Expert says the Chinese military could seize Taiwan’s government buildings in under an hour
Images of Chinese warships seen off the coast of Taiwan served as a dire warning of a potential invasion that could disrupt the technology supply chain, plunge the world into an economic catastrophe, and start a hot war between the U.S. and China. NBC News’ Ken Dilanian speaks with a geopolitics expert who believes an actual invasion could be over before the U.S. even has a chance to respond.
Images of Chinese warships seen off the coast of Taiwan served as a dire warning of a potential invasion that could disrupt the technology supply chain, plunge the world into an economic catastrophe, and start a hot war between the U.S. and China. NBC News’ Ken Dilanian speaks with a geopolitics...
Hi, I don't know why this is happening, but I hope it doesn't devolve into another spiritual mess.
Before I came into the church, I had been exploring a different denomination which seemed very close to the full truth at the time. There were things that turned me off by the denomination, so I abandoned the idea, but now I'm feeling tempted again. There must be something that caused this. I'll try to think.
A particular stumbling block occurred yesterday when I was watching a video (came up as a suggested one). It was in regard to Matthew 5:23-24. The narrator of the video (who I have to admit, does have a magnetic quality about the way he preaches) was saying that the altar was something referring to Old Testament Law, and that while Jesus was making that statement, we were still under OT Law and that verse was referring to OT Law. It confused me because there are some Christians who separate some of Jesus' teachings for OT Law and some for NT Law. The preacher was trying to give a quote by Origen, the latter who said that the earliest Christians didn't have altars, and the preacher was trying to say that altars are an invention by the Catholic Church (sigh). I'm like, now what?
It seems there is a faction of people who hold the Founding Fathers up to be almost gods (but certainly some kind of divine representative). So much so that they figure a 240ish yr old legal document is as applicable in today's culture as in one from that long ago.
I'm curious, is there anything you think that Founding Fathers really should have thought a bit harder on. So I'm thinking problems that they REALLY should have been able to foresee and not empowered.
For example (and I am NOT a historian so please feel free to eviscerate and enlighten me)....I don't understand how a judge appointed by a president would be permitted to try that same president in their court room. How is it that this did not have some kind of stop gap measure?
Thoughts? Other examples? Keeping in mind it I'm looking MOSTLY for examples that are not explicitly from our times but are problems that could have arisen back then (ie..nothing about AI...that kinda thing)
The book of Hebrews. Several facts about the book of Hebrews...
1- We don't really know who wrote it, for sure. It reads with the perfect legal flow of the kind of fellow that would have studied under Gamaliel. But... Peter spent a lot of time around Paul and was very specifically commissioned to preach to the Hebrews.
2- It is one of the most complicated books to actually understand because it draws from every complex legal, typification, prophetic and covenant concept found from Genesis to the very book of Hebrews.
3- It is the most authoritative Revelation of our very mechanism of Salvation in Jesus Christ.
4- Authoritative Jews were predecessors of what would be called Attorneys. The Pentateuch is literally a book that defines the just application of Law, through complex historical revelations that contain conflict and resolution imagery. This leads up to literal passages of written Laws. Hebrews cannot be understood without this mindset being brought into it.
Hebrews is broken up into 13 chapters
Chapter 1 tends to be Headed as (God’s Final Word: His Son, The Son Superior to Angels)
Chapter 2 tends to be Headed as (Warning to Pay Attention, Jesus Made Fully Human)
Chapter 3 tends to be Headed as (Jesus Greater Than Moses, Warning Against Unbelief)
Chapter 4 tends to be Headed as (A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God, Jesus the Great High Priest)
Chapter 5 tends to be Headed as (Warning Against Falling Away)
Chapter 6 tends to be Headed as (The Certainty of God’s Promise)
Chapter 7 tends to be Headed as (Melchizedek the Priest, Jesus Like Melchizedek)
Chapter 8 tends to be Headed as (The High Priest of a New Covenant)
Chapter 9 tends to be Headed as (Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle, The Blood of Christ)
Chapter 10 tends to be Headed as (Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All, A Call to Persevere in Faith)
Chapter 11 tends to be Headed as (Faith in Action)
Chapter 12 tends to be Headed as (Warning and Encouragement, The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy)
Chapter 13 tends to be Headed as (Concluding Exhortations, Benediction and Final Greetings)
Things to mentally prepare for while going into a study like Hebrews...
