• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson wins Florida women’s tournament


It's sad that the left can just wipe out women's sports or entire industries because they decide they know what's best. Do we have to wait until a woman is killed by a biological man in order to stop this? I understand private companies like Disney or Sports Illustrated magazine can decide, just like individuals, to go woke. But now the government is getting involved. We can see the government going after "white Christians" and "MAGA" and "conservative Catholics" and moms speaking before school boards because they dare disagree with this ideology.

Never Out Of The Reach Of Temptation - Devotional Saturday

Temptation... One of those things that can come out of nowhere and take control of your mind. Today's devotional from Charles Spurgeon (Morning & Evening) we'll dive into King David when he glanced his eyes towards temptation...
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Pray that the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, is kept Humble, and learns to Embrace Humility

The current Hindu Radical/Nationalistic Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, seems to so much pride that he sounds like Nebuchadnezzar.
Pray that the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, is kept Humble, and learns to Embrace Humility:


Crackdown on Churches. Digital resources transform hearts. Murderer’s faith grows.

Jan. 18, 2024 | Algeria​

  • Christians Struggle Amid Government Crackdown on Churches

    [72] prayers in [7] nations have been posted for Algerian Christians.
    Algerian Officers Close a Church in 2019
    In 2019, the Algerian government permanently closed many churches, and several others that closed temporarily during the pandemic have not been allowed to re-open. "Many believers have gone for months or even years without gathering with their brothers and sisters in Christ," a front-line worker said. While Christians in Algeria are receiving biblical training via the internet and Arabic Christian satellite TV channels, relying on the internet and other media sources can leave them vulnerable to false teaching and manipulation. Read More.
  • Jan. 18, 2024 | India​

    Digital Resources Transform Hearts

    [47] prayers in [4] nations have been posted for Angira.
    SD cards are small, making them easy to carry and distribute.
    Bibles and SD cards that contain Bibles as well as other Christian materials are having a profound impact in India. One recipient, Angira, said, "I received an SD card that would change our lives. As we began listening to its contents, we discovered the teachings of Jesus Christ, which resonated deeply within us. Eventually, we made the decision to embrace our faith and received baptism. Today, we are proud members of the local church, actively engaging with our community by sharing the gospel with others." Read More.
  • Jan. 18, 2024 | Korea, North​

    Convicted Murderer Growing in Faith

    [49] prayers in [4] nations have been posted for Mr. K.
    Mr. K read Tortured for Christ in prison.
    Mr. K, a student in a discipleship program for North Korean defectors, is currently serving time in prison for a murder he committed in South Korea. Mr. K had thought that he could never be forgiven for what he had done, but he was deeply encouraged when Christian friends told him the Lord had forgiven his sin and that he could still be used by the Lord. He began studying the Bible and reading inspiring books like Tortured for Christ in prison. Read More.

The Lake of Fire or Hell

We see many passages in scripture on the Lake of Fire and who is going to be cast there.
Revelation 19:20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

So what is this lake of fire that the Bible speaks of, is it what Christian call 'Hell'? Well Christ gives us some clues when He said 'As in the Days of Lot', we find it in Luke 17:28.
Luke 17:28
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

It was just another day, and was starting as usual, and folks were waking up and eating their morning meal and having their morning beverage and doing everything they did every other morning, it looked like another great day and then suddenly everything changed. We see it in the next part of the text:
Luke 17:29-30
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

So what did Jesus mean by this. Well lets look what was happening 'in the days of Lot'.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

Lot had picked out a place to settle in and it looks like a good choice with good sources of refreshing water and nice vegetation all around, but there was a problem. The people there it says 'were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.' and as a result of that, after years of patience God sent two angels to Sodom and we know how they were treated by the people of Sodom. The angels went to Lot’s home. Abraham meanwhile, was certainly praying for Lot who was his nephew because God had clued him in that Sodom was doomed. And the angels told Lot to basically, get out of town, and escape for your life, and dont look behind you, escape to the mountains lest you be,” what? The angels say to get out lest you be 'consumed', lest you be burnt up. We see it in Genisis

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

You see Lot went to his family, his daughters and sons in law and said, God’s told me this place is doomed get out of town now. But they mocked him like he was a religious fanatic. Can that happen again? Well finally the angels said, we can’t wait any longer, escape for your life, lest you be 'consumed in the iniquity of the city.' And the Bible says he got out of town and the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. It rained down and it destroyed the city in basically a lake of fire, not the one that will be at the end, but Christ was giving a very true picture of what will happen at the end.

