ACTS 1

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”


WE HAVE A JOB TO DO


Jesus had gone, the disciples were left alone.


They had been promised the Holy Spirit to empower them, but it had not yet come.


They were sad obviously that Jesus had left them, but the angels asked them and asks us:


Why are you gazing into heaven?


As believers, we have a job to do. Jesus is coming back and our job to share the gospel and to proclaim it to the whole world.


We are to look for his glorious appearing, but also, we are not to waste any time, simply gazing into thin air and wasting our time on trivial things that don't matter.


Jesus will come again, let it be our aim to bring as many with us as we able..


Share the gospel, this should and has to be our main purpose for living.


Let's make sure we don't gaze at worthless things and focus on our main job


SHARING JESUS WITH A NEEDY WORLD.


God bless you


Keith



ACTS 1


12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.


THE SECRET OF SUCCESS


Why was the early church so successful?


Was there some magic formula?


Yes, the Holy spirit was poured out on the early church, but there were three things that the early church had, which we need to have.


Biblical unity


Throughout the gospels, we see the disciples as a competing force, one or the other wants to be at the forefront. They all were seeking the place of honour, but here they were in unity. God blesses unity, he does not and will not bless disunity within his church. Isn't it time to stop all our petty squabbling and arguments? We act like spoiled children sometimes, I once heard about two deacons who fell out about what colour paint they should have in the sanctuary, this is pathetic and is evident in most churches nowadays.


Prayer


This is a powerful weapon; they were praying when the holy spirit fell. We spend too much time talking and not enough time praying. The early church was a praying church, why aren't we?


Study of the word


To preach the word and to share the gospel, you have to know the word, you must spend time digging deep into the word. They were people of the book, not many books, we read so many self-help books, instead of the one book that can truly help.


When we have our focus on these three things, then maybe God will bless us.


God graciously blesses his church, when the church puts its focus on the right things, then it can have success and change the world.


God bless you


Keith


THE BOTTOM LINE


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tonychanyt said:

David lamented for Jonathan in 2S 1:



David was not alone in this expression. There is a Chinese proverb: 兄弟如手足，妻子如衣服. Brothers are like hands and feet; wives are like clothing. The proverb was derived from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 15. Liu Bei compared one of his sworn brothers to his hand and foot, something like this: If I lose my wife, I can replace her with a new one, but I cannot replace my hand or foot.

The Greeks had a similar concept. These were examples of platonic love.

In the NT, Jesus went one step further and commanded us to love one another (Jn 13:34). In several of Paul's letters, he instructed believers to greet one another with a holy or brotherly kiss (1Th 5:26).

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It's seldom found in churches today, rather you have cliques.

David and Johnathan demonstrated their love in their commitment no matter what. They must have had some great prayer walks too. They both thought "out of the box" David with his way of taking the giant Goliath down. and Johnathan with his way of taking the Philistine outpost down, which led to their entire army collapsing.

"They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions" great heroes of the faith, filled with the Holy Spirit and genuine love and dedication.

ref: 1Sa 14:13, 1Sa 17:49, 2Sa 1:23, Heb11, Rom 12:9-10, 1Co 13:13

harris-vs-trump-latest-presidential-poll-7-point-turnaround-gives-surging-candidate-big-national-lead.html

Frankly, Kamala is offering a different approach to politics,
than the Donald Trump insults, threats, and bad information.

Many conservative Republicans have already seen this difference,
and found Kamala to be more attractive as the next president, than
another Trump 4-year term.


A large number of former security consultants, from BOTH political parties,
also have weighed in. They consider Harris to be the serious candidate,
but consider Trump to be impulsive and uninformed.

E.g., I don't understand how any Christians could be pro-abortion.

I believe that aborting a baby is murder. At the same time, my brain is capable of understanding how some Christians are pro-abortion. I listen to their reasoning. I disagree with them but can follow their thinking and be sympathetic sometimes.

If you cannot understand their perspective, perhaps it is due to your narrow-mindedness. Try to put yourself in their shoes and see.

bèlla said:

What are you passionate about or what inspires you? It's a good springboard for greater sharing.

