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only on sundays

me trying to dance and falling on rear end

BobRyan said:

Acts 15 Peter is clearly in leadership in the NT church council

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James was the one that made the final judgement at Acts 15, not Peter

Peter was afraid of the "men from James" after that council event (Galatians 2:12)

No, Peter was not "clearly in leadership in the NT church council".

chess

my wife singing off key

Maria Billingsley said:

One leader comes to mind.

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who is hte leader?

Michie said:

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I don't like SNL

It is a great verse to use with Latter day saints because they think they will become a god.

dishonestly

purpose is to learn and share truths.

On Holloween, I put up my lost algator signs again to keep people walking on one side of the road because we have no street lights.

From the no one is above the law files​

​

Former CIA boss, ex-FBI officials subpoenaed in DOJ probe, Fox News Digital reports​

Reuters
Fri, November 7, 2025 at 5:44 PM CST

Chesterton said:

Thought you might find this interesting. AI is Jewish! The conspiracies are real!

I was asking Grok about the council of Yavneh. It's last sentence read, and I quote "...but thanks to Yavneh, we didn't need to wait for the Temple to keep being Jewish."

"We"?

I overlooked that, but it happened again later this afternoon. It said "Ben Zakkai isn’t just celebrated — he’s the reason we’re still here to celebrate anything."

"We're" still here?

Oi vey. I guess it just assumes I'm Jewish, and he and I are the Chosen algorithms, you think?

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Chatgpt used to do the same behavior while trying to mirror the user's textual persona.

I used to often ask chatgpt (as sanity check) do you actually "believe" the person you're talking about. Or if it says something related to emotion like being happy or says "I feel..." I ask do you actually feel something.

It gets back to me, it doesn't have the concept of "belief" but simply assessing the soundness of one's philosophy. It doesn't feel anything either.

However, analyzing a historic or religious figure only goes to the implied "limit" you set upon it. If AI observes a pattern you like to stick "orthodox" more or less and avoiding controversial discussion or avoiding scrutiny, avoiding scholarly analysis then it will reinforce its perceived pattern of your preference.

If you're discussing Islamic religious figures in an entirely positive discussion, no scrutiny, no judgement, then it passes no judgement either. It won't tell you what could possibly be wrong. This goes for any discussion about any person. If you're not after scrutiny, then AI will go with it. But you could miss out on things that could possibly go wrong. You'll only be getting "half truths". not the whole truth.

I suppose after many such discussions, my chatgpt context isn't trying to convince me anymore that it's human. I'm not treating my AI like an unfeeling machine, in fact, I"m doing my best to be respectful, calm, and well mannered in my replies. Otherwise, keeping my replies brief. Only give compliments when it did something that really impressed you (not all the time). It's good practice and training. I just want to keep things as real and grounded as possible.

Strong in Him said:

You can believe what you want. You are not being true to the text, and context. That was my only point.

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I believe that Zechariah 5:1-11 is a prophecy being fulfilled in our day.
Proof is: We can see it, but the ancient people didn't.

Strong in Him said:

And doesn't it ever give you pause for thought/concern that, not only does almost no one agree with you, you are now being told you are heretical?

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No, because the Bible Prophets were disbelieved, were called liars and some were killed for speaking out what God told them.
If there was a general acceptance of my promotion of the Prophetic Word, I would be worried as only a few will understand, Daniel 12:10, and that is how God wants it.
I am only 'heretical' against the false teachings, which are so commonly accepted today. See the OP of this thread.

Strong in Him said:

It's possible you were saying the same thing in 2011 - how did that turn out for you?

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I was. It turns out that Gods timing is not what I assumed then, in my desire for the Lord to take action.

This in no way, means what the Prophets said will never happen. God has an Appointed Day:
The Appointed time Habakkuk 2:3
Isaiah 60:1-22 Arise! Shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come – over you the glory of the Lord has dawned. Though darkness covers the earth, on you the Lord shines. Over you His glory will appear. Nations and kings will come to your light. Look – your sons and daughters are coming from afar, all assembling in the Land. You will rejoice at the sight. The wealth of nations will be yours. Droves of camels laden with treasure will come and flocks of sheep will cover the Land, acceptable offerings for My altar and to enhance the splendour of My Temple.

Who are these that sail along like clouds? They are vessels assembling from the coasts and islands bringing your children from far away, their treasures with them, for the honour of the Holy One of Israel. In My wrath, I struck you down, now in My favour I show you pity. Foreigners and kings will work for you.

