Why does the Lord let so many people perish from cancer? There is nothing redeeming about it. Yet over the course of humanity all the dictators seem to have ample opportunity to accomplish their task.

NASB 1977, Psalm 69:

21 They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Click to expand...

How did Jesus fulfill the above?

It is a bit puzzling/tricky.

At the beginning of the crucifixion, Mark 15:

23 they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

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Matthew offered a bit more detail, 27:

34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

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It was a mixed or drugged wine to numb the senses. Jesus detected the gall/myrrh and refused it so that he could keep clear-minded on the cross.

Later, NIV, Luke 23:

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar.

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Jesus probably refused to drink this time also.

However, near the end of the crucifixion, Matthew 27:

47 some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

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Mark 15:

36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

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John was more clear, 19:

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Click to expand...

Ellicott:

This vessel of the ordinary sour wine drunk by the Roman soldiers, was placed near in order to be given to those who were crucified. Thirst was always an accompaniment of death by crucifixion.

Click to expand...

From some bystander's offering, Jesus took just enough liquid to water his mouth and throat so that he could utter his final words with a loud cry: "It is finished."

How did Jesus fulfill Psalm 69:21 at the crucifixion?

Initially, he refused the gall-wine. In the end, when he accepted some regular vinegar wine, he died right away. It was fulfilled, done, and finished.

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — As the war in Ukraine enters its 700th day and the U.S. border crisis continues, Senate negotiators continue to labor to win support for a deal on border policy and Ukraine aid. They’ve reported progress, however, a vote on a measure allocating billions of dollars for both issues may still be days away.

Republicans and Democrats remain hopeful a deal can be reached, but some issues remain unresolved.
Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats want to release around $60 billion in aid for troops. However, this week, the Biden administration stated that the U.S. can no longer provide ammunition and some weapons after money dried up in December.

Republicans are seeking significant changes to address the border crisis in exchange for providing aid to Ukraine, including making it harder to claim asylum in the U.S. and reducing the number of migrants allowed to enter for emergency reasons.

This week, both sides stressed the importance of what they want in the final deal.

“Reports suggest that on some days, Ukraine is firing one-quarter to one-half the number of rounds that the Russian military is,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut. “That is a recipe for disaster. That is a recipe for Kyiv to be a Russian city sometime soon

"Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday reiterated the right of the state of Texas to defend itself amid an unprecedented surge in illegal border crossings, insisting that the Biden administration had failed in its duties and forced Austin's hand.
Abbott and the federal government have, for months, quarreled over the state's unilateral effort to secure the border amid perceived federal apathy: Operation Lone Star. The effort has prompted multiple legal battles, including a dispute over the state's deployment of a razor wire fence along the Rio Grande that saw the Supreme Court this week permit federal agents to cut through the fence.
In a statement posted to X on Wednesday, Abbot excoriated the Biden administration, saying that Biden had "violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress."

Matthew 26:

62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”

63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God:

Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man

sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need

do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!

66 What do you think?”

They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”



The Sanhedrin ruled Christ deserving of death for blasphemy.

In the Gospel of John, according to the ruling elders,

the blasphemy was to declare Himself the Son of God.

John 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die,

because he made himself the Son of God.



But what about the claim that they would see the Son of Man seated at the right

hand of power, and coming in clouds of glory?

Would that not have been a provocation to them?
It would seem to be on a par with:

Matthew 22:

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “The Son of David.”

43 He said to them,

“How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?

45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”

46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that

day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Crown him the Lord of love; Behold his hands and side, those wounds yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky can fully bear that sight, but downward bends their burning eye at mysteries so bright.

Okay, so this looks strange:


Basically, customers are using multi-use bags only a few times or even only once,

Looking for advice on healthy boundaries.
1 Cor 13 "...love keeps no record of wrongs". I struggle understanding this verse plus the idea of "forgive & forget."
I need forgiveness and it's better for my own heart to forgive others than to hold a grudge, but the confusion is when someone harms you repeatedly, in purposeful ways. Are we supposed to give that person the same trust and access to our lives as we did before? To hurt us again and again?

