Before this gets memory-holed, and Democrats start engaging in revisionist history. And this is from CNN

Throughout Church history, Christians have frequently been happy to expel each other from the Church. That is no less true today, but what is the proper attitude of the Christian when it comes to schism?

With the excommunication of Archbishop Viganò, the rumors of further crackdowns against the Traditional Mass, the renewed accusations against Traditionalists of being “schismatically-minded,” and, further afield, the rift between Constantinople and Moscow, the word “schism” seems to be extremely popular today. Folk who have no authority to do so happily excommunicate each other—and some take delight in such treatment, as a sort of badge of honor (depending upon who has supposedly expelled them from the Church). There is—and we shall see, has always been—a certain sick joy on either side of schism.

One of the first grounds for schism can be seen as early as A.D. 200, when the antipope Novatian intruded himself into the Roman See because the immediate successor of Pope Fabian, Cornelius I, allowed the lapsi—those who had succumbed to pagan blandishments—to return to the Communion of the Church with minimal penances. The first antipope, Novatian did raise some really important questions; and, for a time, no less than St. Cyprian of Carthage took a similar view. From that day to this, one cause of schism has been a perception that the Church hierarchy—including the pope—are simply not strict enough with regard to erring Catholics; and history would repeat itself with the Donatists and the Luciferians.

This tendency generally arises after a period of persecution of the Church. When things settle down a bit, some of those who have suffered the most for the Church deeply resent those who did not, or even temporarily left. There is a huge temptation to think about one’s own sacrifices in difficult times and become resentful that some should “skate.” It is, in a sense, a bit like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.

Continued below.

....President Biden made the right decision to exit the presidential race. It's rare for any political decision to rank so high....

"In the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, released on Thursday, 87 percent of registered voters approved of his decision to drop out. Only 9 percent disapproved."


Share of Americans, or U.S. voters, who…

The Hollywood adaptation of Conclave, Robert Harris’s thriller about a conspiracy to rig a papal election, won’t be in cinemas until November. But judging by the trailer released last week, its starry cast, crafty plot and spectacular cinematography – jets of smoke scattering cardinals as an explosion shatters the Sistine Chapel – will instantly erase memories of The Two Popes, Netflix’s risible Oscar-nominated fantasy in which Benedict XVI secretly chooses Cardinal Bergoglio as his successor.

Perhaps only four cardinal-electors are conservative Latin Mass ritualists, and none stands a chance

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Harris’s novel was published in 2016 and diplomatically set some years in the future, since the unnamed Holy Father lying dead of a heart attack in the Casa Santa Marta was clearly meant to be Francis. When he dies, all cardinals under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote are locked in the Casa between the rounds of ballots. Their mobiles are confiscated and wifi turned off. But what happens if, during the election, the Dean of the College of Cardinals – an Italian in the novel, but played by Ralph Fiennes as the English Cardinal Lawrence in the movie – watches one of the frontrunners sabotage a rival between ballots? And what if a cardinal created in secret by the old pope turns out not to be what he seems?

Some of the details in the book haven’t worn well. Harris’s deceased Holy Father, humble and principled, is nothing like the vindictive, scandal-haunted Francis of 2024. One of the four leading candidates, the Italian Cardinal Tedesco, is a raging traditionalist with dozens of allies among the electors. No such creature could exist today. Perhaps four cardinal-electors are conservative Latin Mass ritualists, and none stands a chance – unsurprisingly, given that 92 of the 120 eligible cardinals were created by Pope Francis.

Continued below.

In light of the recent high-profile conversions of Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, Tammy Peterson, Candace Owens, and questionably the enigmatic Russell Brand, many have asked why they chose to enter the Catholic Church. Their answers to this question are public, especially Ms. Owens. She has detailed on several platforms what it is that brought her home to Catholicism. Her reasons, and those of her fellow converts need not be summarized here.

The sad reality is that many, too, leave the Catholic Church. They do so without fanfare but with some good reasons. Many leave the Church looking for succor. They either drift away from religion altogether, find comfort in pantheism, some amorphous “spirituality”, nature, the occult, yoga and meditation, or some protestant denomination. Why are they leaving is being asked too infrequently, and almost never by the correct people. Whether or not the defectors know it, they leave because the Catholic Church today is hiding its depth and its raison d’être to a large degree. Aside from access to the Sacraments, the Church today routinely covers its light with a bushel basket. And regarding the seven Sacraments, access to the pearls was even limited during the Covid response, leaving many to wonder just how important they are to a Catholic Church who left us without them for so long.

