You're merging so many concepts that shouldn't be merged because the context of the topic doesn't fit, even if you're applying the same term. Being a lost sheep and being spiritually dead = not saved. You aren't going to be resurrected in life, if you aren't saved. Now, unsaved will be resurrected at the very end and be judged and then thrown into the lake of fire, but that's a completely different concept and not the same as being symbolically alive vs dead.

Ephesians 2:1 - "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins."

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Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

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Luke 15:24,32 - (The Parable of the Prodigal Son) "...for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

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Notice in like it says alive "again". So being a lost sheep is being spiritually dead, but being found again is being alive again.

This is why Jesus said not everyone who calls him Lord will enter his kingdom because if people are being led away from him via false doctrine or false prophets, they will be apart of that crowd that might call him Lord, but will not enter his kingdom (Matthew 7). You're essentially saying that all people who are led astray (lost sheep) are still saved and that contradicts Jesus's statement of calling him Lord and not entering his kingdom, along with other parables and teachings. Your interpretation goes against scripture teachings, so either you are correct, and scripture has errors, or you're misunderstanding since the two can't be true at the same time.

Delvianna said:

God in general. I know that sounds cliche to say, but I mean it. God has helped me and guided me in ways I will forever be grateful for. All glory to him!

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Not cliche. I'm always inclined to say my salvation.

DaisyDay said:

Just bring your scuba gear!

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I used to live in Virginia and there were many times when we were thinking of visiting Tangier Island. It is supposed to be really pretty place (and unique) place to visit. Unfortunately, we never got a chance. Hopefully, it will be a millennia before it gets covered by water.

I just did a check on the place and the Army Corps of Engineers are only giving it another 50 years or so before the whole place is a swamp. Not good. It sounds like they got alot of the residence off the island already (by the government stealing their land, oh I mean eminent domain).

Yes, bring the scuba gear. You never know what secrets and shipwrecks, in the depths of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, may be there - pirate booty!

BryanJohnMaloney said:

Has anyone ever dealt with a spouse that suddenly felt the need to set up surveillance? It's a bit of a head-scratcher. My response was a cheery "Okay!" when the subject of setting up cameras outside and within the home was broached. The easiest way to keep secrets is to have none. Is this a matter of concern?

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If this is sudden, it should provoke a discussion. As long as you both know where all the cameras are, I don't see the problem, especially outside.

If you discover a hidden camera, yikes!

Nithavela said:

One of the main reasons those governments are so inefficient.

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But Mussolini got the trains to run on time....

CLEEB said:

Rather than attempt to psychoanalyze Adam and Eve just read the scripture and believe what it says.

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Oh if it was only that easy.

CLEEB said:

There could be a situation you are involved in that you do something that at the time you didn’t know was wrong but later discovered is wrong. It’s new to you but you still know it’s wrong none the less.

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The opposite is also true. A child might feel shame for having to go to school dressed in hand-me-downs because their family is poor, only to later realize that they had nothing to be ashamed of. If we were to follow your reasoning then wearing hand-me-downs is wrong.

In this case I believe that we have to take Genesis 3:7 in context to truly understand what it's saying, and it's not that being naked is wrong. Then again who am I to think that I, an agnostic, know anything about scripture.

Catholics Only: What are you Thankful and Grateful for this Thanksgiving 2025?

Share here

I will remember you...in my heart, forever.

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

Guojing said:

Your reasoning above is as valid as the one below

A dog is a mammal
A cat is also a mammal.

Therefore a dog is a cat.

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No one can dispute that the terms Jew and Gentile when used in a natural sense are always referring to ethnic race. For most of the old covenant period, circumcision meant being a Jew, being a Jew meant circumcision. Uncircumcision meant being a Gentile, being a Gentile meant circumcision. But this all changed under the new covenant. Physical circumcision lost its old covenant place of importance. It carries no spiritual benefit today because it has been superseded with spiritual circumcision of the heart. A true Jew today is not a man with the physical sign of the old covenant upon him but the spiritual sign of the new covenant – a circumcised heart.

The whole import of Paul’s teaching in Romans 2:17-29 revolves around defining what a real Jew is under the new covenant and what a true heathen is. Paul explains in Romans 2:25-29: “if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ... For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit (pneuma).”

Paul basically spiritualizes the terms circumcision and Jew to mean believer, and uncircumcision or Gentile to mean unbeliever. He teaches, if a man accepts Christ (regardless of his ethnicity) he is a spiritual Jew (or true circumcision); if a man rejects Christ (regardless of his ethnicity) he is a spiritual heathen (or true uncircumcision). Essentially, he is showing: Gentiles can become true Jews through faith in Jesus, and Jews can forfeit their right to be considered true Jews if they reject Jesus.

Paul further reinforces his argument in Philippians 3:3, speaking of the Church generally, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit [Gr. pneuma], and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

This verse is another that presents a major difficulty for the literalists. Their insistence that every reference to Israel, Jew, children of Abraham and circumcision must be strictly interpreted literally is exposed by passages like this.

All through the New Testament the term “the circumcision” is used as a natural synonym for the Jews. Anywhere it is found, it is seen to describe (and encompass) the physical ethnic Jewish people. The term “the circumcision” in its normal usage related exclusively to natural Israel. We see this illustrated in Ephesians 2:11 where natural Jews are identified as “Circumcision in the flesh made by hands.”

Colossians 2:11-14 declares, “ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross"

Several other references are found in Acts 10:45, 11:2, Romans 3:30 Romans 4:9, 12, 15:8, Galatians 2:7-12, Colossians 2:11, 4:11 and Titus 1:10. It must be added, the term did embody the stranger that joined themselves to Israel by faith in Yahweh. However, they too had to submit to all the customs pertaining to Israel in faith and practice, including physical circumcision.