So what does the Bible teach about this lake of fire, which is what the bible calls, 'Hell' for sinners and those not in the book of Life. Is the devil in charge of hell? The Bible gives us solemn warnings about a day of destruction coming. Jesus speaks also of Noah's day with the same warning He gives about Lot and his family in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Matthew 24:36-39
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

There is a reward of the wicked, the punishment, that will eternally destroy them and all evil. The wages of sin is not eternal torment, but death in the lake of fire, which is the final place for the wicked and sinners before the Lord, which is the hell we are shown by scripture.
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New Apostolic Reformation NAR for State Church Authority, over the US presidency...

How do we feel about first in best dressed for co-joining church and state again in the USA and other countries? First complainant or most popular or most positive, or best debates winner...? Maybe the NAR will get the foot in, as one of seven mountains? Perhaps the Roman Catholic Cardinal of the USA head of state church with renewed and re-thought powers in government? Or the Lutherans? Or a union? Power of veto, 5 bills a year, to fire parliament.

It seems, some in today's churches don't like or maybe hate other churches and their preachers, and what they preach, and want them stopped, throwing aside the old separation of church and state, advocated by noble men of the 17th century like Roger Williams founder of Rhode Island... Today in the USA here seems to be disunity and angst, in politics and church. Intolerance of the alternate president, stopping them against the rules if need be. So Colorado disallows Trump from running, arguably against the rules. Pro life versus pro choice, threats made to pro lifers. It seems the left wants to use the Chinese system, freedom for big and medium sized business and socialism for the common people. Capitalism and for commoners, free medicine and education. But maybe a permanent change the Republicans don't want.

Ephesians 4:29-32 What does this mean?

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Ephesians 4:29-32

King James Version

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.:):preach:

The Double-Minded Person

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8 ESV)

I know I have talked about this before, but what stands out to me pretty much every time I read this, I think, is how so many people read verse 5 and stop there, and they assume that, whoever they are, that they can just ask God for wisdom and he will generously give it to them, without reproach (disapproval). But that’s not the completed thought. For there is an exception stated to what was just said in the words that follow.

But now, first of all, the words spoken here were written to Christians, to the church, to those professing faith in Jesus Christ, although it appears that not all had faith, as becomes evident in the things that James wrote as we continue reading. But the audience is at least those making professions of faith in Jesus Christ, and so the subject matter is of Christians (or professing Christians) praying to the Lord for wisdom.

But here is the exception. They must ask in faith, with no doubting, believing that the Lord will give them the wisdom that they so desire. And they must really want that wisdom, too. For doubting definitely comes into play if we pray and ask for wisdom and then we wait until the wisdom is given before we decide if we will follow it or not. But our Lord is not there to just make suggestions for us to follow. If it’s his wisdom, we need to take it.

I find this is especially true of some people who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are still holding on to signature sins which they have not let go of. They will profess that they want to be free from those sins, and so they claim that they have sought the counsel and the wisdom of God in how to be free, but then when the Lord gives them the counsel, they don’t accept it, and so they go to other places looking for help which cannot help them.

Therefore, they didn’t really want his wisdom, because they don’t really want to be free from their sin, for if they do, they will take his counsel, and they will obey the Lord, and they will do as he directs them to do, in his power and strength. But instead it comes down to them trying to figure it out for themselves and them trying different things to try to make it work, but it never works. For they have to want God more than they want their sin.

So, if we really want our Lord’s counsel and wisdom, which he provides for us much through the teachings of the Scriptures, then when he shows us what to do, we need to do what he says. But if we just wait to hear what he has to say first before we decide if we will accept his counsel or not, then we are like the double-minded, like someone on both ends of a teeter-totter who continually vacillates back and forth between the truth and the lies.