At best, the Church does not realize that it is in competition with the secular world for the attention of those in the pews. The Church is not equal to the task of wresting away from people their attention for an hour per week, and if that isn’t bad enough, just as often the Church is distracted itself.

Continued below.

The world yawns. It can’t be blamed on Israel, and it can’t be fit into the media narrative of Christians as white oppressors and Muslims as brown victims. And so it doesn’t exist.

“ICC Releases Report on Concerning Religious Persecution Trends in Nigeria,” International Christian Concern, July 10, 2024:

7/10/2024 United States (International Christian Concern) — International Christian Concern (ICC) released a report on Wednesday outlining the concerning religious freedom conditions for Christians in Nigeria.

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Continued below.

Jesus began his Sermon on the Mount in Mt 5 and ended it in (ESV) 7:

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

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teaching,
διδαχῇ (didachē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Strong's 1322
Strong's Greek: 1322. διδαχή (didaché) — 30 Occurrences

NASB Translation:
instruction (2), teaching (27), teachings (1).

29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

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was teaching
διδάσκων (didaskōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1321

NKJV:

28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

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The same lexeme G1322 appeared in (NKJV) Heb 6:

1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

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On this occasion, NKJV decided to translate G1322 as "doctrine".

BDAG:
① the activity of teaching, teaching, instruction ② the content of teaching

I think NKJV overstated G1322 in Heb 6:2. Berean Literal Bible:

instruction about baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

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Moreover:
about baptisms,
βαπτισμῶν (baptismōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 909: Dipping, washing (of a ceremonial character). From baptizo; ablution.
Strong's Greek: 909. βαπτισμός (baptismos) — 5 Occurrences

G909 appeared only 5 times in the NT.

Mark 7:

4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.

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they wash.
βαπτίσωνται (baptisōntai)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 3rd Person Plural Strong's 907

And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)

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the washing
βαπτισμοὺς (baptismous)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 909

Now back to NKJV, Heb 6:

2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

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English Standard Version:

and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

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What was the doctrine of baptisms in Heb 6:2?

According to ESV, it was the instruction about washings.

A Manhattan federal court sentenced Bevelyn Beatty Williams, a 33-year-old pro-life activist, to three years and five months in prison July 24, 2024, for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by preaching outside an abortion clinic. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Bevelyn Williams

A Manhattan federal court sentenced Bevelyn Beatty Williams, a 33-year-old pro-life activist, to three years and five months in prison July 24 for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Williams was convicted of “interference, including by threats and force, with individuals seeking to obtain and provide” abortions, according to the Department of Justice. The wife and mother was sentenced after preaching the Gospel outside an abortion clinic and allegedly injuring a clinic worker’s hand and blocking the entrance.

“I was persecuted as a Christian standing for my beliefs when it comes to life,” read a statement from Williams on her fundraising page. “This is devastating news. Not only is this bond extensive for the accused crime, but she made it very clear in the courtroom that she was going to make an example out of me.”

Continued below.

On July 25, 1968, St. Paul VI published Humanae Vitae, an encyclical on the regulation of birth and the dangers involved in the use of artificial contraceptive methods and their imposition as state policy. At the time the encyclical was rejected by many even within the Catholic Church.

The document, published at the beginning of the sexual revolution, continues to draw mixed reactions, which is why it's necessary to take a closer look at five key points that allow us to better understand the encyclical, the context in which it was written, its prophetic message, and its validity even today.

1. It is ordinary, definitive, and irreformable magisterial teaching.​

Continued below.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was fooled into boarding a U.S.-bound private plane with Joaquin Guzmán, El Chapo’s son, who was also detained, a DHS official said.

A longtime senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia, or “El Mayo,” and a son of famed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán were taken into custody Thursday by U.S. authorities in Texas, according to senior Mexican and U.S. officials. It was a major blow to the Sinaloa federation, a global drug-trafficking syndicate considered the No. 1 supplier of fentanyl to the United States.

A Department of Homeland Security official with knowledge of the arrest said Zambada was fooled into boarding a private plane bound for the United States with the former drug lord’s son, also named Joaquin Guzmán.

The elder Guzmán was arrested in 2016 and convicted of multiple drug charges in the United States. He is serving a life sentence in a Colorado maximum-security prison. He and Zambada were considered co-founders of the Sinaloa cartel.