1- Headings are not scripture. They are scholarly ideas of what it is believed that scripture is saying. They tend to be correct. There are some instances where they don't quite line up. However, they do help assist with the flow of passages.
2- Books as complex as Hebrews are best approached by exploiting the combination of a Literal Translation and a Paraphrase.
There are multiple aspects of scripture that have to be considered when translating it from Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew.
1- Idioms, Parables, Poetry, Historical knowledge and Literary flow
Many times, time has washed away the understanding of "phrases wordsmithed" to colloquialisms. Updating these passages to suitably modern equivalents can assist in following literary intent (storyline wise). However, because there are even deeper inferences within singular words, as written in the original language, this paraphrasing can bury deeper intended understanding.
Example: Hebrew word sane: (Saw-nay). It has a pictographic understanding that the ancient Hebrews who employed it in scripture understood.
This word combines the image of a thorn bush with Grab, Reject, Protect. There is no actual Hebrew word for what we understand to be "Hate", per Greco-Roman inference. The word Sane in Hebrew denotes thorn vines and thorn bushes grown around shepherd folds that discouraged the livestock from wandering and predators from getting in. Grabbing or kicking against those thorns was an idiom that related to fighting against an "Authority" so ardently that it causes personal harm to the one fighting. In the Old testament, the phrase "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I "Saned"... which get's lingually translated to "Hate" in English is a very solid example of the importance of deeper study. There are two things going on at once in this tiny passage. Jacob is indicative of ISRAEL, while Esau is indicative of Edom. This passage of old testament scripture can be misinterpreted to believe that God "HATES" His enemies, which presents a very real, New Testament issue. However, by understanding that the passage is about entire nations, versus individual people and that Sane actually implies Love that is so determined to "break through" to a person so stringently that it contends against personal Authority to the point that it recoils (withdraws) in emotional (Grieved) pain as if kicking against a fence of thorns, we can now surmise that the passage is to be understood as; "Israel have I Loved and been embraced by while Edom has Hurt me to the point of My withdraw".
This is one tiny passage, that displays the complexity of idioms and lingual intent. This occurs all throughout scripture! This is exactly how legal evaluation of documentation must occur. Legal specialists will often spend days and complex 200 page generating studies on ONE SINGLE WORD to ensure that the final implied document is correctly written and incapable of being misinterpreted.
2- Prophetic complexities that bind to MANY other full stories within scripture, which are phrased slightly differently, due to differing human authors writing styles. These "Prophetic" complexities can be searched out through obvious similarities that bind to lingual poetic assembly and repeated verbal intention, within a passage. I have two examples of this occurring that I have expounded on in my previous posting.
Example 1: What to look for; Poetic Rhythm that repeats. In the Image, Be fruitful and multiply, Rule and have dominion over created things
Genesis 1:27
27 So God created humankind in his own image;
in the image of God he created him:
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.”
Colossians 1:5-6 This Good News 6 has made its presence felt among you, just as it is also being fruitful and multiplying[a] throughout the world Colossians 1:10 being fruitful in every good work and multiplying in the full knowledge of God. Colossians 1:15He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.[i] 16 For everything was created by Him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Example 2: What to look for. The Old Testament Verse is the exact predecessor of the New Testament Verse and was being reconstructed with New Testament Revelation.
Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
2 Peter 3:9The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
3- Tightly compacted passages that cannot be utilized as stand alone scripture due to their rapid conveyance of MANY passages within scripture to convey an overarching Prophetic point.
