I can't listen to Christian music artists. Their wealth is a stumbling block. Getting rich from the gospel is wrong.

I NEED to get this off my chest.

I have this online friend who was one of the people that helped bring me to Christianity but over the years our friendship has taken a turn for the worst, I'll be honest I'm pretty pathetic, self-conscious, and insecure which often leads to self-obsession but there's just so many things he's said and done that have been red flags for me ending the friendship but i just can't help wonder if I'm in the wrong and that he's the one that's in the right. To a list few things:

-He is very racist towards me and treats me inferior and belittles me. He calls me the N-word very frequently. I guess this is the main issue. At first he didn't, Until I told him that I don't care that he did and that was okay if he said it. Says I talk and ramble too much and should speak less and read proverbs. Says i should be lucky i have a friend like him that cares about my soul. Now he says the N-word in my presence very often especially when we are watching the new and world events. One time he while we were discussing something, He told me that I was just a dumb animal and that he doesn't care what some n-word thinks. He's constantly calling my race pitiful and pathetic. He has insulted everything about me, My intelligence, My heritage (he says descend and have no warrior blood inside me), My attractiveness (Calls me ugly), My height (Let's says im in the 5"10 - 6"1 range, My athleticism (I'm strong and am lean well-built and train martial arts), My friends, My appetite, My dignity, and even the size of my genitalia. Whenever i go on a date with woman, He says there must be something twisted about them to want to date me. He also gets FURIOUS if i date a woman that isn't the same race as me, and says i practice abomination, even though he is mixed race himself. He also often jokes about me being a scrub and getting prison raped, and has even joked about overpowering and raping me a few times.

-His best friend is a young adult woman that he met online when she was around 13-14 (He was in his late 20's and in fact most his friends he met when they were teenagers), and from my perspective it seems like genuinely loves her because he gives her good advice and has helped led her to christ, and he's always been listening to her and helping her with her problems, and occasionally gets her gifts. But there were some things that he's said that were sketchy like one time we were playing and game and he got very angry and started calling her a B-word and beating her up in the game to express his fury, Shouting at her until she cried then there was this one time that someone online started mocking and trolling him in a game, she started laughing, and he later told me that he wanted to strangle her. He' used to call her a demon all the time, but now that she acts more Christian he doesnt really berate or chastise her anymore. If their relationship is romantic, It's one sided because she dates other men but I dont wonder if there's a jealousy on his part and if she reciprocated his emotions, Would he date her? One time he said that the boys she dates should be thanking him because he helped make her so decent and Christian. A couple of months ago he said that she'd probably to be beheaded during the tribulation because shes too imperfect to be raptured (although he considers himself sinful too tbh)

-He's very prideful and tends to view himself as superior to other. He says he has a higher understanding of the bible than most people and believes that he was of the few Christians that fully achieved god's will, Achieved perfection, and entered the kingdom within while on earth but fell from grace. He says that he understands what love and selflessness because of the bible and that he is one of the few people that have loved and self-sacrificed to the peak and that everyone else is selfish. Every so often he'll start talking about his past, About how cool he was, How strong, brave and fearless he was, and how him and his buds were popular and got all the girls. Hes hypercompetitive, We've been playing this game recently with this other friend who's really good, Personally I dont care if im constantly losing to our skilled friend. But my friend has turned this fun game time into this dark vulgar competition like if he starts losing he gets anger and starts cursing, and his main motivation is to be better than our skilled friend or at least at his level and laughs at me for just settling for mediocrity and just wanting to have fun. He's very well-versed in alot of subjects, and likes to act like he knows a little about everything, and has perfected all the crafts he's done. He says he was always the best guy at any job he worked before he became unemployed and lived with his relative. He believes he's always right about everything because his truths are fixed on the bible, even though hes changed his opinions before. Like I remember i was talking about a job i had in security and military, and he responds with things like "yeah i worked at the gas station and i had to do a bit of security" or "yeah dude, i spent my childhood and teens training to be a cia agent but god told me killing was bad so i didn't join". He says hes not domineering because he always does what other people want to do, but he still always has to talk himself up like he's toughest, most fearless warrior on the block and despite me being military, security background, and martial artist that works out near daily, He insist im a coward because i don't act macho or confident. Despite all this, Every once in a while he downplays himself and talks about how he fails god and insist that he is humble and narcisstic, and that im the narcissist because i talk too much and start defending myself if i criticized. He's always talking about how he's so done with this world and all our problems, tired of us, and just wants to be with god. He's often brings up things like i should submit to him and he's talking always talking about being a leader.

