of Jesus didn’t respond to his call with, “I will follow you,” only then to remain where they were, still doing the same things that they had been doing every day. But they immediately left it all behind them to follow Jesus with their lives.

Do you see the parallel here? When our Lord calls us to repent of our sins and to follow him in obedience to his commands, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, we should immediately respond by surrendering our lives to him to do his will. We should, at that moment, choose to now die to sin and to obey God, and to do what pleases the Lord in surrender to his will, and to forfeit our old lives of living in sin and for self, which are controlled by the flesh, and not by God. For this is the divine will and purpose of God for our lives.

Yet we live in a day and age when this is not being taught much at all anymore. The vast majority appear to be teaching, instead, that we can just profess Jesus as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, convinced that all our sins are now forgiven, and that heaven is our eternal destiny, but without us immediately leaving our former lives of sin behind us to now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his will and purpose for our lives. But if we don’t leave our lives of sin behind us to follow Jesus where he leads us, then we are not truly his, by faith in him, because we didn’t follow him with our lives.

So…

By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, repent of your sins, and immediately leave your old lives of sin behind you, and now follow Jesus Christ with your lives in obedience to his will.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Seek the Lord

Based off Isaiah 55
Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”

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Immediately They Followed Him
An Original Work / July 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I will be you, in joy and in pain
Your cry for mercy, echoes my name
Now and forever, I'll be at hand
I will be with you, I will be with
For that's who I am

I will be with you, I'll be on your side
Your prayers for deliverance, will not be denied
I'll fight the battle, that evil might wage
Oh, I will be with you, I will be with you
'Till the end of the age

I will be with you
I will be with you

Now and forever, I'll be at hand
Oh, I will be with you, I will be with you
For that's Who I am

I will be with you, there's no need to fear
How can they harm you, when I hold you near?
Your life is in my life, come peril or sword
I will be with you, I will be with you
For I am the Lord
I will be with you, I will be with you
'Cause I am the Lord

I will be with you
I will be with you
I will be with you
I will be with you
I will be with you
I will be with you
I will be with you
I will be with you

The trouble comes in, I think, when people confuse "moral in this situation" with "most convenient for me," or "will get me out of trouble." That's what parents are doing when they have their children lie on the phone and say they're not home. They're not working for some higher law or greater good. They're trying to weasel out of something.

Also, there is a difference between hiding Jews from Nazis, and helping your cousin who robbed a liquor store hide from the police. But people will rationalize and not make that distinction. Ya gotta protect family!

Brings to mind a news story I heard years ago, where a police officer had a man pulled over, his three-year-old son riding with him. Officer asked if there were any drugs in the car. When the man said no, the little boy thought he was being helpful when he spoke up, "Yes there are, Daddy. In the glove compartment." I felt sorry for that poor child, knowing he was going to be blamed because Daddy is in jail now. "All because you had to open your big mouth!" After all, it's never the fault of the person who commits the crime. It's the fault of the person who told. Right?

Shalom

Praise the Lord because he is good!

I have been suffering from extreme back pain for a week and ask for your prayers in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you very much, and God bless you and your family in Jesus' name, Amen.

We pray that Israel will extend its sovereignty over more land this year

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Isa 54:2-3

For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord. Jer 32:42-44

This will increase the security of the Israelis and bring Israel into harmony with what G-d is doing today with all His heart and soul

Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. Jer 32:41

And that, in turn, will pour out more of His blessings on His people.

Messiah Jesus, lay it on the hearts of believers to pray for Israel that it may take possession of its inheritance

But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Oba 1:17

and show them that this is not political but prophetic and is done for Your glory

And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Ezek 36:34-36

And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. Ezek 37:14

Thank You, G-d, that during their meetings in Washington neither Netanyahu nor Trump reaffirmed the “two-state solution” as the goal for ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. Lev 25:23

Abba G-d, show more Israelis that possessing the land is a biblical commandment that does not depend on what other nations, NGOs, or world leaders say

When the Lord thy G-d shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy G-d shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. Deu 7:1-5

And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. Judg 2:1-4

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our G-d: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: Ps 105:5-11

