HarleyER said:

Very wise advice. It is very important to have a budget. I've always been of the philosophy to give a little, save a little, spend a little (on oneself). By God's grace, that has worked out very well.

I'm always hesitant to talk about giving as it is a personal matter. Today, my wife and I only give to 1) organizations that help faithful pastors who now in their retirement face financial difficulties, 2) organizations spread the word of Christ through media, 3) missionaries that I'm personally knowledgable about the missions, 4) good, gospel preaching seminaries that will train the next generation of pastors and leaders of the gospel, and 5) our local church. We have been know to give money to individuals on a case by case basis and according to a set criteria. I no longer support secular organizations as the government seems to have plenty of programs that support those purposes. What is lacking are funds for the cause of Christ in my opinion.

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Thank you. It is good that you give to organizations that help pastors in financial trouble, missionaries and Gospel distribution organizations. Yeah, secular organizations can be a bit risky to give to, which is why I will start giving more to Christian owned organizations.

Turkey's Erdogan: Islamic countries should form alliance against 'Israel's growing expansionism'​

Psalms 83
With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Byblos, Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to reinforce Lot’s descendants.[b]
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor
and became like dung on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession
of the pasturelands of God.”



Revelation 17
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

NBB said:

what i learned about USA politics, is that anything the left don't likes can be labeled by them as russian propaganda or far right.

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How many times do conservative cry Communism compared to liberals?

Michu said:

2 November, 2024. In the jewish calender its Parashat Noach ( Noah ) aswell as 1st Cheshvet (the time the second temple were completed, 1 Kings 6:38)
Thought it were interesting as Jesus referred to his own body as the temple, and we making up the body of christ.

Now on 2 november we also got All souls day or The feast of all Souls as the day also is called among other names, which is the day after All saints day.

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If this is the case, though, the Shia Islam armies surrounding Israel will be destroyed by God NLT 2 November.

Things have been going great even more. I am his cornhole playing partner as well. Seen my cornhole game set up and said cool. We played against a couple guys yesterday and won all 3 games. Right into the hole most of the time.

John Calvin was not trained in first-order logic. No one was at his time. Nevertheless, let me analyze his writing on the doctrine of reprobation in Institutes of the Christian Religion. Book III, Chapter 23, Section 1:

The human mind, when it hears this doctrine, cannot restrain its petulance,

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"petulance" is an emotive word. It belongs in rhetoric, not in a formal argumentation setting. I prefer to stick to objective logic when I argue.

but boils and rages as if aroused by the sound of a trumpet.

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He exaggerated the human mind's reaction. Again, it is rhetoric, not logic.

Many professing a desire to defend the Deity from an invidious charge admit the doctrine of election, but deny that any one is reprobated (Bernard. in Die Ascensionis, Serm. 2). This they do ignorantly and childishly

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more emotive words

since there could be no election without its opposite reprobation. God is said to set apart those whom he adopts for salvation. It were most absurd to say, that he admits others fortuitously, or that they by their industry acquire what election alone confers on a few. Those, therefore, whom God passes by he reprobates,

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He did not use the word "therefore" in the FOL sense. I am having trouble following his reasoning. For my taste, he needed to arrange his argument more linearly.

and that for no other cause but because he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines to his children. Nor is it possible to tolerate the petulance of men, in refusing to be restrained by the word of God, in regard to his incomprehensible counsel, which even angels adore.

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Calvin's argument seems to be based on emotive rhetoric and what computer science people call spaghetti logic.

I like to invite modern-day Calvin scholars to express themselves in my subreddit according to its rules.

OSV News) — On the occasion of St. John Paul II’s 1984 visit to Fairbanks, Alaska, at the start of a trip to Far East nations, President Ronald Reagan highlighted the pontiff’s work to ensure “rights and dignity of the individual and for peace among nations,” and committed the United States to that cause.

“In a violent world, your Holiness, you have been a minister of peace and love. Your words, your prayers, your example have made you — for those who suffer oppression or the violence of war — a source of solace, inspiration, and hope,” Reagan said. “For this historic ministry the American people are grateful to you, and we wish you every encouragement in your journeys for peace and understanding in the world.”

Reagan and St. John Paul II: A historic relationship​

The pope acknowledged Reagan was just returning from his own — as Reagan described — “mission of peace” in China, thanked the president for his kind welcome and reaffirmed their friendship. He otherwise didn’t speak much about Reagan but echoed the sentiment about the importance of justice and peace, saying that the diversity of Fairbanks “provides the context in which each person, each family, each ethnic group is challenged to live in harmony and concord.”