-He can be very resistant to confrontation and is very difficult to debate with. Not sure were to begin with this.....Arguing with him is like trying to siege a fortress, His voice is often so gruff and belligerent. He'll start speaking over you so you cant get a word in. He's very good at debating and analyzing things and he's constant tripping me up. He's so aggressive in his arguing, I can just never really find footing and knock him down. He's had so much practice arguing with teenagers on multiplayer games for nearly 2 decades. I'm usually a nice guy and it takes alot to genuinely anger me but I've snapped at him so many times for insulting me and whenever I try to defend myself from his attacks or explain myself to protect my ego, He starts calling me selfish and narcissistic, and in a way he's right because i should just be able to let things go. At first I just kind of took it in stride but after a while, it just became too much and I started snapping. One time he made me so angry because he was really trying to punk me off, I exploded and told him I was going to break him and started cursing at him and I was yelling so loud i woke up the neighbors. He blocked me then he started messaging me and begging and pleading me not do anything to him and said that I was more dangerous than he was, and that was sorry, it was pretty cowardly but i also wonder if he was just nobly following jesus instructions to make peace. I've been through alot but I've never wanted to physically harm someone more than this man. He says that if he stops talking to someone its probably because theyre damned and going to hell, which has seeded the idea in my mind that if we stop being friends then i might be an antichrist. He gets very irritated if you try to pick apart or continuously disagree with what he says. He always talks about love and how great his understanding of it, but he's so HATEFUL. I dont understand! He doesn't make peace. I also wonder if this is why he doesn't really hang around other christians probably because he doesnt want to get rebuked, Most of the people he seems to hangout with online are alot younger than him and he talks to them about christianity, and they have christian tendencies but he's always in a teaching position. Definitely not enough to rebuke him. He often says "Why is it always on me to change?" when confronted about changes he should make or when he offends people. One time he cried when I got angry at him and said that all he ever wants to do is hug me when he sees me but every time i try and talk to him he treats me like im some annoyance or burden. I don't get it. Another time, He tried to insult me while we were playing with our friend then I just started ignoring him and giving him no emotional response then he just immediately laughed then left and started ignoring my messages for days.

He makes me so inconceivably furious, All the things he's said to me have just built up over the years, I know I could definitely hurt him BAD given the right amount of time but i doubt he'd ever be able to face me, I truly think god protects him from me now so i'm supposed to submit to him in some way and endure his abuse because of something i must've done in the past and perhaps i myself need more humbling or perhaps i'm being mocked. Something hectic happened a few months ago, I had invited a christian friend of mine to the group who always very peaceful, warm, positive, and loving and even tried to befriend him but he just kept pushing him away because he was a "shallow" christian with little understanding. Well, One time while I wasn't around my peaceful friend came into the group to hangout and my racist friend started shouting the nword and was being aggressive to other players while he was gaming, and my peaceful friend started rebuking him and then my angry friend got angry and hostile and told him to go away, and that he'll say the n word as many times as he wants and that he calls me the n-word, and that he shouldn't be getting rebuked by him because theyre not even friends that my peaceful friend is a hypocrite because a bit of a troll himself. My peaceful friend came back in a few days later and then he tried to rebuke him again but my angry friend muted him, then unmuted him and listened to his rebuke then he just said screw it then left and my peaceful friend said that he could hear my angry friend sounding like he was about to cry right before he left. Now my angry friend has blocked my peaceful friend, and i asked him why he hasnt forgiven my peaceful friend but he says has, but just wont talk to him ever again.