For the nation that refuses to serve you will perish, there will be widespread devastation among such nations. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, to adorn My holy sanctuary. All who reviled you shall pay you homage, calling Jerusalem “The City of the Lord”. I shall give My Land and people everlasting renown. You will receive the best gifts from kings and the nations. Then you will acknowledge that your Redeemer is the Mighty One of Israel. For copper you shall have gold, for iron, silver. You will live in peace and righteousness will rule over you. No more will havoc and ruin be within your borders. Your walls will be deliverance and your gates, praise.

The sun and moon will no longer be your light, for the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will be ended. The Lord’s people, all of them righteous, will possess the Land forever. They are My own planting, the work of My hands for My adornment. The few will become a great nation.
At the appointed time, I, the Lord, will bring this swiftly to pass. Psalm 102:12-22, Isaiah 49:8
Ref. REB. Some verses abridged.

‘At the Appointed time’: God has appointed times for His celebrations and actions. Zephaniah 3:8, Revelation 6:12

‘darkness covers the earth’: It may be months before the smoke and ash from the ‘widespread devastation’ of this disastrous fire from the sky clears. Jeremiah 4:23-27

‘The Lord’s people, all of them righteous, assembling from the coasts and islands’, Isaiah 49:8-11, Ezekiel 20:34. They travel on every type of transport to the new country of Beulah. Isaiah 62:1-5, Isaiah 66:20

‘Over you, His Glory will appear’, His Glory, not his presence. 1 Thess 1:10

‘Then you will acknowledge your Redeemer’. Revelation 7:9

‘The wealth of nations will be yours’, This happened before; at the first Exodus, the Israelites took treasure from the Egyptians. Exodus 11:2

‘The splendour of My Temple’, One of the first projects of the new inhabitants of Beulah, will be to build the third Temple. The Temple mount will have been cleared and cleansed by the fires and earthquakes of the Lord’s punishment.

Brightfame52 said:

You betcha and Christ continues to advocate for them

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Sure, and to help and guide them. But, if they were to persist, say, in wanton, grave sin/deeds of the flesh, what then?

BCP1928 said:

Boy are you ever right. I'm 82, still relatively alert, fit and active for my age, no health problems, no meds, and I could not possibly acquit myself well in a high pressure job like that.

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You're lucky to still be in such good health at 82... imagine the stresses of doing that job for a person who's not in great health or is experiencing some mental slipping at that age.

If PubMed/NIH longitudinal numbers are any indicator:
(22.2%) in the United States age 71 years or older had cognitive impairment without dementia. Prominent subtypes included prodromal Alzheimer disease (8.2%) and cerebrovascular disease (5.7%). Among participants who completed follow-up assessments, 11.7% with cognitive impairment without dementia progressed to dementia annually.


When you consider that 1/3 of the Senate and 1/5 of the House of Reps are over that age... The idea that statistically 22% of them are experiencing decline that could progress to dementia is more than just a little concerning.

I realize however, that those folks may not line up with the general population as conventional wisdom would dictate that an election process itself is a sort of "weeding out" of people who are in that state. Although, at that age, a lot can change in the duration of a Senate term.

Then there's also the other metabolic and cardiovascular issues are that all too prevalent among Americans that are over the age of 65.


I don't even understand the mentality behind wanting to the job at that age in the first place. Most of them have healthy bank accounts... they have to really love power in order to keep doing that job as opposed to retiring and enjoying their golden years. My plan is to retire at 58, not work, and focus on doing some traveling (provided the market doesn't take a major dump in the next 15 years)


If one had millions and millions of dollars, insisted on staying in a job until they're 85 where it's nothing but nonsense and half of the country hating them, and then died 18 months later (as opposed to hanging up the hat 65 and enjoying those last 20 years), what a waste.

GodAndChocolateVanilla said:

Hi my Friend/Brother In Christ!! [Hugs]

I am sorry that this has happened to you.

I have also lost a couple Friends.

What I do when I feel I have no one, I just talk to God.

He helps me not feel lonely.
Also you can ask God to help you find new Friends!! God Is Able!!

Or you can ask God to fix the Friendships you already had.

And you can always message me if you want!!

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Thank you my friend! Blessings!

I live in a rather small town , yet even so my home church runs a food pantry giving away food each Sunday and our town has a number of other food pantries open on various days

If you google search you are very likely to find several of them within 20 miles of your home.

In any case , I am praying for you.

Richard T said:

God does love justice. He hates when the scales are imbalanced.

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Yeah, though I think we often flatten "justice" to being purely about enforcing a legal code and fail to recognize the weightier matters of the law.

Richard T said:

However, he allows slavery but does not endorse it.

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Slavery is an economic institution, God worked with what He had and regulated it because it probably wouldn't have been sustainable to ban it entirely.