Now Jesus Christ was not born with a sin nature as we are, because he was conceived of the Spirit of God and not of man. And while he lived on the earth he never sinned. But Jesus strived against sin to the point of shedding his blood on a cross to put our sins to death with him, so that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him we will now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness. And sin doesn’t have to be some major moral failure. Sin can be doubt, fear, lack of faith, and retreat, which disable our work for God.

So we need to be those who follow the example of Christ, who resist the devil, who flee temptation, and who draw near to God in full assurance of faith, regardless of our circumstances. For the devil likes to “put us through the wringer” (to subject us to very stressful experiences) in hopes that we will fail, and that we will give up the fight, and that we will retreat out of sadness, fear, and physical and mental and emotional exhaustion. But the Lord allows us to go through difficult times of suffering for his purposes.

Just like he allowed the devil to inflict God’s servant Job, to murder his children and his servants and his livestock, and to give Job painful sores all over his body, to test Job’s faith, God will allow difficulties to come into our lives to test our faith, too. This is the discipline of the Lord in our lives to keep us humble, to purify our hearts, to purge us of any known sins in our lives, to keep us focused on God’s purpose for our lives, and to teach us endurance, patience, love, and compassion, that we might grow in Christ.

But when I look at the world around me, in our present day and age, and I see so many signs of the last days, and of times of tribulation, and of the nearness of our Lord’s return, I can’t help but feel that God is allowing some of us to suffer in painful ways because he is getting us ready for greater sufferings yet to come. And/or he is getting us ready for his soon return, so he is purifying our hearts to make us ready for when we will meet our Lord face to face. For the Scriptures talk about that, I think in Revelation.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

Be Still, My Soul

Hymn lyrics by Katharina von Schlegel, pub.1752
tr. by Jane L. Borthwick, pub.1855
Music by Jean Sibelius, 1899

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well-pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

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Do Not Grow Weary or Lose Heart
An Original Work / November 26, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

linux.poet said:

My dad tried to evangelize her multiple times over the years with no luck. You can pray for witnessing opportunities for me and my brother if you want. I think we share the belief that people have inherent value, regardless of their behavior, and so if we are given opportunities, we will take them.

On the other hand, if she goes to hell, it's precisely what she deserves and I'm not going to have any regrets.

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its not over till it’s over. just trying to be encouraging . it seems a bad situation. sorry.

Beth77 said:

Were members of the Biden Administration selling pardons?

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No, but Trump was.

That it doesn't matter all the warnings and "alarms" about the end of the world.
You know people have experienced the end of the world since 2000 years ago.
If you die or Christ comes, the result is the same. So the end of the world for people alive today is 1 day or 100 years from now.

Trump sends National Guard to Portland over 'Antifa violence, federal property threats'

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The White House shared a press release on Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump sending the National Guard to Portland.

"The Radical Left’s reign of terror in Portland ends now, with President Donald J. Trump mobilizing federal resources to stop Antifa-led hellfire in its tracks," the press release said.

I can accept that this kind of thing happens in churches as we are all fallen people.

But I cannot accept the organization allowing the perpetrator to stay as part of that congregation. Let him find a new spiritual home. And the idea that it happenned to multiple kids?

IT COULD be up to the victim to forgive, but it is the DUTY of adults to protect. And they did not protect the children of their congregation.

essentialsaltes said:

Fani Willis’ Georgia election interference case against Trump will carry on for now with new prosecutor​

Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, a bipartisan collaboration of six district attorneys and three solicitors general from across the state, has assigned the case to himself after he was unable to find another prosecutor willing to take it on.

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Georgia prosecutor urges judge to dismiss Trump election case​

A state prosecutor on Wednesday urged the Fulton County judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against President Donald Trump and more than a dozen others to kill the probe, arguing the alleged criminal conduct amounted to more of a federal, not state, case.

I'm sure the DOJ will hop right on that!

I apologize if this is not the right forum for this kind of topic (thread).

I am new to this website.

Please, feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate forum.

Thank You

What in the world was this pastor thinking?!

Michie said:

A New Jersey spa must allow male customers who identify as the opposite sex to access female-only areas where women are required to be nude, regardless of whether they've undergone a sex-change surgery, a judge has ruled.

In a consent order signed by Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Sarlo, the King Spa in Bergen County agreed to implement policies based on "sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression."

“It is unlawful and violates company policy to discriminate in any way against a client because of the client's actual or perceived gender identity," the consent order states, according to NJ Advance Media. "[E]ach person has a gender identity, which may or may not correspond to the sex that person was assigned at birth."

According to the order, which was signed in August but has only recently garnered media attention, the company policy's definition of gender identity refers to "a person's internal sense of being male, female or any other gender, regardless of physical characteristics or appearance."

Continued below.

New Jersey spa must allow trans-identifying males into women-only nude spaces: judge

A New Jersey spa must allow male customers who identify as the opposite sex to access female-only areas where women are required to be nude, regardless of whether they ve undergone a sex-change

www.christianpost.com

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Our world is really being turned upside down. I don't think there is anyone (except God) who can stop this madness. There was a lady who encountered a trans female in the lady's gym locker room and made a very big public stink about it. What did the gym do? I believe they band the lady who complained about the situation. My chin hit the floor at that point. I'm thinking of going "Amish". I may have to start my own Catholic "Amish" community and just separate from this sick world.

Clare73 said:

They violated the law.

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Never happened.

I apologize if this is not the right forum for this kind of topic (thread).

I am new to this website.

Please, feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate forum.

Thank You

Lock her up! Lock her up!