#do you understand that israel will never be forgiven

[favroitecrime]

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[cherryblossom-chopper]

I’m back from the ether to say it again!!

Ceasefire for Palestine! Freedom for Palestine! 🇵🇸

In light of the Oscars last night and the protest that occurred and with only Mark Ruffalo being featured showing verbal support, I have to write about this again.

I weep for Palestine. I weep for my teacher, who has lost contact with his family and friends in Palestine. I weep for the people of the land. I weep for Beruit and Damascus. I weep for myself because I can do so little.

For those of you, who feel like there’s is nothing left you can do; who feel exhausted thinking about this every single day but you live on the opposite side of the world, I hear you. I understand you, but we cannot turn away now. It’s too late to avert our eyes and hurry our heads in the sand.

For as much I hurt and for as tired as I am, I will never be as hurt and tired as those who are suffering. And for that I must push foreword. We cannot turn away, not now, not ever.

I will remember what happened to Palestine. The world shall remember and Israel will not be forgiven by the people.

I cannot pray because I see no kind God amongst us, but I will hope for the future. I demand a ceasefire and repatriation for Palestine.

Americans, contact your representatives and demand a ceasefire. We cannot allow our geriatric governmental bodies to ignore us.

Stand tall, fight and remember Palestine.

[azhdakha]

These last weeks have brought out a lot to evaluate for me, observing, listening and learning. Sometimes drowning in the pain and horror.

I realize that I cannot fully support and join the pro-palestinian leftist community because of their cold-heartedness in normalizing cruelty as decolonization. The videos I have seen won't let me say "this is normal and justified". Yet, I understand that no rebellion is bloodless. You cannot label every Palestinian who grew up seeing suffering and suffering himself and then picked up a weapon to stand up against this oppression asl terrorist. Still, I hold the principle that there is a difference between giving a full permit to any violence and trying to be as humane as possible. I think as revolutionary leftists we should always understand this.

I cannot say that I'm a zionist anymore. I thinj and genuinely want Jewish people around the world to have a safe home to live in without opression and discrimination with constantly hoping for the mercy of the landowners that are native and the majority of the place. But can a country be a safe home if it is built and exists on the non-stop blood, displacement and dehumanizing someone who happened to exist there before? Wouldn't such place be unsafe by default? I'm convinced that Jewish people deserve to have a home to call their own without constantly being involved in war and oppression, without someone constantly questioning their right to live there.

What's simple and what you always have to keep in mind - human suffering and death is not normal. Not excusable. Not justified. Bot collateral damage. Not revenge. Not retaliation. It's wrong. It's not allowed. Point blank.

But if we want to get to an actual solution, we shouldn't take into account all the factors and nuances, which requires complexity. We cannot ignore that a lot Jewish people came as refugees and aren't able to just "go back", that many of them were expulsed from Islamic countries. We cannot ignore that when it comes to the peace pacts, Palestinians we're promised to get a full control over the West Bank in 1995 by Oslo accords and by now it didn't happen. They still live in ghetto reservations and the majority of West Bank is under Israeli control while every day we see armed settlers or idf take away someone's house. We cannot ignore that terrorism doesn't come out of nowhere. Having a difficult childhood and a poor background doesn't save one from being accountable for a crime, but if you want to reduce crime rates in a society, you have to do something about the conditions people live in and don't be delusional that it's only their personal attitude that is a problem. Going back to the subject, we also cannot ignore that 7 millions of Jewish Israelis exist and we cannot just blatantly force them to go somewhere else. We have to take all into account. If want a free secular Palestine where all the citizens are equal, we have to think about how to transform the populations of two countries from their current state to the one we want.

As an anarchist I drive a conclusion: if your free Palestine requires killing and displacing Jews, fuck your free Palestine. If your safe Israel requires oppressing and genociding Palestinians, fuck your safe Israel. But don't get delusional and forget that it's Palestinians who have an x10 times bigger death toll, who are locked without food, water, shelter and medication, and its Israel that has disproportionately more power.

Support Palestinians. Show your authorities that their genocide will never be forgiven and forgotten. Show the society that there is never excuse to loose humanity. Support Israelis that are genuinely against the genocidal government, this is important to solve the issue(contact Israeli anarchists, socialists and leftists in general). Support Arabs and Jews in your place, don't let hate have an inch of it.

P. S. Please, follow @wearenotjustnumbers2 and read what they post.

[paperstorm]

The majority of the people I saw harassing Ronen were already haters from the 911 Fandom. They harassed him before just for happily posting about his own show and promoting it. These same people started harassing him with vigor even though he never even posted anything pro-genocide or pro-israel since Oct 7th when it was Israel attacked. But that didn't seem to matter to them because it wasn't about the war going on at all. It was them just using it as a subject to harass him more, like he just posted another promo or something. And then high fiving each other like children if he blocked them. It was not mature at all but that wasn't a surprise given how they used to act towards him in the past. He shouldn't have lashed out and stooped to their level but that's a whole other thing and he prob at his wits end with them. Understandable.

So the thing is. What you're describing is super gross, there's no doubt about that. But there are always people saying (to me, oh lord my inbox right now, and elsewhere) "everyone criticizing him is just an OG hater no one is actually trying to educate him." And then there are always people saying "nobody was hating everyone was just trying to educate him and he blocked them." Both of those things can't be true at once, and probably the actual truth is somewhere in the middle, but there are lots of people making those claims because it supports the point they wanted to make anyway - either that he's an evil monster who can never be forgiven or he's innocent and actually supports Palestine and did nothing wrong.

(I'm not accusing you personally of this, your points are good ones), but what I do want to say is that when I lurk on twitter I see a lot of people whose main motivation seems to be that they want their happy blissfully ignorant fandom bubble back. I empathize with that feeling, but I don't empathize with attempting to achieve it by bullying anyone who dares to say his response to genocide was not a good one. That directly makes this fandom an unsafe place for Muslims and Arabs, it communicates so loudly that people think their ability to peacefully stan a celebrity is more important than the lives of Palestinians. Actually grappling with the choices he made would require them to pop their bubble of blissful ignorance, to stop reducing this nuanced situation to just haters goin' hate, and they don't want to do that. And with as much respect as is due, those people's feelings are not my problem.

[apilgrimsjournal]

Heaven on Earth

“Son,'he said,' ye cannot in your present state understand eternity...That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it," not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say "Let me have but this and I'll take the consequences": little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why...the Blessed will say "We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven, : and the Lost, "We were always in Hell." And both will speak truly.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

I believe it is safe to say that all children of God yearn for Heaven. Sons and daughters of the Holy One of Israel were made to dwell in His presence even before the foundation of Earth. And it is so, I long for that country where I have not been. But if I may say so, with precaution, that I know of Heaven here on Earth. I do not claim that Heaven can be anywhere. The prince of the power of the air is also here in this world and friendship with this world would mean enmity with God. What I mean by Heaven on Earth is His people.

My brothers and sisters in Christ give me a glimpse of what Heaven could look like. In trials, most especially in darkest valleys, their love endures and glows brighter. The family of saints does not hesitate to help and bless others. As channels, His love flows through them. Like a river that runs deep, so is their genuine concern for one another. I am blessed to be one and experience such love that transcends all understanding. Surely, we love because He first loved us. Knowing His love is the reason why anyone could love selflessly, not wanting anything in return. Just yesterday, I tasted and saw this, once again. They celebrated my birthday in advance even when I did not expect anything from anyone. I find it unnecessary to be celebrated like that but I guess that comes with being cherished. You cannot love without showing it; it is bound to burst and overflow. One cannot love without actions.

Honestly, I enjoyed every bit of it. Unexpected joy is a fulfilling joy. I am so grateful to those who took the time and made the effort to really be with me yesterday. It is my lament how little I could express my gratitude but I hope they know how much I am thankful for each and everyone. Ultimately, I am most grateful to my Lord for giving me a family who loves Him. I do not deserve anything from Him but He gives abundantly.

Truly, the blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all."

[waitingforeddyneddy]

That anon shouldn't have mentioned Simone. I think that they wanted to say that in the industry you will always interact with problematic people. Matt put up a story, something he probably didn't see. If he were a famous Zionist like Gal Gadot or that Noah, there are no excuses. I don't justify it. I don't approve of everything my favs do, but it may be an explanation. Regarding the photos from Israel, there is no way to know for sure if they were sponsored. I've heard different versions so I don't know. A long-time fan received an anon on tumblr about the trip a few months ago. It is not a topic that has been touched upon much, but something has been said. Florence supported Israel at first but has since supported Palestine. I think that famous people, like other people, can learn or maybe they just do pr, it is impossible to know. The same thing happens with Jonny. He has either changed his mind (he has never said anything about that subject) or he didn't want to be cancelled. You have your opinion but it is normal for fans to think well of their favorite. Whether they infantilize it or not, some do but others don't. On the other hand, many fans are pirating the series (as they should). I understand that they should not interact with videos and so on, but it is more difficult and I personally do not judge them, especially in the case of people who are very supportive of the cause. I also want to say, although it may sound strange, that Simone and Jonny use Instagram in a similar way. I remember months ago a Polin fan criticizing them for not saying anything about the issue of abortion in the USA.

