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This is Carroll, Richard and I cannot begin to thank all of you enough for your kindness, love and prayers. He is overwhelmed by all of your responses. We loved Mr. Murphy deeply and are feeling the sharp pains of his loss. Richard plans to share more pictures this week, he just can't do it today.

I believe love is a principle - it is not an emotion. That said, love causes emotions. It can cause romantic passion (between spouses). It can cause bitter sadness (with the loss of a loved one). It can cause disappointment (with a child). It can cause anxiety (with a sick friend or family member). I characterize love with two words - acceptance and commitment. I accept those I love as they are, no conditions attached. I am committed to their well-being under all conditions. Love is often a decision I make. Since Jesus commands us to love others, that almost means it has to be a decision we can make. I can decide to love my neighbors and my enemies. Looking out for the well-being of others does not mean doing what they want. It often means the opposite. Parents making a child eat vegetables instead of ice cream is looking out for the child's well-being although it probably doesn't make the child feel all fuzzy warm with love.

Yes He did; but that is encouragement; not condemnation. I wonder how many people that he said that to actually succeeded in never sinning again?

Homosexuals do not have a monopoly on sin any more than heterosexuals that stray from the path of right doing. All people that choose to leave the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life are in danger of hell fire. The political ramifications of the Supreme Court's recent gay decision are troublesome since God's word is clear on homosexuality and man has judged himself to be wiser than God. Thus man has opened the door for gays to force acceptance of their lifestyle upon those who believe that it is sin, It is one thing to invite others to voluntarily join in sinful behavior or to request that they condone it, but it is quite another thing to compel folks to be accessories to that which they view as sinful. Man has laws about being an accessory before, during, or after a crime. And it would be foolish to think that God did not have them too. As I see it, the Supreme Court has declared independence from God, and God will not be mocked. When the nation's cup is full, God will remove His protection from the nation.

As I read this and other posts I've made on the subject, it would be easy to assume that I am anti-gay. I am not. I am anti-government mandated morality. Those who believe that homosexuality is an abomination have the same rights as those who believe otherwise. When the government has to tell us what is moral and what is not, I can't help but conclude that the Body of Christ thus far has failed in the great commission. To me it matters not whether the government is mandating gay marriage or Sunday observance; the government has no right to mandate its moral code on me - only God has that right. When the government usurps God's authority, they are setting up the beast power. Thing is, in Matthew 28 Jesus says that ALL authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him. How much authority does that leave for satan? NONE! How much authority does that leave for satan's minions who appear to be running the planet now? NONE!! Legalizing gay marriage is not the problem - it is only a symptom of the true problem - government mandating and redefining morality (setting up a state religion?). It is true that satan is roaming around like a hungry lion, seeking whom he can devour. Why? Because he knows he has but a short time. His time is almost at an end; and soon we shall see the King of Glory take the dominion which His authority grants Him. Look up! Your redemption draweth nigh!

Except that you demand that we only use the Bible via your rules, otherwise you do not allow it.

I had the honor to know Jenny. She was a Senior at AUC my freshman year and our Norwegian Heritage and language formed a connection. Her thought affected my thought. Our theology department would describe her as "The best man in the ministerial program." I wish her ministry was not so short. But she was truly anointed by God.

As an RN (now retired), I have cared for HIV patients and held their hand while they were dying in their 20's. One young man lived with "friends" that were often sitting around in drag (socializing) when I would arrive at the home to care for him. [The female nurses were not comfortable in that setting so I was asked to take the assignment.] I like to think that I gave him high quality care and never went judgmental on him, his roommates, or any of my other HIV patients. But choices have consequences, and they are not always pretty. I'd like to be settled in the knowledge that everyone was on solid footing, following God's revealed will, and that no one would wake up too late to see that the consequences of their lifestyle choices were but the hurtful thorns rather than the beautiful flowers gracing the garden.