The scenarios I'm thinking about are not verbal quarrels with loved ones. But situations where someone steals from you, physically hurts you, encourages you to fornicate and/or abuse substances, generally does not consider your well fare.

Can we act on self-preservation and let some relationships & people go, or keep a distance from them, and leave them in God's hands while also still following 1 Cor 13?

Thank you for your time & thoughts.

For a long time, Christians have held differing views of "a just war". Is what is happening in Gaza nowadays within the ambit of a "Just war"?

IF TRUMP GOES TO PRISON.

Wondering what doctrines curriculum gets used by churches/youth groups? As a church staff memeber and Christian school Bible teacher I've had a hard time finding quality studies that are comprehensive and written for teens. I've written and published my own, but wondering if there's any other published materials you all have used for kids/teens to teach doctrines/theology.

Something I noticed while looking through Revelation, especially near the beginning when Jesus addresses the seven churches. There seemed to be an emphasis upon faults of each church. This seems to run counter to the idea that God sees us as perfect because He sees us in his Son Jesus. However, Jesus being God emphasizes the faults he finds, even to the point of threatening to take away or remove entire churches.

From Chapter 2, the Church of Ephesus:
2I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles. 3Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.

4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.


The church of Pergumum:
14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. 15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.


The church of Thyatira:
20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.

22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds. 23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.


Chapter 3
The church of Sardis:
I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead. 2Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God. 3Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.


The church of Laodicea:
15I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! 16So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!

Even though these are all churches that are comprised of people who have been rescued out of the world through the blood of Christ, it is Christ Himself who is still finding fault with these people. Why doesn't He still see them as being cleansed by his blood?

Thoughts?

Please pray 4 me. A job called back after overlooking me and choosing someone else… it is close & convenient even though it does not pay alot but I can work in positive environment and save up to buy a car. I have a few opportunities today I pray that I stay out of my own way and let God do as he may. In Jesus name. Amen

Hello everyone. So I wanted to get some other perspectives on this situation and thought this would be the best place to do so. My boyfriend recently went to the dentist for a cleaning and when he was finished, he wanted to get my opinion on how the dental hygienist was acting around him, because he suspects it was over-friendly and unprofessional. The woman who cleaned his teeth was asking questions about where he was from, sharing information about her relationship with her fiance to him, gave him compliments, was overly laughy, and kept placing her hand on his shoulder during the whole cleaning. She kept making comments about how tall he is and also mentioned how he has "a strong lip." Later that day, in the online notes, she also wrote how he had "strong lips" and his "tongue is very busy." Neither of us have ever had any comments made about our lips/tongues at a dental place before, but I know we are still young and maybe that is something some of them say? We're not sure, but we find it odd. Also, whenever I've made eye contact with her and even have smiled at her, she didn't back, and I've also noticed that she doesn't seem to talk to other patients like this (We've had to go multiple times since he needed fillings). For reference, this woman is probably 40 and my boyfriend and I are in our early 20s. Are we overreacting, or would you find this odd as well if it happened to your partner?

"Have you no shame?!?"​

Once upon a time, such a question might have been asked of a young man or a young woman if they dared to wear clothing that was judged to be too "revealing" or "sensual."

The question, of course, is loaded with a very significant assumption... that a young person SHOULD have some shame about their bodies... or least as it relates to allowing some parts of their bodies to be seen by others.

It has been asserted by some here at CF that the exposure of our bodies in the wrong context should be considered shameful, and therefore avoided.

For the purpose of this post and the responses that I hope it engenders, let's allow that assertion to be a given.

I want to ask people who believe that to be true to expand on the understanding and provide more tangible details about what that means.

So here are some specific questions that I'd like to ask on the topic:

1. Is the shame attached to specific body parts? If so, which parts? Is it different for men and women?
2. Do you believe that God endorses or is pleased with that shame?
3. Do humans have body parts that are displeasing to God?
4. What does God think about our bodies?
5. What attitude does God want US to have about our bodies?

GROUND RULES FOR THIS TOPIC...

