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Despite the challenge given directly to a couple of our most outspoken conservatives here, both seem to have avoided stepping up and telling us what positions on key issues of Trump they disagree with. Just as with all of the Republican candidates we mostly get a picture of every conservative just playing dodge ball with him trying very hard to avoid actually disagreeing with the underlying substance of his tactless and rude presentation of his positions and ideas. That just tends to confirm essential agreement with much of what he says. As has been said several times already, he voices the heart of the far right wing agenda that is taking over the Republican Party. Few Republicans are unwilling to fundamentally disagree with that agenda because deep down they hold those views themselves. The polls may just be holding back that curtain so we can peek at the true heart of the Republican Party. A large percentage really do like Trump, his views and the ugly way he hurls them at people.

I have in the last week, started studying Theology at Avondale in Australia- by distance. I am very scared about doing the essays, and getting the referencing right, but I know God will help me through it. After all, i had so many signs and confirmations within a 10 minute period the morning after i asked, what else can it be?? My major is Biblical Studies.

See: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/21/nasa-says-the-world-is-not-going-to-end-in-september

Unfortunately(?) I think God has chosen to be dependent upon us. We haven't been very cooperative so far, but some generation will be. I see some good signs, so there are some promising developments, but of course only God knows what's really going on.

I think the whole subject is looked at the wrong way. The best books I've read on the subject are by Robert Wieland. There's too much to cover in a post, but I'll say a couple of quick things. One is, it's not something I worry about. I concern myself with trying to understand who God is, as revealed by Jesus Christ, to fall in love with Him and that image. I believe our focus should be directed in this way, to understand what the message of Christ was really about, and allow ourselves and our lives to be impacted by that. Another quick thing is that (and Wieland explains this at length) that the message and the work is a corporate work, not an individual work. It's not about 144,000 individuals running around, as if there were 144,000 Christs, but that there be a body, a bride of Christ, which is mature, fully functional, and responds to the wishes and desires of the groom.

See: http://clubadventist.com.cutestat.com/ NOTE: Club Adventist is estimated to have a daily income of $5.00 Stan< so this is how you became rich and weatlhy.

The fact that you have noticed and are concerned is not the unpardonable sin YET, IMHO. But if you continue to choose to wander I don't know where that will lead to. Remember God will not remove your freedom of choice. When I run into dry periods I find that when I simply pick up my Bible again and willingly be patient it will return. And I say this having come across a rather dry place in my reading, that of the historical period of Israel/Judah. But part of my dryness is that this is a light reading of this version. Even so, I find that a passage will spring out at me, grabbing me. Your life is not stagnant (or at least I hope not!) so it is possible that anything you encounter, with the Spirit's help, may pop out at you with deep meaning. Scripture is God's word and His word is a living word. It does not return to Him void but accomplishes that which He pleases. When emotions sway us one way or the other, God's word is eternal. Even though heaven and earth pass away His word shall not pass away. Those are powerful Biblical statements. (((( jballew7 ))) Another hug! You are loved!

I do not disagree with you Jackson. I agree, that "known sin" must be confessed and forsaken. What I'm saying is that we all have sinful (not completely selfless) thoughts and actions, that we are not completely AWARE OF. And that means we are not "perfect". That "unconscious" sin is "covered" by the blood of Jesus. The "babes in Christ" probably have even more things that Jesus has not yet completely cleansed from their characters. You think I'm saying that everyone can relax and forget about their behavior. I'm NOT!!! I can no more be "perfect" than Peter could walk on water. The harder I "strive" - in my own strength. The faster I sink. It is in drawing near to Christ, reading the stories of victory, building faith - THAT is what brings victory.

The fact that you are asking these questions, and feeling like you feel, is evidence the Holy Spirit has not stopped trying. An idea I've heard suggested is when you feel this way to go to the last place where you saw light. So if you can remember a Bible passage you really liked, perhaps try that.

Before you polish your liberal halo to much keep in mind that almost everything that is said by liberals concerning Trump and conservative supporters could be taken from the Democratic playbook concerning Ventura. At the very least you could try something a little more original. While you are trashing conservatives over Trump remember it was Democrats after all their condemning of Ventura jumped ship and were responsible for electing Ventura. Running a no money campaign against a Humphrey in liberal MN and winning against the much revered Humphrey name was unthinkable to the nay sayers. I didn't vote for Ventura but did get a kick out of the disbelief of the Democrats. Personally I have not paid much attention to what Trump or any of them have to say. So can't really address that. But as to how he says it,what is it you would expect from Trump?.In addition I doubt he would be getting the attention he is without it. Either the right or the left. I don't have any more respect for those on the left they say some pretty nasty things,couched in more acceptable language. I have had some workmen at our home. Surprised the heck out of me when Trump was brought up and in a favorable manner. Two were MN democrats and really hope Trump wins the primary as he has their vote. It would be rather entertaining to see roughly 35% of democrats jump ship again. Big in their favor is illegal immigration,imagine democrats being against that

I am a former vegetarian. My husband and I had a difficult time maintaining a vegetarian diet. He is allergic to too many foods, he was becoming deficient in nutrient intake. Additionally, because the carbohydrate content we were earing was too high, we both gained weight over the years. (Our kids did too.) Another side effect of the high carb diet was an overload of gluten. It was constantly affecting my husband's health. We now primarily eat a limited selection of low starch, low oxalate (they cause kidney stones) fruits and vegetables; gluten-free breads and grains; and a variety of clean, non-fish meats and eggs. We are losing weight (95 pounds between the two of us) and are much healthier.