Continued below.

Iraq​

Pray for peace in Iraq, which is buffeted by political storms in Iran and other neighbouring Middle Eastern states. Pray for wisdom for its national leaders and for the regional authorities in Kurdistan and for peaceful progress on settling Kurdistan’s political future.
YES - I will Pray

Iraq

Pray for all the displaced people and refugees living in camps across Kurdistan. Ask that God would grant wisdom, courage and compassion to the authorities who are seeking long-term solutions and considering whether to close some of the camps.
YES - I will Pray

Iraq​

Pray for the vocational training activities provided by our partner in Kurdistan. May they provide new hope as well as new skills and opportunities for those who are learning together.
YES - I will Pray

Iraq​

Pray for the widows, children and other vulnerable people who rely on food parcels from our partner in Kurdistan. May these packages be of spiritual encouragement to them as well as meeting their physical needs.
YES - I will Pray

Iraq​

Pray for the safe houses operated by our partner which provide sanctuary to those who have fled persecution or abuse. Pray for comfort, protection and a lasting peace for those who find refuge there.
YES - I will Pray

Iraq​

Pray for the Hope for all Nations church run by our partner in Kurdistan which recently received its official licence. Pray God’s blessing on its ministry to Christians who have fled persecution elsewhere and to new Muslim-background believers.
YES - I will Pray

Iraq​

Pray for Rev Canon Faez Jirjees of St George’s Church, Baghdad. Thank God for his steadfast ministry and leadership and pray for continued strength, wisdom and peace for him and his family and God’s blessing upon all those to whom he ministers.
YES - I will Pray

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.

When Colombian President Gustavo Petro came into office last year, he touted a plan for “total peace”. But church leaders continue to be harassed, extorted and murdered due to the violence around control of territories between armed guerrillas, drug gangs and other armed groups. Christians in these areas who dare to speak publicly about corruption and violence face attacks for their bold witness. Essentially, any action that a group views as defiant or opposes their illegal activities is enough to lead to violent attacks or immense pressure.
In some indigenous communities, there is sometimes significant opposition toward Christian missionaries and anyone who has converted from traditional practices to follow Jesus.
There also seems to be a growing intolerance toward Christian views in the public sphere, especially about issues concerning life, family, marriage and religious liberty. Sometimes, Christians can be accused of hate speech and intolerance, which can promote self-censorship.

Meet Thiago​

“I would like to tell [the armed rebel group] that I forgive them in spite of all the evil they did, because maybe they didn’t know or hadn’t thought about what they were doing, and that I don’t … I don’t hold grudges.”
Thiago (name changed), a Colombian teenager whose brother was forcibly recruited and later murdered by an armed militia group.

What does Open Doors do to help?​

Open Doors strengthens the persecuted Church in Colombia through Bible distribution, training, trauma care, community development projects, emergency relief aid, and education and safe houses for children.

Please pray​

• Ask God to protect church leaders and help them to serve Him, despite the danger.
• Pray for strength for believers who are viewed are traitors by their indigenous groups.
• Ask God to protect and preserve the Open Doors Children’s Centre.

Sabeen Rahil and Elias Johny Al Arja in Bethlehem. In the background behind them is the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity, which stands on the site where Jesus was born. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

On Aug. 3, Sabeen Rahil and Elias Johny Al Arja, two young Christians from Bethlehem, were officially engaged. According to ancient tradition there, engagements are a public act and already bind the future spouses together with a priest’s blessing and the exchange of rings.

The couple will marry next year and have decided to begin their life together and raise their children in Bethlehem, despite the prolonged war in Gaza, the severe impact of the war on the local economy, and the escalation of violence in the region.

The couple told CNA that their decision is deeply rooted in their Christian faith and their desire to encourage other Christians to do the same in order to build a new society where Christians feel fully at home in the city where Jesus was born.

Continued below.

As anyone ever been to Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania or Branson, Missouri? They are known to put on Bible stories and turn them into musical, in somewhat style of Broadway.

I've seen Joseph some years ago. This Labor Day weekend, I went to see Daniel at the cinemas, which was beyond incredible.

The shows playing right now are Esther in Branson and Daniel in Lancaster. This coming Christmas, The Miracle of Christmas will be playing. Then the next year, Noah will be in Lancaster and David will be in Branson.

You can even stream Sight and Sound shows from the comfort of your own home.

So Sight and Sound is actually worth checking out.

timewerx said:

Not anymore.

20 years ago, what you said would be true.