• I do not intend to respond to anyone who answers to rebuff or refute. Your responses will stand on their own.
  • Caveat... I may offer follow-up questions to seek more clarity in stated perspectives.
• Others may respond if they want.
• You don't have to answer all of the questions. Pick and choose any or all, or skip the questions and just articulate your own perspective on the topic of body shame.
• Make only statements that clearly articulate what YOU believe... Do not assert what you think OTHERS believe in order to shoot it down.
• Do not disparage me for raising the topic or asking genuine questions... if anyone does so, it will be assumed that they don't actually have any answers to my questions.
• If you believe the questions to be slanted, misguided, or dishonest, you may explain why you think so and articulate how you believe the questions should be asked and/or ask questions of your own for others to answer instead (I will not be answering them, so don't address them to me)
• Do not demean ANYONE with your comments, questions, or responses.

If you're not agreeable to these "ground rules," please do not post anything.

The purpose of this post is to allow you to articulate your own perspective about the topic. State it as clearly as possible, and defend it as fully as you think it needs.

Go.

Paul wrote this to Christians who were faithful in Christ Jesus, who were in the process of being conformed to the likeness of the character of Jesus Christ. They were those who had been 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 now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And they were those who were bearing much spiritual fruit for the kingdom of God, according the grace of God, and according to his gospel of salvation.

So we who have also died with Christ to sin and who are living to him and to his righteousness, by the grace of God, and in his strength and wisdom, may find encouragement and wisdom in Paul’s words, which are to us also. For we are all a work in progress, and not one of us has reached absolute perfection, and we won’t until Jesus returns to take his faithful bride to be with him for eternity, at which time our salvation will be complete, and not until then, and only provided that we remain faithful to our Lord to the end.

So all of us need to be continually being filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, for not one of us has arrived at a state of perfection to where we no longer need to be taught the wisdom of God and the knowledge of his will. For if we are in Christ, and he is in us, we are going through a daily process of denying self, dying to sin, and following our Lord in obedience. So we need to be instructed every day in the ways of the Lord so that we continue to grow in our walks of faith.

And the reason that we need this daily dose of wisdom and understanding is so that we now walk (in conduct, in purpose, in practice) in a manner worthy (fitting to, suitable, appropriate) of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. And what is that manner of practice that is appropriate and fitting to our Lord? It is that we deny self, die daily to sin, and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), in the power of God. It is that sin is no longer our practice but now righteousness and obedience to our Lord.

And, yes, we are to be the children of God who are living our lives to be pleasing to God in all manner of life and actions and speaking and attitudes. So we make it our goal to please him. And we are to sow to please the Spirit. And we are to find out what pleases the Lord and to do it. For we are to learn how we ought to live in order to please God. And we are to be those who keep, in practice, the commands of God and who do what pleases the Lord in practice, because we love him and we want to do what pleases him.

See: [Romans 8:8; 2 Corinthians 5:9; Galatians 6:8; Ephesians 5:10; Colossians 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 13:6; 1 John 3:22]

But let me insert a quote here from a man named Steve McVey:


Now compare what he said in this quote to the above noted Scriptures where we are instructed that we must live our lives to be pleasing to the Lord. Yet, many have bought into this man’s false (unbiblical) teaching and they are being convinced that nothing is required of them other than a once in their lifetime profession of faith in Jesus Christ which is often not biblical faith at all, but a faith created in the minds of humans, many of whom want to continue living in sin and so they teach we don’t have to obey God.

And then we have many people today who are quoting Ephesians 2:8-9 out of context, and they are teaching that no works are required of us, either. But they ignore verse 10 which says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” And they ignore Titus 2:11-14. And verse 14 says this: “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

See: [Tit 2:11-14; Eph 2:10; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 2:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6,16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim 2:21; Tit 3:8; Jas 2:17; 1 Pet 1:17-21; 1 Peter 2:24; Rev 2:1-29; Rev 3:1-22]


And this is why we must be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, which means we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in context. And this is why we must walk in a manner worthy (appropriate, fitting) of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work (the good works of God which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them). It is because the whole purpose of our salvation from sin is to deliver us from the domain (power) of darkness (sin) so that we can live for Jesus.