And that person is unstable in all his ways, and so he must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. And I believe that includes salvation from sin and eternal life with God, too. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one doing the will of God the Father who is in heaven. So if we ask for wisdom and then don’t obey the Lord, then we aren’t doing the will of God.

So, we need to not be people who play games with God, i.e. who put him to the test. For he knows if we are sincere or not. We can’t fool God. We can’t just go through the motions of looking like we are genuinely seeking his counsel and then refusing to take his counsel when it doesn’t fit with how we want to live. And he knows our patterns. So just because you claim you are praying for help, it doesn’t mean that you are sincere.

So, don’t stop at verse 5. Keep reading. And don’t ask the Lord for his counsel if you don’t intend to put it into practice. And don’t claim that you have tried it and it didn’t work. For if it is truly the counsel of the Lord that he gives to you, and if truly your dependence is on him for him to help you out of your addiction to sin, he is not going to fail you. He will hold up his end, but you have to hold up your end. You have to do what he says.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

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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Argentine President warns WEF at Davos to abandon socialism



I truly hope and pray that the entire world would abandon socialism.

Federal Judges Are Releasing Many Jailed Jan 6th Attendees, the US Supreme Court Takes Up The Case

Federal Judges have and are releasing many in jail sentenced under the "obstruction law", they also are delaying future prosecution of such cases until the Supreme Court ruling expected in June 2024

Politico

Obstruction statute under review​

1-18-2024

The Supreme Court will hear arguments this spring on whether prosecutors have stretched the meaning of the federal obstruction law. A decision will follow by June. But already, the high court’s decision to scrutinize the law has begun rippling through dozens of felony riot cases and threatens to upend even more.

Last week, for example, a federal judge sprung a Jan. 6 defendant from jail five months into his sentence, citing the justices’ consideration of the statute.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta released defendant Thomas Adams, who had been convicted of obstruction and related misdemeanors. Mehta noted that Adams would likely have received a significantly shorter sentence without the obstruction charge and therefore should be freed until the justices rule on the validity of the charge.

Prosecutors urged Adams be kept in jail, but Mehta disagreed, saying that the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the case suggests the outcome is, at minimum, a “close question.”

U.S. District Judge John Bates the next day similarly ordered the release of another defendant, Alexander Sheppard, when his misdemeanor sentence expires, until the resolution of the Supreme Court case.

Three other federal judges — Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg and colleagues Richard Leon and Dabney Friedrich — have postponed pending Jan. 6 cases in which obstruction is the only felony charge.

More than 30 Jan. 6 defendants have similarly asked to delay their trials, sentences or prison report dates.

The Justice Department has already agreed to pause appeals related to the obstruction issue. In a slew of filings, prosecutors said the outcome of those appeals could “plainly” be affected by the high court’s ruling.

Wide prosecutorial net​

1-18-2024

The former prosecutor who oversaw the initial response to the Capitol Riot in early 2021, Michael Sherwin, said he had rejected many potential trespass cases at the outset of the investigation because suspects did not engage in violence, property damage or pushing over barricades.

“That changed when I left. I don’t know who authorized it, but I refused,” Sherwin said in an interview. “I had a bright-line rule … that people should not have been charged if they just walked in through an open door.”

Unequally yoked in Corinthian doesn't mean marriage

It's good many churches taught Christian should be serious in their marriage or even dating, because we can easily influenced by our life partner. But it's too narrowed minded when a pastor warn about dating non Christian.

From a practical and statistic perspective, there's a big gender gap btw male and female believers. Some churches, it's even worse with mostly female attendees. How the number is going to add up even if all males pick their female Christian spouse? They'll be left over.

Church leaders who are dominant male lack of empathy and lack of common sense, insisting an ideal situation. But in this fallen world ideal is a bonus. If they want to be ideal, the leader should choose the least attractive female as wife and the most attractive female sister should marry the brother who has the lowest social economic status. But that just aren't happening in the church.

Some would wait miracle to happens and refused to date outside of the church. It's good if they do that to honor God, but some are struggling with singleness due to lack of understanding is saddening. Because it's a zero sum game, the number won't add up and you need to be realistic. Says no male approach you after being in the church for 5 yrs, are you expect an easy dating life outside the church?