I still think a trip to Israel with consequent photodumping on instagram is completely gross and something that should not be easily forgiven. I would stop stanning a celebrity over this. If I was one of his fans I would keep silent in shame but no, they come in my inbox crying about how we was probably uneducated. I don’t honestly think he changed his mind, I think he didn’t want to get cancelled and that’s it.

Given how open Matt Bomer was with his support of Israel and given how we all know Fellow Traveller is a product of Zionism I don’t think this show should have gotten half the attention it is getting. Along with many other productions. Sorry but there is no excuse

[cheerfullycatholic]

But the Ark was used by the High Preist of Israel for God to forgive Israel's since on the day of attonment. Specifically, the priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the Ark. So, from my understanding, to day Mary is the new Ark, is to say she has the power to cleanse and forgive people of their sins

I'm gonna be honest, this one caught me off guard. I have never pretended to be an expert on Catholicism, and I've never read this part of the Bible before. So, I'd like to thank you for this ask in particular, it made me do some research and think a lot, and I had some help, as well (thank you very much Griselda!) After reading up on the subject, I had somewhat of an idea for how I wanted to respond, but she put it into words, so here they are; Yes, the old Ark was used to forgive sins by the High Priest: who God was acting through. The Ark itself did not forgive sins, it offered a way for sins to be forgiven. That's why Mary is the new Ark: she carried the Way, the Truth and the Life into this world so that the gates of Heaven could be reopened and our sins could be forgiven by Him.

[ourflaghashands]

just wip things

a spicy scene from Pitch Black that I was too impatient to wait for 😂 (don't worry, I'm still working on chapter 4)

Read under the cut!

(I don't write spicy stuff very often so I'm sorry if it's wonky :'D)

Izzy paces back and forth across the captain’s cabin. It’s well past the point when Stede said he would be joining him, and Izzy is dying for an explanation. He hadn’t done anything wrong. At least, not really. But Izzy can still see Stede’s face, pinched and anxious, and the authoritative voice pouring out of him still rings in Izzy’s ears. He doesn’t know what to expect when Stede finally joins him.

He manages to get in a few more laps before the door opens with a gentle click and Stede walks inside, looking pale and drawn.

“How’s Frenchie?” Izzy asks, before anything else can be said. Stede puts up a hand momentarily before divesting himself of his coat. He sinks into one of the armchairs with a sigh. “He’ll be fine. Might need stitches, but Roach assured me he’d make a full recovery.”

Something in Izzy’s chest unclenches. He knows that it wasn’t his fault, but he had a sense of responsibility for the crew. He was supposed to make sure they were prepared for everything, and Frenchie’s sword work had never been his strength. Perhaps Izzy would have to fix that.

“Good.” Izzy murmurs, just loud enough for Stede to hear. He doesn’t want anyone to think he’s gone soft, so he adds, “It’d be a shame to lose the only bard on the ship.”

Stede snorts, slightly undignified, and the response says more about how exhausted he is than his looks.  Izzy slinks over to him. “What was it you wanted to speak to me about?” He can’t just sit here and wonder any longer – the unknown is driving him insane.

“I’m under no illusion about your abilities with a sword, Israel, but even you have to realize you were way in over your head. Why did you put yourself in that position?” Bonnet’s words strike something in Izzy, drawing up memories of the night of The Incident with Edward.

Izzy swallows, looking down at his feet. “I couldn’t let anything happen to my Captain.” He responds easily, because it’s true – even if he and Edward still aren’t entirely in good standing with each other, Izzy still can’t bear the thought of losing him. He’s been the one constant in Izzy’s life. The single port in a storm for as long as he can remember.

“I understand. And I do thank you for helping him. But next time you shouldn’t go in alone like that.” And Izzy knows Bonnet is right, loath as he is to admit it. Izzy has always been Edward’s attack dog, his sword, an extension of the legend himself, but Blackbeard’s reputation isn’t unfounded. Ed probably would have been okay if Izzy hadn’t jumped in like that, but taking the risk of finding out was too terrifying to give thought to.

Izzy finally crosses the room to Stede and sinks to the floor, resting his forehead against one of the Alpha’s knees. “I’m sorry for making you worry.” He bites the words out, because this sort of vulnerability is still new to him. Bonnet makes a noise, somewhat like a scoff but too gentle, and cards his fingers through Izzy’s hair.

“You’re okay, darling. I’m just glad nothing happened.” As calm as Stede sounds, the memory of his furious gaze is still Fresh in Izzy’s mind, and it draws a submissive whine from the omega’s throat.

“None of that, now.” Bonnet murmurs, reaching down and forcing Izzy’s face up. He leans down and presses their lips together, all gentle. Izzy lets himself melt into it, lets Bonnet deepen the kiss and explore his mouth with his tongue. He takes what he’s given and nothing more, until Bonnet breaks the kiss. Izzy’s tongue darts out to wet his own lips.

He’s still tense, despite the fact that Stede seems to have forgiven him. There’s always been a balance to Izzy’s experiences, and right now the scales feel tipped. He had upset Stede, he knows he had, but there’s no follow up. No retribution. It leaves something in him unsettled, and Izzy doesn’t like it.

“What if I…” He trails off, before he realizes how messed up that thought process is, and he feels his face go warm.

“What if you what?” Bonnet prompts. His hand is still in Izzy’s hair, scratching soothing circles into his scalp. It’s almost distracting enough to make the omega lose his train of thought. He feels his face pinching together like he’s just eaten a lemon. How does he voice the problem without sounding absolutely mental?

He’s never been good with words. That’s always been one of his shortcomings.

“I…you can’t just forgive me, Stede. I saw how angry you were.” Izzy doesn’t look Stede in the eyes, focusing his attention on a fold in the Alpha’s shirt.

“I just did.” Stede says, nonplussed. Izzy fights down a groan, shaking his head and nearly dislodging Stede’s hand.

“I don’t want you to.” Izzy clarifies, feeling his face grow hotter. “I need you to follow through.”

There’s a long moment of silence, before Stede makes a soft noise of understanding. “You…want to be punished.” It isn’t a question, but Izzy nods a confirmation all the same. Shame wells up in the pit of his stomach because he knows it’s not normal of him, but he can’t help the way he is. A lifetime of conditioning, quid-pro-quo, an eye for an eye – whatever you want to call it – has made it impossible for Izzy to leave things feeling unfinished, especially when it comes to those who have earned his respect.

And, despite everything, Stede has earned it.

Stede hums thoughtfully, his hand leaving Izzy’s hair. Izzy fights down a soft noise of disappointment – he hasn’t earned that affection yet. There’s a lingering silence, and Izzy’s nerves fray just a little more as time stretches on between them. He feels like he’s about to burst when Stede finally addresses him.

“What if you made it up to me?” Stede asks, and Izzy finally raises his eyes to look the Alpha in the face. It’s a decent proposal – Stede seems hesitant to actually punish him, never seems to really want to unless he’s truly angry, but his eyes are bright, and Izzy thinks he can work with this.

“…Yeah, alright.” He concedes, the tension in his shoulders receding a bit. He will earn his forgiveness. That’s acceptable.

“Come here, darling.” Stede urges Izzy up with his hands, and Izzy rises from the floor, clambering into Stede’s lap and straddling his thighs, his feet hanging over the edge of the seat. Stede pulls him into a heated kiss, and Izzy can feel that the Alpha is already half-hard in his trousers. Something in Izzy’s stomach squirms pleasantly at the thought. It could have been the excitement of the raid, but Izzy likes the thought that their proximity is what’s doing it.

Stede kisses Izzy until he’s breathless, delirious and pliant under the Alpha’s hands. The hard line of Stede’s cock is pressing into the space between them, and Izzy’s hips roll forward into the bulk of it, making Stede hiss into his mouth.

“Strip for me, Darling.” Stede’s voice is rough, and tinged with the steel of command that Izzy is helpless to disobey. He carefully extricates himself from Stede, removing his clothing one piece at a time. His cravat and ring are first, and he places them carefully on the nearby table. His vest, shirt, and pants are quick to follow, before Izzy peels off his smalls. They’re damp, and he knows he won’t be putting them back on until they’ve been washed.

Stede rises from the chair, grabbing a cushion off of the nearby chaise and depositing it onto the floor. “Kneel there, and wait for me.” He says, no-nonsense. Izzy sinks to his knees on the cushion, glad of the padding. He’s not as young as he used to be, after all.

Stede busies himself, grabbing a few things from around the room before going into the washroom for several minutes. Izzy remains where he is, letting the calm warmth of obeying the orders given to him wash over him. He’s drifting, mind pleasantly fuzzy, and the burning need between his thighs is only a distant bother.

He loses track of time, and nearly jolts out of that fuzzy space when Stede returns, carrying a basin and wearing a robe that does absolutely nothing to hide his straining erection. He places the basin and a cloth down on the table, before turning his attention back to Izzy. He pets a hand through his hair, humming pleasantly.