So, with these matters of difficulty in mind, how do we make it through Hebrews with clarity, understanding of the full intent of each word, sentence, passage and overarching message?
We will choose one quick and dirty Paraphrased translation to convey overarching literary intent, then deeper dive into the exact same passages read with a literal yet readable translation that conveys prophetic intent and lingual fidelity... and finally a hyper literal reference to verbiage via Greek and Hebrew to English Interlinear, coupled with Strong's Lingual Concordance and Scriptural Cross Referencing if Necessary.
We will also Exegete inferred Passages of Scripture that are sub textually referenced into the literal translation reading of the passages.
Whenever you, the reader, come across human words that are intended to "clarify" a passage or tie it together with it's intended scripture, know that this is called "Commentary" and it is always to be read as OPINION. It is extra scriptural OPINION utilized by a theologian to place their personal thoughts of what they believe the Holy Spirit of Christ within them is revealing a passage to mean. LET NO PERSON TEACH YOU, simply abide in the Holy Spirit and if you find yourself reading human extra biblical commentary... do not accept it as SCRIPTURE! It is opinion meant to say... this is how I see it, maybe this helps you understand the passage better, but please exegete this for yourself, with my thought process cast out of your mind.
How this will look in evaluation of passages utilizing Hebrews 1:1-3
CEV 1 Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. 2 But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. 3 God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.
NLT 1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
CJB 1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets. 2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe. 3 This Son is the radiance of the Sh’khinah, the very expression of God’s essence, upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand ofHaG’dulah BaM’romim.
HCSB 1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Tomorrow, we will start a long textual evaluation of each chapter of Hebrews, starting with portions of Hebrews 1. Each passage will be directly jumped in to, without prologue. Hyperlinking will be added to each daily study and the length of this study will be up to the time it simply takes to accomplish this.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
Hey does the flag of the European Union give you the creeps? I find something about it disturbing. The scripture says that the 1-World government of the antichrist will emerge from a revived roman empire, I think this could be the European Union!
Almost all European nations are post-Christian societies, many of them are athiest states. Sweden is an especially bad one, there is a microchip that may be the mark of the beast and many people in Sweden are taking the chip voluntarily! They are excited about it, they like it! The chip is designed to replace credit cards, the chip would be implanted in your hand and you would just swipe your hand at the check-out at the store rather than a credit card. If this ever became mandatory it would agree with the scripture that you could not buy and sell in the marketplace without the mark (the chip)!
Did anyone see his ridiculous rant? He is the epitome of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The Biden campaign denounced former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy during their first press conference held outside the courthouse where Trump’s hush money trial case is wrapping up.
Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro joined the campaign in Manhattan along with Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, former police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, where he blasted Trump as a “clown” and claimed Trump would be a danger to the nation if he is reelected.
“If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted,” De Niro said as onlookers shouted profanities at him while he spoke. “And elections. Forget about it. That’s over. That’s done. If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave.”
The Republican Party of Texas has voted on a policy proposal that would require any candidate for statewide office to win in a majority of the state's 254 counties to secure election, effectively preventing Democrats from winning statewide positions based on the current distribution of their support.
It says: "The State Legislature shall cause to be enacted a State Constitutional Amendment to add the additional criteria for election to a statewide office to include the majority vote of the counties with each individual county being assigned one vote allocated to the popular majority vote winner of each individual county."
Also:
172. Historical Monuments: We believe that all historical war memorials, including Confederate monuments, in Texas shall be protected from future removal or defacement, and we believe that those monuments that have been removed should be restored to their historical locations.
173. Military Base Names: Publicly honor the southern heroes and rescind all name changes of our military bases.
ETA: 172 is not new; it's retained from their 2022 platform.
When Noah sent the dove out of the ark, how did it find an olive tree that didn't drown in the flood?
The tree was underwater.