No, however God is merciful. 7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[a] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. ...1 Peter 4 God is Love! Jesus saves!

By the way, let me say thanks again for all the support. I didn't expect so many replies. This is a great community!!

This is a difficult question to deal with. I think many good points have made, the common thread being that our feelings will do all sorts of things for many different reasons, some of which are physical (e.g. chemical reactions in our brains) over which we have little or no control. Regarding what we can control, I think having as positive an image of God as is possible (for us at a given time) is beneficial. The true God is better than we can imagine; however good, kind, loving, etc. we imagine Him to be, He is better than that! God is like Jesus Christ; just like Jesus Christ. For myself, I have found meditating on this has been very helpful. Our brains can process humanity much better than divinity, so I find the need to tell myself repeatedly "God is just like Jesus Christ" to be helpful, even necessary, because the default idea seems to be that God is NOT like Jesus Christ. So the short answer is to dwell on Jesus Christ. I can say, for example, in the times in my life where I've been the lowest, in my darkest moments, feeling along and like there was no one who understood, my mind was drawn to Gethsemane, and I saw One there who did know what I was going through, who did understand what I was feeling, and who did understand.

Is a critical spirit a one way street? Is constantly finding fault and claiming others are less than they should be if they not share your opinion considered a critical spirit?

One can only make a good a judgment as the information one has... Some people can hold high standards and still attract others to see God's love. Others hand out condemnation, and, as Kevin mentioned, turn people away from even trying. It is an art to be winning, for in the end that is the way we want to be, isn't it? To win souls for God? God will do the changing if there is any to be made. Too often critical spirits destroy any desire to come to Jesus at all.

I told you I have not studied into the whole thing so I do not have all the answers. I have only shared what I have come across. I have not been convinced but I have been challenged to not be as smug on the traditional position as I used to be. I am at a place were when Jesus comes where he could offer me one of two criticisms: First I could be open to them, encourage them to at least have a discreet monogamist relationship and trust in Jesus and Jesus can criticize me of offering them a false hope and being too accepting of a sin, and quote this text to me. On the other hand I can join the evangelicals and Jerry Farwell and others on their campaign about these people and have Jesus point out to me the things that I have heard about these verses and say that I have misapplied them to something beyond what he was talking about in the Bible and that thus I pushed away many who could have trusted in him who could have been into heaven but since they felt that heaven has no room for them they did not reach out for heaven. I know that I have to risk one of these two rebukes from Jesus. And as I consider them I would rather choose hearing Jesus tell me the first rebuke rather than hearing the second.

May I suggest even properly prescribed and used drugs can lead to a living death sentence. http://yournewswire.com/100000-deaths-per-year-in-the-u-s-caused-by-prescription-drugs/ God is Love! Jesus saves!

I wonder if it is wise to have a president rather than a council of elders. Any time there is a titular president, focus is placed on the man. We see this in the US federal government, where originally the president was to be a figurehead, with real power concentrated in Congress. It didn't take long before all eyes were on the presidency. In the British Parliamentary system like we have in Canada, the Prime Minister is intended to be "primus inter pares", or "first among equals". It didn't take long before the PM became "first without equal". With our "presidential" system at the GC, all the talk about San Antonio was: Ted Wilson's election; the WO vote and how Ted Wilson "won"; and how Ted Wilson will deal with the aftermath. The world expects to see a man at the head of every organization. To the world, Obama, not federal Congress, not the 50 states, and not the people, are the USA. To the world, Tim Cook, not the board of directors, not the shareholders, is Apple Inc. To the world, the Pope, not the Bishops, not the priest and certainly not the faithful, is the Catholic Church. Is it necessary to have "someone in charge"? Would the work of the GC be chaos were there no president? Does the local church with a council of elders absolutely need to elevate one of their number to the position of "Head Elder"? Since the church is made up of imperfect humans, must we follow the human way of organization by always having one person as the "boss"?

Tis the world of politics! In doing what is best for a business, relationship or for the country, total truth may not always be the best course of action or in the best interest of both parties. When people call call others 'liar', especially the president, they have spent little time in getting to know all the facts or have the ability to know all the facts. Usually it's because that person has a different party affiliation or doesn't like the results of a particular decision. We all make compromises in our daily lives as part of getting along with work requirements, relationships, etc. Considering that a president is elected by only 30% or so of the public, since often the voting for such is around 50% of total population, not everyone is getting what they want or think the decisions are correct ones. We all have our personal beliefs of what is best in anything. So calling someone a 'liar' is the easy way out of the thought process.

Far better to be martyred followers of YHVH than their murderers. Even though the demonic mass-murderers may triumph for a time over the whole world, it does not end well for them, even though they thought they were doing their "god" a favor by executing so many non-Muslims. A kingdom based on murder, that's Satan's kingdom. For those who join YHVH's Kingdom, even if they're decapitated, their tears will be washed away, while the Kingdom of Mass-Murderers will be destroyed and forgotten, forever.

AMEN! He WILL also ultimately defeat Islam, the papacy, or whomever else threatens the existence of His elect. We know how the story ends. Any adventure that ends well is a good adventure.

Actually, ISIS is repeating the tactic used by the ancient Assyrians - shock and terror. Cities would surrender rather than face even the POSSIBILITY of defeat because they KNEW what would come next. All their men impaled on poles. The LORD defeated the Assyrians - their whole army in one night. He can defeat ISIS. The REASON that He does not help the West, is because they deny Him, and dishonor Him.

Good info. The article highlights why I give credence to Islam being the just as much (or more) of a candidate for the antichrist power than the papacy.