“Good boy, Izzy. So patient for me.” He rumbles, and it’s enough to make Izzy’s legs shake where they’re still holding him up. Stede reaches down and presses the pad of his thumb against Izzy’s lower lip, and Izzy’s mouth falls open obediently. Stede presses the digit flat to Izzy’s tongue, holding his mouth open.

“Will this be alright for you? If I use your mouth?” Stede asks, and Izzy whines at the promise of it, nodding his head just slightly so as not to dislodge the Alpha’s hand. The consent seems enthusiastic enough for Stede, because he removes his thumb and tugs his robe open. His cock is standing at attention, rock-hard and glistening at the tip. Izzy feels his mouth water, but doesn’t close it.

Stede shifts closer, letting just the tip rest against Izzy’s tongue. He shifts his hips, dragging it back and forth against the plain of it, before slowly pushing in. His thrusts are shallow at first, presumably to let Izzy get used to the feel of it, before he pushes deeper. Izzy can feel the tip of it hitting the back of his throat before long, and subtly tilts his head to give the Alpha a better angle, breathing through his nose.

Stede sets up a slow, lazy rhythm, giving Izzy time to pull in little puffs of breath between each thrust. It’s a torturously slow pace, but the repetitiveness of it drives Izzy to heights he didn’t know he could reach. The weight of Stede on his tongue, the control of it, and the knowledge that he’s being used by Stede to chase his own pleasure tugs him into that fuzzy space once more, and he’s only mildly aware of saliva leaking from the corners of his mouth.

He’s painfully hard himself, and he can feel slick drooling out of him, down between his thighs and onto the cushion below him. He reaches up to hold onto Stede’s hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh. He doesn’t control the pace – Stede is doing that, but he needs contact, and this is the best way to get it.

Stede seems to read his mind, and one of his hands goes to Izzy’s hair, fingers carding through it and pressing against the base of his skull. Izzy’s eyes slip closed and he loses himself in the sensation of it. The alpha keeps up his carefully controlled pace, and Izzy can feel warmth and pressure building between his thighs; he’s close to coming, his hips twitching slightly against empty air.

It goes on like this, Izzy quickly losing track of time, his own arousal building. Stede’s thrusts are getting a little faster, cutting Izzy’s breathing off at quicker intervals. He’s swallowing around Stede’s cock, willing the Alpha to go deeper. Stede complies, and soon enough he’s fucking into Izzy’s mouth with abandon.

The intensity of it is too much, and Izzy feels the tension between his legs build at a dizzying rate. His thighs flex as he tries to stave it off, but there’s nothing he can do. Heat blooms low in his belly and his hips jerk forwards as he comes, untouched, his cunt clenching rhythmically on absolutely nothing.

He distantly hears Stede swear above him, a choked-off ‘Did you just—’ spilling out of his lips before his hips stutter and he comes down the back of Izzy’s throat. Izzy swallows him down with purpose, sucking gently until Bonnet’s softened cock slides back out of his mouth, leaving him empty. He whines, bereft, and suddenly Stede is on the ground with him, pulling him into a filthy kiss. Izzy doesn’t doubt he can taste himself, his tongue is so far back in the omega’s mouth.

The aftershocks and shaking in his thighs are too much, and Izzy sinks the rest of the way down, a grimace pulling at his lips as he lands in the cold puddle of his own slick. Stede chuckles gently above him, pressing his face down to nuzzle into Izzy’s hair. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He murmurs, before carefully rising to his feet. “Get on the bed.” He says, crossing over to the table to fetch the basin and cloth.

Izzy rises on unsteady legs, making it over to the bed and sitting down heavily. Stede sets the basin down next to the bed and pushes on Izzy’s chest until he’s lying back. Stede goes to work on him, using the damp cloth to clean the slick from his thighs and cunt. The drag of it on his oversensitive nub draws a whimper from him, but he’s too far gone to feel shame for it. Stede makes a soothing sound in the back of his throat, finishing up his work before climbing into the bed next to him.

He pulls Izzy against him and Izzy immediately shoves his nose into the crook of Stede’s neck, scenting him thoroughly. A stuttering purr rumbles up from his chest, unfamiliar but comfortable. He curls up against the Alpha, hoping the noise will be enough to convey his thanks. He no longer feels off-kilter, and he can feel the tug of sleep softening his edges until it pulls him under. He’s vaguely aware of Stede pulling the blanket over both of them, but he’s out like a snuffed candle before much else can register.

[zevranunderstander]

the current genocide happening in palestine so brutally opened my eyes about german politics in terms of antisemitism awareness it kind of makes me sick

the german school curriculum does a lot for antisemitism awareness and for analysis and discussion of WWII and holocaust. i am not jewish so i can't say how much a jewish person would judge the methodology to be effective, but in school we extensively talked about how the fascist regime came to power in germany, why the movement was rooted in antisemitism, and while i think you could have gone into more detail about some aspects of it, i felt like my school at least laid a very solid basis for having an anti-fascist understanding. germany is very much funding a lot of jewish art and projects that are dealing with the holocaust, there are some quite well-known holocaust memorials and visiting a concentration camp is something most school classes do at some point.

and i genuinely think this is a good thing, there is a platform given to jewish people who want to express their indescribable trauma and anger and grief at the holocaust through art and museums and exhibitions and talks and monuments and in my personal opinion it did a lot in terms of creating awareness for antisemitism and the dangers of fascism, and please do not think that i view these things to be bad in any way

but one thing that has always bothered me that this applies to the holocaust ONLY, it is of course one of the worst against humanity commited, but germany never took responsibility in ANY way for the Herero and Namaqua genocide or any other atrocities commited. the most Namibia ever got was a weak apology that amounted to 'we aknowledge it :( sorry :('.

and at the same time germany hails itself as modern and progressive and past all barbarism and is publically atoning for the holocaust in every form they can. so the funding of these projects to me always had that sense of creating an image of atonement, more than actually atoning for a past. funding something good for the wrong reason still creates something good, but if you analyse it a bit, you can clearly see that this atonement is not for actual atonement's sake, but is instead done so that germany can be internationally respected again and is allowed to be in the Important Councils™ again, that france, the uk and the us are in, and so that they can officially be internationally "forgiven" by the other countries

i don't think this is an 'agenda' so to say, i think it's a lot more complex than that, and that politicians often probably actually want to combat antisemitism, but i don't want this post to go on forever, so just right now understand that in germany antisemitism awareness as a talking point has kind of become something that is universally aknowledged as "good", even the really fascist parties aren't stupid enough to have openly antisemitic talking points (they still are mad about every other minority, so idk if you're really supposed to believe that). and i again want to state that that is genuinely very good, that open antisemitism is seen as such a huge political no-go. openly denying the holocaust is a pretty severe crime in germany and you can get in REAL trouble for it and that is also a very very good thing!

however, all of this public atonement is fine and good, but what has germany done for the actual families of the victims of the holocaust? well. they paid 3 billion marks in reparations to a state that didn't exist 4 years prior to the agreement, which is, of course, israel. since its founding, germany has at every turn helped legitimize israel's existence and it's representation as the jewish homeland, while barely otherwise aknowledging victims of the holocaust when it comes to reparations

and in the modern day they have absolute gall to use this framing - that germany themselves created that israel is the state that we need to pay our atonements to - against everyone daring to speak up against the genocide in gaza. i know that a lot of western states try to frame support of palestine as antisemitic, but nowhere is it as insidious as in germany. the state that seemingly atones for genocide is calling speaking up against a genocide a hatecrime.

like i said, germany does a lot of things correctly but for the wrong reasons and now those wrong reasons stand in the way of the image they have previously set up as a peace-loving modern nation, and so they just hold up jewish people as a shield against any criticism of their defense politics, claiming that people opposing them are antisemitic, (which, like said before, is pretty much an universally aknowledged "bad thing") running news stories and quotes of zionist jews on the political situation and framing this occupation as "the jewish people of all the world vs. the evil terrorist palestinians", not caring how much actual antisemitism they create in the population, and how much they harm actual jewish communities, when they directly frame them as the enemy of the besieged palestinian population

[sterpernie]

Probably no one will read this, but I hope someone will. To my fellow Americans, it is absolutely fair to cut people off for beliefs you disagree with and may one day lead to you suffering harm, but if you have someone you love with these beliefs that you are thinking about cutting out of your life, please consider a few things first.

1. We are living in echo chambers, repeating our beliefs back at us. If we don't interact with people who believe differently, how are they ever going to hear a different perspective that is not completely twisted by the media they consume?

2. They often don't understand what they are asking for. There is a sizeable minority (1/3 of Americans per the NYT) that do not know Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are the same thing. They want to repeal Obamacare but keep the ACA. People want tariffs not realizing that they aren't the same as sanctions. They don't realize that China is not going to be paying the tariffs, they will. China is not going to eat the costs of the taxes (tariffs) levied against them for exporting to the US, China will just raise the prices of their goods and probably levy tariffs against US exports to China in retaliation like they did during Trump's last term, resulting in everything getting more expensive. It it pretty striking to look at the education demographics of who voted what party.

