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I say this because we are under attack here in the USA from sodomite characters. "Satan is pushing an incest agenda in the liberal church. He has formed an Antichrist club using fallen away Christians, and they are repeatedly preying on people's doubts." Jesus said "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:18. They seem to be using any leverage they can in our families, friends, and work mates to attack. Lust has gone to a different level. So we need to pray against this, and for the addicts Satan is using to attack His church. We pray for their salvation, which is so much better than attacking God's church with their sick strategies against men, women, and children. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17

In society, we obviously need leaders so that their peoples/ subjects/ voters can be governed and guided. I'm Not trying to be too cynical when it come to leaders(especially political leaders) just so that I can sound like someone who is too clever by half, lofty or sanctimonious however t I wanted to emphasize the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and their subjects / voters. (Important Side Note: This might be good topic for a different post but It is also important to Note the difference between: Leaders Directly appointed by God that generally occurred Prior and During the time of the Book of Judges Leaders Indirectly(i.e with God's reluctant acceptance) and/or Directly empowered by the peoples / subjects that generally occurred After and some During the time of the Book of Judges ) However, 1 & 2 Sam, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chron, Esther & Judges (even to a lesser extent Psalms & Proverbs) are some books in the bible that should be must-read for Christians who may be interested in being part of leadership (especially political leadership) because said books emphasize the difficulties & challenges that leaders face. Leaders are tempted to engage in and/or faced with such evils like backstabbing, lying, grandstanding, deceiving, pretending, volatility of voters & supporters, egotism, pride etc. One particular aspect of leadership that is interesting is the relationship that leaders have with their peoples / constituents / voters who they lead. Leaders & their subjects / voters have a Relationship that needs to be handled with care and attention because it can become dangerously harmful if it's mishandled. Again, I want to emphasize that I'm Not trying to be too cynical but we Christians should sort of approach leaders in a sympathetic & empathetic manner because all humanity is broken and in need to help due to sinfulness The following ( 1 Timothy 2:1-2) shows us a constructive approach with good intentions when it comes to praying for our leaders: 1 Timothy 2:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [a]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. However, Here are some bible passages and scriptures that emphasize the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and their subjects / voters: Let's start off with bible verses that indicate the dangers that leaders themselves pose to their subjects / voters / people: -In the 1st Samuel 8 chapter, Prophet Samuel makes a speech of Warning to the Israelites. The aforementioned speech is about the powers and actions of Leaders Indirectly ( i.e with God's Reluctant acceptance) empowered by the peoples ( i.e the establishment of Israelite monarchy ). Prophet Samuel tells the Israelite peoples that the Israelite Kings would for the most part use the peoples as laborers & military personnel , and use the land of the nation for king's own farming, & take a percentage of their crops, flocks and cattle. Essentially, Samuel tells the Israelites that a king would view Israel as his own personal fiefdom. King Saul gave into the fleshly desires of the people in 1 Samuel 15 by allowing them to take the choicest of spoils of the Amalekites instead of obeying God's command that ordered Saul to utterly destroy all the Amalekites,and everything belonging to the Amalekites.(which is very similar to modern day elected politicians in democracies who might give into fleshly desires of the voters based on opinion polls for specific political issues even though their desires are wrong) -The Proverbs 23:1-3 bible verses suggest that we should Not be too dependent on sustenance of rulers probably because the rulers might find out that they have leverage over you, and therefore, can possibly bully/oppress you: Proverbs 23:1-3 23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you, 2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food. -Even a man after God's own heart, King David,takes advantage of his powers as king in 2 Samuel 11 by sinfully committing adultery with a married woman, and then goes on to kill her husband. Now, it's certainly Not one-sided because the bible also indicates the faults of the subjects / voters / people: -The Judges 9 chapter's narrative is a good example of the volatile nature of the peoples / subjects behaviour towards their leaders. Judges 9:2-4 show how Abimelech convinced the people of Shechem to follow him, but then as time goes by, it mentions in Judges 9:23 that Shechem's people later turned against Abimelech. -Absalom's handsome features are referenced in the 2 Samuel 14:25 bible verse, and with his charisma he (2 Samuel 15:6) "stole away the hearts of the men of Israel". The use of the word (2 Samuel 15:6) "stole" has a negative connotation that suggests how the people can mistakenly be so enamoured by the image of their leaders as opposed to the leader's actions and policies which is the actual substance. -Furthermore, 2 Samuel 15:10-11's recounts the events just before Absalom's attempted coup against King David which states that the followers of Absalom "went innocently, and they did not know anything." Essentially, 2 Samuel 15:10-11 is evidence that the people can easily be swayed to do the will of a leader who is handsome, charismatic and charming. Acts 12:21-23 is a great example in the New Testament that shows the dangerously complex relationship between leaders and people because the people mistakenly say that King Herod was a god, and King Herod Fails to give the Glory to God, and therefore, an angel of God killed King Herod. (As a side Note, an interesting leader who showed some good leadership qualities was Queen Elizabeth II who worked behind the scenes to fight the South African government's apartheid which suggest that she did Not do it for the popularity or fame: ----------------( Credit Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/crown-season-4-did-queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-get-n1247289 )----------------- Nonetheless, Elizabeth has been credited with using her influence to pressure the South African government over its institutionalized racist segregation. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, for instance, has described her as a "behind-the-scenes force" in helping to bring an end to South African apartheid."Did she work behind the scenes in the case of South Africa to offer encouragement to Nelson Mandela? Yes," Smith said. "But she did it by using her soft power. She never was in a confrontational situation with Margaret Thatcher." ----------------( Credit Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/crown-season-4-did-queen-elizabeth-ii-margaret-thatcher-get-n1247289 )----------------- To conclude, as (1 Timothy 2:1-2) states, it is important for people to pray for their leaders but at the same time people should cautiously view their worldly leaders.