Of course, You're probably still wondering why I'm still friends with this guy, Well part of it is pride and wrath, I keep feeling if I just back down and cut him out of my life then he wins because he seems to want that any way. I feel like i'm running away from him when i try to block him out of my life. My anger and rage towards him has become obsessive, no one in my life has every brought me to this point before. No one has. I'm constantly thinking about the arguments we've had and the things he's said to me. I don't hate him at all but I truly and deeply wish to hurt him. I train martial arts, I would train a year more to ensure utter complete dominance over him. He has tried so hard to break me and undermine my confidence and self esteem, in such insidious ways with his vulgar scornful tongue.
I barely ever insulted him, and if i do it's because he's thrown shade first. I've never been this furious with someone. I strongly believe god might have also put me in his path specifically so that I might beat him into submission and violently destroy his ego with my fist. Just the sheer audacity he has infuriates me and drives me wild. I've threatened him many times with visits. I'm not a violent person and am generally peaceful, docile, and timid but he considers that weakness and steps all over me until i snap at him then im suddenly considered a selfish demon. I want so bad to just see him break either physically or mentally, i cant just walk away.

Another reason, I'm friends is because I sincerely want peace between us. I want it to be like how when we first became friends he was so friendly, gentle, and such a good listener and kinda interesting to listen to. I thought I could finally open my heart to him. I finally felt like i had found my best friend. And i think maybe im the bad guy here and maybe I am. I talk alot. Im always anxious. Flighty ungrounded. Emotional. Take things too seriously. Too sensitive. Maybe its my fault and I'm the one that just needs to change? But again, The guy is like a fortress, I try to peel his layers but its like I can't get anywhere. Maybe he is the peaceful and he's doing it the biblical way and maybe I just dont understand. And some of things he does, Just doesn't make sense for a narcissist to do like He'll cry about trafficked children, people he loves, and things related to god, and a pure narcissist would never be Christian or acknowledge god's sovereignty. I just can't leave him. I can't. I feel like there's more to him than this and I just have to crack it like its a code.

Please patient with me I know this reads like a joke but im 100% serious, This is my life now.

New Apple ad shows various creative tools, and prominently, musical instruments, getting smooshed in a hydraulic press..... into an iPad. Apparently, people are a bit revolted. It echoes the current concern of AI replacing human creativity in many domains.... and more generally, the replacement of the visceral by the digital.

Drums dont get crushed tho. So I'm ok. For now.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/tech/apple-ipad-pro-ad-backlash-cec/index.html

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King James Bible
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.



So you must be Jewish & a virgin.

Could it be that these 144,000 are the babies that were killed by King Herod when Jesus was born ? As it also says in scripture that they must be virgins.

Herod, the king of Judaea, watches as his soldiers slaughter the innocent children of Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus, whom Herod feared would eventually seize his kingdom. According to Boccaccio, 144,000 children were murdered.

I see simplicity in Christ and I find peace in it. I don't understand people's obsession with politics and denominations however. People think that they're doing God's will in these things but I don't agree. These are the things that divide us.

Hi

For years, I've been questioning my faith as a Muslim. After leaving Islam and drifting into agnosticism, I felt profoundly lost. However, during Ramadan last year, I rediscovered God and returned to Islam. Yet, despite feeling a connection with God in my heart, I find myself struggling to maintain consistent religious practice and connection with Islam as a religion. Recently, I've found myself drawn to Christianity, intrigued by its teachings. While watching a video that concluded with a call to salvation, I experienced a stirring in my heart, prompting me to explore this newfound interest further.

But I have so many questions and I can’t find an answer that satisfies me so I thought I would email as many churches and religious figures and access as many religious platforms as possible to seek an array of answers and perhaps gain some closure.

1. Regarding the difference between Jesus in Islam and Christianity, how do Christians reconcile the concept of Jesus being the Son of God with the belief in monotheism?

2. I watched a video by Bishop Mari Mari where he mentioned that Mohammed couldn't speak about Jesus like John did because he didn't witness him firsthand. How does this rationale apply to other authors in the Bible who also didn't directly witness Jesus?