3. They don't get the whole story. There was an immigration bill that would give the Republicans basically everything they wanted in regard to the border. Trump killed it because he wanted immigration to remain an issue for him to run on. My dad, who listens exclusively to right wing media, heard nothing about it. He was shocked it didn't pass when he was told. When he hears about Palestinians, he only hears about them referred to as terrorists and Hamas, attacking Israel unprovoked. He has never heard about the Nakbas or about how terrible the conditions were in Gaza even prior to October 7th.

4. A scary amount of Americans have no damn clue how the US government works. They think, abortion protections were repealed under democrats, so it's their fault despite the extensive groundwork laid by Republicans ever since Roe v Wade was initially decided in the 1970s culminating in a Republican supermajority on the Supreme court that actually overturned the ruling. They think, why am I paying taxes to forgive someone else's student debt when I didn't go to college/payed off my college loans/worked my butt off for scholarships/made sacrifices so I could afford college/etc, not realizing that the debt forgiveness is really just making sure the programs that were already in place are actually implemented instead of allowing the loan servicers to continue milking these people for cash long after their debt should have been forgiven. They think the economy and how good/bad it's doing is solely up to the President despite the fact that the purse strings are held by Congress and the Federal Reserve, which controls interest rates, is an independent body not controlled by the President.

5. For the immigrants, they don't realize that all immigrants are persona non grata, not just people who came to the US illegally. My immigrant mother told me she votes for Trump because he's "gonna stop all the immigrants who are coming to take our jobs", not realizing that despite her naturalized citizenship, she will always be seen as one of those immigrants she talks about. She doesn't realize when he talks about chain migration, he's talking about the system she took advantage of to bring multiple members of her family to the US and allowed them much better quality of life than the relatives still in her home country. She thinks, because she lives in a large urban coastal area, that all parts of the US are just as accepting.

If you have a loved one with whom your only problem is politics (not abuse of any kind, but someone you love and care for), please consider staying in their lives. I am not saying make friends with people to try and change their beliefs, I am saying give your loved one a face to put to the "radical libs".

when people are like “oh so you’re just gonna judge someone for their political beliefs?” yes actually. I think someone’s values and opinions is a pretty reasonable thing to judge them for.

[itsrebaby22]

I thank God for not allowing things to turn out the way I prayed they would a year ago, or how I prayed things to go even as recent as six months ago. & yes they were both different pleas from my heart. I am gracious that He spoke a word over my life and even through my impatience, ignorance, disobedience, and open displeasure with how He was leading me on my journey through the wilderness— God never left my side. His spirit was always closer than I could ever truly understand. Much like the people of Israel who were following Moses through the unknown, away from slavery and towards the promised land— I cried, complained, compared my present to the past, wanted to go back, and even took for granted the provision that He had given to me. I am not saying that I am out of the woods by any means, but I know that I am getting close. I see the beauty in this new thing that God is doing in my life, even though I truly have no idea what He has in store for me, I know one thing about my God and it is that He is able to do far beyond all that I could ask or imagine by His power at work within me.

I can see how I have grown, how I have healed, how I have changed. Yes, I slipped and stumbled a few times and the grace of God protected me. I haven’t missed a meal. I’ve had a bed to sleep in every single night. I have been able to pay bills on time. My health is the best it’s been in years. I have finally been able to use this time and space to heal the wounds I hid so deep within myself with the help of my own meditations, therapy, and most of all the Holy Spirit. I have forgiven what others have done to me, what I have done to others, and what I have done to myself. I am free.

I have made major progress in my own career path by continuing to prioritize my education, and perfecting the job I already have. I’ve been able to remember who I was before I gave my life away, and I have been dedicated to refining myself. I have hobbies I never thought I’d love, I have so many interests that I have been using to make new friends. I have even rekindled with old friends who haven’t heard from me in YEARS prior to this past year of preparation.

That is what I declared the year 2024 to be, the year of preparation. On January 1st 2024 at 12:00am, sitting under the moon and stars watching the fireworks my neighbors sent into the sky slice through the clouds— that is the only word I felt the spirit put on my tongue. With tears in my eyes, and my heart in my hands, it was never more true to me that 2024 was going to be the loneliest year I was going to experience for the first time in a long time, but that was okay with me. It was that moment that I realized that God prepares us in isolation, so I was ok with it. I agreed with Him in that moment, I said as long as I am being prepared for what He had for in store me next and that He stayed with me that it was good and I would be okay.

Spoiler alert: I am better than okay. I am prepared. Thank you, Jesus. I am prepared for what He is calling me into next. Above all else, I am grateful and I am blessed.

The end of this year is quickly approaching and I have been thinking about what to declare over this upcoming year. Yes, I have a few ideas of my own so far but I’d like to make sure it is what God is speaking to me. I already feel that the year of 2025 is going to have a lot of newness for me thanks to all the preparation that I have been undergoing lately and that excites me beyond measure truly. Restoration? Redemption? Action? I have a few more months to figure it out, so I’ll be back with my declaration. Hallelujah.

[yhwhrulz]

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer Devotional for August 26

Tozer in the Morning Cleaning Out the Closets

Another question to put to yourself is, "Do I have any habits I am ashamed to let anybody know I have? Have I any personal habits that I am ashamed of? Do I hide something when the pastor is coming? If everything were known in the church about how I lived, would I go back to church?" You can dodge this, twist it around and answer evasively, but the snow will lie on your heart. If you answer God honestly and go to work to get rid of it and clean it up, springtime will come for you. Then ask yourself, "Is my speech clean?" One of the most shocking things in the church is the dirty-mouthed Christian who always walks on the borderline. There is no place for borderline stories that embarass some people, and there is nothng about sex or the human body that is funny if your mind is clean. There was once a gathering of officers, and George Washington was present in the room. One of the young officers began to think about a dirty story that he wanted to tell, and he got a smirk on his face. He looked around and said, "I"m thinking of a story. I guess there are no ladies present." Washington straightened up and said, "No, young man, but there are gentlemen." The young officer shut his mouth and kept the dirty story inside his dirty head and heart. Anything you could not tell with Jesus present, do not tell. Anything you could not laugh at were Jesus present, do not laugh at.

Tozer in the Evening Praise Reporters

The irrepressible urge to share spiritual blessings can explain a great many religious phenomena. It even goes so far as to create a kind of vicarious transfer of interest from one person to another, so that the blessed soul would if necessary give up its own blessing that another might receive. Only thus can that prayer of Moses be understood, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written (Exodus 32:31,32). His great care for Israel had made him incautious, almost rash, before the Lord in their behalf. Moses felt that for Israel to be forgiven was reward enough for him. This impulsive uprush of vicarious love can hardly be defended before the bar of pure reason. But God understood and complied with Moses request. The intense urge to have other s enjoy the same spiritual privileges as himself once led Paul to make a statement so extreme, so reckless, that reason cannot approve it; only love can understand: I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh (Romans 9:1-3). In the light of this it is quite easy to understand why all great Christian teachers have insisted that true spiritual experience must be shared. The careless person who remarks that he does not need to go to church to serve God is far from understanding the most elementary spiritual truths. By cutting himself off from the religious community he proves that he has never felt the deep urge to share-and for the very reason that he has nothing to share. He has never felt the constraining love of Christ, so he can go his way in silence. His withdrawal from the believing fellowship tells us more about him than he knows about himself. Being let go, they went to their own company. So it was in the Early Church and so it has always been when men meet God in saving encounter. They want to share the blessed benefits.

Copyright Statement This material is considered in the public domain.

[theprayerfulword]

May 22

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”

Psalm 32:1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!

May you sorrow over the loss of any of God's people, understanding the love of the Father for all, desiring as He does that none should perish. 2 Samuel 1

May you wait patiently, occupying each day with all that God brings you, trusting God to fulfill His promises, moving only when God directs, going only where He leads, stopping where He says stop, for in obedience to the Lord is valuable training for the future. 2 Samuel 2

May you follow Jesus so that you may serve Him, for where He is, His servants will be also, and the Father will honor all who serve His Son. John 12

May you willingly give yourself to the Sower as a seed, dying to your solitary seed nature, gladly growing where you are planted, that as your nature changes and Christ grows in and through you, many more seeds will be produced through the death and loss of your original solitary seed nature. John 12

May your heart be toward God, and desirous of His truth, that your spirit may be quickened to hear His voice at the times that others would only hear thunder. John 12

May you hear the Word of the Lord and believe, not only in Jesus but in the Father, for when you look to the Son, you are seeing the Father, Who sent the Son to be a light that you would not need to stay in darkness. John 12

The trial of your faith, My child, is in My hands, and is done by My love for you. What comes upon you, I allow, though I do not send. I set the boundaries, My love, allowing nothing to touch you without permission, and making preparation for you in everything that I allow. I am the Lord, and no mere mortal; therefore I am drawing you upward and transforming you into My image. I am leading you in the right way, though you may wonder, at times, whether you have gotten off the proper trail. When the strength and hope of yesterday are lost in the gloom and shadow that cover the sky and fill the valley today, know in your heart that the eclipsing of your faith and the fainting of your hope are as much a part of My method of maturing and stabilizing you in My Spirit as the lifting of your head and expanding of your heart. I am readying you for the inheritance that has been prepared for you. Follow My lead, My dear one, for I will continually bless and keep you in peace in every circumstance, if you will but listen for My voice speaking comfort to your heart. Even through the gusty darkness of the storm, My face constantly shines on you with grace and favor you can see, if you look with My eyes for it. Do not be distracted by what is occurring, My precious pearl, but as you do what is needed, always keep that one primary focus and concern on the only thing which is necessary – that which Mary sought, and which was never taken from her, though her sister, Martha, complained. There is much tribulation in the world, for all are searching for your sin to condemn you. The enemy, other people, even your own conscience will seek to tear you down and steal your peace; however, I do not keep records of offenses forgiven nor do I allow grievances to be filed on them. Though I convict you of sin, once you turn to Me, I issue a full pardon and expunge the records, for My atonement and absolution is not merely royal, but is divine.

