The thread about amethyst crystals got me thinking about healing. New Agers believe crystals and other stones can have health benefits but when I googled it AI Overview said that there’s no evidence that healing stones work.
That made me think about something I posted long ago. Christianity and intercessory prayer studies, and the one considered the gold standard of studies called STEP. i did more googling about whether prayer has a positive impact on health and it doesn’t sound like it does. That goes against what the Church teaches. What are we to make of this?

Let’s compare that with Revelation, chapters 2-3. There the Lord sent letters to the seven churches, which were not just for them, but they are for the church gatherings in today’s world, too. In four out of the seven he had good and bad to say about them. In only one did he have nothing good to say, and that was the Church in Laodicea, which many believe represents the church of the last days. And only in two out of the seven did he have nothing against them. So the majority of the church then, and I believe yet today, needed correction. They needed to repent, or judgment would be coming.

So, what was the wrong that was being done in these churches (gatherings of the body of believers in Jesus Christ)? Some had forsaken the love they had at first for Christ, or they had deserted Christ who was their first love. It appears that they had fallen back into some of their sinful ways and so they were being called upon to repent and to do the deeds they did at first. And some were holding to and were tolerating the teachings of false prophets who were encouraging idolatry and immoral behaviors. And others were spiritually void and asleep. And they needed to repent or face judgment.

And I do believe that the church in the USA (the majority) is under the judgment of God already, for they have partnered with the ungodly, and they have turned their gatherings into places of business to be marketed to the world, and thus they have altered the character of Christ’s church (his body) to attract the world, and they have altered the message of the gospel to make it less offensive and more agreeable to the flesh and to the world. And all of this God forbids. And he teaches us that we are to come out from among such gatherings as these so we don’t share in their punishment.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

So, just know that the church is not a building. It is not a place you go to once or twice a week and then you leave until you go there again. And the building is not the house of God, for God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands. The church is the body of Christ, of all who believe in Jesus with genuine biblical faith. We, the people of God, are the church, and we can gather anywhere on any day of the week at any time of day or night where we can minister God’s love and grace to one another, and where we can help one another to grow in our walks of faith in obedience to God.

And 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).

For 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).

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

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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The Church At Large
An Original Work / November 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

We are reading this book in church right now but, to be honest, I never heard of him before and I have no idea who he is?

From what I understand, he was a prophet who prayed on behalf of Judea and the wrongs inflicted on it via other countries. God used Babylon to defeat these countries but also punished Babylon for being evil.

Does anyone else know anything else about him? Where did he come from? Why was he a prophet? What made him special in the eyes of God?

Thank you!

Attorney General Kris Kobach said Jose Ceballos, 54, is a Mexican citizen with legal permanent residency in the United States but is not a citizen. Ceballos was re-elected as mayor this week by residents of Coldwater, a community of 687 people in southwestern Kansas.

Skip Herd, Coldwater city attorney, told Wichita's KWCH-TV that Ceballos, who he said holds a green card, drew "red flags" by applying for permanent citizenship.

“He’s been a registered voter since 1990," Herd told the news station. "He applied for citizenship in February of this year, and through that, raised the issue of whether he was a legal citizen,” Herd said.

For a big part of my life I have been confident in the young earth creation model but one thing that has sort of been a sticking point for me is the ancient near east (ANE) interpretation of creation. It was first pointed out to me in talking about day 2 of creation, the idea that the writer is making reference to a solid firmament. It is further reasoned that the people in those days only knew of a flat earth cosmology, so they were just speaking in terms that everyone would understand. Just because they got something wrong does not mean God’s word is not true. It’s not a science textbook after all. And I have thought about this and wondered if there is any validity to it. The other thing that has really captured my attention is ideas surrounding behemoth and leviathan found in the book of Job. I have been persuaded that these are references to dinosaurs until I saw this video of Ben Stanhope’s critique of Answers in Genesis. He makes a compelling argument that these are descriptions of a mythological creature that symbolizes a false god, such as the followers of the Canaanite deity Baal. The comparison may have been a way of showing people that the true God is omnipotent and has no fear of them. And while I may want to entertain the idea that humans lived alongside dinosaurs, it is a weak argument to suggest Job makes mention of it.