U.S. had targeted Sinaloa cartel fentanyl production​

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that U.S. authorities had “taken into custody” both Zambada and the younger Guzmán on Thursday in El Paso. They face multiple U.S. charges, including for involvement in the cartel’s “deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” according to his statement.

The operation appeared to be part of a deal with Guzmán; it was not clear what potential benefits his family might receive. The two men were arrested in El Paso by the FBI, officials familiar with the operation told The Washington Post.

El Chapo’s son Joaquin had been under pressure from his family to turn himself in to U.S. authorities, according to a former U.S. official with knowledge of the joint investigation by the FBI, DEA and Homeland Security Investigations agents.

[Zambada] is also in a position to provide U.S. authorities with information on corrupt Mexican officials, Callery noted. “We’ll see who he is willing to give up,” he said.

At the Christian school I teach at. A good friend and co teacher quit after this last school year. Now she is trying to teach at another Christian school. I have an idea, but I want to see what people think.

First of all, I decided to start filming talks I have with some of my Christian friends, just asking them about their thoughts on certain topics. It’s something I just want to start posting on my YouTube page. So I decided to film my talk I had with her one time regarding the homosexual agenda. I have it on my YouTube. I want to show it here below. I just have the impression she should show this to her future interviewer at the next Christian school she plans to be in. I’m thinking this might show a lot of her Christian character and also her skills. But I want to see what everyone thinks first. Watch our video below and see if it’s a good idea to show any Christian employer. Do you think this reveals any skills or talents?

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It seems a main contention regarding the function of Church today boils down to the relationship between power and love.

We have those who quote 1 Cor 13 as if its message eclipses 1 Cor 12 - yet the great commission and indeed the actions of early believers confirm that unity and community was foundational and the gifts were operating to confirm the Kingdom coming to both Jew and Gentile.

Sadly neither of the two main camps attempting to grab the attention of believers and the unsaved have successfully combined these two foundational elements of faith.

Firstly, those who insist on Love and deny power - reducing the actions of believers to study, personal devotion and gathering, deny the empowering that evidences the Kingdom.
Such gatherings try to touch the world, but are powerless to demonstrate the Kingship of Jesus over evil bondages, sickness and disease.
Such gatherings do well to preserve fundamental truths but sadly have become little more than a museum to a faith that once was.

Secondly those who insist on Power, in the main lack the Love - the ingredient that in combination with genuine divine power, should testify to the new and living Kingdom.
The very essential foundation on which the gifts evidencing the Kingdom need to operate is Love and Unity.
This requires necessary community in which these gifts genuinely develop, the least are heard and His Voice eventually prevails.
Sadly few make this journey because the cost is high in working through inevitable relationship issues - it is much easier to just Lord it over and present a staged version of the kingdom in action.

There is a third group who stand on the liturgical traditions, as if form and control are essential to true fellowship. They maintain an orderly presentation of His Living Kingdom. In this the transition from temple to meeting house is largely lost and healthy community is also very rare.


So this is a call to review what it means to gather in Him - a return to first Love - sharing and equality - Worship and Love never ceasing - leadership that does not 'Lord it Over'
This will be attractive to the World, this is essential to true evangelism (John 17:23 "I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me".)

Community is a natural response to persecution - this is why the Jews are so good at it.

Let's return to First Love before we are forced to - as hatred of the faith increases.

Salt Lake City was awarded the 2034 Winter Olympic Games and an IOC meeting in Paris. From what I understand, many of the venues used in the 2002 Olympics will be reused, after updates, for the 2034 games. The venues are all still in use, with a trust account of money, from the 2002 games, being used to fund operation and upkeep of the facilities. They are largely used for training, particularly for youth to get involved in winter sports. The hope is to do the same, for the 2034 Olympics to leave a further legacy of facilities that are used for youth training.

One other new idea that Salt Lake is planning is to create a "village," somewhat similar to the athletes village, for the families of the athletes. It is something Lindsey Vonn, a former Olympian who is a part of the SLC Organizing Committee, came up with to help improve things for the athletes -- that athletes won't have to worry about their families being able to find housing (particularly affordable housing) or transportation.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham dives into what's happening at the World Economic Forum and what the Great Reset means.

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Trees reveal climate surprise: Microbes living in bark remove methane from the atmosphere

While trees have long been known to benefit the climate by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this new research reveals a surprising additional climate benefit. Microbes hidden within tree bark can absorb methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—from the atmosphere.