How do you know God can't use your Christian-pagan marriage to sanctify your spouse or dating mates? We don't. Sometime even Christian couples ended up with divorce.


My point is, sure, Christian courtship is preferred but we need to be realistic and practical. We should date unbelievers if we can't find anyone in the church.

Jesus gospel is not about giving spouse for believers. Church leaders who has no problem getting a spouse should not be too harsh and pls have a room for empathy. They should not give advice that promise false hope that might lead people to disappointment.

Release International prayer alerts: Ukraine, Afghanistan

Two Ladies Praying

Ukraine​

Pray for safety for our partners as they distribute winter supplies to fellowships near the front line. Pray also for these fellowships as they share their goods and the gospel with their neighbours.
Number of Prayers 0
YES - I WILL PRAY
Ukraine

Ukraine​

Many evangelical Christians remain in Poland. Thank God for the Polish churches that still help many Ukrainian refugees, including Nina, a widow, and her two young sons. Nina’s husband was killed in 2022 as he helped in the evacuation of women and children from the war zone.
Number of Prayers 23
YES - I WILL PRAY
Ukraine

Ukraine​

Pastor ‘Bogdan’ is a team member of one of our frontline partners and is active on the Ukrainian-Russian border. His home was recently destroyed by a Russian rocket. He is well known for his ministry and our partners suspect that his house was deliberately targeted.
Number of Prayers 42
YES - I WILL PRAY
Ukraine

Ukraine​

Pray that ‘Ilya’, a deacon who remained in Mariupol to look after the remnant of his church, will be able to comfort those who are left and for boldness as he continues to evangelise his neighbours.
Number of Prayers 35
YES - I WILL PRAY
Ukraine

Ukraine​

‘Anton’ is a pastor in the Kharkiv region. His family lives in Poland, but he stayed in Ukraine to care for his congregation and many internally displaced people. Pray for Anton and pastors like him as they faithfully preach the word of God and care for others, despite being close to the frontline.
Number of Prayers 35
YES - I WILL PRAY
Ukraine

Ukraine​

Despite the devastation and dangerous conditions, our partners are still active in ministry throughout Ukraine. Pray for their continued faithfulness despite the persecution and danger.
Number of Prayers 40
YES - I WILL PRAY
Ukraine

Afghanistan​

Give thanks for Release International partners involved in the recent completion of the revised Dari New Testament alongside the Afghan Pashto New Testament and the Hazaragi New Testament.
Number of Prayers 35
YES - I WILL PRAY
Afghanistan

Sign up for email prayer alerts​

To lift up persecuted Christians in your prayers and see God at work in their lives
SUBSCRIBE

Children’s Prayer Sheet

It’s not only adults who can pray for our persecuted family. Every month we produce a prayer sheet aimed specifically for children. Each sheet has specific activities and prayers which will help children learn more about how persecution affects children in other countries.
You can visit our Children’s Prayer Sheet page here

Feds need banks to help track Bible buyers

House Judiciary Committee

Bible Buyers Tracked by the Feds and Banks?

"According to this analysis, FinCEN warned financial institutions of 'extremism' indicators that include 'transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel to areas with no apparent purpose,' or 'the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views.' In other words, FinCEN urged large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression."

Trump plans 'largest deportation operation in American history'

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1 Peter 2:14
Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

I think this is great. The government’s main job is to punish (inflict negative consequences upon) evildoers. Leeching off this country is wrong, and they should go back to their own countries and work.