It leads me to ask, if I am wrong on these things, what else am I wrong about? Most people who espouse this view about creation week, saying that it was a polemic to the pagan nations who say their gods took part in creation, tend to also be theistic evolutionists. In a wikipedia article “Firmament” it reads,

“In ancient Egyptian texts, and from texts across the near east generally, the firmament was described as having special doors or gateways on the eastern and western horizons to allow for the passage of heavenly bodies during their daily journeys.”

Click to expand...

But one thing I found interesting is that John Hancock believes the ancients did believe the earth was round.


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Maybe the way to reconcile this is to say that philosophers in those days were more split on the issue and many thought it was flat before the time of the Middle Ages.





But if I cede the argument and say it had an ANE context, wouldn’t I be inconsistent to still believe in young earth creationism (YEC)? I have argued before that the Bible is inerrant and infallible and that no contradictions exist, only apparent contradictions. And I do feel in some way it would be a compromise to say that the Bible was wrong about the firmament being a solid dome that separated the heavenly waters above. I understand that the Bible is not a science textbook, but I believe that it has to be right whenever it does talk about science.

For the First Time in 35 Years, No Rap Songs Appear in Billboard’s Hot 100 Top 40

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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I would like to ask for prayer regarding my relationship with my father. He has always taken very good care of me — cooking, doing chores, and showing concern for me every day. I truly love and appreciate him.

However, I am troubled by something that has been happening. My father believes in Jesus, but he also spends a lot of time watching secular content. I understand that some secular things can be enjoyable or even uplifting, but I sense that some of what he watches may carry darkness or hateful messages.

When we spend time together, especially on weekends, I sometimes feel that he tries to instill in me thoughts and attitudes that are not in line with love and grace. He often teaches me to speak rudely or sarcastically to others as a way to protect myself. I know he means well, but this goes against what I believe as a follower of Christ.

I’ve already told him gently that I don’t want to learn or use such words because I am a Christian. However, he still continues the next day, trying to teach me the same things again. It’s discouraging and difficult for me.

I try to fill my heart with hymns, sermons, and uplifting messages, but I can still feel some of the anger and bitterness that he’s spoken into me. This troubles my spirit deeply, and I want to be free and remain rooted in love.

Please pray for my father — that God will open his heart, guard his mind, and lead him to focus on what is pure and good. And please pray for me — that I may have wisdom, gentleness, and spiritual strength to stand firm in love without resentment.

Thank you for praying with me. May the Lord bless you all abundantly.

In Christ,
Jane Chai

Fulton Sheen’s Victory over Vice is a joy to read and a nightmare to review. Why? It is so quotable. The matter is made worse by the fact that it is a relatively short book. There is no padding, no excess, just thought provoking prose, judicious observation, and interesting anecdote.

Is there anyone reading this who has not heard of Fulton Sheen? The man was a priest and a bishop, but his legacy remains chiefly around his gift as a communicator. He gave sermons, wrote books, and proclaimed the Gospel in ways one would expect of a man of his calling, but there was something else besides. He was one of the first to see the potential of the media. For many, the chief form of media in the 1930s was radio, so he started the Catholic Radio Hour. It was a great success. By the 1950s, it was television that was in the ascendant, so he started a show there that ended up being broadcast on networks across America. Using both media, he was able to access people’s free time, enter their living rooms, present his ideas at the very center of the family home. One can only imagine how excited and active he would be with the possibilities offered by the Digital Age.

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My son Jakeb isn't feeling well and his tonsils hurt. Please ask God to heal him if it is His will while we wait to get him to the dr. Please pray that he can have a good night where he feels well and happy. He suffers so much. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you. Carmen.

We went to a science place today that had all sorts of neat things to see, do, and learn but when we got to their gift shop they had all kinds of stones including rough amethyst crystal stones that I was drawn to. As you know, many years ago I was dabbling in New Age stuff, especially the use of crystals, which I was interested in for meditation. I meditated with them some but mostly read about the subject. I’m just drawn to their beauty and I guess their mystery. I held a couple of the amethyst ones today but didn’t buy any. Is it against Catholicism to buy these and display them in your house under these circumstances if I don’t use them for meditation purposes?

I came to think of this verse as I was thinking about how inept people are at forming a government, or even, providing for their own security.

Biblically, the idea of forming your own government is actually blasphemous, since Christ already formed one.

