california church changes the nativity

[ayin jade]

1 hour ago, samuelg1 said:

It's not just California; the entire country is a lost cause. Within two generations, the entirety of the country will be unrecognizable. 

You are optimistic. I suspect it will be shorter.

[ReneeIW]

26 minutes ago, samuelg1 said:

Drug use is now celebrated and promoted in "gangsta" rap, popular music and film. It is the "cool" thing to do. You can't really be accepted in youth peer groups unless you at the very least, consume alcohol. Almost all "youth" parties revolved around drinking and drug consumption. 

There is even a local church meeting group which holds meetings at the local tavern. 

That’s been going on for decades. A young beautiful girl overdosed in my neighborhood and her uncle flew in for the funeral and said he was shocked because he thought only Hollywood Stars were doing heroine.

I think when people hear about celebrities doing drugs and partying, etc. they know how to separate that from real life. I’m not sure though. I have not seen any studies on that.

Growing up, I spent every single Friday night  watching MTV and was not influenced by those videos  at all. Now, if my mother had come home from work and reached for a glass of wine to destress and my father had pain pills in the medicine cabinet, I would probably have made a mistake. People don’t get ahold of drugs because they hear it in a song.

They get on drugs because they are available and they have been told it’s no big deal as long as you don’t go too far.

[ayin jade]

54 minutes ago, ReneeIW said:

Cartels and kidnappings usually happen in other countries, correct? Not here.

 

It happens in the us as well. But it doesnt fit the media narrative of how wonderful all these illegals are. So they underreport it, or bury it, or dont even report on it. But here in arizona, there are some local news that reports it when it happens in arizona. 

Btw, every politician and law enforcement chief in my state are under death threat from the cartels. In mexico, politicians and law enforcement chiefs have been routinely killed by members of the cartels whenever they have not done exactly what the cartels wanted. Oppose them in the slightest way and one gets killed. 

[ayin jade]

45 minutes ago, ReneeIW said:

In my area? I can tell you what they are actually doing. Unfortunately the problem got so bad that they now have the police going into schools with drug sniffing dogs. If drugs are found in a locker the student is expelled. 

My daughter actually worries that when she gets to high school someone will put drugs in her locker.

They also now have two weeks devoted to drug education in health class starting in Middle School. They used to start it in elementary school, which I didn’t like because it was just causing curiosity. They have now stopped drug education in elementary school after studies showed it made no difference.

When I was growing we were just told that drugs were evil and ruined  lives and communities. I didn’t find out until I was twenty years old why people were actually doing drugs. A religious leader told me when I was 20 that he loved  cocaine and what it did to him. So I think I was never tempted to to drugs because I never knew what they did, I was just told they were evil. By the time the religious leader told me he loved drugs, I had already been convinced they were horrible. 

22 years later, I spoke with that same religious leader who said he just does cocaine “very sparingly” now. His daughters also do drugs and one of his friends(another religious leader) said the girls were just being normal teenagers.

I bring this all up to say that there needs to be a stigma against first time drug users and people who think it’s okay to “experiment” with drugs or “party” occasionally with drugs. There was a stigma in my neighborhood when I was growing up and I think that helped.

And the police needs to come into schools and be a part of the drug education because the students are not listening to teachers. I could go on and on but the last thing I’ll say is that I think there needs to be harsher penalties against first time drug offenders. Not something that goes on your record and ruins your life, but mandatory jail time that is then expunged off your record. 

 

 

So much here I want to respond to. 

First, when I was a kid, somewhere between 8-11 (during the late 60s), a former drug user came to my school and spoke to us about the realities of drug use. He didnt skimp on the horrors of it. That was enough for me to keep away from it. 

In my area, even in the good schools in good neighborhoods, there is a cop on campus. I dont know how well that works in keeping the school drug free, but I do like them being there. 

The jails are full, so there has been a push to let folks out for so called minor offenses like first time drug use. I recall many sentences were ended for drug dealers and users during the obama administration. I think the lack of stigma can be tied into the lessened morality one sees now too. Plus the push towards legalizing pot adds to the problem. 

That religious leader needs to step down. Violates scripture to remain a leader. And he needs to go to jail.

[ReneeIW]

31 minutes ago, ayin jade said:

So much here I want to respond to. 

First, when I was a kid, somewhere between 8-11 (during the late 60s), a former drug user came to my school and spoke to us about the realities of drug use. He didnt skimp on the horrors of it. That was enough for me to keep away from it. 

In my area, even in the good schools in good neighborhoods, there is a cop on campus. I dont know how well that works in keeping the school drug free, but I do like them being there. 

The jails are full, so there has been a push to let folks out for so called minor offenses like first time drug use. I recall many sentences were ended for drug dealers and users during the obama administration. I think the lack of stigma can be tied into the lessened morality one sees now too. Plus the push towards legalizing pot adds to the problem. 