Seeking advice

I'm new to this forum currently seeking advice on a problem. I'm currently a 4-year member of a church. We changed churches because we had to move. I poured myself into this new church for the first 2 years. I did this really to try and connect to other women in the church and to serve. I loved every minute of this time I had in the church. Because of some major life changes, I had to stop all of my volunteering at the church. I feel that I was naive in assuming that I had nurtured some great friendships with the women that I was volunteering with in the church, but I was sadly wrong. I am still able to attend the Wednesday Bible study, Sunday morning, and the twice monthly evening services that we have in homes. Still, I have no connections any more. I went to the pastor with my husband asking for advice on what I should do at this point. He told me to volunteer. I was stunned considering he knew my current situation as to why I simply could not volunteer in this season of life. It's been 2 years now despite my extra efforts in trying to maintain friendship. I've given up and I'm so sad. I don't even want to attend this church anymore, but I continue to go. I go for my children and my husband. This church is a wonderful place for my husband and children, but it's not for me. I feel selfish posting this thread, but I'm at my end. I've tried explaining to my husband but he doesn't see my struggle as an issue. I'm not blaming anyone for the problems that I am facing. I would just like advice on what to do next. I feel stuck.
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The "Fewness of the Saved"

Hello brothers and sisters in our Lord!

I have had a lot weighing on my mind over the past few days regarding the Catholic Doctrine of "The Fewness of the Saved". I am a devout Roman Catholic and I had never heard of this doctrine before. I am used to having always been taught mercy and forgiveness not the pretty much IMPOSSIBLE chance of reaching Heaven. In this doctrine, backed by many Saints, very, VERY few Christians who think they are saved go to Heaven and most go to Hell. In this doctrine, according to Saint Leonard Of Port Maurice, on the hour of his death only two people out of 33.000 went to heaven and 3 out of 33,000 went to Purgatory. That means that MANY Christians who really followed and loved The Lord are in Hell. Only a few that are "Chosen By God" make it to Purgatory or Heaven. That is severely frightening to me because that would mean Heaven is basically reserved for the chosen Saints and that is about it. I am losing hope since the thought of Heaven and a love for our beautiful Lord are what get me through my days. I am far from perfect, and I fear perfection is what it takes. What do you all think?

Here is some information about this doctrine: The Fewness Of The Saved

A Roman Catholic Priest's sermon this doctrine: Login to view embedded media

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The Bible and Nature

This is a quote from Neil deGrasse Tyson and I am not saying God is not real this is just to debate his quote

If you knew nothing about science and you read the Bible the Old testament which in Genesis is an account of nature, and I said to you give me your description of the natural world based only on this you would say the world was created in six days, and that stars are just little points of light much lesser than the Sun that the fact that they can fall out the sky because that's what happens during the revelation During the Revelation one of the signs that the second coming is that the Stars will fall out of the sky and land on Earth, what that means is you don't know what those things are you have no concept of what the actual universe is.

That quote is basically one of the reason many people are leaving the church, Christiasns are actually taking everything in the bible litterally. Its a book filled with wisdom but the writers were ignorant of just how complex the universe is, geology, astronomy, archeology, biology, those four
sciences debunk much of the bible. A star falling onto the earth...its rediculous. I do not believe in god because of the bible, I belive in God because the universe is so complex that there has to be a designer. I am not calling god ignorant, but the writers were
ignorant of the reality of the universe.

Pray for sharp stabbing pains to go away

It slowly got worse, now I can't even sit for 1 minute and then have a stabbing pain. I don't know if its a nerve thing, or a prostate thing or what.
Please pray for healing. 2 years ago i had this pain very similarly, but it only stabbed me suddenly kind of out of no where, which it did last week, usually after sitting, but some times before bed. Now it seems to just give me a pain right away if i sit, or even lay in a certain position it will ache. Please pray for the pain to go away. But HIS stripes healed.

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A small rapture?

I was taught a Pretrib Rapture in the early 70s by friends and the church I began to attend. But I had been raised in church from birth where no such thing ever existed. Since this was new to me, and held by all my new Christian friends, I thought Pretribism was the way to go.

Hal Lindsey had written a book called "The Late Great Planet Earth," and was taking the "world by storm." Lindsey was out of Dallas Theological Seminary, I believe, where they all taught Dispensationalism, which contains Pretrib Doctrine.

So I watched the movies that depicted Christians suddenly disappearing, leaving their cars and planes unattended, and maybe even leaving their clothes behind. And the world "left behind" seemed caught unprepared and unaware of what just happened.