May you enter the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may pass and give Him thanks for He has answered you and become your salvation. Psalm 118

May you rejoice in this day and be glad, for the Lord has made it, and it is marvelous in the eyes of His people. Psalm 118

May the Lord save you and grant you success, for as you go in the name of the Lord, you will be blessed from the house of the Lord. Psalm 118

May you give thanks and exalt the Lord, for He is God and has made His light to shine upon you; He is good and His love endures forever. Psalm 118

May your heart meditatively weigh, and your mind carefully consider, each answer, lest you be like the wicked whose mouth blurts out evil things. Proverbs 15:28

May you love your whole family and care for your entire household enough to disdain the gifts of men and the bribes of the unjust which greed desires and dishonesty attracts, so that you may live. Proverbs 15:27

[christian-perspectives]

Righteous People Walk In The Paths Of The Lord

Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. Hosea 14:9 Hosea ended his prophetic book with that verse. In it, he said, Let those who are wise understand these things. As we look into this final chapter, let's examine what "things" the prophet spoke of. The Old Testament gives us a historical picture of the nation of Israel. They certainly had problems, many of which they brought on themselves because of their sin. Hosea, along with the other prophetic writers, addressed Israel's situations. But their prophecies included future events as well. The words Hosea spoke to the Israelites benefit everyone. Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Hosea 14:1 You can't get any more universal than that. Sin brings everyone down. It caused division between humanity and God because God doesn't accept sin in any form. Because of sin, God flooded the entire planet. He drowned everyone except Noah and his family. So the next time you want to say, "Everyone's doing it," remember the days of Noah. The Israelites often ended up in captivity. Usually, it was because they worshiped other gods and followed the customs of those who made them. They proved to be anything but righteous people. When they got tired of being in bondage, they cried out to God, and He sent them a deliverer. When the deliverer died, whether a judge, prophet, or king, they found another way to sin.

Ask God's Forgiveness

So, speaking through the prophet Hosea, God didn't mince His words but spoke straightforward and to the point. Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, "Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. Hosea 14:2 The Lord ensured He sprinkled the word "forgive" throughout the Bible. Even when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He included forgiveness as a part of it. ... and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Matthew 6:12 Immediately after Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer, He spoke about forgiveness. He made it clear that we won't receive forgiveness if we don't forgive. In the book of Hosea, God expected Israel to confess to each of the sins they had specifically committed. In other words, confession means giving God more than a blanket statement. - "Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. - Never again will we say to the idols we have made, 'You are our gods.' - No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy." Hosea 14:3 Sometimes, when we pray and ask His forgiveness, we might make a general statement. Something like, "Forgive the sins I've committed today." God wanted more than that in Hosea. When we know we have committed specific sins, we best name them individually. God wants all His people to live righteous lives, which begins by asking for forgiveness. Keep in mind God forgives and forgets. He doesn't hold any forgiven sin against us. The next verse tells us why He does that.  The Lord says, "Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. Hosea 14:4

How Far is the East from the West?

I like what the Psalmist said in Psalm 103 about when God forgives our sins. He completely removes them, never to see them again! For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:11-12 I recently read an interesting analogy of that last verse. In your mind, picture the earth. North meets South at the South Pole, and South meets North at the North Pole. East and west, however, never meet— neither an east pole nor a west pole exists. So, no matter how far one travels east, they will continually move east. The same holds true for traveling west. We all sin innocently, and Jesus covered that when He taught us to ask and forgive our sins. Willful sinning shows faithlessness on our part. He forgives those, too, when we confess and ask. I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. Hosea 14:5-6 God has always been like a refreshing dew from heaven, but the Israelites seldom stopped to notice it. The Lord also wants His righteous people to blossom with a sweet fragrance. My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. Hosea 14:7 Psalm 91 talks about finding rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Check out a devotional post I wrote called Living Under The Shadow Of His Wings.

The Paths of God's Righteous People

In bringing this chapter to a close, Hosea recorded one more command from God. A command for us, as well as Israel, to obey. Then he followed it with two reasons why we should obey it.  O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me. Hosea 14:8 This brings us back to where Hosea said the following. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. He also added something for people who act righteous but aren't. They might fool us by their actions, but not God, because He knows everyone's heart. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. Hosea 14:9 Lord, as we examine our hearts, point out anything in us that offends you. We want to walk in your paths as all righteous people do. Read the full article

[shammah8]

What Does Striking The Rock Mean Today?

Every Christian will agree that there is no need for Jesus to come down from heaven to die again for our sins. But do we really understand what it means today to crucify Him afresh?

Let me ask you this: When you fall into sin, what is your response? If you beg God to forgive you and you make a fresh application of Jesus’ blood so that you can be made righteous all over again, you are crucifying Christ afresh.

He is more willing to bless you than you are willing to be blessed!

If you have just been retrenched and you need a new job, what is your response? If you grumble, cry and beg God to bless you with a new job, you are crucifying Christ again.

Let me explain. In both cases, you are saying that Jesus’ work is not complete. Y ou are saying that His blood did not really take away all your sins. Y ou are saying that His death on the cross is not good enough for God to release the fullness of His blessings on you. In essence, you are saying that He needs to be crucified again to finish what He didn’t finish!

No, far from it! Jesus died to sin once for all and that one death more than satisfied God! Today, God is so pleased with what His Son has done that He is more willing to bless you than you are willing to be blessed!

Some of you may still have questions like, “Pastor Prince, I believe God wants to bless me, but He can’t because I have some unconfessed and unforgiven sins.” Unfortunately, many Christians today are still so sin-conscious, instead of Son-conscious, that they miss out on so many of God’s blessings.

Let me now address this issue of the forgiveness of sins. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel had to make repeated offerings for sins year after year because the blood of bulls and goats just could not give them eternal redemption and everlasting righteousness. (Hebrews 10:1–4) But Jesus by His own blood has obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12) His blood has made us righteous forever because His blood is ever efficacious.

If man offers the sin offering, it is never enough. But if God offers the sin offering — if God offers Himself — will He provide something that is temporal and which tomorrow must be offered again? If, even after Jesus has offered His blood, we still have to resort to “repeated offerings” by begging for forgiveness, beating ourselves or doing good works every time we sin, we are actually putting the blood of God’s Son on the same level as the blood of bulls and goats! And we are also saying that Christ the Rock needs to be struck repeatedly for our sins!

What I find ironic is this: In the Old Testament, the Israelites had their sins covered for one year. Y et, we in the New Testament seem to have it worse. Today, one Christian denomination believes that their sins are covered for one week until their next confession! Another denomination believes that their sins are covered for one day — they confess every sin they can remember every night before they sleep! And can you believe that some Christians act like Jesus’ blood cannot even cover their sins for one day? In the morning, they believe that they are forgiven. In the afternoon, they believe that they have lost that forgiveness and their righteousness because somewhere along the way they blew it. So they beg God for forgiveness and ask Him to make them righteous again!

Listen to me, my friend, there is no such thing as a forgiven and righteous-in-the-morning, unforgiven and unrighteous-in-the-afternoon Christian! There is no such doctrine in the Bible!

Instead, what the Bible does tell us is that ALL our sins have been forgiven because of Jesus’ one sacrifice at the cross.

(Colossians 2:13) So your forgiveness is based on His perfect, finished work. It is not contingent upon your confessions of sins.

Just think about this for a minute. If the forgiveness of your sins depended on your confessing your sins, you would have to have perfect awareness, perfect memory and perfect confession of every sin you have ever committed in order to be sure that you are forgiven. If that were the case, no person — man, woman or even pastor — would ever be completely forgiven because no human being can confess ALL his sins perfectly. Thank God that is not how we are forgiven! No, my friend, the forgiveness of our sins is not dependent on our works. It is dependent on Jesus’ perfect and finished work!

So do I confess my mistakes or sins? Absolutely. But here’s the difference: I go to my Father and I am honest with Him because I know that He loves me and has already forgiven me.

