Marathoner

Yes, what of it? Right now, in the absence of whatever you all are groaning about in this topic, there are murders which are never solved. There are people who disappear without a trace... and the authorities do nothing about it. I have witnessed people refusing to talk. They are not Muslim. Muslims aren't involved. I recall how law enforcement refused to investigate a crime so, having done their job for them myself, they still refused to do a thing about it. All of that happens right here, right now, and has been going on for longer than any of us have been alive. So, the comfort zone of the comfortable is being violated? So what... there has been much, much worse going on underneath your collective noses. Read Romans 3. Then, read about what the Lord and the apostle Paul endured. Are your churches better than them?

The world bemoaning the world. What of it? For those of us who dwell with the Lord who also dwells with us, it's nothing.

Polygamy is illegal in the United States; there is no religious exemption with regard to the law. The mainstream Mormon organization, when faced with the illegality of Brigham Young's "revelation" (polygamy was the revelation), conveniently had another "revelation" which ended the practice. Bear in mind that there are dozens of schismatic Mormon sects that departed from the mainstream LDS organization which continue to practice polygamy in violation of both federal and state laws. History: The Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 made multiple marriages illegal in the United States. The Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 expanded the original Act by specifically targeting the LDS church, disincorporating the Mormons and seizing their property. In 1890, the Mormon president received a "revelation" that ended the sanctioned practice of polygamy in the LDS. That caused schisms among Mormons.

To be fair, Christianity is a religion whereas belonging to Christ is not. There are some who profess His name and work all manner of evil on this earth, hating their neighbor and devouring the needy. I'm assured that I'm not the only one who witnessed such a thing. Religion is a work of the flesh (that form of godliness). You write the truth: we have His life for He gave this to us and so we dwell with Him, and He dwells with us. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, brother. We know what this means, yes? We do indeed. We are being conformed to His image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. We are disciplined when it is needful, and we walk with God upon the earth. We are the Body of Christ and thus, are Christ in this world. He never truly left... He sent us!

You pass the judgment, brother. I'm silent more often than not these days. I primarily engage in light-hearted banter on this forum. Why? The Lord taught me the value of silence during those years when I lost the ability to speak. According to His plan, after the Lord reversed the tide and healed this flesh, it pleased Him to teach me how to speak once more. The affected regions of the brain that were damaged by infection were regenerated but with regard to this rejuvenation, it was needful to develop the neural networks required to vocalize and concentrate on tasks in a meaningful fashion. It was an excruciating journey, surely the greatest challenge I have yet to face on this earth but after two years passed, the Lord declared that I was fit to walk as the man He fashioned me to be. His instruction taught me to measure (judge) every word, my friend. What did He declare after He poured His Spirit upon me? Whatever words I speak, they will be His. Whomever curses me, curses Him; and whomever blesses me, blesses Him (the same applies to all of His Body). The woman who looked after me when I was bedridden and dying, who gave me food to eat when I had none and clothing to wear when all I had to were filthy rags, did all of this to Him... only she didn't know it. She gave freely with no expectation of return, but what she received in return far surpassed anything this world has to give: the Lord gave me to her as a son so the rest of her days on earth were spent in peace and love. She lost her only son, so the Almighty gave her another. As for me? My mother despised and disowned me, so He gave me another mother to honor and serve. How was she judged by her Christian family? They despised and reviled her; her children had abandoned her as did her friends. She was left to die alone in a desolate place, but she was never despised nor abandoned at any time by the Lord. He sent me to her, brother. During those days while I struggled to learn how to vocalize (speak) again, I asked the Lord to teach me righteous judgment. He loves this woman and, on account of her being placed in my care by Him, I sought to judge properly so I would be a good servant. It began with silence. I listened to the voice of the Lord carrying out whatever He bid me to do, learning the lessons He taught along the way. When it all began, I had no idea what the Lord would accomplish: I learned how to judge properly. Slow to speak, quick to listen, never forgetting where I came from and the gravity of judgment. It is a grave matter to be sure. Proper judgment does not resemble the religious rantings of Christianity. It is spiritually discerned and, as I have witnessed over the years, confounds rote and ritualistic responses. Those whom the hide bound rail against will judge them, for their own words convict them. The wicked men they lionize testify of their hardened hearts, and the needy they condemn will be remembered when the dead are resurrected and judged by the Lord. They are numbered among the dead, and they will be judged among the dead. The man who strikes me, I forgive. I say to the Lord, "I hold nothing against this man, Lord." This pleases Him. The man who devours the needy from this earth? I remain silent because his own deeds and words judge him. This also pleases the Lord. The day comes, my friend!