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Come on. That's just AWESOME!

Who will help their presidential candidate more? Vance or the Democratic nominee, likely Shapiro or Kelly.

pass the popcorn for the debate.

Maybe Vance can solidify the Republican base in Ohio.

Your desire is my desire.
You have set my heart on fire.
Your love leads me, follow You,
Faithful be, my witness true.

Give all of I have to You,
Loyalty to You is due.
Walk with You throughout the day
As I bow my heart and pray.

Need Your grace to give me power
To walk with You in this hour.
Troubles wait me round the corner
From those who defy Your borders.

Witness truly, truth to tell
To those who head straight to hell.
Teach them to repent, obey,
Follow Jesus every day.

Bless those who will persecute.
Love them truly. Do not shoot!
Pray for them, to them be kind,
So that God’s grace they will find.

Do not shrink back, persevere.
Let the truth of Christ be heard.
Speak the truth, it’s needed much.
Don’t get caught in “such and such”.

Many teaching lies to people
So that they will be their sheeple.
Teaching them to not repent,
From their sins to not relent.

Spiritual warfare now aflame,
People now remaining same,
Need revival, change of hearts,
Who from Jesus not depart.

An Original Work / July 17, 2022

When we are loving others with this love which prefers what God prefers, then we are going to treat others in like manner as God treats us. And he is patient with us, but his patience does not mean tolerance of deliberate and habitual sin. His patience does not mean that he says nothing or that he doesn’t discipline us, or that he doesn’t teach the church to exercise biblical discipline of its members who are refusing to repent of deliberate and habitual sin. Patience just means slow to anger, not quick-tempered. But it also means that we don’t give up on people, and we keep praying for them.

And kindness never involves lying to people, not even telling what some people refer to as “white lies.” But it doesn’t mean that we just blast out everything we think and feel in meanness and thoughtlessness and cruelty towards others. For speaking the truth must also be coupled with love. But sometimes, depending on the circumstances, we may have to use stronger terms, like Jesus did with the Pharisees, because of the stubbornness and rebellion of those who are deliberately and habitually sinning against God and other humans while professing Christ as Savior. And that is kindness.

When we love others with the love of Christ, we are not to be envious of others who have what we do not have. Some people out of jealousy and envy turn to being spiteful, resentful, bitter, unforgiving, and even might murder another person out of jealously, like Cain killed his brother Abel. And we are not to be boastful and prideful, thinking we are better than everyone else. For we all are born into this world with sin natures, in the image of Adam, and it is only to the glory of God that any of us live righteously.

And we are not to insist on our own way, unless it is truly God’s way, and it is the way of truth and righteousness and moral purity and honesty and uprightness, etc. We need to be those who stand on truth and who refute the lies of the enemy, even if we are accused of wanting to have it our way. But we need to be willing to compromise, where necessary, on non-essentials, i.e. on things that don’t really matter for eternity. We should be those who submit to one another in areas that are not against God.

And, although I may have already covered this somewhat in the paragraphs above, we are never to be those who rejoice in wrongdoing. And this includes we should not be those who give our loyalty, devotion, and commitment and support to those who are doing evil to others, either, whether in real life, or in the viewing of movies and videos which glorify doing evil to others and immorality and adultery and lying and stealing, etc. For we are not to rejoice in evil, but in good, as God defines good.

And we are to rejoice in the truth, not shun it, not ignore it because it makes us uncomfortable. The truth shouldn’t be spoken of as evil while evil is being spoken of as good, but that is where things are now in the world and in the worldly church, too. They don’t like the gospel Jesus taught and that the NT apostles taught, and so they alter and dilute it and teach some truth along with lies which are mainly the twisting of truth but with non-truths added into the mix. For they prefer the lies to the truth, because the lies allow them to keep living in deliberate sin and still claim heaven as their home.

Now when this says that love bears all things and believes all things and hopes all things and endures all things, this is not teaching tolerance of sinful practices and believing everything people say to us. For we are not to tolerate sinful practices, but we are to confront them, and call for repentance. And we are to test everything people say to us against the Scriptures to make certain that they are telling the truth. And we need to believe the truth and not the lies. And we are not to put our hope in things or in people not of God, but we are to believe God and put our hope in HIM.

You Loved Me

An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name @ Original Works
Music and lyrics by Sue Love @ Original Works & Tosin Iyawo Ogaga
Vocals by Tosin Iyawo Ogaga & Sue Love

When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.

Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.

When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.

Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.

Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.

And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.

And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!

And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.

Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.

When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,

My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.

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February 19, 2012

We were battling sickness in our house for over a week. It appeared we kept recycling the same germs to one another. And, then I walked into our bedroom one day and turned on a light when my husband was sleeping. I didn’t think about it. The light was like a sharp stab to his eyes, though. And, then I felt really bad about it to the point of tears.

The head cold I had was really getting me down, too. So, all this was going on when I sat down to hear from the Lord, to see if he had words to go with the tune I believe he had given me to write.

So, when he began with the words, “You are loving and forgiving, Jesus, Savior,” I felt such comfort and reassurance from him at that time. Then, he led me to read Psalms 86, and to translate the psalm into New Testament terminology. So, this song is based off that Psalm, with Jesus Christ as the one to whom we are offering our prayer of praise, adoration, thanksgiving and supplication.

You are Loving and Forgiving

An Original Work / February 19, 2012
Based off Psalm 86

You are loving and forgiving,
Jesus, Savior, King of kings.
You provided our redemption.
By Your blood You set us free.
You are gracious; full of mercy.
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Great are You; there is none like You.
Glory be to Your name.

Teach me Your way, and I’ll walk in it.
O Lord, I will walk in Your truth.
May I not have a heart divided,
That Your name I give honor to.
I will praise You, O Lord, my Savior,
For great is Your love toward me.
You have delivered me from my sins.
Your grace has pardoned me.

You, O Lord, are full of compassion,
Slow to anger, bounteous in love;
Faithful to fulfill all You promise;
Glory be to Your name above.
Hear, O Lord, and answer Your servant.
You are my God. I trust in You.
Turn to me and grant Your strength to me.
You are my comforter.

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Now, if we want to understand this passage of Scripture in its correct context, it is very helpful if we can look at the Greek word for love, which is agape, and see what this love is all about. For this is not human love which is based in our emotions or that is based in the one we are loving, but this is love which comes from God and which prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commandments under the New Covenant.

For this love engages doing for others what God prefers that we do whether or not our emotions feel the love. For we can even love those who hate us and who mistreat us and who do evil against us. We can do for them and to them what is loving and kind and godly even if our emotions are hurting from how they treated us. For this love centers in moral preference and it comes from God and so it will love like God loves us. For even when we were the Lord’s enemies, Jesus Christ died for us on that cross.

Now there are people who are misinterpreting this passage of Scripture because they are interpreting “love” with human understanding and not with biblical understanding. So they might end up condemning those who are living righteously and who are loving biblically because they are thinking humanly and not biblically. For they want the kind of love that just makes other people feel good about themselves, even if it requires lying to them and withholding the truth from them in order to make them feel good.

But in reality, a lot of that kind of “love” is selfish, and so it only says to others what makes them feel good because they want others to like them and to not turn against them. So they are not really loving like God loves, thinking about what is truly best for us, for what we need, but it is a very fleshly “love” that is often more about pleasing self than acting in true biblical love towards others. And so some of these people will condemn those who are loving biblically if that requires speaking the truth in love.

So, we need to understand this love from a biblical and godly perspective and realize that this isn’t all just about making other people feel good. Now are we to be encouragers? Absolutely! Are we to be those who make it a point to thank others and to acknowledge them and their accomplishments and who do acts of kindness towards others? Absolutely! But we are not to neglect agape love which considers other people’s true needs and which reaches out to meet those needs, even if it engages confronting sin.

So this agape love is not all about making everyone feel good about themselves all the time. There has to be a balance. For when God loves us, sometimes he encourages us in ways that bring us joy and happiness and that feel good to our emotions. And other times he encourages us more in a way of exhortation or urging where he may even have to correct us and warn us and convict us of wrongdoing in order to get us to turn about, to turn away from what is evil, and to follow the ways of righteousness.

So, my point here is that if someone is truly exercising spiritual gifts of the Spirit of God in biblical ways, then this is going to involve the kind of love which feels good to our emotions but also the kind of love that may not feel good, at the moment, but what is needed, and what is necessary, and what is truly loving and kind. For it is thinking about what the other person truly needs and not just about how it is going to make them feel at the moment. And this involves laying our lives down for others for their ultimate good.