That religious leader needs to step down. Violates scripture to remain a leader. And he needs to go to jail.

The jails are full with repeat offenders. They need to stop it before it gets to that point.  Once you become an addict or are bringing in lots of money from dealing,  its hard to get people to change and we end up with full jail cells.

Both religious leaders I talked about were fired. 

[Neighbor]

My hope is certain. I place my hope in Jesus. I have no fear of what may come today, nor tomorrow.

My Lord has overcome death itself. Why should I  or any  of his own worry themselves through the day?

Proclaim the joy of the day,  my Lord and savior Lives! He died for me personally and arose again that I may have life eternal with Him his Father and the Holy Spirit.

I put aside all that comes my way to spread nattering naybobs of negativity. I choose to lift up praise of God having full confidence that he is in charge, He is sovereign.

Praise God thank you Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit resides within me. I am blessed beyond all reason, it is awesome this adventure is awesome!

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
      He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
      He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

  You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

[ReneeIW]

51 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

 

My hope is certain. I place my hope in Jesus. I have no fear of what may come today, nor tomorrow.

 

Amen! Great post.?

 

51 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Praise God!

[Neighbor]

42 minutes ago, Margo1945 said:

Nativity scene in such a way is totally wrong, sinful, and unacceptable and, yet,...

 Sorry  but I  can't get too worked up over it. Better to lower the temperature of one's passions on this one.  It is  a teasing of Christians being played out, much ado about much that is nothing.

My hope is not in a plastic Jesus doll, in a fake cradle, displayed with  three Magi that were not there. The nativity scene so popular is not even a Biblically accurate depiction of real history. At best it is a composite a confused compression of time.

Am I to make an idol of it? Am I to make an image and worship the image?  Even if it was made as a somewhat an accurate depiction of a real event or serious of events,  I cannot make holy  a plastic or plaster  depiction of what might be otherwise better represented,  as is in done within the Bible itself, where it is being far more accurately presented within Scripture.

[Billiards Ball]

On 12/10/2019 at 2:18 AM, ayin jade said:

A methodist church in california put up a nativity with joseph mary and baby Jesus in separate cages. It is a political statement about the way they perceive what is happening to illegals. So they trashed the birth of Christ.

Your thoughts?

Image

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/azfamily.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/49/24985357-4ae8-5b9c-902a-8c7d3466811b/5dee7241e6e13.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C790

Article

https://www.azfamily.com/news/us_world_news/church-nativity-scene-depicts-jesus-mary-and-joseph-as-refugees/article_5e57661d-f790-5f71-9c28-ad8848aae51c.html

You got it right, "The way THEY PERCEIVE".

Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt to avoid being martyred, so cages aren't so bad, nor should "statues in a box" concern us.

Methodists need to share the saving gospel, not do nativity PR stunts IMHO!

[Dennis1209]

On 12/10/2019 at 1:18 AM, ayin jade said:

A methodist church in california put up a nativity with joseph mary and baby Jesus in separate cages. It is a political statement about the way they perceive what is happening to illegals. So they trashed the birth of Christ.

Your thoughts?

Image

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/azfamily.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/49/24985357-4ae8-5b9c-902a-8c7d3466811b/5dee7241e6e13.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C790

Article

https://www.azfamily.com/news/us_world_news/church-nativity-scene-depicts-jesus-mary-and-joseph-as-refugees/article_5e57661d-f790-5f71-9c28-ad8848aae51c.html

Hello ayin jade,

Short of looking it up again and from memory. I recall the Methodist's as being one of the denominations that joined the Pope's ecumenical movement under the umbrella of the 'one true church'. A church / state movement of a one world religion supporting open borders, socialism and man-made global warming; worshiping mother earth. It's no secret this Pope Francis has made on his political objectives and uniting the world religions; that we all worship the very same god, called by various names.

The Bible is very clear there will be a one world government and a one world religion, apparently in the foreseeable future. We see the worlds religions aligning with and making written agreements with the Pope and Vatican, aligning themselves with them. When has this 'vicar of Christ' spoken of the Gospel of Christ, the way to Salvation, or the tens of millions of child sacrifices?

There's nothing new under the sun, the things that were shall be. Rome appears to be regathering her chicks as in the days of Constantine and the history thereafter. It's all lining up and taking shape right before our very own eyes in our generation. Nothing will get better from here on out, until Christ returns. 

The goal is to break the last bastion of freedom hanging on [the US], of which they are succeeding. Many Christian denominational churches have and are conforming to secular ideas and political correctness. Personally it makes me very angry, but these things must comes to pass, but God is in control, His plans and purposes will come about in His timing; and we know who wins in the end. 

Isn't is amazing to live in the generation that is seeing all these end-time things come about?