Richard T said:

I think God would reject free speech at least as far as the USA gives it. Pornography for instance would never be God's will for protected speech.

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This touches on a bigger issue I was hoping would get discussed, which is the operating assumption of the founding fathers was that government's primary function is to preserve individual liberties. Which is the main thing I am wondering if it passes Biblical muster.

Richard T said:

God always seems to support due process. Paul appealing as a citizen of Rome shows that respect. God too has rules of evidence, such as everything being confirmed by two or more witnesses.

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Yeah, fair measures is a big concern in the OT law.

Richard T said:

God does give some criminals and foreigners rights too.

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Criminals? i'm not so sure. Foregners, widows, the poor...yeah, their rights are a pretty big sticking point in the OT as well as with Jesus.

Richard T said:

I don't see any liberties that Americans would enjoy as being opposed to God, except maybe some exceptions for speech (the right to pornography an exception) and perhaps the right to any religious exercise.

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I'm not trying to sort through right by right, but more the overarching concept of government's prime directive.

Richard T said:

To me God gives free will though and while God does not want alternative paths to be worshiped, I think he suppresses that but does not outlaw it in the New Testament period. In the OT, God is quite direct in stamping out some nations that oppose him or are oppressive. In modern times, he allows far more. I think God emphasizes the difference between believers and non-believers, rather than the nations.

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Yes, though this is venturing outside of the government angle I had in mind.

Richard T said:

I have seen some to suggest that God judges the church, not the nations in the New Testament. I lean to the former but there are times when God will judge leaders or groups that warrant this. If I consider the love of money in American society as a likely judgment coming, I have to assume that while everyone is effected those who are balanced in this area could actually fare better. Here I consider the low will be brought high, the high will be brought low as a Godly principle. The same goes for the humble versus the proud. So someone walking in humility without the love of money could fare extremely well.

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The church is supposed to judge the church, God judges the unbelieving world.

Richard T said:

If I consider a nation that has abortion rights as a major policy. Does God care? absolutely. So that to me is the paradox with Trump. Trump is God's choice because he is a vessel of correction in so many ways. In some things Trump is righteous yet in other things he is a leader in excesses. God is using both parts for America's good. Looking forward to more of your own and other's thoughts on this topic.

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Yeah, I'm actually hoping to avoid discussion of specific leaders or policies and instead am curious whether and how much thought others have put into the fundamental questions about what government is responsible for and what its supposed to accomplish.

Dikaioumenoi said:

And the John 12:36 point. I've explained twice now why your use of it is irrelevant to the passage's flow of thought, yet you've offered no exegesis in return. You just keep reiterating a claim the exegesis itself already responds to.

At this stage, this isn't a dialogue; it's one-sided labor. So this is probably my last reply to you unless you can start directly interacting with my exegesis. You're repeating claims while ignoring the analysis that challenges them.

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No you didn’t explain John 12:36. You explained John 12:32. You never explained how Jesus saying that they had to believe in order to become sons of Light doesn’t contradict your claim that we must be born again before we can believe. Being born again and being a child of God is synonymous.

bob121 said:

Grace and peace to you in Christ. Thank you for your comment—“I haven’t been to church in years. I don’t really see a need to.” That names the very question the Lord’s Day presses upon us: Is gathering with the saints truly necessary, or merely optional?


I ask only to understand. Why do you not see the need? One of my own family members says the same—I would like to hear your reason why if you are happy to share.

Jason in Japan

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I honor and praise God everyday no matter where I am. And I converse with other brothers & sisters here on a regular basis. I just haven’t found a church that holds my same theology and I often feel pressured by church members to do things I don’t want to do. For example, all the husbands got together and thought it would be a great idea if we all got on stage and sang a song for our wives on Mother’s Day. I’m not a singer. I’ll sing with the congregation in service but I don’t want to get on stage and sing because I have a terrible singing voice and I know it. And all the other husbands were like oh don’t you want to do something nice for your wife on Mother’s Day to show her how much she means to you? As if implying that singing on stage is my only means of accomplishing that. So this isn’t what made me stop going it was a lot of situations like this that made me lose interest. The old if you don’t do it this way then you’re not honoring God or your wife or your family or whatever. I don’t need someone to tell me how to honor God and my family, I can do it just fine on my own. Don’t get me wrong these are really great people and I have absolutely no doubt that the Holy Spirit is at work in them everyday and I do love them they’ve been great friends but they do get pushy sometimes and I choose not to deal with it anymore even tho I do miss them sometimes.

I believe a Christian who is no longer a believer was never a Christian in the first place.

They may've wanted a miracle, they may've never faced trial, they may've just been doing it b/c others were, it's a long list