Divorce has what to do with the gay marriage ruling,other than to deflect from a lifestyle you seem to enjoy. Perhaps start a topic on women bobbing their hair. Has absolutely nothing to do with He calls an abomination

It is not really clear, from the scriptures, that a fetus is equal with a breathing person. I know there are a couple of things about the LORD knowing someone from the womb, or in the womb, or a fetus leaping in Elizabeth's womb. So the SCOTUS ruling on abortion might not be regarded as clearly - in terms of God's Law - as this latest ruling on Gay Marriage. Homosexuality is clearly condemned as "an abomination" in the Torah and Apostolic Writings. What the highest court in our nation esssentially SAID on Friday, was that this nation is NOT under Judeo-Christian Law. Essentially - we recognize NO GOD. That's what they said. That being said, I don't think they should hold a prayer breakfast, or celebrate a national day of prayer. This nation - as a nation - recognizes NO GOD. Now - how will God respond? We'll have to wait to see. I do not foresee great blessings coming henceforth, for this nation.

Hmmmm, I wonder what Sister White would say to this June 22nd, 2015 news item: http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/06/22/pope-apologizes-to-once-persecuted-evangelicals/ The pope went to a Waldensian Church in Turin, Italy, for the very 1st time and APOLOGIZED for the way the papacy treated/persecuted them in the past!

The 14th amendment promises equal protection under the Law. The SCOTUS has already stated that pastors will not be required to violate their religious convictions - and so Pastors cannot be forced to participate in SSM ceremonies. So then this presents an "Equal Protection" opportunity for bakers that find themselves under assault by an SSM attack against their business as long as they advertise their services in a similar way. Something like "we are a Christian owned business and we market to all customers that do not wish to violate our religious convictions". Thus even atheists would be welcome customers - so long as they too did not wish to violate the religious convictions of the owners of that business. in Christ, Bob

As children of earthly parents get older, the ideal is that they become more and more independent. As children of God, what I see is that God wants His children to become more and more dependent on Him as they mature. Do you find this odd?

http://tinyurl.com/qgejf22 Is there any doubt as to which direction our nation is heading? 10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?.....Revelation 6 God is Love! Jesus saves!

Well the number is man and finally someone has got it right. However, did you all read the whole thing? Because as the Bible stated some will lose sight of the truth altogether! Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Rev 13:18 The number is the beast through different periods! It takes ELOHIM'S wisdom and not interpretation because the Bible make it clear not to interpret, instead seek understanding! Most do not understand because they do not put the whole story together which is mainly found in 18 along with Dan chap 7! ELOHIM works different then we do, so THE FATHER builds up the story in Revelation giving each time more detail understanding. It is not giving all at one time because have to understand it in simple pieces like a puzzle! Quickly, the fourth beast was different from the other three. Dan vision was totally different from the king, these beasts or empires YAHWEH was dealing with was about their religions. That is what ELOHIM is all about going away from the Word of Truth! YAHSHUA was giving to Daniel that Nimrod's one world religion was uniting under one umbrella. YAHWEH showed that the three kingdoms had united part of Nimrod's religion that was totally against truth! The fourth beast who was totally different was not one empire but both kings and empires that would go through periods. Daniel saw the beast in his first stage and described the same beast that John saw! Dan 7:7-12, 19 21 · and it had great iron teeth: Rome · his nails of brass: Greece · it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: Persia · and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; It was not just Rome, it was many other pagan religious united Then John sees the same beast through time where there seven known empires attached to his head. We are dealing with their religion and these empires relation to ELOHIM'S people or truth. Keep in mind there were other empires, but they did not interact with ELOHIM'S chosen people, which was both the Canaanites and then the Hebrews. These empires are Egypt, Assyria, Neo-Babylon, Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome and finally Papal Rome. All of these empires had religion that intertwine with each other but united under Papal Rome the little horn and the seventh head! Rev 13:1-3 · having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads names of blasphemy. The beast had seven heads beside his head! · And the beast I saw was like a leopard, Greece is the body! · and his feet were like the feet of a bear, Persia is the feet · and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. Babylon of Nimrod that became Neo-Babylon later in time! (The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I was looking until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and it was given a man’s heart. Dan 7:4) Here is the wisdom and now you can count the beast itself because it has always been a man with imperfection. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. Rev 17:8-11 How plain is the Bible if you have the Wisdom of THE HOLY SPIRIT that will lead you into all truth!! Three different time periods of the beast and we can't see it with the naked eye, we need eyesalve! · 6- that was Nimrod he was the first beast, he created Babylon or Babel confusion! · 6-is not was beast, the little horn plucked three up completely and became the empire of combining all of Nimrod's pagan beliefs together the Papacy! · 6-even he is the eighth and final beast who was brought up a Catholic but left to and join completely with the devil! This is the son of perdition YASHUA was talking about and Paul who saw him take the temple and sit in THE MOST HOLY PLACE! I cannot explain it all here but this is the man and this is what 666 truly means. The beast left the Catholic Church; he was their prodigy who was raise to rule the world for the Catholic Church. He realizes that she lied and he hates her and changes yes changes his belief! He accepts Satan and knows who he is and believe another lie again that Satan should rule the Universe and that Satan lost his rightful rule in Heaven! He is giving his power to take the earth, while Satan takes the Universe he thinks. He has to prove to Satan that he can take the earth and defeat YAHSHUA! The beast first must get rid of the whore and her city Jerusalem, but this is all in ELOHIM'S plan. The battle is Armageddon between the beast and the Catholic Church, while YAHSHUA is returning and probation is closed! Read it for yourself Rev Chapters 11, 13, 15-19 Blessings!