3. If prophets like Abraham and Moses were sent by God, what was their purpose if not to bring the message of God, if God had previously only ever sent messengers why can’t Jesus be a messenger too?

4. How does hellfire and heaven work in Christianity?

5. Can you elaborate on the differences between Christian denominations and how they interpret various aspects of the faith?

6. How does Christianity address the existence of evil and suffering in the world, especially in the context of a loving and all-powerful God?

7. How does prayer work in Christianity, and what is its significance in the life of a believer? Do Christians have the same concept as the 5 daily prayers?

8. How do Christians explain the theological significance of Jesus being referred to as the Son of God and its implications for their faith?

9. Why should I choose Christianity and not Islam? What makes Christianity true and completely debunks Islam?


I have had a sudden pull to Jesus and christ these last couple days, I am not sure if it is a sense of belonging or the holy spirit coming to me but I would really appreciate my questions being answered. Thank you for your time.

article said:

Idaho's population is growing, thanks to a surge of California, Washington and Oregon residents moving in.

Ashley Manning, her husband Nick Kostenborder and a then-9-month-old Taylor packed up and moved east in 2021. That same year, families from Seattle and San Diego also arrived on their road near Sandpoint.

"It’s this kind of weird little expat group that we all found ourselves here," Kostenborder said.

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond told Fox News Digital, "California, Washington and Oregon — those are the three primary states from which people come."

In Sandpoint, a small city that saw its population grow nearly 13% from 2020 to 2022, Mayor Jeremy Grimm said many new residents he speaks to are looking for a community and government that’s more "aligned with their political philosophies."

Local real estate agent Trent Grandstaff agrees, estimating that 98% of his clients are from outside of Idaho. "It's mostly major cities ... or just outside of major cities where they're going, 'I'm not OK with what's going on. I don't want my guns taken away. Get me to Idaho.'"

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Imagine what He is going to create in the coming new heaven and earth...

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“Get Back Up And Go”
James 1:2-3 NIV
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Last week, I shared how I was moved by the numbers on the scale and I decided to get it in gear and start walking and jogging regularly again. Well, one of the days I got home from work and went for a jog, I must have stepped into a groove on the sidewalk at just the wrong time. Next thing I know, my body shot forward and I hit the ground. I ended up dropping my phone and breaking part of it (I don’t know why I didn’t just have it in my pocket!), skinning my left knee, left thigh, left elbow and right palm. It hurt bad, but I got up, took a little bit to regain my composure while limping. After a bit, I thought, “I think I can still do this”, and I started jogging again.

I was actually questioning myself in my head why I chose to continue to jog after I just got injured. I have motivation to keep jogging and getting exercise and I didn’t want the injury to stop me. I mean, if I had broken something, I probably would have stopped and limped my way home. But, I was determined to see how it felt to keep going. I got home, wiped my cuts off and went on with life. The next day, I was very sore and it hurt a lot to move my left leg. I was limping a bit for the next day or so, but got better soon. I’m still sore and healing from the wounds, but I’ve been out almost every day still jogging and walking. When I come to that place I fell, I go a bit slower and try to be more aware of the sidewalk so I don’t do it again!

Friends, we all have had numerous experiences where we fall in life. Sometimes, it’s just figuratively speaking with a bad decision we’ve made, or it could literally be physical where we experience an injury to our body. Either way, when we fall, it’s often scary and difficult in some ways to get back up and go again. We might think, “What if it happens again?” Well, the only way to know is try again. We can either be filled with the fear of it happening again or be confident that we’ll do our best to not let it happen again.

We all experience trials and hard times. God uses these times to strengthen us and help us to continue to live life. We gotta pick ourselves back up and keep going. Maybe not the same way we chose before, but we keep going again. I used to tell my girls years ago about how the gymnasts experience setback after setback and mistake after mistake for many years and you never see that. And, even though they become professionals in many ways, they STILL mess up! And, so will we!