~bella

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Salvation of souls.

My latest article in History Now Magazine briefly examines the Confederate Constitution's divergence from the original U.S. Constitution, which leaned towards more libertarian, decentralized, and conservative principles.

DaisyDay said:

i guess you are unfamiliar with the Velvet Revolution then.

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Peaceful then as well.

BobRyan said:

statistically going into the hospital is more dangerous than sky diving

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You turned my 79-year-old laughter box upside down. With eight years of service, I was with the 11th Air Assault from the beginning. We repelled on 5/16 or 3/8 inch nylon ropes and many thought we were crazy... maybe we were but we set into motion a seriously dangerous attack mode for the enemy to contend with and we had fun.

As a prosecutor turned politician, Harris can communicate effectively. When she doesn't, there are only a couple of possible reasons: She's either deliberately being unclear or lying.
Harris' lies have become more prominent in the past month. During an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Tuesday, Harris said, "Four years ago, when we came in, we came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression." She made a similar statement during her debate with Trump.

This was written by someone who is no fan of Donald Trump. My concern is that most people don't realize how extremely radical Kamala is and that we will lose our freedoms under a Harris regime.

Stephen3141 said:

Decade-Long Study: No Evidence Found for Darwinian Evolution

What is the origin of the “complexity and subtlety” the researchers cite? Do they not suggest a mind in or behind the universe?

mindmatters.ai

Try reading the article.
It has a number of interesting points, to make.

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It is a hard article to disect and understand thoroughly, but the conclusion is not surprising. Darwinian evolution does not happen via mutations and survival of the fittest, and no amount of teaching and propping up the false theory will refute the true laws of science.

There are numerous laws of science that refute commonly accepted evolutionary theory, starting with the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics and the Law of Biogenesis. But in this case, information science and genetics dictate the incompatability between the false theory versus truth and reality.

We know that all biological life on Earth is composed of DNA, and that genetic code of information determines its structure. In order to make any structure, be it a simple cell, complex tissue, or new organ, there must be information already stored within the DNA code. And while DNA mutations can mess up this code to create a defective structure, it cannot create the new information required to produce an entirely new or different structure.

The entire DNA mutation, survival of the fittest theory that serves as the foundation of Darwinian evolution loses information during the process, not increases it. It's a mathematical, physical, genetically impossible theory from the start - to increase complexity of biological structures with a decrease of information in each step.

I don't understand why any rational person would embrace such an absurd theory that counters our strongest laws of science, as well as common sense. What's even more distressing though is the vast majority of professing Christians, Catholics, and even seminary schools that reject the Biblical creation account in order to embrace a scientifically absurd theory - one that should more correctly be labeled as a hypothesis, since we have neither outcome nor evidence of life coming from nonlife or simple organisms evolving into complex organisms.

rambot said:

How can you identify it? What is the magic?

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See what she said in the past and compare it to what she is saying now. This is pretty basic stuff.

joymercy said:

Thank you @Wolseley , this is very well thought out and kind of you to help us understand more of the complete issue at hand

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20+ years in law enforcement before I retired. I have seen it all, believe me.

boughtwithaprice said:

If they rebel against the authority of the Bishop, they are in schism, correct. I would not follown them or care what happens to them other than to pray for their repentence.

They could be doing thing out of sincere ignorance. Only God know how culpable they are for their sin. Satan is a great liar and can make rebellion seem righteous. That is what he did and how he deceived the other angels.

We have to stay in humility to stay in holy obedience. We are in distressing times in the Church, but schism is never the answer no matter how appealing the act may appear

God has given the promise of the Holy Spirit and that the gates of hell would not prevail to one Church. To rebel against her is to rebel against God, else be completely ignorant of everything He has ever taught us

The answer to corrupt leadership is not schism. It is repentance, fasting and prayer. We have the word of God that tells us this

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Amen. Well said. Hopefully they will come to their senses.