Proverbs 2:16-19 Proverbs 3:3-20 Proverbs 6:24-35 Proverbs 7:5-27 Proverbs 9:13-18 ( may be more broader than just adultery, sexual fornification, sexual lust because it could also include being engaged in financial / material theft or robbery or corruption ) Most of the aforementioned Bible book of Proverb's verses deal with adultery, sexual, fornification, sexual lust, etc., except maybe Proverbs 9:13-18 ( see reason above ). In all the aforementioned verses, it seems that: A) the women are the culprits/miscreant ( I suppose to be more lawyerly or to use legalese, we could say that the women in said verses lean towards being the "principle of the crime" ) B) the men seem to be like Naive Accomplices in a crime. I read both 1) a formal equivalence literal translation of the Bible like New American Standard Bible 1995 ( NASB1995 ) 2) , and also a dynamic / functional equivalence relatively gender-neutral / gender-inclusive politically correct translation of the Bible like Christian Standard Bible ( CSB ) , and both translations seem to make the women seem like the "principle of the crime" , and the men seem like Naive Accomplices. Essentially, it seems like male chauvinistic because the aforementioned proverbs verses seem to be warnings to naive men about the dangers of the sexually promiscuous women. The aforementioned verses fail to address the case of 1) lonely hardworking working wives, and her handsome promiscuous male colleague 2) lonely housewife, and the handsome promiscuous male neighbor/male supervisor(if she lives in an apartment) Could someone please give some insight as to whether or Not the aforementioned verses could be interpreted so that they can be more gender-neutral / gender-inclusive / politically correct?

