D. Adrien

This church has the same problems that the Pharisees and Sadducees had. They hold in high regard the traditions of men over the teachings of Jesus/God. See Mark 7: 1-9 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,a holding to the tradition of the elders, 4and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.b And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.c) 5And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! Ikons, the worship of Mary, the sayings of the Elders and rituals obscure and confuse the practice of Christianity as commanded by the teachings of Jesus, the head of the Church.

Could also be describing Antifa. Usually white, indoctrinated, come from wealth and privilege and a leftist household. (Purely my opinion).

But there is a battle raging within. Mark 7:20-23 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Evil thoughts and foolishness cover everything else not specifically listed above. The Holy Spirit will need to deal with this in each one of us. Our part? submission and agreement. Edit: There are times for me that submission is much easier than agreement when the Holy Spirit reveals sin and failings. Justification from me and not from God.

mentioned more than once in Proverbs: Pro. 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Deep deception by the god of this world.

Should I pray to start? Yes, and fill your mind with the teachings of Jesus. Praise God in your thoughts, recite memorized verses in your mind and pray unceasingly. When your mind is filled with the things of God there is no room for the Adversary to harass you with rubbish. Praise of God will chase the enemy away because of their hatred of all things pertaining to God. God is love therefore practicing agape love will also cause evil to flee.

Figure of eighty, sometimes the individual needs to just do as they please and believe that control is held in their own hands to live the life that seems fitting for the moment. Of course, this is just an illusion provided by the god of this world so as to have achieved control of the individual through all the shiny alluring trinkets and emotional attachments. I spent approximately ten years believing I had control of my own destiny, reveling in hedonism and nihilism. After ten years or there abouts, I was spent, tired and knew that my rebellious nature was of no value to myself or anyone else near me. Mercifully, Jesus with perfect timing sought me out and provided me a means of a deeper repentance. I gladly accepted His offer and have lived my best life imaginable in humble submission and agreement to His will. I will never be perfect as long as I drag this body around, but I know that someday His promise of perfection will be achieved on the other side of this earthly existence. I hope that you have the time to find truth while living in this world before your spirit is called to return to God Almighty. Not every rebel survives their rebellion.

I always enjoy old posters and billboards because you can almost see the mindset behind them.

Much easier to just quietly die in my sleep.

Perhaps there are spiritual laws in effect that result in certain outcomes for law breaking. What you sow, you shall reap seems to allude to this in my thinking.

Yes, James Knox preaches Jesus. An Independent Baptist minister located in Florida. Can be found on YT.

Where the congregation in the wilderness failed for forty years, Jesus fasting and praying for forty days in the wilderness succeeded in defeating the tempter. Is not the Law a means of defining how to be holy and righteous in the flesh? The Holy Spirit better defines holiness and righteousness in the church era. Edit: Brain cramp, had to omit something I included which was wrong.

I was reading Isaiah 24 earlier. I don't know how this prophecy will play out and it certainly hasn't yet. Isa. 24:4-13 (ESV) 4The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. 5The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. 6Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. 7The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. 8The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. 9No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. 11There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. 12Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. 13For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

We will all be killed by phallic symbols. Rightly so, for having saturated our culture with pornography to the extent this culture is determined to invent more genders to enable greater perversity.

Jesus' Sabbath breaking was only in accordance with the laws of man. He upheld the Sabbath in accordance to the law of God. (Commandment #4) Otherwise he would have had sin added to His account.

You know it'll be bad when the federal gov. will demand payment in a different currency than the American dollar. :)

Amen brother! He solved many of my issues!

Experiencing Christ can solve a great many problems.

Perhaps it has more to do with what John Strickland conveys in his piece concerning Marxist dogma. (JS is a Eastern Orthodox priest that has a doctorate in Russian history.) Keep in mind that the handlers of the current President are not patriots of the U.S. An excerpt: ( I bolded the pertinent paragraph and provided the previous paragraphs for some background.) Marx is known to many historians for advancing socialism from an “idealistic” ideology to a “scientific” one. With him, socialism moved from mere hopes about progress for the working class to one of scientific laws about it. This, certainly, is what the father of Communism claimed himself. Marx pored over empirical data about the economy in London’s British Museum Reading Room. Using his research, he erected a grand theory of economics and history that declared, in a language similar to Darwin’s, that natural laws not only govern human behavior but determine its outcome. Science, he claimed, proves that the future belongs to the industrial working class. At the core of this theory was the Darwinian principle of natural selection. Marx wanted to dedicate his magnum opus, Das Kapital, to the great contemporary biologist. He agreed completely that individual members of a given species are locked in a relentless “struggle for existence” with one another, and that destruction and death pave the way of evolutionary progress. For Marx, though, social evolution depends on individuals of a given class organizing together to struggle against and annihilate their enemy class. As a result of industrialization, the two great class enemies were currently the proletariat and the capitalistic bourgeoise. Progress would come, Marx promised, when the former class overthrew and replaced the latter class in what he called the “proletarian revolution.” To reach this turning point in history, however, very bad things had to continue to befall the working class. Marx introduced a principle of progress he called “immiseration.” According to it, the working class, in order to become sufficiently class-conscious and capable of the violence needed for the proletarian revolution, must, in the simplest terms, become ever more miserable. Conversely, if it experiences improvements through political reforms or economic prosperity, it will fail to play its “scientifically” assigned role in history. Edit: the article can be read here: https://johnstrickland.org/2023/11/30/the-paradox-of-marxist-anthropology-or-more-bad-news-for-mrs-gumdrop/

Psalm 26: 4-5 (ESV) I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.

Psalm 39 (ESV) I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothinga they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”

Be happy you awoke with the Eternal on your mind!

Procrastination is a call to inaction! Rise up now! If it was worth putting off yesterday, it certainly is worth postponing today! The value of procrastination hasn't been devalued in one day. Procrastination isn't as bad as the word sounds. My past led me to predestination for procrastination.

Being lazy is safer than being a jerk. 2Kings 2:23-24 (ESV) (Elisha) He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

Yes, a play off the statement, " You may not be looking for war but war is looking for you." Thus, you may not be seeking affliction but affliction is seeking you. Sometimes it comes through others who are influenced by their perception of Christianity. Spiritual wickedness influences the non-believers and susceptible believers to react negatively to righteousness seen in Christians because it is a testimony against the evil thoughts and behaviors found in all of us. There is something really annoying about a goody two shoes.

Looking forward to after the crucifixion, remembering the command at the last supper, it wouldn't make any sense for a non believer to participate in the taking of the bread and wine which symbolizes the Lord's sacrifice to cleanse us of sin. A memorial to what He suffered for the deadly corruption of sin in humankind, He being our final Passover.