Furthermore, Biblically, we are given clues to who Christ actually is and what government he formed - will it be a surprise for Christians to find out, that the house of David will remain forever?

Thus ultimately, I think the 144,000 have successfully identified the house of David, or Mt. Zion.

Of course, if you have further information about the 144,000, you can post it here.

It's good that at least some of these people are being held accountable.

In a sign that things are definitely going well for his second term, Donald Trump is promising to send cash to every American. Tucked away in a series of posts on Truth Social that railed against recent setbacks for his tariff scheme, Trump promised a tariff dividend for every American worth several thousand dollars.

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER. We are taking in Trillions of Dollars

For the first time in over 15 years, the Maronite Church in Syria celebrated a solemn Mass at the ancient shrine of St. Maron in the village of Brad, northwest of Aleppo.

A pilgrimage to the site, organized by the Maronite Scouts, drew more than 80 participants, young and old, reviving one of the most sacred Christian sites in the region known as the “Dead Cities.”

Father Ghandi Mahanna, who led the liturgy, reminded worshippers that “the true presence of God is found in every human heart,” urging them to live faith through love.

The group also visited the nearby ruins of St. Simeon the Stylite’s Church and the cave chapel once home to the hermit Toufic Ajib, which suffered partial damage during the war.

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At the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to build the Church on “solid foundations” rooted in Christ rather than on “worldly criteria” that demand immediate results and overlook the value of patience and humility.

Celebrating Mass for the solemnity of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica — the cathedral of the bishop of Rome and the oldest church in the city — the pope reflected in his homily on the meaning of this feast and on the Church as a living temple built of “living stones.”

“The millennial history of the Church teaches us that with God’s help, a true community of faith can only be built with humility and patience,” he said. “Such a community is capable of spreading charity, promoting mission, proclaiming, celebrating, and serving the apostolic magisterium of which this temple is the first seat.”

The pope drew on the image of the basilica’s physical foundations to speak about the spiritual foundations of the Church. “If the builders had not dug deep enough to find a solid base on which to construct the rest, the entire building would have collapsed long ago,” he said. “As laborers in the living Church, we too must first dig deep within ourselves and around ourselves before we can build impressive structures. We must remove any unstable material that would prevent us from reaching the solid rock of Christ.”


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Noah was a builder of the Ark but

Jesus is the one and only Mediator that saves

Abraham was a friend of God but

Jesus is the Son of God

Moses was an ambassador of the Law but

Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law

Gideon was a valiant warrior but

Jesus is the commander of heavenly hosts

David was a man after God’s own heart but

Jesus is the anointed King of kings

Isaiah was a herald of the coming Messiah but

Jesus is the long awaited Christ

Ezekiel was a man beholding God’s glory but

Jesus is the glory of God

John was an apostle of love but

Jesus is love


Enoch was a man walking with God but

Jesus is the only begotten of the Father

Job was a blessed man but

Jesus is the fullness of all heavenly riches

Joseph was a representative of Pharaoh but

Jesus is the exact imprint of God

Samuel was a judge of Israel but

Jesus is the everlasting Judge of all

Solomon was a man of wisdom but

Jesus is the real wisdom incarnate

Elijah was a powerful prophet but

Jesus is the Prophet promised of old

Jeremiah was an announcer of woes but

Jesus is the suffering servant

John was a man baptising with water but

Jesus is the God-man full of the Holy Spirit


We love God by loving Jesus

We love Jesus by drawing people unto Him


It was rare to behold God directly or to be delegated by God in the past

Now, in Christ Jesus, Christians get to have both in heaven

Eternal Son of God

Alpha and Omega

Who is and who was who is to come

The Almighty

The first and the last

The living One

He was dead

And alive forevermore

He has the keys of death

And of Hades

Jesus, the Christ

The God of the seven stars

And seven golden lampstands

Blessed be the Lord

Blessed be the Lord indeed

John Banuelos, 40, who is from Utah but whose sister lives in the Chicago area, was arrested “near 29th Street and Cicero Avenue in Cicero” on Oct. 17, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. A warrant for his arrest was issued in Salt Lake County on Oct. 1 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said.