We will continue to fall down, but how we handle that means everything! We gotta make the decision to get back up and keep going and let God guide us. I hope that we can all strive to move forward, regardless of the falls we experience in life. We will have them, but it’s our choice how we deal with them. Let our motivation for life keep us going!

My sister as some of you know almost succeeded in killing herself last December. She was diagnosed as schizophrenic and bi-polar with some shrinkage of the brain due to that. Anyway, mom got a message from her today and for some reason St. Faustina came to mind immediately as I read her diary when I was in the process of converting. I know St. Faustina is considered a mystic and saint by the Church today and I know her fellow nuns considered her mentally off but was she mentally ill? What do you think? I know God can use anyone in any circumstance for His glory but except for one thing that puzzled me, her message to mom really reminded me of things St. Faustina said on her diary.

Remember she is not Catholic and only recently returned to the Lord. Here is the message:

Mom, I have been told directly from Jesus himself, to ask for agreement in prayer, for his continual healing for the crufix and my sins and the sins of others!

He is in constant suffering, because our continual sins!

He said that we can bestow all the gifts that he give us, unto him. With unlimited eternal blessings!

Please quote "unlimited eternal blessings!"

Please will you spread the word on the Red door website, so that everyone will know and understand his continual suffering?!

The Holy Spirit will confirm what he is saying!

Jesus wants you to post my text exactly how I am telling you!

He said, to always pray for the Father, the Holy Spirit and especially Jesus! Amen!

Any thoughts?

Song of Solomon 8:8,
"We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?"

Here is a hidden mystery: this little girl is the future church, the Bride of Christ, but about 950 years before Christ's birth by Mary. She is the "little sister." "The day she is spoken for" refers to the time when Christ claims the church as His own, which even now is only partly fulfilled, for the Church is now the Bride, but there will come a day when the marriage takes place, which is why Jesus often spoke of weddings.
We will examine why all of this is so. Several Commentaries will agree she symbolizes the church, but let's break it down:

First, let's look at Ephesians 5:22-32 - the mystery of marriage between a man and a woman as corresponding to the marriage between Christ and His church: His body, for the two shall become one flesh,
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Second, Look at Revelation 19:7-9,
" Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."

Here in the Apocalypse, John revealing Christ in this book clearly confirms Paul who wrote of the mystery of Christ and the Church in Ephesians. We see also in Revelation 21:2, "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

Third, That the New Jerusalem is comprised of the Church is evident by Hebrews 12:22-24,
"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

Now we see the Church as the Bride clearly portrayed in the New Testament, but 1,000 years before the first New Testament books were written, she is portrayed as the little sister, not yet ready for marriage, but only in waiting and not yet matured.

Then we move on to Song 8:9,
"If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar."

How often have we read this verse and just passed it over? How often do we even read this Song of Solomon? It tends to be one of the least read books of Scripture, along with Philemon, Esther, 2 & 3 John, Lamentations, etc. But let's break down this verse and see what great things are revealed in it!

1. It says, If she be a wall", and in Revelation 21:14 there is the wall of the city, New Jerusalem, which has 12 foundations, and in verse 18, the building of the wall of it was jasper, which is said to be the shiniest diamond.
2. As for the palace of silver, we see silver mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:12 as one of the lasting things that will remain on the foundation, who is Christ and the Gospel, at the judgment seat of Christ when our works are tried by fire.
3. Psalm 144:12b says "that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:" See how this all ties in together? Christ of course is the Chief Cornerstone, the head Cornerstone ((Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6-7)
4. Song 8:9 then goes on to say "if she be a door..." Well, Christ is "the Door" in John 10:7 & 9 - "I am the door," He declares. But we see other doors mentioned: the door that is the entrance into the Kingdom (Matthew 25:10, Luke 13:24-25), the door Christ knocks at to enter back into the lukewarm Church in Revelation 3:20, the door of faith in Acts 14:27.
5. Then it says of the little sisters' door, "we will enclose her with boards of cedar." Cedar was the main wood used in building Solomon's temple, the House of God (1 Kings 5:6, 8, 10), and we are now the temple of the living God by the Holy Ghost in us (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

It was a couple of years ago I saw this all so clearly, and I'd always wondered who this little sister was, and how she fit into the scheme of things, especially with the rest of the Song, which almost seems to end at 8:7 and shifts gears into this portion about the little sister. I saw it and it just sort of blew open like a massive explosion of light flooding over me and within me, and I saw the future church portrayed then by this little girl: the Bride of Christ as yet not mature.