Mary Immaculate, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the eternal Wisdom lies hidden to be adored and served by angels and men; Queen of heaven and of earth, beneath whose sway are subject all things that are lower than God; Patroness of the United States of America, sorrowful and mindful of our own sinfulness and the sins of our nation, we come to thee, our refuge and hope.​

Knowing that our country cannot be saved by our own works, and mindful of how much our nation has departed from the ways of thy Son, we humbly ask that thou wouldst turn thine eyes upon our country to bring about its conversion.​

We consecrate to thee the integrity of the upcoming election and its outcome, so that what is spiritually and morally best for the citizens of our country may be accomplished, and that all of those who are elected would govern according to the spiritual and moral principles which will bring our nation into conformity with the teachings of thy Son.​

Give grace to the citizens of this land so that they will choose leaders according to the Sacred Heart of thy Son, that His glory may be made manifest, lest we be given the leaders we deserve.​

Trusting in the providential care of God the Father and thy maternal care, we have perfect confidence that thou wilt take care of us and will not leave us forsaken. O Mary Immaculate, pray for us. ​

​

Amen.​

This consecration prayer has been written by Father Chad Ripperger, for the upcoming American election​

Jacque_Pierre22 said:

If the uncreated light of the transfiguration was uncreated, then how about the words that Jesus spoke? The only difference between sound and light is the speed at which they travel according to physics; How should I understand this from a EO view and how would non-EO explain this such as Roman Catholics. thanks

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Speed is not the only difference between sound and light. They are different things. The works of God are more glorious and multitudinous than we can comprehend.

My latest article corrects fallacies about the workload of the medieval peasant and serf. It demonstrates that despite modern myths, they worked far fewer hours at a more plausible rate than we do!

Work and Leisure in the Middle Ages​

DaisyDay said:

Discord counts. There are several message boards like this one that I like. I do have FB & Instagram accounts but I rarely use them. I only started looking at Twitter/X after all the brouhaha.

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Interesting stuff. Anyways, discussion about mainstream social media is kinda boring, so it was nice discussing here. Have a blessed day.

Pope Francis meets with priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians) on June 27, 2024, at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Seventy-one years ago, on Sept. 21, 1953, a young Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s priestly vocation was born. He would enter the novitiate of the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958, and be ordained a priest on Dec. 13, 1969, just days before his 33rd birthday. On March 13, 2013, he would be elected pope.

In a homily given in May 2013, Pope Francis shared the story of when he felt the stirrings of the call to the priesthood: “I passed by the parish where I was going, found a priest, whom I did not know, and felt the need to go to confession. This was an experience of encounter: I found that someone was waiting for me.”

The pope explained that he didn’t know why he felt so called to go to confession, especially since he didn’t know the priest. After confession, he felt “that something had changed.”

Continued below.

Pope Francis waves from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Angelus address on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. | Credit: Vatican Media.

On Sunday, Pope Francis recalled Jesus’ teaching that true power is found by taking care of others, not by exploiting them or using them.

“With a word as simple as it is decisive, Jesus renews our way of living. He teaches us that true power does not lie in the dominion of the strongest but in care for the weakest,” the pope said in his weekly Angelus address Sept. 22.

“True power,” Francis emphasized, “is taking care of the weakest; that makes you great.”

Continued below.

Dan Perez said:

And is Acts 17:30 speaking to Israel ??

Or is it speaking to us today , since we are in the Dispensation of the Grace of God , in Eph 3:2 ?

dan p

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For everybody. They have to accept Christ. Jew first and also to the Greek. Yes you are correct. For us today in this current dispensation.

Praying for peace at Mass today!

Blessings

Arcangl86 said:

Being related to Jewish people doesn't prevent somebody from being anti-semitic. He's not peddling conspiracy theories against them to the best of my knowledge, that's true. But he is still doing things as treating Jews as a single mass of people with united values instead of individuals and he's equating being Jewish with political support for Israel, regardless of whether an individual has any connection to the state at all. He probably wouldn't look at it that way, but I know some Jews who consider it a rehash of the old anti-semitic trope of Jews being disloyal and having dual loyalties.

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He probably wants attention as usual. You’re completely right though. My mistake and apologies.

May God fill you with his inner peace. Amen.