For when Jesus Christ shed his blood for us on that cross it was to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now walk in righteousness and holiness free from the control of sin. For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him and no longer for self. And he died to free us from our slavery to sin so that we will now become slaves of his righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant).

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

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Hi everyone, if you wouldn't mind agree with me in prayer for someone that I know. I know a man that was in the Army and was a Green Beret and was also an airborne ranger, he saw action in Desert Storm, the war in Yugoslavia, and was involved in secret black ops all over the world, he was a war hero. Apparently he was highly exceptional even in Special Forces, he was a hero in Special Forces. He was a master of hand-to-hand combat and also a weapons expert and a crack shot. Also after he got out of the service he was involved in DEA special forces and was also a US Marshal. However he has now come down with a severe illness and is now bedfast, he is in a medical facility and is so crippled by it he now cannot get out of bed. His name is Rick Fetterhoff. This is very sad. Please agree with me for his restoration and healing!

Lord God we agree for Rick Fetterhoff right now for Your intervention in his current situation and for the complete restoration of Rick's health! We pray for complete elimination of any sickness in his mind and body and for elimination of all symptoms with no pain or discomfort. We pray that he would not be bedfast any longer and would be able to get out of bed and walk, we also pray for wisdom for the doctors and nurses attending to him that you would show them what to do to treat him. We pray that You would restore everything to Rick that has been taken from him! We also pray for supernatural strength for Rick to endure his current situation and that You would deliver him from his situation! We also pray for salvation for Rick and any of his family and friends that do not know You!

Good day I'm asking for prayer for the salvation of the persons attending Minakshe Marie Amen Devi Temple, Rama Krishna Blenheim Mandir, Riverstown Mandir, Hampton Court Mandir, Affiance Vishnu Mandir, Unity Shiv Mandir, Stewartville Mandir, Meer-Zorg Vishwa Jyoti Mandir, New Forest Hindu Temple, Nigg Kali mandir, Topoo Lakshmi narayan Mandir, Vidya Dhan Mandir, Fyrish Hindu Mandir, Hampshire Sanatan Mandir, Reliance Settlement Sanatan Mandir and Edinburgh Shree Krishna Mandir, Reform Village Hindu Temple, Krishna Mandir, Brothers Road Hindu Mandir, Triveni Mandir, Munroe Road Hindu Temple, Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir Temple in the Sea, Shiv Dvadas Jyortirling Mandir and El Dorado Shiv Mandir. Please pray for them and the salvation of their families. Thank you for all of your prayer.

Of course, we can pray for all of the hostages. And I do so. The conditions that are being reported are horrible. Like near starvation, sexual assaults, on both men and women and mind games where they tell the hostages that they have been forgotten.

But as a speech/language pathologist, I have a particular concern for the little girl, because I know how important it is to have normal life experiences in order to make expected milestones for speech and language. And just to be socialized at an early age in general.

Please pray for her. She’s going to need miracles. But then they all do.

My source is Hamburg Germany based (Statista) Putin is presently polling at 85% approval

The question is, do you really believe the western world MSM propaganda claiming otherwise?

Wikipedia: Statista is a German online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization. In addition to publicly available third-party data, Statista also provides exclusive data via the platform, which is collected through its team's surveys and analysis.

Vladimir Putin's approval rating in Russia monthly 1999-2023​

Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 10, 2024

In December 2023, over eight out of ten percent of Russians approved of the activities of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The popularity level was six percentage points higher than in September 2022, when the figure declined following the announcement of a partial mobilization in the country. After Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February 2022, the approval rating increased. During the COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020, the figure declined.

New Hampshire was viewed as a must-win for the Haley campaign after the former South Carolina governor spent more than $31,000,000 in the Granite State. She also devoted significant time and effort to rallies in the state.
Despite significant effort and help from Democrat voters, the race was called for former President Trump less than a half hour after polls closed.
I think Nikki will stay in through the next primary, her home state of South Carolina.

Perry Stone put out this short video today (17 mins).
Its purpose is to serve as a 'warning' on personal prophetic words.

Perry begins the video by sharing his long-standing belief that the Lord still speaks to persons today by the Holy Spirit.
He proceeds to instruct on what you should do when people give a prophetic word to you ...
and what you should do when you receive a personal prophetic word that you believe is from God.