These things should help solidify our faith, knowing how intricate the mystery of Christ and His Church is. That we are a part of it should be a humbling thought: that Almighty God would care and love us that He planned this wedding, the marriage of the Lamb, way back: in fact before the world ever was, and long long before you were ever born. He knew you and ordained you if so be that you have been drawn to Him by His Spirit, chosen of the Father to eternal life.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, bemoaned Wednesday the Boys Scouts' decision to change its name for the first time in its 114-year history to Scouting America.

The organization announced the name change Tuesday, saying in a news release it reflects its "ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of scouting." The change will take effect Feb. 8, 2025, the organization's 115th anniversary.

"Talk about losing your way — that's the @BoyScouts," Graham posted on X. "They want to be more 'inclusive,' so they're changing their name. Being woke isn't the need — staying focused & true to what God calls you to do is what's important."

The name change came as the organization celebrated the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs. The organizations said it serves more than 176,000 girls and young women across all programs, including more than 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

"They should've just stuck with what they were founded to be 114 years ago," Graham wrote. "The Boy Scouts Oath says, 'I will do my best to do my duty to God.

"It's no surprise that thousands of parents are choosing other options like @TrailLifeUSA, which is a great Christ-centered alternative."

Trail Life USA is a faith-based organization that launched in 2014 after the Boy Scouts decided to admit openly gay scouts. The group said on its website its mission is to "guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure." Although Trail Life USA requires leaders to be confessing Christians, it said it welcomes boys of any or no faith tradition.

This video rubbed me the wrong way because of my biblical beliefs. This Christian priest from Bethlehem talks about the hypocrisy of America concerning the treatment of Christians in the Middle East. I was all for Israel wiping out Hamas because of Israel being attacked but as time goes on the deaths of everyone involved including Christians are troubling. The question I asked myself is do we support Israel no matter what they do after all they are a secular democratic state, especially when they are doing things against God's word like murder. I know Israel has a strong lobby in the government.

Trigger alert: (curse words) The men commenting on the interview get bible prophesy wrong in my opinion.

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Jesus fed five thousand men in John 6:1-14 by miraculously multiplying five barley loaves and two fish.

The next day:

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;

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The bread of spiritual life.

whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

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50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

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The Jews did not ask: How does the bread turn into his flesh?

They did not think that. They did not think in terms of transubstantiation.

How should we understand this?

Jesus explains;

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”

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We are to understand this in terms of spiritual life. Jesus multiplied the bread. We should believe this as a sign of his being the bread of life. Such a belief would cause us to grow spiritually. It feeds our spirit.

How does the bread turn into the body/flesh of Christ?

It doesn't. The bread is a sign for us to believe so that we can grow—not fleshly—but spiritually.

See also This is my body or represents my body?.

So some of us know the story of the illegals who enter our country and then choose to go by bus, at the taxpayers' expense, to whatever city they choose and they choose Chicago a lot of the time (maybe not surprisingly?)

And the residents of that city and many others are fed up with govt money being diverted from American citizens to take care of these gate crashers (my term).

Some people on the net don't even know one thing about this story... Fox has always been in the forefront of reporting this story..

Seems Q is a problem for some people and i'm very interested to find out why.
Obviously there is something that i'm not seeing here.....

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) filed a resolution on Tuesday accusing Omar of “increasing antisemitism in our country” after she suggested that some Jewish students at Columbia University were “pro-genocide” during a visit to the campus, where her daughter is a student protester.https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/2996535/progressive-democrats-back-ilhan-omar-censure-resolution/

A number of progressives will not vote for Joe unless he helps with the defeat of Israel.