Wouldn't all trees have died in the flood?
No, not necessarily. Gen 7:
19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
Some trees came back to life and started growing again.
A few months later:
10b [Noah] sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
How to be saved and go to Heaven: Believe on Jesus Christ(who is God and Lord). Believe(accept it is true) that Jesus Christ alone will save you(save means eternal life in Heaven). Have faith(Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see) and trust(confidently rely on/depend on something being true) in Jesus alone to save you. You can also be saved if you believe and trust that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures for the justification(to make right/forgive) of all your sins.
How would you define trust and faith in terms of how to be saved? Believe, faith and trust are similar terms. Believe means to accept that is true or to be persuaded something is true.
Trust: Confidently(quality of being certain) rely on (Rely: To need someone or something for help. To depend on someone or something)/depend.
Faith: Hebrews 11:1: NIV: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1: KJV: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. My version of the definition of faith is confidence in what we hope for and certainty about what we do not see.
Sourced from the Instagram account of a humanitarian activist in Indonesia.
A Christian family who was singing Christian spiritual songs in their house was approached and shouted at by a pair of Muslim women and men. This incident occurred at PCI Cerme Indah Housing, Gresik Regency, East Java, Indonesia.
In Indonesia, there are many cases of discrimination against minorities, including Christians, Buddhists and Catholics, regarding worship and daily activities which are not always featured in the news. Generally, the news media will only report it if it has gone viral on social media.
“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’” (Revelation 11:1-3 ESV)
The events which were spoken of here occur during the Messianic age, not under the Old Covenant. Thus, the temple being spoken of here is not the physical temple of God of the Old Covenant, but it is us, the people of God today who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. We are that temple. God/Jesus Christ lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. For the temple is no longer a physical building but is a spiritual building with us who believe in Jesus as its living stones, with Christ as the cornerstone.
And so the measurement being spoken of here is not a physical but a spiritual measurement (examination). So, we are to be examined (judged) spiritually by God’s spiritual measurements, which are his Word and his commands. We the church are to come under the examination of God with regard to the spiritual condition of his temple, the church, the body of Christ, in our present day and time. And we have biblical examples of this kind of judgment written down for us in Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22.
And what is the altar of God today? It is also not a physical place but a spiritual place of worship of God where we surrender our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him. It is us spending time with him in his word each day, drinking in its truths, taking them to heart, and then obeying the commands of our Lord under the New Covenant in our daily lives. For this is our walks of faith and obedience and service to our Lord as living sacrifices, pleasing to him.
And worship of God is not just singing a bunch of “praise and worship” songs in a “worship service.” It is giving our lives to the Lord as living sacrifices to be lived for God and according to his word. We who believe in Jesus Christ are to be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Thus sin is no longer to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death.
[1 Peter 2:4-10; Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26]
And the outer court is the world which is comprised of all who deny Jesus Christ as Lord and who refuse to obey his commands. They are the ungodly, and they include both Jew and Gentile by physical birth, and even many of those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but not in truth, and not in righteousness, because sin is still their practice. For their practice is also not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands. These are the “Gentiles,” i.e. the unholy and the ungodly of this world.
And what and where is the “holy city” now? It is not physical Jerusalem, for Paul made it quite clear that physical Jerusalem, representing the Jews who deny Christ as their Messiah, is of Hagar, the slave woman, because she is still in slavery with her children. For the physical nation of Israel, as a unit, has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah (Savior), but they deny Christ as Lord, just as do many Gentiles and many who profess Jesus’ name, too. So they are the same as their Arab neighbors in relationship to salvation.
So the “holy city” today is comprised of all who believe in Jesus Christ in truth and in righteousness, who have died with him to sin, and who are denying self, dying daily to sin, and who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands, in practice. We are his holy nation, his people, set apart from the world and unto God, who are being conformed by God to the likeness of Christ, by the grace of God, in his power and strength, and as we cooperate fully with his work of grace in our lives.