I don’t do it in order to be forgiven.

So rest easy, my friend. If you are a Christian, you are a forgiven person, a righteous person. Y ou cannot be a Christian and be unforgiven and unrighteous. The only unforgiven and unrighteous people on earth are those who have not availed themselves of the forgiveness in Christ. Once you are in Christ, you are in forgiveness, you are in righteousness!

[lesfeldickbiblestudy]

Can a TRUE Christian fall from grace? [convertplayer id="l9fQh12xO" width="700" height="525"] We just want to teach The Word, and help people see what The Book says, and, just as important, what it doesn't say. Understanding The Book is really not that hard, and the best way to study is to compare Scripture with Scripture. Peter says: II Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." That means that you cannot build a doctrine on one verse of Scripture here and there, because then you can build anything. But it's our prerogative to use all the Scriptures from Genesis through Revelation, and see that they fit. Seeming contradictions may arise, but when you study you find they're not contradictory at all. Usually it's because in one instance God is dealing with the Nation of Israel, and in another what may seem contradictory is His dealing with the Church Age. And there is a vast difference. [convertplayer id="q0tNdKRfa" width="700" height="525"] Alright, now let's come on down to verse 33. Since Christ died, and God let Him, God permitted it to happen. He directed that it had to happen in order to purchase our Salvation. There would have never been a person saved, not even in the Old Testament economy, without the work of the Cross. It had to be to satisfy a Holy and Righteous God. Now, let's read: Romans 8:33 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Now, what does that word `elect' mean? Chosen. When you elect someone you designate them to be whatever you intend them to be, and the word `election' in the Greek is exactly that. It is an act of choosing, and that is what God has done with everyone of His believers. Now, I think I'll finish the chapter, and then I want to take you back to some of the statements that Jesus made Himself during His earthly ministry: that He has chosen us, and that no man comes to God on his own prerogative. Sometimes we like to think, "Well, I can just decide to go with God anytime I feel like it." Oh no you can't because you have to be back again in that chosen aspect, but on the other hand we have the Scriptures, "Whosoever will." So reading that verse again: Romans 8:33 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Not our neighbor, boss, husband or wife. We don't have to give an account to any of them. It's God, the Triune God, the Creator God, the sustaining God, He's the One Who determines who we are and what we are in the realm of the Spirit. Now, verse 34, so if He is the One Who has chosen us, if He is the One Who has forgiven us, if He is the One Who has taken us unto Himself, then: Romans 8:34a "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again,..." Now, do you see how Paul is constantly hammering that everything revolves around that finished work of the Cross? The fact that Christ died, His divine Blood had to be shed, because always remember: Hebrews 9:22b "...and without shedding of blood is no remission." So without the shedding of Blood there is no remission. You can't bypass the Blood, it had to happen. So He's the One Who died, and rose from the dead, and He's the One Who is at the right hand of God interceding for us. He's the One Who is watching over us, and He is the one who promised, "If God is for you, who can be against you?" And never lose sight of that, but don't ever interpret that to mean that nothing bad can ever happen to a believer. Don't ever get the idea that the things of this world can't attack the believer. Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, and he does that often, and he can confuse the issue, but we have these promises, if we'll rest on them, that God is still in total control. God's Sovereign! Now we're coming into a series of verses that will probably disturb one group of people of various denominations, and that is that group of people who feel that you can not be assured of your

Salvation. They think that you have to hope you make it, you have to work like the dickens to hang on, and you have to be sure that you don't ever sin in such a way that you will lose your Salvation, and end up in Hell instead of God's Heaven. These verses are just going to fly in the face of that kind of thinking. I can't help it, because all I'm going to show you is what The Book says. Now, verse 35: Romans 8:35 "Who shall separate us (and that means just exactly what it say) from the love of Christ? shall tribulation,..." That word tribulation is used something like 29 times in the New Testament, and maybe with one exception that word is associated with the activity surrounding the believer. You go back into the Book of Revelation, in fact, let's turn to that book right now. Someday we're going to teach this part of Revelation - the letters to the seven churches in the opening chapters. Revelation Chapter2 verse 9. This is a letter to the church in Smyrna (verse 8) and Smyrna actually means to smell "just like myrrh," and myrrh does not exude its fragrance until it's crushed. This is exactly what the church at Smyrna was indicating, that the more persecution crushed those believers, the more they exuded their testimony. And you see that's why Satan had to give up persecuting the early Church because he couldn't get ahead of it. The more he persecuted the more it thrived, so he took the opposite attack, and that was to join them, and then Christianity began to slide. Let's read: Revelation 2:9a "I know thy works, and tribulation (God knew about their tribulation, and the Church at Smyrna was going through horrible pressure), and poverty, (but thou art rich)..." They were poor in material things because the persecution was taking them away from their income. It probably took them away from their job situation. It took all their wealth away if they had any. That was part of the persecution, but spiritually they were what? Rich! The Church today is just the opposite of that day, and that's what the letter to the Church at Laodicea was all about. Now, reading on: Revelation 2:9,10 "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews (believers), and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan (they were impostors). Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer (did believer's suffer? You bet they did): behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison (for their faith), that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days (I think that ten days refers to ten distinct periods of time during the Roman Empire when the Church came under horrible pressure, but these believers didn't give up); be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Now, back to Romans again. So we're going to suffer tribulations, and as I mentioned before, it's only been in the last couple hundred years that western civilization, at least, has been able to guarantee the rights of the individual, and the freedom of worship, and so forth. But for the most part this has been unheard of. We're living in an extremely different time than most Christians had to live in, because we do have a government, that so far at least, guarantees our rights to assembly, and to religion. Verse 35 continuing: Romans 8:35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness (Paul went through times of nakedness, and cold, he was thirsty, and hungry, and how did Paul die? Beheaded by the sword), or peril, or sword?" And there is nothing said that we will be spared the sword, but none of this will separate us from our Lord. Can the Devil bring in enough persecution to force a believer out of his place in the Body of Christ? Never! God has guaranteed that because of the work of the Cross we are secure. Not because of what we have done, not because of what we merit, but only because o

f what He has done, and let's never lose sight of that. We never maintain our assurance of Salvation and security because of who we are or what we are, or what we have done. That is never part of the picture. Everything that keeps us secure is that finished work of the Christ. Verse 36: Romans 8:36 "As it is written, `For thy sake (the sake of the Christ of the Cross) we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'" I read an account not too long ago about someone years back when Chicago was still the capital of the meat packing business. They would slaughter the cattle, sheep, and hogs all within one huge complex. A visitor was being taken on a tour and he just couldn't help but notice that as he went from the hog killing area, with all of the squealing and all the commotion that goes on with hogs, to the sheep killing area, what happened. Utter silence, and I've witnessed that myself. I'll never forget that when they take sheep to the slaughter they have a goat. And that goat leads those sheep up to the place where they are to be killed, and then the goat slips out a side door. And then he goes back and gets another bunch. It's simply amazing, but those sheep go to their slaughter in utter silence. And this is the analogy that Paul draws of the believer. We may someday just come to the place where we, too, will go like sheep to the slaughter. Are we going to scream and squeal like a bunch of pigs? No, because that's not the way God works. Do you remember what Isaiah said about the Lamb of God? Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Why? Because there was no need for Him to scream and argue, and so it has been with Christians down through the ages. Take a lot of the hunks and macho people of today, most of them think Christianity is for women and children. But they have it all wrong, because back in the days when persecution was running rampant it took ten times more man to stand up for the slaughter, to be burned at the stake, and to be put on the rack. You all know what the rack was, that was when their bones were all broken without killing them. That's when it takes a real man, and I bet most of those so called machos could never hold a candle to those saints. But Paul says this is all part and parcel of what God has imparted to us, the promise that even though we may have to go through these things, and many have, it will never separate us from the love of Christ. And remember this life, even if somehow we could live to be 100, what is that compared to eternity? Eternity, never ending forever and ever and ever, and yet the human race will not consider that. All they look at is, what can I enjoy in the here and now? But you see this Book looks at everything in the light of eternity, and so this is why we have to take this blessed assurance that regardless of what may happen, nothing can separate us from our spending eternity with our Creator God. Well, let's move on to verse 37. Romans 8:37 "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Were those sheep, being led quietly to their death, conquerors? That's the analogy. We're led like sheep to the slaughter, but this verse says, "...yet we're conquerors." That's fantastic isn't it? So we don't have to mind being meek, and quiet, and coming under persecution, and doing without squealing like a hog. Because in the end we're still going to be more than conquerors, How? Through the One that loved us, that's where it is. You and I in the energy of the flesh can do nothing, we are nothing. Now verse 38 Paul says: Romans 8:38 "For I am persuaded..." What does it mean to be persuaded? Totally convinced. I think it was King Agrippa back in Acts Chapter 26 where Paul had been witnessing to him and what did old King Agrippa say to Paul? Acts 26:28 "Then Agripp