Lord G-d, we thank You for the growth of the Jewish population throughout Judea and Samaria, and we ask You to do the same in the Negev, Galilee, and the Golan Heights

For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. Isa 49:19-20

For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Isa 51:3

G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, restore to the Jews their biblical land rights

For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. Ps 125:3

Hebron

And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. Gen 23:17-18

Shechem (now Nablus)

And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. Gen 33:19

and the Temple Mount

And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my G-d of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2 Sam 24:24

Lord G-d, strengthen Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" against terrorist enclaves, especially in refugee camps under the Palestinian Authority (PA), so that it may continue to achieve great success in dismantling terrorist cells, uncovering and destroying their weapons caches and production facilities

Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. In G-d we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah. But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. Ps 44:5-9

Almighty G-d, support Israel's efforts to prevent the PA from creating facts on Your land, including by demolishing some of the structures already built by the PA

And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. Num 21:3

But, G-d of Israel, preserve some of the illegal buildings that the EU has erected for the Palestinians in Area C, so that they may serve as homes for Jews when they return and settle in Your land

And it shall be, when the Lord thy G-d shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Deu 6:10-11

And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. Josh 24:13

Almighty G-d, expose and thwart all Israeli-Arab terrorist plans against Israel

The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Ps 34:16

Almighty Savior, reveal the true intentions of the Arab sheikhs in the Hebron region who want to form an emirate under Israeli security control and reject any involvement of the PA

For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. Mk 4:22

Yesterday the Lord led me to write a meme on the subject of “Internet Trolls.” And as I read this passage of Scripture this morning, that is what immediately came to mind. For these internet trolls work like messengers of Satan, working to try to trick us into some kind of response that would not be of God, that would not be God’s will and purpose for our lives. For they instigate (incite, goad, provoke) a particular negative response, hoping to trip us up, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus, which is how Satan works.

But we have to not take the bait. And with internet trolls, the best thing we can do is to ignore them, and to not take the bait, and to not get into useless and meaningless debates with them, which are meant to tear us down, to distract us, to get us upset, and to tempt us to sin against God. So we need to pray for spiritual discernment so that we don’t let Satan get us to the point of frustration or anger or fear. We need to discern if a response is legitimate or if it is intended to stir us up emotionally to commit sin.

So, if a responder comes at me, “all guns blaring,” attacking me personally, when this “person” does not know me, making up stuff about me that is not true, accusing me falsely of what I did not do or say, I need to stop and pray, and seek the counsel of God as to whether or not I should give any response at all, and if so, what that biblical response should be, spoken in love, and never in hate. For when Satan came at Jesus, to tempt him, Jesus always responded with “It is written..” (in the Scriptures).

But if we quote Scripture to some of these internet trolls, they may just attack us, or they may also quote Scriptures, but out of context, and twisted to their advantage, or which have nothing at all to do with the topic of the writing to which they are responding. For their objective is to confuse, to distract, to upset, to attack, to contend with, to disrupt, to anger, and to create chaos and discord, to disrupt meaningful conversations, and to try to incite emotional distress and fear or anger in their intended target.

If an internet site on which we post has moderators, and a way to report a responder who is obviously being vicious, and who is trying to incite fear or a response so that they can continue in their attacks, and/or because what the responder is doing clearly goes against the site’s rules of decency and respect for other humans, then it is good if we can report such individuals to the moderators, and if we have moderators who will take action, and if they will not permit such vicious and personal attacks, one person to another.

And this is not saying that we all have to agree with everyone on everything in order to “make peace.” But if we disagree, we should do so respectfully, calmly, trusting the Lord to give us the right words to say, which will be beneficial to others who are watching, reading, or listening in on the conversations. We, as Christians, should not allow ourselves to get into heated debates or arguments which produce nothing good, and we should not lower ourselves to name calling and to personally attacking others.

Now, Jesus did speak the truth in love, at times, to his opponents, so this is certainly not saying that we cannot speak truth in response to lies, but it should be the truth, and not a heated and emotional response just because someone disagreed with us on any given subject. But we also need to learn when to just walk away from a discussion, because it is going nowhere good. I see so many heated discussions among Christians that can go back and forth indefinitely, but that end up producing nothing of value to anyone.