And the nations [all people who do not believe in and who do not worship the one true God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit] will trample on us who are walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living. They will persecute and they are persecuting those of us who deny self, and who daily die to sin, and who walk in obedience to our Lord, and who are his servants and messengers in taking the true message of the gospel to the people on planet earth, and who are refuting the lies of the enemy.
For we are his witnesses in these last days before our Lord’s return, and what we witness is what is taught us both in the Old and in the New Testaments (the two witnesses, possibly). And we are dressed in humility, for it takes humility to be willing to be hated and persecuted in order to stand on the truth of God’s word in a day and age when the truth is largely being cast aside in favor of the popularity of the lies which ease people’s consciences and which do not demand of them obedience to the Lord.
And the Lord is sending us forth in these last days to prepare people’s hearts for a time of judgment to come which is beyond what many of us have known before, not to this degree, although many have suffered much in the past nearly 2,000 years for their walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. But our job is to prepare people’s hearts to surrender their lives to Christ before the day of judgment, and to forsake the lies, and to obey the truth so that they will not hear Jesus say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (see Matthew 7:21-23), because they would not obey God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Full Release
An Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
This is a hypothesis and probably fits more into the ‘Non-Mainstream Science and Controversial Science’ forum but given some of the outrageous threads there this is far more mainstream like by comparison.
First of all some preliminaries, when a seismic event occurs such as an earthquake seismic waves are produced.
Seismic waves which travel through the earth’s interior are called body waves and can either be P- waves (Primary waves) or S-waves (Secondary waves) which travel in different trajectories in the interior.
Seismic events can also be triggered by impact events, the most well known is the Chicxulub crater caused by an asteroid impact which led to the Cretaceous mass extinction 66 million years ago.
The Permian mass extinction which occurred nearly 200 million years earlier was far worse, the scientific consensus is the extinction was caused by extensive volcanism that formed the Siberian Traps which released large volumes of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere resulting in oxygen starvation, elevating global temperatures, and acidification of the oceans.
Volcanism is easily explained when it occurs at tectonic plate boundaries but the Siberian Traps are nowhere near a plate boundary, volcanism must have been triggered by some interior hotspot but what caused this hotspot in the first place?
There is evidence of an enormous impact crater in Wilkes Land Antarctica, direct evidence is difficult to obtain as the crater lies beneath the ice sheet.
If it is a crater the impactor is 4-5 times wider than the asteroid which created the Chicxulub crater.
The location of this suspect crater puts the Siberian Traps antipodal to the crater.
This supports the hypothesis seismic energy from a major meteorite impact would disrupt the surface on the opposite side of the Earth. The different types of wave phases are shown below. In a perfectly spherically symmetrical structure, waves arrive simultaneously from all directions and focus exactly at the antipode.
The disruption would cause the formation of a mantle plume hotspot and resulting volcanism.
A further consequence of the impact event was the separation of Australia from Antarctica.
The paper for antipodal hotspots is found here.
The verse could be read as a comment by saint John reflecting his own interpretation of events or as a comment about how Jesus Jewish enemies interpreted events.
Welcome to Portland, Oregon, the US city that decriminalised drugs and nearly immediately regretted it.
www.abc.net.au
Amsterdam also has an open drug policy (as I understand it). A relative who visited Europe a few years ago described Amsterdam as the "city of low morals".
But they don't seem to have the same visible problem with drug addicts that Portland does.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalms 34:11-18 ESV)
This is Old Testament teaching, but it is New Testament teaching, too. If we want to be in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and to have salvation from sin, and the hope of eternal life with God, we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And now we must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to life eternal (Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14).
So, we need to be people who fear the Lord, who honor, value, respect, revere, and obey him in our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. We must take him and his word seriously and do as he says we ought to do. For if we don’t, and if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of faithful obedience to our Lord, in holy living, then the Scriptures teach that we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with him, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. And if we stand before him claiming otherwise, he will say, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.”