So the world came up with some idea to explain how so many people ended up disappearing--perhaps an alien invasion? And they then proceeded to become terribly ungodly and antichristian since the Christians of the world had gone away, leaving backsliders and pagans in charge.

Not long after becoming Pretrib my brother started harping on me about the need to memorize Scripture. He had participated in Bill Gothard's course on Bible memorization and wanted to pass that on to me. After preaching to me for a half hour or so I decided maybe I should try to memorize some Scripture.

To my surprise memorization came easy for me. Before I knew it I had memorized a few entire books of the NT. 1 John, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians were were I started. I probably memorized half of the book of Revelation before I got a stopped doing this.

In the process of memorizing 2 Thessalonians I realized that Paul was teaching *against Pretribism!* He said that the Rapture cannot take place until Antichrist is actually destroyed at the Coming of Jesus! And in his time Antichrist had not come yet.

From this point on I've been Postrib. I had a moment of doubt when I moved to S. CA in the mid-70s, after reading Chuck Smith's Commentary on the Revelation. But after some unusual circumstances I was led, I believe, back to full acceptance of Postrib Doctrine, and determined never again to doubt what my 2 eyes are telling me! ;)

I say all this to explain this post. I still believe a Rapture will happen. But will it have the same strange phenomena happen as with the Pretrib scenarios, with people disappearing and the world left trying to explain where people went? This seems all so mythical to me, so fable-like! I'm a bit embarrassed to present the Gospel with things so unlikely, though the resurrectiton is equally a miracle but far more likely in my thinking.

I'm wondering if maybe the real Rapture will be unlike how the Pretrib movies portray it? Jesus said that when he comes will he find faith on the earth? This means that though Nominal Christianity is ubiquitous and common, genuine born again Christianity will not be so apparent, and may not exist as such except in dark corners of the earth.

If so, the Rapture may be more of an unseen event, as though happening when most of the world is hunkered down in bomb shelters during a nuclear war, rather than driving cars and piloting planes. If you look at the account of Elijah's "Rapture" he is even searched for, being that the event is far more subtle than a large-scale disappearance.

Perhaps the real Rapture will be confined to much smaller numbers in a time when religion is on the way out, and born again Christianity is so marginalized that it is no longer part of the mainstream? This may be a ways off, but the way things are going now I can see it happening. Large groups of Christians are being exposed as frauds, and antiChristianity is taking over the world, pushing true Christians out of the way. Your thoughts?

2 Kings 2.9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
...16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.” “No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

Hello everyone

In short well I am a 40 year old bachelor, somehow it worked out that way :) I love to cook, travel as there is time, I value peace and quiet in my own 4 walls. Owner of 3 cats, rather a homebody although he does not look like one, a man with firm and concrete principles or values in life.

Lots of denominations, Catholics, Calvinists, Lutherans, Baptists.. etc. etc.

Are all of these saved? Does it matter which denomination or sect you belong to...?

How much leeway is there when it comes to personal preference, or are there denominations that are wrong?

Are all the main ones that we find on this site basically ok?

Biden adds to his 'Bidenomics' flop: This new rule throws wrench in popular gig economy.

The reason that Biden is doing this is to give his Big Labor supporters a boon. He has not been able to shepherd through his major pro-union legislation – the PRO Act – so he’s tackling smaller pieces of it through executive action.

Biden promised to be the “most pro-union president you’ve ever seen,” so he needs to reward all those campaign donations.

And Biden’s doing it regardless of the impact on the economy.

Independent contractors cannot be unionized, so the more companies lean on these workers, the less ability unions have to organize.

It’s really that simple.

More people suffer to enrich a few.
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Georgia Judge Orders Urgent Hearing On Fani Willis’ Misconduct

Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for Roman, added that a relationship between Willis and Wade resulted “in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.” She claimed that documents in the sealed divorce case would substantiate Roman’s claims and requested the judge order them to be unsealed.
Let's see what Ms. Willis has to say.
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Judiciary committee inquires about more government snooping

Inquiry letter from House Judiciary Committee asking for transcribed interview:

To me the government long ago crossed the line as to legitimate investigations for criminal activity. They are misusing government resources to go after those with different political and religious views.
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