a said unto Paul, `Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.'" But I don't believe that King Agrippa ever believed the Gospel and became a Christian, and do you know why? Because Agrippa could never be convinced that what Paul was telling him was true. And that's where a lot of people are today: they hear the Gospel (Ref. I Corinthians 15:1-4), they hear this Book taught, but they can't be convinced. They simply can't believe it. And I've had people approach me and say, "Well, what have you got?" And I'll tell them, but most will come back with, "But I can't believe that. I can't believe that's all it takes." I'll never forget a young man in my class at Wilburton, OK. I think he's still receiving our tapes, and if so, I hope he hears this. He was one of these kids who from the time he was 5 or 6 years-old had no home life, no parents, he just literally made it on his own. He came up after class one night, and said, "Les, do you mean to tell me that I can have all of this free for nothing?" I told him, "Yes." He said, "I can't believe that." And then he told me of how he had to scratch and fight for every little bit of food that he had as a kid growing up. He said, "I just can't believe that." And I told him, "I'm sorry, but until you can believe it you can't have it." And so the young man left. But I'm hoping that sometime in the interim he will still come to his senses and see that, yes, all of this is ours for the taking, if we will only believe it. Now, continuing on with verse 38: Romans 8:38 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come," Now, why do you suppose that the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to start with death instead of life like we would normally put it? Stop and think for a moment, what's he driving at? Death is the easy way out. That's why we have so many suicides, they think that's their easiest way out. They can't cope with their problems, they can't cope with their circumstances, so they take their life, and that ends it as far as this life is concerned. But what about life? Oh, we're living in a world that's filled with heartaches and turmoils. A life that's lived with all kinds of oppositions to the home and family. Hey, life is difficult. Life is not easy. In fact, I was reading a book someone sent me a while back, and I almost had to quit reading it because all the writer was pointing out was all these things that make life difficult. True, but it wasn't necessarily what I wanted to be thinking about, so you see death is easy by comparison. But Paul tells us that even all the difficulties of life can't separate us from the love of God. Now, as we come to close of this lesson I wish I had more time for the next few words in verse 38: that is principalities and powers, nor things present, or things to come. The word `principalities' here in the Greek is `Arche.' It deals with people who are in a high position. The word `power' is from the Greek word `Dunamis' from which we get `Dynamo,' and it means energy. Paul is delineating here that principalities, the position, and the energy that comes from that position are going to do everything that they can to take us away from the love of Christ. But they can't do it. I wish I had time to take you to Ephesians in Chapter 6 to enlighten you even more. There the word `powers' is used a little differently than in Romans. There it's not speaking of energy, but again, power as Jesus gave to the Twelve when they went out to perform the miracles. But, nevertheless, the powers that be in the realm of Satan are positioned and they are loaded with energy that seemingly never runs out. IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? ROMANS 8:31-39 Let's get back to Romans Chapter 8. I'd like to go back to those last 6 or 7 verses and pick out some things I neglected to bring out in the last lesson. But before I do I would like to say that I hope you're studying the Word with us, a

nd learning what The Book says and what The Book doesn't say. The Scriptures are not just some gobbledy-gook, but rather written by the hand of God so that anybody can understand it. You don't have to be highly educated, or have a great theological education to comprehend the Scriptures. Now, of course, that's what precipitated the Dark Ages, when the church had gotten so powerful that they had pulled the Scriptures away from the common man and brought it into the monasteries because they felt only the monks and educated could discern the Word of God, but that's not what God intends. He wants all of us to become students, to learn how to study this Book. That's what Paul meant when he wrote to Timothy that we are to: II Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." I want to come back and cover some of these verses that we looked at in the last lesson. And someone had a question about verse 31 so let's turn to that verse now. Here is a verse that is so paramount to our Christian experience as a child of God, that we have to understand that those of us who have been called, we've been elected, we've been justified, we've been glorified, and that being the case: Romans 8:31 "What shall we then say to these things (what's Paul talking about? That we've been justified, glorified, forgiven, and all these things that Paul alone teaches. How can we say that? Well, we can come to the conclusion if that's all true, then)? If God be for us, who can be against us?" And that's where God wants us to rest, there is no one that can condemn us because of verse 32. Romans 8:32 "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,..." And as we saw in the Book of Philippians The Lord Jesus Himself was obedient unto that kind of a death. Just like Isaac of old. A lot of those things back in the Old Testament were just a preview of what took place in the New. As Abraham laid Isaac upon the altar, is there anything in Scripture that indicates that Isaac struggled? Did Isaac fight back? But in complete obedience he let Abraham, his father, lay him upon that altar. Well, that was just a preview of how God the Son would react to the same situation, that He gave Himself up as we see in Philippians: Philippians 2:8 "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Romans 8:33: Romans 8:33a "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?..." I stressed a little bit in the last half hour that these verses just absolutely hammer home the idea that once God has put the finger on us, has elected us, and we have responded and we have entered into His tremendous Salvation, then who in the world can touch that? Nobody can touch it, because it's something that God has done, and don't let anyone ever tell you, "How can you be so conceited as to tell me that you know that you'll go to Heaven when you die, when no one can know." When someone talks like that, they themselves are totally unaware of true saving faith. Because if you have enough faith to believe the Gospel (Ref. I Corinthians 15:1-4), if your faith is sufficient to bring you into that Salvation, then you should have enough faith to take God at His Word, and the rest of it. And that is that you're His. No one can take us out of His hand, and we're going to see that in just a little bit. Verse 33 again. Romans 8:33 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Would God elect someone who somewhere down the road would chose to reject Him? I can't see it happening, and the reason I'm using that example is I had a fellow tell me that one time. I said, "Look, the Scripture says that God will never cast us out." He said, "Oh, I know that, but I could cast myself out." I said how? He replied, "By committing some horrible sin." I said, "Look, you can't touch yourself so far as being in tha

t position in the Body of Christ any more than someone else can. We are totally, and I can't emphasize this enough; we are totally under the power of the Sovereign God, and nobody can supersede his power." These closing verses of Romans 8 are like the crescendo of a great orchestra. A crescendo is when that sound just builds and builds, and it's got your attention. It's been building throughout these first eight chapters of Romans, but now here comes this crescendo. I think Paul, if we could have heard him in person, would have just shouted it. "Look, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ!" We see this in verse 35: Romans 8:35-37 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword (we covered that in the last lesson. Verse 36)? ....we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Oh, not of what we have, not through any ability that I or you have, but what makes us conquerors? Christ Jesus. He became everything. What does the Book of Colossians say? Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." And that is where we live and move, and there is nothing in us that can merit any favor with God, it is all of His Grace. And remember that Grace could never have happened if it had not been for mercy. We no longer have to cry for mercy because God poured out His mercy on Christ there on the Cross. His mercy has already been poured out. Since His mercy has been poured out, now He can give Grace. "Unmerited favor." We don't deserve any of this. Now, let's look again at verse 38: Romans 8:38 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come," Go to Ephesians Chapter 6. I felt we had to do this part over since we didn't have time to cover it in the last lesson. Paul writes: Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Not down in the gutter, not on skid row, but in high places. Now, that should wake us up. We're up against something that is beyond the normal. It's up here with tremendous power, and position. These powers are in high positions and let's compare the same Greek word `powers' back in Matthew Chapter 10 so we get an idea of what Paul is really driving at when he says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and against powers," Matthew 10:1 "And when he (The Lord Jesus in His earthly ministry) had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power..." Now, that word `power' is the same word in the Greek that we found back in Ephesians, and it was authority. So these principalities and powers have authority, and don't you ever doubt it. Don't you ever forget that Satan is powerful. My, he can transform himself into an angel of light. He is the one, according to II Corinthians 4:3-4, that prevents the lost from comprehending the Gospel. So this word is designated `authority.' Another one is in Acts Chapter 26, and we see that same kind of a meaning. And this Scripture is going to be in regards to Paul, and it's the same Greek word again. Acts 26:9,10 "I verily thought with myself (back in his pre-Salvation experience), that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests;" What does that mean? Paul was put in position to do what he was doing. Authority. Now, bring that back to what we saw in Ephesians: Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,..." And they have authority. And that authority is Satan, and he is doing everything that he can,