What is the probability of one having a "body of sin" or a "body of death" living a sinless life? Zero, zilch, nada.

I agree - Jesus condemned sins. But how often while He was here on earth did he condemn sinners? He convicted sinners of their sin; but the only sinners He truly railed against (condemned?) were the leaders of the established church for twisting the character of God. Only satan condemns and accuses us before God every chance He gets. He condemns us in our minds; and we fall for the lie! The only way we can know what love is is by looking at how Christ loved people -not at the way people want to be looked at - and emulate Him. LGBT's want to be loved and accepted. So does everone else. We should love all people - LGBT's, alcoholics, drug users, pig eaters, Sunday-Keepers, gossips, etc. We all want to be loved. One of our biggest calling as as Christians is to love everyone. That being said, God's love doesn't always look or feel like how we view love. Ask Abraham when he was told to kill His son. Ask Joseph when he was tied to a camel on his way to Egypt. Ask Jesus as he hung on the cross. Ask the apostles as they were being incarcerated, tortured and martyred.

Romans tells us that we have all fallen short of the mark; and that none of us is righteous - no; not even one. We are told that us trying to change our nature is like a leopard trying to change its spots. It is impossible for us to live sinless lives under our own power. That's where grace comes in. Grace - besides being unmerited favor, is the power to overcome. Does that mean we will overcome? In my opinion, overcoming is a process guided by the Holy Spirit. If any of you are like me; the Holy Spirit has a myriad of issues that He and I work on together - but He sets the priorities. I don't think He'll be finished with me before I die; I don't think we can be truly perfected until this mortal body is changed to immortal. God is much more driven by a loving relationship than He is by perfect compliance to His covenant. Peter says that love covereth over a multitude of sin. Example - when the woman was caught in adultery, who was the only one qualified (i.e., He who was without sin) to throw the first stone? Jesus! Did He throw it? Did He condemn her? No; He forgave her. So it is with us. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. Do you want to be with Jesus in His Kingdom forever? Get to know Him now. Dwell not on your own shortcomings; but on His majesty, perfection, and goodness. Be beholding Him; we will become changed. We don't overcome sin by force of will and self-effort. We overcome by resting in Him and trusting in His mercy and goodness. We sin when we take our focus off of Him and start looking at self.

it is not sin that keeps us out of the Kingdom of God. all sin is following the will of our fallen nature, our flesh, in spiritual vernacular. all sin, no one has not followed the inclinations of their flesh. it is the status of our relationship to Jesus that determines our salvation, whatever our sin is. it is eternal life to know God, to live by the Spirit, to know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings. Do you know God, Does God recognize His Son in you. Jesus said to the lost, "i never knew you. I do not recognize myself in you, you are not a member of my family, you have no family likeness, you have not become like Jesus. Does your life in some way express the very Character of God, in love for God and love for fallen humanity? Do you love to deny your own nature to live in the very nature of God. Do you partake of divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust or desire?? Only when you reject a revelation of your Savior will you die. Jesus is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. everyone is given light, and everyone determines their own destiny based on their response to that light. There has been given Grace, or there would be no human race today. we would have already been gone if sin was given the power to destroy us. what crushes the wicked is the rock falling on them, because they would not fall on the rock, be broken and live. Pointing out sin is useless, we are all drowning in sin. we are all nothing but sinful without Jesus. We need to be pointing out Jesus. Sin that is pointed out by the Holy Spirit is sin that can be addressed. Jesus alone, by the Spirit, gives light so we can see ourselves as we are before him, and choose if we will enter the kingdom of grace or not. And Jesus does not show anyone all he might regarding their condition of sin. We cannot endure it. as to what is sin... the question of, is homosexuality sin, what proceeds from sinful flesh is sin. If we do not know it is sin, if the Spirit has not pointed it out to us as sin, we cannot do anything about it. Because it is only through the Spirit that anything can be done about any sin. No matter how much bible thumping is done, it equals zero if the Spirit is not bringing it home. We do not Bible thump about something we see as sins, then we go wild about other things we see as sins. I don't think God sees as we see. I will leave homosexuality between the soul and God, just as i place Sabbath keeping or breaking there. We only become guilty when the Spirit has brought it home to us and we reject that. whatever sin it is. and i cannot tell someone what has transpired between them and God. I am not the voice of God.