Banuelos was previously identified in an NBC News story in February 2022, which revealed him as the man who shot off a weapon at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Online “sedition hunters” correctly identified Banuelos, 40, and gave his name to the FBI in February 2021. Months later, on July 4, 2021, Banuelos stabbed a man — Christopher Thomas Senn — to death in Salt Lake City, but was not charged after claiming self-defense.

Sky News host James Morrow slams former first lady Michelle Obama for the “unbelievable self-pitying interview” she gave recently. “If there was anybody who was given more passes, more grace, more excuses made for absolutely everything, show me who,” Mr Morrow said. “She was given an absolute dream run. “For her to pretend that there was racism or whatever behind how she was treated as the first lady … it’s the same divisive nonsense that they pedaled for all eight years of that horrific presidency.”

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4:37

SEOUL, South Korea — Pastor Rick Warren says believers often miss the connection between partaking of the Lord’s Supper and Christ’s commission.

Closing out what he described as a historic global gathering of Christians on the final evening of the World Evangelical Alliance’s General Assembly at SaRang Church, Warren delved into the scriptures to guide churchgoers and delegates in understanding the significance of communion and how it’s linked to God’s assignment for their lives.

“Our communion feeds and fuels our commission. Our worship feeds and empowers our witness,” Warren said, reflecting on the strength and comfort derived from the gathering of Christians in worship and communion before going out individually to the four corners of the world to share the Good News.

“Communion — also called the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist — is one of the most sacred practices in the Christian faith,” added the world-renowned evangelist and author of The Purpose Driven Life. “It was instituted by Jesus Christ on the night before His crucifixion, when He took bread and wine, gave thanks, and shared them with His disciples, saying, ‘Do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19).

Before listing the seven purposes of communion, Warren homed in on a grave warning about participation found in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, which says:

“So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.”

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LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A 49-year-old blind Christian in Pakistan has been arrested and charged with blasphemy, punishable by death, after a Muslim accused him of insulting Islam’s prophet, his mother said.

Martha Yousaf, the nearly 80-year-old mother of Nadeem Masih, said that Waqas Mazhar and other Muslims often harassed her son, sometimes extorting money from him and other times throwing water on him or calling him names.

Mazhar works in the Model Town Park in Lahore as a parking contractor, where Masih also earned a meager income providing a weighing scale for petty merchants.

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Twelve-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte revealed on Instagram this week that he had gotten baptized and rededicated his life to Jesus. The news comes amid the Olympic swimmer’s divorce and months after he revealed he had gone to rehab and was staying sober.

“I love sharing my life with my fans/followers. In this season of growing, I have learned that the only thing that truly matters is what God thinks of me,” said Lochte in the caption of his Nov. 2 post. “I made the decision to rededicate my life to Jesus and today I was baptized!”

“My heart is full of so much love and happiness and I’m just so thankful for everything God is doing and going to do in my life,” he said. “Thank you for all those who have loved and supported me throughout my life, you mean so much to me!”

In his post, Lochte tagged Canvas Churchin Alachua, Florida.

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Rabbi Jason Sobel is one of the advisors on the acclaimed series “The Chosen” and, as such, gives input regarding the Jewish context of the show. In a recent interview with ChurchLeaders, Sobel shared that he led a Passover Seder meal for the cast prior to them filming the Last Supper scene for Season 5.

“I got to do a Last Supper for all of the cast of ‘The Chosen’ before they filmed it,” said Sobel. “Jonathan [Roumie], who plays Jesus, a friend of mine, he would come to my house to learn about the Jewish holidays. He was at my house for Passover—the Last Supper was a Passover Seder.”

Sobel mentioned, laughing, “And my son turns to me and says, ‘Dad, it’s really weird that Jesus is at the table and you’re leading the Passover.’”

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On Sunday (Nov. 2), Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch shared a two-minute video to over a million of his social media followers explaining the difference between religion and a relationship with Jesus.

Formed in 1993, Korn is one of the world’s best-known nu metal bands and has received multiple awards, including two Grammys.

“Religion and religious people will pile on you loads and loads of guilt,” said Welch. “They tower over you with their self righteousness to make you feel that you are way beneath them, in order to keep you in that spirit of control over your life.”

Welch shared that he has seen it “countless times” and described religion as a “cancer to spirituality,” saying that it “chases so many people away from even the thought of relationship with Christ.”

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English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield​

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