[1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Matthew 7:21-23]
For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins, and not just to give us the hope of heaven when we die, but he died that we might die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness. And he died that we might live for him and no longer for self. And he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we might now honor God with our bodies in walks of obedience to him and to his commands. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for that will lead to death, not life.
So, we can’t just “pray a prayer to receive Christ” and then go on living in sin, doing what we want to do, without regard for the life that our Lord Jesus requires that we live. And sin is disobedience to the Lord. So you can be a moral person, but if your life is all about you and what you want, and not about the Lord and what he wants from you, and so you live your life your way to please yourself, and not God’s way to please him in all that you do, then, according to the Scriptures, you will die in your sins and you will not have eternal life with God, for Jesus never was Lord (Master) of your life.
[Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Titus 2:11-14; John 15:1-11; Acts 26:18]
So, please understand that whether we are reading in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, our Lord’s instructions to us are that we must deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. For the righteous are those are doing the will of the Lord, who are doing what is deemed right in his eyes, who are being led by the Lord in the way that he would have us all to go and who are surrendered to doing his will for our lives. For we are all to give our lives to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him.
[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2]
My Heart’s Desire
An Original Work / June 29, 2013
Based off Romans 10:1-21; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-24
Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire
Is that you might come to Jesus.
Many appear zealous for God,
But they do not trust in Him.
They have not submitted to the One
Who saved them from their sins;
Not forsaken their sins,
Nor have they obeyed their King.
The word of the Lord is near you:
The word of faith we’re proclaiming:
That you must confess your faith
In Jesus as your Lord and King:
Believe in Him as your Lord,
And follow Him where’er He leads.
Share the gospel; be a witness,
And meet others’ needs.
Beautiful are the feet of those
Who bring the good news of Jesus:
Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself today;
Die to sin and self, and
Let the Spirit transform you in heart;
Put on your new self in Jesus,
Yielding to the cross.
Does your two-year-old need a winter coat for a skiing holiday that they will outgrow before the following winter? What if there’s a cosmic phenomenon that’s taking place you want to see but you have no interest in owning a telescope? Have you ever thought about taking up photography but felt a $1,000 camera investment was risky?
A new retail phenomenon is addressing concerned consumers who are looking to escape spending for waste creation by developing a concept called a “library of things” (LoT) where people can come and rent just about anything, from baby clothes to air fryers.
There are over 2,000 LoTs located in the English-speaking world and Central Europe, and some have been in operation since 1976. Half of them though only sprang up in the last five years.
Hello folks. Who is an example of a Christian historical figure who was rejected or blackballed by the world to fulfill God’s mission instead of their own desires? Let this thread be a list of Christians who were rejected by society because of their faith in God. These figures can be Biblical, saints, Christians from the past few centuries or even more modern day Christian figures.
I will start: Martin Luther King Jr. (mid-20th century)
Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader and Baptist minister was a Christian historical figure who experienced rejection and fulfilled God's mission despite facing obstacles. Throughout his career, King advocated for racial equality and social justice through nonviolent means, inspiring millions of people around the world.
However, King also faced fierce opposition from those who opposed his message of unity and equality. He received numerous death threats, was arrested multiple times, and ultimately assassinated at the age of 39. Despite these challenges, King remained committed to his cause and believed that he was carrying out God's will. In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, he declared, "With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."
King's unwavering commitment to justice and equality continues to inspire generations of activists and believers today, demonstrating how one person can make a profound impact on the world when they align themselves with God's purposes and remain steadfast in the face of adversity.
Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for them because they might repent. Satan cannot repent. There is no point in praying for Satan or loving the devil.
Luke 8:
12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Author and comedian Russell Brand quoted from the late theologian and pastor Tim Keller last week when he partook in his first communion. According to Church Leaders, Brand, who was baptized in the River Thames in April, posted a video on May 17 where he talked about rituals in a society based on rationalism.
rationalism.