http://spectrummagazine.org/node/6882/

??? Who is doing that? You mentioned conscience. What is this conscience based on? Is it based on the Bible? If it is then they should be bothered by all the sins that relate to what the Bible says about marriage. Most people would consider that extreme because sex before marriage is generally accepted in 2015. 60 years ago it would have been an issue. You illustrate my point. He's says he's at fault !!!! You're defending the indefensible. Whipping boy? He's a great example of the hypocrisy that has infested a particular section of "values voters" and apparently he's doing well in New Hampshire. He seems to resonate.

I understand it is not politically correct to talk about self-centeredness and homosexuality. It certainly doesn't get a lot of press. As I stated, my comments are based on my own experience working with gay ministries and the experience of those in those ministries, Here is one of the few studies that has been done on the subject. Narcissism and self-esteem among homosexual and heterosexual male students.

Well Gay you obviously have had more time than I to keep up with all the issues in our church and in the entertainment field. I will say this about that is that for many years I lived in the same small town as Reba McEntire therefore much of her life became public information. As for cutting her hair, Reba is an entertainer and her income is derived from her music and personal image. I would find it surprising if a SDA pastor used her hair cut as their Divine Worship topic. But who knows, strange things are happening As for Christian parents getting upset over their child considering marrying a divorced person. This does not apply just to Christians. Non Christians often object to their child considering marriage to a divorced person. A young person who is divorced often has a ready made family which presents many issues. The baggage is greater and second marriages often result in divorce. That is a completely different set of issues to be considered and as parents we want only the best for our children.

One thing we can say about all of this constant focus on the 'sins' of others....hopefully no one is looking at ours......fat chance!!!!

As a fourth generation SDA I must say that divorce is certainly not the ideal situation. OTOH there have been people who divorced long before my entrance into this world. People who remained in the church and were treated with respect. Now, you can't put every divorce into the same category, there are reasons that a divorced person may have been sanctioned due to unacceptable behavior. As for Danny Shelton's divorce, there were many extenuating factors involved with the divorce. Numerous individuals seemed to feel it was their responsibility to share information which often was based on limited or no truth. As for women bobbing their hair .................... hey friend, go for it, make it an issue ....

See: https://atoday.org/its-an-angel-speaking.html

Indeed there is a pattern. I have said it before,this tactic is the same my boys used to try. At least they were young kids. If one found himself in trouble it didn't take long to try to shift the focus to the wrongdoing of his brothers.Anything to prevent a discussion and focus on their current behavior. In time they learned it did not take away the consequence of their wrongdoing. The only way their tactic would have had value is if their father and I said the wrongdoing of their brother's was okay. The "sin" being dealt with didn't have anything to do condoning other behavior,nor was it necessary to run thru a list of sins we found as objectionable

Didn't Ellen's death before the time of trouble began remove her from consideration?

Consciences? You are kidding right? These are the same people who bake cakes for unrepentant fornicators and serial adulterers without reservation and offer the service with a smile. So called conservatives make a mockery of marriage with their numerous affairs and divorces. Donald Trump thinks his three "traditional" marriages are not as deserving of hell fire as much as one gay one. I have said to anti-gay marriage campaigners who have contacted me to get involved in their work, my struggle as a pastor is with the heterosexual marriages in my community. Christians need to calm down. In a few years all the talk will be about all the gay divorces taking place.