Democrats are divided over the anti-Israel protests that have erupted on college campuses across the country this spring over Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, according to a new national poll.
And the USA Today/Suffolk University survey released on Wednesday indicates that Republicans are mostly united in their opposition to the demonstrations, some of which have turned violent in recent weeks.
The protests in support of Palestinians have grabbed plenty of attention on cable news and online coverage. Demonstrators have criticized President Biden's support for Israel in its battle with Hamas and have called on colleges and universities to cut financial ties with the government in Jerusalem.
According to the poll, 32% of Democrats questioned say they support the demonstrations, with 38% saying they agree with the protesters' demands but oppose the way they are conducting themselves. Seventeen percent of Democrats said they oppose the protests.
It's a different story with Republicans, 81% of whom said they oppose the protests. Four percent of Republicans questioned said they support the demonstrations, with 9% saying they agree with the protesters' demands but oppose the way they are conducting themselves.

Riley notes the "Erasure of women from the women's domain" of - women's sports.

Expert women's swimmer - Riley Gains saw the 6'4" genetic male swim to win a national women's event title by out-swimming all the women in the 500 meter free style - easily winning by several body lengths against world class women champions.

She also says in the video that the women were subjected to having this 6'4" genetic male fully expose himself in their women's locker room while the women themselves were without cover - no notice, no warning, no consent given by the women - just commanded to submit to new rules made by "the rulers", making victims of actual women in their own women's sporting events.


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Does it get worse? Well... you decide.

Riley Gaines goes on to tell how she competed against the 6'4" genetic male - and tied with him in first place for the 200 Meter women's freestyle national championship. The overlords said that they would not give the title to Gaines nor share it with her - but it would go to the 6'4" genetic male towering above her in height since they needed it for the "pictures" and their need to comply with their directive "when photos are being taken it is crucial that the trophy" is in the genetic males' hands for these women's sporting events, where the male either easily wins or ties for first place".


from: MSN
"Title IX is the education civil rights law Congress passed in 1972 that demands schools receiving federal funds ban discrimination in programs and activities "on the basis of sex." It’s a straightforward measure that was ground-changing for women and their access to school sports."

Some web-site spin editors call it a "Trump law".

"
One thing that DeVos and others are concerned about is Biden's decision to redefine “sex” to include gender identity – something Congress has not done.
This change will allow for transgender students to choose which bathrooms and locker rooms they want to use"

In other words - as Riley Gaines observed in her own women's sports testimony where women were victimized by this sort of "rule" -- it lets men into women's locker rooms and gets the 6'4" genetic males in direct physical competition with actual women where even if the women were physically able to tie with the man towering above her in stature -- the trophy for that women's sporting event would go to the male - not the female.,

This makes perfect sense to a lot of the news agencies and left-ledge political sources -- but what about mainstream America?

The press releases on the left argue that Biden's version of IX is protecting students - as if this erasure of women, and violation of their safe spaces in locker rooms - is what America needs to keep students safe. Who buys that?

CNN may be able to help with that last question

"conservatives have argued that transgender women and girls" (for example -- 6'4" men ) "have physical advantages over ... women and girls in sports, though a 2017 report found “no direct or consistent research” on any such advantage."

There you have it - they dug up a 2017 bit of "research" saying that a 6'4" male has zero physical advantage over a 5'6" girl/women because ... well.. you know... women are just that much more amazing than men no matter what the man's actual physical ability is.

I don't know if there is a sufficient level of anesthesia out here to convince me that CNN has a point - but I suppose it is theoretically possible just before I would have lost consciousness I might suppose it made sense.... but I tend to doubt it.

Well, this wasn't unexpected, but the 2024 UMC General Conference was everything traditionalists feared and more. Here is a summary of the results of the conference:


A summary of the summary: the Book of Discipline was modified to remove not only the prohibition on pastors living homosexual lifestyles, but on celibacy outside of marriage as well. Pastors can officiate same-sex unions ("weddings") and can do so in the church building. Church funds can be used to promote the acceptance of homosexuality, and can not be used against the promotion of it. The pathway for individual churches to disaffiliate from the denomination was removed.