David & Michal's relationship does lead to marriage which is recorded in 1 Samuel 18:27. However, I was wondering how Christians who are seeking to date/court someone or are already in a courting/dating relationship can learn from David & Michal of the bible. A) We start off with Michal loving David which is clearly stated in 1 Samuel 18:20 (which could also suggest/hint/indicate that Michal & David did know each other before getting married, and so we can sort of assume that this was Not really an arranged marriage which is a common custom in ancient times, and also still quite a common custom presently practiced in the region of South Asia( Indian subcontinent ). To be more specific, it is Not like an arranged marriage where the man and woman may Only communicate for a really short period of time( like 5 minutes to an hour or so), and then decide to get an arranged marriage with the blessing of the man's family and the woman's family B) As premised by point A) above David & Michal did know each other for some period of time prior to their marriage. Therefore, we can probably assume that David knew that Michal had a household idol in her possession which is evidenced in 1 Samuel 19:13. Since David & Michal are both Jews in Ancient Israel, we have to wonder why David was Not troubled by the fact that his betrothed had a household idol which categorically violates the 1st commandment of the 10 commandments. So from a modern perspective, Christians who are dating/courting should make note of behaviours/actions that categorically violates their Christian faith. For example, if the person who you are courting/dating is repeatedly & knowingly listening to inappropriate music(i.e music with sexual connotations, bad language, etc.) then those would be clear warning sign that you should end the relationship, and Not marry said person C) When we read 2 Samuel 6:16-23 , we know that they are already married because it was previously mentioned that David married Michal in 1 Samuel 18:27. However, could Christians who are still in courtship/dating learn something from 2 Samuel 6:16-20 even though 2 Samuel 6:16-23 recounts a story about David & Michal after they were married ? Let me explain. The narrative in 2 Samuel 6:16-23 which emphasizes Michal's strong feelings of severe disgust/spite/embarrassment when she sees David's dancing during worship which may have been Unsophisticated/Inelegant/"Uncool" from her perspective. Subsequently, Michal harshly criticizes 2 Samuel 6:20 by saying a condescending manner: (2 Samuel 6:20b)......“How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” Based how we read 2 Samuel 6:16-23 , we can probably assume that Michal was very arrogant towards David because he was dancing during worship. Do Not get me wrong, I understand if a spouse/(partner in courtship/dating) might mildly rebuke whomever they have married/presently courting/dating for singing too loudly in worship or dancing in a goofy manner. But I believe that Michal's response in 2 Samuel 6:20b is a lot harsher and a lot more critical than a mild rebuke. D) Finally, if we are Christians who are in courtship/marriage, we can probably make some noteworthy assumptions from 2 Samuel 6:23 which states: (2 Samuel 6:23) Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death Some readers might say that due to Michal's overly harsh criticism of David, God would Not allow Michal to have children which is probably why Michal Never had any children till the day of her death, even if David may have continued to have sexual relations with Michal during their marriage. However, another perspective could lead us to assume that due to Michal's overly harsh criticism of David , David himself Stopped having any kind of sexual relationship with Michal which is probably why Michal Never had any children till the day of her death. This 2nd perspective would bring up the questions: "Should Christians who are in a courting/dating relationship just end their relationship ASAP( which is sort of symbolized by David Not having sex with Michal after her overly harsh criticism) with their partner after an experience similar to the one David had with Michal in 2 Samuel 6:16-23 ? In others, should we single Christians clearly make note of the fact that we should Never date/court someone who is overly harsh & excessively arrogant in life like 2 Samuel 6:16-23's Michal?"

im a 22 year old girl and a christian. sadly none of my friends are christian and its soo frustrating. anyways, the one friend that doesnt ignore me like everyone else does, and who actually likes hanging out with me is always bringing up her sex life. i told her i don't like it but she does it anyway. she was with this boy in the car with me, and she was asking him all these inappropriate questions about sex. like what positionn he likes etc. i felt very uncomfortable and she said she just likes to talk about her feelings. i do like her but it gets me so upset. since pre marital sex is a sin and im a virgin. everyone makes me feel bad about being a virgin at 22. im tired of everyone only caring about sex. this is why im going to be alone forever and im done with guys. i just feel emotionally drained and upset. needed to let out my feelings.

I've been in multiple debates recently about God and homosexuality, I want to get more people thinking about it and want to know about other people's thoughts. Is the psychology of it (having the attraction towards the same sex) a sin in itself? Is just the acting upon the attraction the sin? Or is none of it a sin at all? Another point, is that some non-Christians accuse Christians of not liking homosexuals and thinking of them as bad people. This really annoys me, how people can so easily generalise us. I myself do not understand or agree with homosexuality...but that doesn't mean I think homosexuals are bad people! We are ALL bad in the eyes of God. What say you on these matters? =)