But there is a balance to be required here. We can be overly harsh, and that is not good, and we can be overly soft, and that is not good. Jesus is a wonderful example for us in how he dealt with other people and in the words that he spoke to them and in the things that he did for them. He had the right balance, but then he is God. But he was still man, too, when he walked this earth. So just because someone is called of God to speak the truth of the Scriptures, in love, that is not to be taken as being unloving or unkind.

For, again, agape love prefers what God prefers which is all that is honest, faithful, upright, and morally pure, etc. And so agape love is not going to compromise the truth of the gospel and the teachings of the Scriptures in order to make people feel good. For we can encourage other humans in ways that do not compromise truth and righteousness and godliness and still be loving and kind. Again, balance! But balance is not compromise when it comes to biblical truth and righteousness and obedience to our Lord.

Yet it is true that if we have spiritual gifts, but we do not exercise them in agape love, then we have gained nothing. And this doesn’t require that everyone else see that what we are doing is “love,” but that we are truly doing for others what is in preference to what God prefers, which is all that is righteous, godly, morally pure, and honest, etc. and which does not compromise truth and righteousness just to make people feel good so that they will like us and not think evil of us. Again, Jesus is our example.

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

To Be Like Him

An Original Work / March 16, 2014
Based off Scripture

Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.

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In an effort to deliver the most environmentally friendly and self-sustaining Olympics in modern times, local organizers did not equip the athlete village with air conditioning. Additionally, all furniture is made of pressed cardboard that can be recycled after the Games.

That may be good for sustainability but not so much for athletes in need of recovery and rest.
“I sat on the bed and said, ‘Oh, oh my. Help,’” Landi said. “Additionally temperature wise, it was just a little harsh. We just needed some comfort.”
Many athletes from around the world, including the U.S. gymnasts, brought their own air conditioners to chill the air. The gymnasts, though, are uniquely advantaged by the BedJet topper.

Paris Olympic officials attempted to offer more plant-based foods in an effort to reduce the Games' carbon footprint. While there is a variety of cuisine available to accommodate the tastes of different countries — and an abundance of baguettes in France — vegan meals aren't in line with what the athletes prefer to eat while competing.

One British athlete told the Times that the food situation is chaotic compared to the well organized facilities in Tokyo.

The Village provides approximately 40,000 meals a day with 3,300 seats available in the facility's main restaurant. Some countries can't get meals anywhere else but the Village, while Great Britain's athletes are housed in a part of the village near the River Seine that has a separate restaurant and performance lounge.

I am a new follower in Christ and am trying wrap my mind around one particular concept in the scripture and I could be way off with my interpretation. In the Gospels they speak of the Transfiguration of Christ. I understand what it was and what happened. However, my question is does the Transfiguration count as a sign that Jesus is the Lord and Son of God? There are many instances where He preaches that a sign will not be delivered because of the wickedness and sinful nature of the current generation and they don't deserve a sign. I could be way off in this thought but wanted some opinions. Thank you all.

I’m planning on going to a new hair salon and I was looking at their website. It has the names, pictures, bios etc. of their stylists. I noticed that two or three male stylists had he/him behind their names. At first I thought it seemed odd but it didn’t occur to me what it meant. Then I remembered it means they’re transsexuals, but I Googled it to be sure. These women’s pictures really look like men. They had me fooled. Has anyone here ever had an experience like this?

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Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him (Psalm 9:10)
How I have proven Him over and over (Psalm 18:30)
I will not bow my knee to any other God but You (Exodus 20:3 & 23:24; Daniel 3:17-18)

The One I live and I die for (Romans 14:8)
Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14)
Prince of Peace, Jesus (Isaiah 9:6)

I will not be afraid to speak Your Name (Hebrews 13:6)
I don’t care if they drag me off in chains (2 Timothy 2:9)
No power from Hell can shake my faith (Luke 10:19)
I’m not afraid to speak Your Name (Acts 4:29)
This body will starve these bones will break (2 Corinthians 4:8-18)
But as long as I’ve got the lungs to breathe (Psalm 104:33)
I will not be afraid to speak Your Name

Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Oh for the Grace to trust Him so much more (Colossians 2:6-7)
You gave it all and I will live to give it all back to You (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:17)
The One I live and I die for (Romans 14:8)

Immanuel, God with us
King of kings, Jesus (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16)

I will not be afraid to speak your Name
The Name of Jesus, Jesus

I will never be ashamed (2 Timothy 1:8)
I will be bold for Christ (Ephesians 6:19)
And bring honor to His Name whether I live or die (1 Corinthians 10:31)