"Your world is going to fall apart." Is that so? Some of us have had our "world" fall apart over and again. We starved, we shivered in the cold, we despaired of living, were left for dead, and drew close to the grave. We were subject to violence and became acquainted with fear and the terror that comes in the night. We were forsaken by this world and everyone we knew, so what more can this world possibly do to us? Forsaken by the world and everyone we knew, but there is One who claimed us as His own: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He surely claimed me and so, having endured all of the above, there is nothing left to fear. Cast aside the fear and fearmongering and look to the Lord of Glory, in whom there is no fear. We have nothing to fear from that which slays this flesh and blood, for that's all it can do. So what?

An excellent OP. I'll arrange the seven callings in the order in which they were delivered to me, @Michael37. Universal Call To Repentance And Faith, when the Lord called me. Call to Community, when I was added to the Body and became part of a fellowship for 4 years. Call to Suffering, twenty years of homeless destitution which culminated in a near-fatal illness. Call to Holiness, when the Lord lifted me up and taught me how to speak and reason again. He used the scriptures as my educational source: first, by learning how to read them aloud (it was grueling to endure) and then, through questioning me regarding what I had read. Along the way, He taught me how to live. Call to Service, which occurred after my instruction above was finished according to the Lord. God poured His Spirit upon me, and I received my first task: to serve the woman whom He had sent me to as her son in her time of need. Behold, my mother. Serve her just as I serve the Lord and love her just as He loves me. Vocational Call, which commenced after she passed on and I faithfully discharged the duty which the Lord had given to me to fulfill. The Lord declared where I would go, what I would do, and what would come to pass. This included a Missionary Call for I would walk in dark and desperate places which my Call to Suffering and Call to Service prepared me for. I would serve the needy and homeless by joining a non-profit organization.

The Romans would allow Jews to bury (entomb) the crucified if someone claimed the body, as was the case with the Lord.

Seeing as how we agree regarding the judgment of the Body and the Great White Throne judgment, I believe it's a matter of semantics, brother. I refer to our judgment by Christ as the "Bema Seat" which as you say, is not the Great White Throne judgment. Bema Seat (us), or the Great White Throne (the dead). Simple, yes?

Of greater interest is what the Lord prepares us to walk in right now while we are in the world, my friend. This isn't a matter for conjecture; rather, it's a matter of submitting to Jesus Christ and walking in the Spirit here and now. I have found that my experiences in this life prepared me for my calling in Christ. What's my calling? To serve the needy and the distressed, and this is precisely what I have been doing for many years now. I was needy and distressed, and so the Lord served me. After He had lifted me up from ruin so that I was able to stand on my own feet again, He charged me to do the same for the sake of others: to love others just as He loves me. That is His commandment to us all.

Well said, brother. I did not come to Christ out of the fear of the wrath to come; I came to Him because He called me, and He is wonderful beyond words. It is both an honor and a privilege to submit myself to the Lord. As our brother @Vine Abider wrote about in his recent topic, our "status" is all about our relationship with the Son of God. To know Him is to love Him... to love Him is to submit ourselves to Him... and everything else comes while we are disciplined and mature in faith. That's where we begin. It's worth noting that the Almighty is not looking for those who wish to grovel before His throne. God cherishes any freewill offering made in faith, and we have nothing to fear in Jesus Christ.

Speaking of that, have any new ducks?

As for myself, I was a prisoner in a household where the Lord was never mentioned. If any material from a church was found in my possession, I would be beaten for it; my first experience with that happened when I was five years old. I was not permitted to associate with Christians and if a new friend was discovered to be such, I would be punished. I learned to turn down any invitations from a Christian household. This was not an obstacle to the Lord who intended for me to know Him, as opposed to hearing (or reading) about Him. A lack of religious upbringing and indoctrination made this a simple matter when the Lord revealed Himself to me after my time in the U.S. Army was over. I knew that the Spirit of the Lord was speaking to me, and that I had been hearing Him for quite some time before He revealed Himself as God. I was undone by this revelation, my friend. Why was the Almighty speaking to someone like me? He was speaking to me when I didn't know who He was! It was time for me to come to Jesus Christ because I belong to Him. If I trusted the Spirit and heeded His words, He would bring me to the Son of God. Had He ever lied to me? No, not once. That was indeed what happened, my friend. The Spirit brought me to Christ, and I was added to the Body.