But now with social media strongly pushing tattoo into mainstream, I'd be thinking anyone with tattoo is just like everybody else obsessed with fads.

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The tattoos aren't always real. I used to follow a model years ago with a signature look. One day she did a photoshoot showing their application. You couldn't tell they were fake because she had a professional and the images were tweaked. The same could be true for someone with means but you'd never know.

~bella

This is a pretty blatant case of bigotry by the school. It can’t be a safety concern because they field a co-ed soccer team: Soccer - MVCS

All Praise, Thanks, Glory, Honour & Victory to God for ensuring the widespread adoption of green, renewable & clean energy throughout the world:

No such thing as a fourth temple. No such thing as a third temple either.

Jesus Christ and His Church are God's Temple.

1 Peter 2:4-6, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, John 2:19-21, Revelation 21:22, Ephesians 2:19-22

-CryptoLutheran

The Bible does not answer this with a certain number. However, we have some clues.

Abraham said to his servant (S1) who was to find a wife for Isaac in Genesis 24:

8 "If the woman is not willing to follow you, you will be free from this my oath."

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The woman had to agree to the marriage.

Later S1 found Rebekah:

57 Then they [Rebekah's family] said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”
“I will go,” she said.

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Rebekah acted rather independently. She was a young woman old enough to decide. She could be a mature teenager. Her husband was 40 years old (Genesis 25:20).

Mark Quayle said:

Agreed. More than that, seems to me, is addictive behavior. Interestingly the old KJV and I don't know how many other versions, present it as something along the lines of, "do you awaken my love", and to be honest, I don't know which is more accurate. But it seems to me to make more sense that it would refer to arousing desire before it would naturally arouse itself.

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King James Bible:

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

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New King James Version:

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.

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FreeinChrist said:

Maybe he will live long enough to vote this election.​

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Oh, I really hope so. Hang in there, Jimmy!

The world as we know it is passing away.
Corrosion, corruption have come here to stay.
The lies and deceptions are plain as can be.
They capture the multitudes; few are now free.

They kill and they trick and they lie through their teeth.
They think they’re above, but they’re really beneath.
So many believe them, who fall for their tricks.
They give them their loyalties, to them affix.

They get so convinced that they cling to the lies.
They don’t use good judgment, so they are not wise.
They fall for the platitudes, all the smooth talk.
When presented with truth, then to that they balk.

So, what is the answer to all that’s afloat?
It’s Jesus who separates sheep from the goats.
Believe him and his word, do all that he speaks,
Believe not the messengers whose lies they sneak.

An Original Work / February 4, 2024

You say you love God, but do you truly?
For your life is being lived unruly.
You say that darkness, it did dissipate,
But by your words you, the truth, now negate.

You say a lot of things that are untrue.
Believing what you say is hard to do.
Your witness is not pure, nor is your life,
For you count darkness now as part of light.

Your thinking now is not in line with God,
Your flesh now goes with you where’er you trod.
Following flesh instead of righteousness,
You still think God your life should surely bless.

This thinking not based on truth, but a lie,
For you’re convinced that you’ll not surely die.
You think you are above the law of God,
But His word will prove to be true. He’s God!

For you can’t live your life just how you want,
Mocking the truth, and righteousness you taunt.
For, we are all accountable to God,
For all we do and everywhere we trod.

And one day Jesus will return to judge.
The truth you’ll not be able then to fudge.
For, we’ll be judged according to our deeds,
And if the gospel’s truth, we well did heed.

An Original Work / November 2, 2021

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom 2:6-8; cf. Gal 6:7-8).

In terms of scale the Earth is an insignificant planet orbiting an insignificant star.

The Bible does not teach “Once Saved Always Saved,” especially not in the sense that so many have of what it means to be saved and to have eternal life with God. The Scriptures do not teach that we can make a one time profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now we are “good to go” to heaven, no conditions attached. All of God’s promises to us have conditions that must be met by us for us to receive what was promised. And this is not saying that we have to be absolutely perfect, but that sin should no longer be our practice, but righteousness and obedience to God should be our practice.