Satan’s goal is to get us to fail. And he will attack us in our weaknesses, for sure, on days when we are more emotional or tired or already distressed over a particular situation. He will go at us at our weakest points in order to try to bring us down and to get us to fail. So we need the wisdom of God in these situations spoken of here, so that we don’t get caught in the devil’s traps and end up ruining our testimonies for Jesus Christ. And we need the wisdom of God as to when to just walk away and to not get engaged.

So we need to test the spirits: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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The Devil’s Schemes
An Original Work / July 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Dear friends,

Did you know that Malechi 4 is fullfilled? He would send healing under His wings and restore the heart of the children (present day Christians) to the hearts of the fathers (Christians in the Book of Acts). We witnessed millions of healings through the ministry of Oral Roberts and William Branham.

I got healed myself too from psychosises. I read about the healings and prayed to the Lord Jesus and am healed. Even my wife and son who got kidnapped in Peru by the corrupt government and churches will reunite with me soon, by prayer and believing the Word of this hour!

Kind regards.

Dominique

Love365 said:

If someone wins the lottery,
they might be more likely to donate money to the Catholic Church,
if they start making women priests, bishops, and cardinals.

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Only if they already believe that having women in positions of church leadership is right. Also, should any denomination mould its beliefs and practices around what might bring in financial support? That's just wrong. We don't read such a thing in the bible.

Akita Suggagaki said:

The kingdom of God seem to be a nebulous, flexible concept. It can be something that is close to a particular individual as in Mark 12:34 “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” as well as something that is like a new era. It is hard to imagine such a Kingdom in earthly political terms.

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Borg or Whitehead were closer to the truth here, a mystical reality, the quiet operations of love in the world that work in hidden ways yet have pervasive effects. It's akin to the Prophet's idea of "the Torah of the Heart". It just shows how much western people want everything practical, instrumentalized, when it's shot through Jesus' parables he's speaking of a deeper mystery than an earthly kingdom or David Koresh style doomsday cult. Jesus was in the Jewish wisdom tradition, and therefore he speaks in parables and symbols, reflecting a deeper reality.

Judge restricts some immigration raids in California​

The temporary restraining order blocks the Department of Homeland Security from making arrests of people based solely on factors like race, accent, the type of work they do and their presence at a particular location -- such as day laborer pick up sites and agricultural sites.

The order comes after a lawsuit filed by immigrant advocacy groups accused federal agents of targeting Latino communities with unconstitutional tactics — including warrantless arrests, racial profiling and denying access to legal counsel.

"What the federal government would have this Court believe —in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case—is that none of this is actually happening," [judge] Frimpong wrote.

see also

essentialsaltes said:

Federal judge signals a halt to indiscriminate immigration stops​

The ruling was not made public, but a final order is expected Friday on the case that has become a centerpiece in the battle over Trump’s mass deportation plan. The lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups last week seeks to block federal agents from stopping and arresting brown-skinned people without probable cause and then placing them in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers.

[The judge] pressed [gov lawyer] Skedzielewski on how agents were making arrests, after he argued that “these are sophisticated operations” and seemed to say that arrests stemmed from particular people who were being targeted.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything like that here, which makes it difficult for the court to accept your description of what is happening, because there is no proof that that is what is happening as opposed to what the plaintiffs are saying is happening,” Frimpong said.

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Fervent said:

Yes, and perhaps my primary challenge is that if I want to escape a lot of the things central to my own perspective I need to seek out alternatives, so I perceive the hegemony of academic theology more of a threat to my objectivity than someone who is naturally an outsider.

Diversity of approaches are probably a decent way to combat a lot of what I am talking about.

I 've read The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware and Encountering the Mystery by Bartholomew I. Though most of my connection with non-western perspectives is from surveys like Light from the Christian East by James R. Payton Jr. and Scripture in Tradition by John Breck. I tend to prefer reading ancient works rather than modern ones when it comes to theology...one of which got me in trouble with God.

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Rowan Williams is also excellent to read, if you like patristic theology and eastern spirituality, but want somebody more conversant in western critical scholarship and culture. He's a very profound, integrative Christian theologian and scholar, in that way.