Fare well.

I used a solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid and water in a spray bottle to keep those bugs under control many years ago. It was surprisingly effective with the added bonus that it didn't harm plants nor lead to leaves burning in the sun. Not a fan of pesticides, but those particular bugs can be a problem. P.S. --- I would hit them under leaves, too. Nowhere to hide.

Pot pouree, eh? Never had it before.

I was oblivious until I read this topic. Valentine's Day? Chocolate? Where?

If you share testimony, prepare yourself to encounter those who either don't believe, or those who refuse to believe. Ignore them. You and those who witnessed what happened know the truth, yes? Yes, and it's more than sufficient. Why? Because those who witnessed the power of God displayed in you were those whom the Lord intended to witness this, and His will and purpose are all that matters. You may not be aware of the reason why you collapsed: notice how the Lord healed your foot? You weren't on your feet when He did. The Lord has displayed his power in me before, and on one occasion this happened in the midst of a tiny Charismatic fellowship. 13 people were there on that Sunday when God, who loves these wonderful brothers and sisters, healed deformed vertebrae and smashed discs in my spine. I stood up straight... lifted my arms above my head... and I felt strong but gentle hands above me grasp my wrists and slowly lift me up so my body stretched upward. While these hands stretched me upward, the most amazing warmth wrapped around my spine. After those hands released me, all of the pain I had lived with for years vanished. I could feel how straight my back was. I measured myself later that day and I was two inches taller. Remember this: you know the truth of what happened. Praise the Lord and seek to do His will... and rejoice in Him!

Surely you know the reason why, brother. Why? The churches have nothing to do with the Lord, and they never have. They are fronts for a religious system that, like other religious systems in this world, seeks supremacy and dominion. All manner of evil has been done under the sun in the name of a Lord whom they don't know, and witness how they justify and make endless excuses for the wicked men they lionize. Those who love a lie are easily manipulated by liars, my friend.

I walk with the Lord, and He walks with me. My vocation is whatever He gives me to do which, during these days, is a servant and counselor of the homeless and the needy. I am often called upon to testify to --- or advocate for --- those whom He places into my care.

No. I briefly visited a different forum when Worthy was down for a while but apart from that, this is the only forum for me. I most assuredly don't see anything amiss with those who are active on multiple forums engaging in the same topic of discussion on said forums; the only issue I have is where duplicate topics within the same forum are concerned. I don't care for cereal. Let it live, I say.

I have not. It's a tragedy, sister. Many fentanyl addicts on the street here didn't know what they were getting, because the pop-up barbershops were either disguising fentanyl as other drugs, or mixing it with other substances. Fentanyl withdrawal is infamous for causing senseless aggression and violence on the part of the addict. This has been linked to an increase in assault and non-lethal violent crime.

It's my experience that fentanyl addiction is the worst I've seen, followed by alcohol. 90 day residential detox is not sufficient for fentanyl addiction; at least one year of medically-supervised detox under confinement is called for. That's not supported, of course. Fentanyl addiction features the worst outcomes for addicts. All I can do is pray for them... these addicts are thrown out of homeless shelters due to violence against staff and shelter occupants and they don't last very long in our program, either.

The notion that fentanyl isn't being made in the U.S. is incorrect. It is indeed, just as drug cartels operate within U.S. borders; the mountains of this state are a haven for their labs and human trafficking enterprise, and this isn't the only state where this is going on. A cartel operates hundreds of so-called "pop-up barbershops" in the city where I live, which is a phrase for mobile drug-dealing venues. Mobile, in order to evade surveillance and identification by law enforcement. They are constantly on the move. These mobile dealers can be run out of vehicles... bicycles... motorcycles... RVs... apartments where people with no criminal record rent (that's common)... and so on.

I'll say this and be done with it: Canada has been an active partner with the United States for many decades. There has always been mutual cooperation Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies --- both exchange information in the interest of both parties --- and so this posturing toward Canada is more than baffling. It's totally bizarre. It makes absolutely no sense.