Needless to say, this is an extremely disappointing result, but again, not unexpected. My heart goes out to those in the UMC who chose to remain, in good faith, hoping for the status quo to be upheld, or at least hoped that any changes would not affect their local church. I know that this sentiment was prevalent in my childhood church, which is why they chose to remain rather than (in their view) preemptively leaving the denomination while the old Discipline was still in force.

Actress and outspoken Christian Candace Cameron Bure addressed the continued interest in Jesus amongst people in Hollywood.

“It’s pretty incredible from the people that I’ve walked hand-in-hand with and encouraged along the way,” Bure told CBN News in a recent interview. “And just to have a small part of knowing that I planted a seed, or maybe spoke a word that encouraged them along to become a believer — or strengthen their faith in Christ.”

One of those people whom Bure has encouraged is “Wonder Years” star Danica McKellar, who came to saving faith after Bure personally shared the Word of God with her.

“I just want people to feel that they’re not alone, that there’s love for you at any time, and it’s such a gift,” McKellar said of her faith journey during an interview with CBN News last year.

For Bure, she is thankful that God has allowed her to be a voice to bring others to Him, Faithwire reports.

“It humbles me that God would use me,” the “Fuller House” star said. “I give Him such great thanks for allowing me to use my voice and not be fearful of it — to not sit scared to tell my friends about Jesus.”

She also noted she is “humbled” and encouraged by people who message her on social media thanking her for being outspoken about her faith.

During the interview with CBN News, Bure shared how she previously stayed away from Christian films due to their bad reputation of having poor quality. However, she says that such films have become more artistic and powerful nowadays.

“Within the last, I would say, five years, the quality is incredible,” she said. “It’s like people of faith are coming out of the woodwork.”

Continued below.

These are images not a videos:






When I was ordained in 1980, girls were not allowed to be altar boys, I mean, servers. But that did not stop many parishes in the USA from having them. Bishop Lessard of the Diocese of Savannah, knew that many of his parishes had them, including my first parish as “associate pastor” in Albany, Georgia.


Thus he came up with a diocesan policy that allowed girls to serve as candle and cross bearers, and vested in different liturgical garments than the boys were. Only altar boys could minister directly to the priest by holding the Roman Missal, then called the Sacramentary” and handing the water and wine to him and also washing his hands. Only boys could help with the incense.

Continued below.

A leading Christian researcher says the prevailing discontent among Americans regarding the nation's direction stems directly from their abandonment of a biblical worldview. Researcher George Barna says as much in a new report released on April 23 that finds few individuals hold a worldview consistent with Christianity. The 2024 American Worldview Inventory report found that 96 percent of Americans and 94 percent of self-identified Christians do not hold a biblical worldview. Barna is the research director at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

Other surveys, he noted, have found that two-thirds of Americans say they are "dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today."

"Yet few of them pause from their busy schedules long enough to consider that the problems they see are the result of increasing numbers of American adults making decisions based on shifting foundational beliefs and values," he wrote. "In fact, the social problems troubling the majority of Americans are likely a symptom of the unprecedented change in worldview preferences, in which longstanding biblical beliefs are being discarded in favor of a wide range of alternative views."

Continued below.

The video message from Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes warmly greeted the scores of election workers who had gathered at a Phoenix-area hotel in December for a first-of-its-kind drill: “We are very excited that all of you are here,” Fontes, a Democrat, began. “You are on the front lines, and this exercise is a prime opportunity for you to hone your skills by experiencing new challenges as a team.” He wished them luck.


Over two days, the election workers from around the state maneuvered through a training exercise involving the kinds of attacks generated by artificial intelligence that they might face in this politically competitive state during the coming election cycle. They tackled situations that plunged them into AI-generated scenarios ranging from law enforcement operations to attempts to infiltrate technology systems.
It was not until the end that the real Adrian Fontes told the shocked group that the person in the welcome video was a fake, an AI creation built out of publicly available images.

See the video here....the quality is shocking.

[Some good advice at the end of the video...if a purpoted government election site does not end in .gov, don't trust it.]