not only to frustrate the life of you and I as believers, but also to keep lost humanity in darkness. And he will have that power until God breaks that power. Here again is why we have to come back to the very fact that God is the One Who opens our heart, God is the One through the working of the Holy Spirit Who gives us an understanding. Now, return to Romans 8 for a little bit, and then we may look at a couple of verses in John. Romans 8:39 "Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature (all of creation, there is nothing that has ever been created whether it's on the demonic side or on the righteous angelic side), shall be able to separate us (or take us) from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Someone might say, "Well, that's Paul, and I don't have time for his teachings." Well, let's go back and see what Jesus Himself says. Let's turn to John's Gospel Chapter 6. And here Jesus is speaking: John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;..." Who is making the first move? God is. Don't you ever believe anyone when they say, "Oh, seek this and that, and after God." because it's impossible. You and I can't seek God, because it not in us; no unbeliever is going to go running after God, it's not in him. If he suddenly has an appetite for the things of God, then God put it there first. And it's the same as Jesus is saying here: John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me (as a result of God moving him) I will in no wise cast out." Now, Jesus said it in His earthly ministry that anybody that God has chosen, that God has elected, that God has sent to Him would in no wise ever be cast out. And that means what it says. Now, let's look at John Chapter 10. Ordinarily I don't like to raise my voice, but when I find out that there are people who totally don't understand this, and think I'm way out in left field, then that's why I have to show you what The Book says: It isn't what I think. John 10:27,28 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man (and man has been added by the translators so I prefer to leave it out. Neither shall any) pluck them out of my hand." Now, compare that word any with what Paul has said in Romans Chapter 8, and what do you also include? The whole sphere of creation. Not just man, but neither the angelic powers, the Satanic powers, nothing can pluck them out of His hand. Now, can you believe that? Well, if you can believe that God in Christ died, and rose again for your Salvation, then you should be able to have enough faith to believe these things. You're His, and no one can take you away from Him. Now, you see the first thing I'll be accused of is, "Well, you're going to tell people that they can do what ever they want to do just because they will never be lost?" Never have I said that. Grace is not license! Don't ever get the idea that the Scripture teaches that since we're safe, that since we're secure we are free to do what we want. So we believers live in constant awareness that we don't want to fall, or commit a sin. But we also have enough common sense to know that we could. I would hope that I would never fall into any great sin. We're all guilty of these mundane sins of everyday living, and thoughts. But so far as falling into a great sin such as David did. Did David fall into sin? Was David a believer? Yes. Did David lose his Salvation? No. But oh, what did David know how to do? Beg for forgiveness, and of course he was back before the Age of Grace. But if you want to see a man, David to me was a "man's man." David was as manly as any person that ever lived. Yet as a man's man, we read in the psalms where he poured out his heart in sweat drops begging for forgiveness after he was convicted of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and of murdering her husband Uriah. He was a true child of God, otherwise it would have never bothered him. You can go all through Scripture and all the gre

at people failed miserably. Abraham for example, with his beautiful wife Sara, goes down into Egypt and what happens? "Sara, as beautiful as you are, they're going want you in their harem. There's nothing that I can do to stop it unless they kill me, so for goodness sake don't tell them that you're my wife, but rather my sister." That was sin. Did God kick Abraham out? No! Abraham had to come to the place of recognizing his sin as a believer. Look at Peter in the New Testament. In fact, I had a question from a listener the other day, "What did Jesus mean when He said to Peter there in the Book of Luke?" Luke 22:31 "And the Lord said, `Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:'" What did Jesus know that was just down the road in a matter of hours? Peters denial. And here, great big Peter, to probably a teenage girl, cursed and swore that he didn't know Jesus. He didn't have a thing to do with Him, and what happened? The cock crowed, and what happened to Peter? He wept bitterly. Why? He was convicted of his sin. Did that act throw Peter out? No! But he was reconciled immediately when he confessed his sin, and so it is with a believer in Paul's doctrines of Grace. Paul never gives us license to sin. John's little epistle at the back of your Bible tells: I John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin (we're going to, and if we sin), we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" And then back in the Book of Revelation Chapter 12. My, don't ever think for a minute that believers aren't subjected to sin. I've never seen a true believer that just makes up his mind that he's going to go out and get drunk, or commit adultery, or cheat someone, but it can happen. But a believer has to be constantly on guard. Revelation 12:10 "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, `Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren (believers) is cast down (Satan), which accused them (believers) before our God day and night.'" Now, if it's impossible for believers to sin, then Satan wouldn't have had anything to accuse them of, but he did, and he does, and he will until we're in The Lord's presence. Because as long as we're in this body of flesh we are going to be prone to fall. I like this simple analogy: most, if not all of you, have raised children, and when they were little and learning how to walk, did they just start walking? No, they fell, and what did a good mom or dad do? Kick them in the rear, and say, "What's the matter with you?" No. We picked them up, and lovingly set them on their feet, and got them started again. [convertplayer id="ssbdFBxks" width="700" height="525"] Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." You see we're all human. Every human being is just as prone to fall into sin as the next one, but hopefully if we're spiritually taught, and have kept these things, this won't happen. But it can happen to anybody. John is delineating that there were some sins that would not cause God to take them out of their physical life. But some sins He will, and I've seen it happen, and I'm sure you have where a believer will refuse to come away from his sinful lifestyle. You can deal with them, and deal with them, and all of a sudden, "Bingo." Just a sudden heart attack, or sudden car accident, and they're gone. Well God takes them home lest they keep on bringing reproach to His Name. And that's exactly what John is dealing with, and so he says: I John 5:b "...There is a sin unto death: (a believer can come to that place where God will take his life. Now then look at the very last part of that verse) I do not say that he shall pray for it." In other words no believer or Church Body ever has the right to pray for the death of an erring believer, because that is never permissib

le, that's in God's hand. Now let's look at verse 17. I John 5:17 "All unrighteousness is sin: (whether that sin be a little one or a great one) and there is a sin not unto death." Now what's implied here in verse 17? That some sins are gross enough that it will cause God to take that believer out ahead of time. Now let's come back to I Corinthians Chapter 5, and here's where we have it. This man is evidently committing a sin unto death if he does not repent of it, and turn around. If he's going to continue on living with his step-mother in a marital relationship, then God's going to take him out, and that's all there is to it. Now verse 5. I Corinthians 5:5,6 "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit (soul) may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." [convertplayer id="qmd0donhS" width="700" height="525"] II Corinthians 1:21,22 "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest (or the down payment) of the Spirit in our hearts." Now there is another verse that is a perfect parallel with that and for that we have to go to the Book of Ephesians Chapter 1. Some of these days we'll be teaching this tremendous letter verse by verse. It's dealing with our position in the Body of Christ as believers. Ephesians 1:13 "In whom (in Christ) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, (and the word of truth is) the gospel of your salvation: (I Corinthians 15:11-4) in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." Now that is part and parcel again of our salvation experience. We have been sealed, we have been marked by the Person of the Holy Spirit Himself. Now verse 14. Ephesians 1:14 "Which is the earnest (and that means just exactly like we use the term today. He is the down payment. A sufficient down payment to make sure that the transaction is completed.) of our inheritance (which we will have by being joint-heirs with Christ, and that's going to hold it) until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." [convertplayer id="qpnBCEjsI" width="700" height="525"] Colossians 2:13 "And you, being dead in your sins (absolutely, we were as under the control of the old nature, our spirit was completely out of fellowship with God and so that’s what Paul says we were in the world. We were dead in sin) and the uncircumcision of your flesh (by virtue of being Gentiles) but hath he (God) quickened (has regenerated our spirit. He has crucified old Adam and has given us a new nature. A divine nature) together with him, having (already) forgiven you all trespasses." Now let’s look at Colossians 3:13. And again, Paul repeats this twice in two chapters to drive it home. And oh, most of Christendom has a hard time swallowing this, I know they do. But here it is again. Colossians 3:13 "Forbearing one another, (remember, he’s writing to believers congregated in an assembly) and forgiving one another, if any may have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Now look at that verse very carefully. Is there any demand in that verse that you forgive your enemy before you can be saved? NO! That’s already done by the Grace of God. You’re forgiven. But now since you and I are forgiven, what should we be ready to do? Forgive whoever we have ought against, whether it’s in the Church or neighborhood or whatever. There is nothing stipulated in Paul’s Gospel, nor his writings that first we have to forgive everybody before we can be forgiven like the Lord Jesus said during His earthly ministry under Law. For example, The Lord’s Prayer isn’t appropriate for us today. The Lord’s Prayer was under Law. It was to Israel. And it says "forgive us our trespasses (when?) as we forgive those who trespass against us." Now that’s Law. And absolutely a Jew could not be forgiven u

ntil he went and forgave his neighbor. But that doesn’t hold true today. We’re forgiven by the Grace of God. And if we’re forgiven, then why in the world can’t we forgive our neighbor? That’s the teaching. So twice in two chapters he says we have been forgiven of all our trespasses and all our sins. Now let’s go back to Ephesians 2:1. Ephesians 2:1-6 "And you (writing to these Ephesian believers) hath he (Christ) quickened (made alive. Same concept. As soon as we believe the Gospel, God imparted to us that new divine nature. He gave us the regeneration of the spirit. It’s divine, eternal life that we are now partakers of) who were dead in trespasses and sins: 2. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world (everyone did) according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. 3. Among whom also we all (he included himself) had our conversation (manner of living) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (doing what comes naturally like everybody else.) 4. But (the flip side) God (not me, not I, but God) who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved:) 6. Hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (see our position now as believers?) Now verse 8. Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; (plus how much? NOTHING! There’s nothing else listed here. It’s by grace through faith) and that not of yourselves; it is the (what?) gift of God:" How much work do you do for a gift? NONE! But, people are having all this stuff laid on them. There is nothing in here that says you’ve got to do such and such except believe that Christ has already done it. It’s finished! And we can’t add to it.