I'm in agreement with what Perry shares in this video, think the video is really very good, and worth sharing ...

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Some people preach and think that unsaved Israel today has some sort of right from God to commit crimes against God and humanity. My opinion is no they do not. Their having been chosen simply gives them an opportunity to accept Christ so that He can restore them to the promised land. He has set aside seven years in the end to get them to do exactly that. Meanwhile they have no more rights than other nations and peoples.



If anyone would like to debate the issue, let's see what you have to offer

There are a lot of religious people in the world but not all of them Christian. And even among all those who call themselves “Christians,” not all are Christians in the purest biblical sense. Many are Christian in name only but not in biblical practice. Many go through the rituals of religious practice but are not true followers of God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. For they do not obey our Lord’s commandments (New Covenant), not in practice, but sin is their practice, instead.

All of this stems from what is stored up in their hearts, so this all comes down to who is truly their Lord (Owner-Master). If Jesus Christ is their Lord, then their worship of him will be sincere, and it will be according to the Scriptures. But if Jesus is not their Lord, then their religion will be of man and not of God and so their religion will be worthless in the sight of the Lord. So it all really comes down to who is on the throne of their lives – self, sin, and the flesh, or Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now this is not saying that if our religion (faith in Jesus Christ) is pure that we are going to be absolutely perfect in every way and that we will be totally without any error at all. I don’t believe any of us have reached that point, and I don’t believe we will be entirely perfect until Jesus Christ takes us home to be with him for eternity. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for continued and deliberate sin, and true faith delivers us from our slavery to sin so that we will now walk in holiness and in righteousness.

So, it isn’t that all of our words are going to be perfect all of the time and that we will never falter in any way in what we say. But we should be those who have our tongues under Holy Spirit control and who are guarded in what we say and in how we say it. But on the other end of this, our words should not be so guarded that we fail to speak the truth in love to one another out of concern of offending others with the truth. And Jesus set a good example for us in what we should say and what we should not say.

So, we need to think about what we say before we say it, as a matter of practice, to see whether or not what we are about to say will be honoring to the Lord or if it will be dishonoring to the Lord. And it doesn’t even have to be horrible stuff we speak, but it can be what some people might consider normal or humorous. And we should be people who speak the truth, but we should speak the truth in love and not in hate and not in mockery of others nor to bring humor to situations which are to be taken seriously.

And this isn’t just about the words that we speak, or don’t speak, but this has to do with our actions, our behaviors, and how we treat other people, too. For pure religion that is undefiled before God the Father shows itself in how we treat other people. We should be people who care about the needs of others and who are reaching out to others in their needs. But we cannot be all things to all people, so we must just follow the leading of the Spirit as to whom he would have us minister to in their needs, and in what ways.

And for our religion to be pure, in the sight of the Lord, we are to keep ourselves unstained from the world. And this can cover a whole lot of ground (subject matter). For first of all the obvious is that we are not to be those who make sin our practice, but righteousness and obedience to our Lord should be what we practice. But we are also not to take on the character, the attitudes, the values, the thinking, the philosophies, and the behaviors of this sinful world and of the ungodly of the world.

So, we must be those who examine everything that we are doing and thinking and speaking and valuing, through a spiritual lens, which is the word of God, to see whether or not God is being honored by our lives, and to see if we are serving the Lord in the ways he would have us serve him, and to check to see if what we are doing or thinking or believing or viewing or listening to is honoring or dishonoring to our Lord. For many professing Christians are living very worldly lives, at least here in America.

And then we must respond to the conviction and to the leading of the Holy Spirit with regard to what changes need to be made in our lives. And then we must, by the Spirit, begin making those changes, putting off what should not be part of our lives, and putting on love, faithfulness, honesty, integrity, moral purity, kindness, compassion, truth, righteousness and obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. And then we must be following our Lord in surrender to his will day by day until the very end.

For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, the Scriptures teach us that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus Christ we professed with our lips. So we need to take this to heart, for not everyone who says to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” is going to enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. For he also said that to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily, and follow (obey) him.

[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]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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