“I took my first holy communion. That means I drank the blood of Christ and ate the body of Christ,” Brand said at the start of his video, which had almost 100,000 views by midday.
In the caption, he wrote, “(Oh yeah that stuff round my gob ain’t Our Lord’s blood. Just protein shake!!!).”
“How do you make sense of participation in a ritual like that, when you are familiar only with rationalism and materialism and logic?”
Brand asked viewers. “How do you deal with the intersection of the supernatural and the material and the rational? How do you deal with the idea that there is a spiritual dimension that we can interact with and indeed commune with?”
He also said belief in an “ever-present” Christ nowadays seems “almost ludicrous and ridiculous, particularly when there are countermeasures continually in place to tell you that only the rational and material world makes sense.”
A society bedded on rationalism “precludes a belief in the supernatural and [favors] the political over the religious,” Brand said, noting that we end up excluding “so many things that are actually, I believe, impossible to live without.”
The actor and comedian was baptized in April, and recently took his first communion. In a video released May 17, he discussed how our society interacts with spiritual matters.
Biblical & Practical Guidance for Competing Narratives
“Democrats along with other global elites and deep state operatives are running a child sex trafficking, Satan worshipping ring.”
“The 9/11 terrorist attack was an inside job planned by the United States and Israel to justify the invasion of Iraq.”
“COVID vaccinations contain tiny nanochips to track our movements.”
These are all entirely false claims that are believed by tens of millions of Americans including many evangelical Christians. If you are a follower of Jesus and claim to believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, then truth matters to you. Or at least, truth should matter to you! After all, the word for truth is used 224 times in the Bible.
Virtually every book in the New Testament warns followers of Jesus to be on guard against false teaching and lies. This is not a marginal concern to New Testament writers; rather combatting false teaching and holding on to the truth is central to our Christian faith. So why have so many of us been swept away by conspiracies and rumors that are unsupported by an objective assessment of the evidence?
Why Do Christians Believe in Conspiracy Theories?
First, belief in conspiracies tend to spike during times of crisis, such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, times of rapid societal change, or war. Psychologists tell us that conspiracy theories are driven by our desire for understanding. During times of rapid social change, it’s hard to make sense of seemingly random events. A conspiracy helps people “connect the dots.”
Second, conspiracy theories enable people to regain a sense of control. Social scientists tell us that people who feel powerless are more likely to believe in a conspiracy theory than those who feel a part of the power structure.
Third, conspiracy theories appeal to our pride. A believer in a conspiracy is now an “insider” and “a holder of privileged information.”
Fourth, as Michiko Kakutani, a Pulitzer Prize winning literary critic for The New York Times, pointed out: We are living in a period of “truth decay.” She wrote, “The term ‘truth decay’ has joined the post-truth lexicon that includes now familiar phrases such as ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts.’” Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once observed: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” That is not the world that we live in today. Today we not only wrestle over values and moral judgments, but also over “facts.” No matter what you assert, a person can immediately find 10 videos contending the opposite.
Fifth, institutions have suffered a crisis of credibility, and we have lost “gatekeepers of truth.” From the U.S. government to the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical megachurches, almost no institution is trusted by a majority of our
fellow citizens.
Sixth, social media has “democratized” the publication of information. We no longer listen to the news on one of the three major networks. One no longer needs to vet information or get past an editorial board in order to publish information on YouTube or elsewhere.
Seventh, we suffer from the disease of “both side-ism.” We have fallen prey to the idea that to be fair, one has to listen to both sides even if “both sides” do not have equivalent credentials, expertise or access to the facts.
“Democrats along with other global elites and deep state operatives are running a child sex trafficking, Satan worshipping ring.” “The 9/11 terrorist attack was an inside job planned by the United States and Israel to justify the invasion of Iraq.” “COVID vaccinations contain tiny nanochips to...
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