The LGBT's say that we must "love" them, and by that they mean accept their behaviors, or accept them with their behaviors. That's not my definition of "love". Jesus loved, but He also condemned sins.

If Mr. Carson were miraculously elected, the sharks would rip him to pieces for his conservative beliefs. He kind of reminds me of Jimmy Carter, a very good man, while maybe somewhat naïve, but Mr. Carson seems like he would be no match for the hungry sharks looking for fresh meat.

Mr. Murphy was always in charge of security...

She left a beautiful legacy

what a wonderful tribute! I hadn't heard of Jenny before this..

Any decision to do away with the so-called Regional Conferences must come from the members of those Conferences. It cannot be imposed upon them by a "White" majority.

I would advise people to keep well away from the King James Version Only movement. It is openly founded on Racism and the superiority complex that G-d only gave his perfect translation of the Bible in 1611 to white people. The fact is that there were various Bibles available before the 1611 KJV, the Russian Orthodox Church are believed to have had the first copies of Bibles distributed amongst their churches for public reading. Shock horror if true, Russians are actually the chosen people not King Henry's Protestants.... The 1611 KJV and the other KJV versions that come after it also have a number of documented errors in translation which each edition has tried to correct. One thing that I learned in college is that you cannot take the 1611 KJV or any of the other KJV's and use that as a basis to translate the scriptures into a language like Russian or Chinese for example. The correct way is to make the translation directly from the texts that the KJV and other Bibles are translated from,otherwise it will not make any sense at all to the reader as you cannot anglisice words into other languages and retain context. As for SDA doctrines being reliant on the KJV, I disagree, SDA theologians are happy to debate SDA theology with any leading scholars from the likes of Fuller theological seminary and anywhere else. If they needed the KJV to prove their case it would fall over very quickly. Yet my experience in college was the reverse,. my lecturer and several of our Baptist students were advocates of the soul sleep theology of the SDA's. The SDA teaching on hell not being for eternity was also viewed favourably by several students. I supect this is because of study on the original texts as opposed to simply just study of the KJV or any other version of the Scripture.

"The secret of unity is found in the equality of believers in Christ." - Ellen G. White (1 SM 259)

I believe a strong Biblical case can be made that we are judged by the amount of light we have. More is expected of those that know more and less of those that know less.

BL, why do you come to a forum, join as a member, then petulantly demand that everyone abide by *your* set of rules?

And talking about the KJV... There are some KJV-only advocates that believe WAY differently than Seventh-Day Adventists. How does that happen? I am impressed that the Holy Spirit plays a big part (and must play a big part) in guiding a seeker.

Not to mention those that translate, Lord's Day as Sunday. It is good to be aware. The KJV is not perfect, either. I don't think there is a perfect translation. But the translations are not as varied and wacky as the notes in study Bibles. I pulled the Common Man's bibles we had after having a look at the study notes. I found what I thought to be a strange over-attention to the anti-Christ and New World Order. I much prefer to focus on Jesus than monsters in Revelation...

I appreciate his parallel between the early church recognizing the ceremonial law was no longer binding and WO today.

When I lived in Bakersfield, I was a member at Hillcrest, which Jamey Houghton was associate pastor at part of that time. I think he has a well reasoned argument about who is in control of the church and what our perspective should be regarding the vote on women's ordination. Even if one is opposed, predicting this will split the church really flies in the face of what Ellen White says, that the church is going through, and we should stay with it. http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story2817-in-good-hands

God may be in control. But, the story of King Saul tells us something important. God sometimes gives us what we want in order to teach us a lesson, rather than what we should have.

I do not believe that God wants us to become more dependent on Him. I do believe that God wants us to trust Him more.

Where is the call for uniformity?

The 'holy City' is the New Jerusalem that comes down... ...The existing 'great city' is apostate Jerusalem. ...Which contains the blood of the prophets. Matthew 23,34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Matthew 23,36 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Luke 13,32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. In other words the heathen don't kill prophets, Jerusalem and her religious officials do... ...This is what Christ is saying here. ...The woman represents a "religious system" who has a track record of being a whore. It describes Jerusalem or better put Judaism - no other system could qualify to be a great whore.... ...Scripture contains proof of that.