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, in putting our sins to death with him, in order that we might now die with him to sin and live for him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin so that we will now honor and serve the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives. He died and rose again that we might be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

[1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14]

For we are his house, his temple, his body, IF we hold fast our confidence and our hope. And this is not talking about holding fast to a confidence and hope based upon a half-truth (lie) gospel message which is telling you that all you have to do is “believe” (rarely biblically defined) in Jesus once in your life and now heaven is guaranteed you when you die regardless of how you live. For if you read the Scriptures, the entire New Testament, in reality, in their full context, it will be very obvious that salvation that is genuine results in us denying self, dying daily to sin, and following Jesus in obedience.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; 1 John 2:3-6]

Therefore, if you hear the voice of the Lord speaking to you, do not harden your hearts as the Israelites of the Old Covenant did when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Do not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters and revelers and drunkards. Do not indulge in sexual immorality. Do not put Christ to the test by your rebellious behaviors and by your refusals to submit to him and to his will for your lives. And don’t be those who grumble against the Lord and against his true servants when they try to point out the truth to you in order to save your souls from hell.

[1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13]

For, if we follow after their example, we will end up with the same result. For these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. And these things happened to them as an example for us, but they were written down for our instruction. Why were they written down for our instruction? So that we don’t do what they did and end up with the same result. So, what is that saying? It is saying that if we follow the same pattern as they did, we also will be cut off. We will not have salvation from sin, and we will not enter into eternal life with God in his heavenly kingdom.

[Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, the caution to us here is for us to take care lest there be in any of us an evil, unbelieving heart, leading us to fall away from the living God. For “belief” is not what we profess with our lips alone. Belief is divine persuasion as to the holiness and righteousness of God, and as to our sinfulness and of our need to turn away from our sins to now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. And genuine belief (faith) comes from God, is authored by him, and is gifted to us by him, and it is not of our own doing, so we don’t get to define it. God does! His word does!

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18]

Therefore, considering the biblical truth of all that has been presented here, we who profess faith in Jesus Christ are to be exhorting (spurring, urging) one another EVERY DAY, as long as it is called “today,” that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, IF indeed we hold on to the faith that is biblical, that Jesus and his NT apostles taught (in full context), firm (steadfast) to the end. For if our faith is genuine, we are saved (past), we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns, when our salvation will be complete.

[Matthew 24:9-14; Romans 8:24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Hans Blaster said:

Steve, you've been making bad arguments constructed from bad definitions of "totalitarian" for almost two weeks now.

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Thats your opinion and I have given support for what I have said. You its actually not my arguement. The experts agree that totalitarianism can take several forms so this idea of bad definitions is a strawman because there is no specific definition apart from the broad tenents like centralisation.

Its ironic you say I emphasized centralisation as a tenet of totalitarianism when most of the definitions use centralisation as one of the main ingredients. Was it really that bad an arguement. I wonder if your playing games for the sake of undermining me rather than argueing the point.

I suggest you go and look at the video I linked to get educated on what exactly totalitarianism means in todays world. How it is cultivated and the principles involved.

Hans Blaster said:

It is my argument that you emphasized the wrong part because your understanding is poor. This is backed by many previous posts on this thread. (Which is not about the definition of totalitariansim anyway.)

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Well its my arguement that I didn't. How do you know the other aspects I also mentioned is not about Totalitarianism. Can you show me they are not. I mentioned particular examples about how this current govenemnt is engaging in behaviour that can cultivate totalitarianism.

It wasn't totalitarian but the cultivation of totalitarianism. Your making logical fallacies all over the place. Including one of semantics. and strawmen to avoid the actual point I was making about the current administration.

Argue back that the examples I gave of abusing Rule of Law and government is not the type of behabiour that can cultivate totalitarianisn tendencies rather than going on about definitions.

The whole point is whether its totalitarianism or not the behaviour is abusing and controlling. Thats the point you need to address and get over definitions. Control and abuse is control and abuse no matter which way its served.

Hans Blaster said:

Semantics are unavoidable given your sloppy use of words. None of these argument ever had any real connection to the VP either.

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Yes they did. They are not sloppy words. I explained that I was talking about the type of behaviour or thinking that cultivates totalitarianism. Its obviously not a totalitarian State at present. Your conflating what I said as being complete totalitarianism. You need to take a step back and look at what I am actually saying and not what you think I am saying.

In regards to semantics yes we need to understand the meanings. But as totalitarianism has a number of meanings we need to investigate than which is what I am doing. Your getting stuck on just the semantics.

Hans Blaster said:

It has nothing to do with the thread, because the things you describe are not happening.

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Did you watch that video. You complain about the wrong definitions and understandings and yet you cannot even investigate the issue from the evidence I am linking. How about you view the evidence I linked first before making claims its not happening.

Like I have said several times now your making fallacies, strawmen and misrepresentations. Conflating that I am speaking about the current administration is totalitarian when I am saying they are displaying totalitarian behaviours and thinking in their policies and ideology for which I linked evidence.