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Eph 6:12 For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. ???There is nowhere in that verse that Paul is saying anything about evil angels marrying humans!!!!! I don't buy that for one minute!!!!!! The only thing I agree with is evil angels did not die in the flood.

“You don't just accidentally show up in the World Series.” - Derek Jeter

Guardians of the beautiful Land of Israel. These are top combat soldiers from the Golani Brigade who protect Israel’s northern border.

Our will is strengthened with exercise, but we cannot free our will from what we have applied it to when we have willed to sin. It is the supernatural grace and work of the Holy Spirit to inform us and free our will from service to selfishness when we become willing to place our will into the service of unselfishness. Being a collaborator with God, we exercise our will to do His will when he frees it from sin, after he has enlightened us. Then we may give up our desire to sin because we do not want it anymore. And then our will is free to serve God. And remains free to sin if we will to. There is only an illusion of freedom of the will when we are slaves to sin. It is merely... which form is sin will we slide to "choose". We are no longer free to praise God or serve God or do His good Will.

When I spoke of people getting to heaven without having personal knowledge about Christ, I was simply saying they just did not know that their being in heaven is also through Christ, THE only way.

Did anyone who lived before the cross hear about the invitation? If so, how?

What would happen if we made our standard of “biblical masculinity” the Bible’s main character, the Son of Man himself? Let’s make a few things absolutely clear: Showing your emotions and crying in public doesn’t make you effeminate. “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Finding beauty in nature doesn’t make you effeminate. Jesus told us to “consider the lilies” (Matthew 6:27). Being gentle, quiet, kind, and humble doesn’t make you effeminate. Jesus was “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Having an intimate, emotional friendship with Jesus doesn’t make you effeminate. “There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). (That was John, the rugged blue-collar fisherman, by the way.) Liking beautiful music and poetry doesn’t make you effeminate. Jesus sang hymns (Matthew 26:30). Even being a victim of bullying doesn’t make you effeminate. “Herod and his soldiers ridiculed him and mocked him” (Luke 23:11). Sure, Jesus was a strong man, a tough guy with a beard who worked with his hands for a living, called out Pharisees to their faces, stared down a mob, and overturned tables. But Jesus was also a man who wasn’t ashamed of being emotional, enjoying beauty, liking music, being humble, getting bullied, crying, expressing love, hanging out with women and children. You may enjoy the whole article: http://www.ericpazdziora.com/the-truth-about-effeminate-worship/

GBU?! God Bless You?! How dare you? ;)

GBU teresaq! This is great! amen amen amen all over the place! ....................................................................................................... The point is, when we’re talking about “masculine” and “feminine” especially in religion, the majority of our commonly held ideas don’t come from the Bible. Maybe a handful do, but not as many you think. Mostly, like this one, they’re an amalgam of cultural customs and hand-me-down moralizing, badly filtered through recent tradition. Take another example. One of the articles I linked above lists what the author, Douglas Wilson, sarcastically identifies as signs that “Your worship service and church community might be effeminate.” One of them is, “…a clerical collar and a powder pink shirt.” To us, of course, pink is a color for little girls. But here’s another quote from the early 1900s, this one from a clothing magazine in 1914: “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.” (Source: Smithsonian Magazine) In 1914, pink was the manly color and blue was “delicate and dainty.” A man who wore a pink shirt to church was “more decided and stronger.” Apparently, pink wasn’t even associated with femininity in the U.S. until the 1940s, mostly thanks to marketing by clothing manufacturers. Are we really promoting biblical masculinity or femininity here? Obviously not. Taken to its most extreme, this becomes obsessive nitpicking and worrying and scrutinizing that something a man does might be (horror of horrors!) feminine. It can get downright laughable. I have another book in which several scholars try to explain “biblical manhood and womanhood.” Discussing the handful of scattered Bible verses that address gender takes them 575 pages—longer than the New Testament. As C. S. Lewis said in another context, this is “the discovery of the mare’s nest by pursuit of the red herring.” The absurdity perhaps reached its nadir when Douglas Wilson listed this sign that a church is “effeminate”: The worship music rides particular chord changes hard, with special mention being given to the shift from E Minor to C Major; Because nothing says femininity like a chord progression with root movement of a descending major third. As a classically trained composer, the technical term I’d use for that is, “What?” Maybe he thinks men ought to go from E minor to B7 instead, since that’s the Dominant. Or to D#, which is the leading tone, because men should be leaders, and… Oh, forget it, I give up. It’s just sheer nonsense. It’s on a level with saying that men should avoid spelling words with W and F because they stand for Womanly and Feminine. Once a debate has gotten into a state like this, it’s not only jumped the shark, it should be sent to sleep with the fishes. ................................................................................................... I might put up other things in the future from the LINK provided at the OP..but the thing about masculine and feminine Colours AND mUSIC got me! I look like a tough hulking mountain man (and so does my Buddy... ). I wear the blue jeans with folded cuffs(soooo butch..like i don't sew ha ha)..Plaid shirts and big beard and or big burly mustache and rugged boots. Then I pull out a colourful pretty handkerchief! O no! At any meal occasion you will see an array of fabulouse colour or colours. It cheers me.My eyes light up at colour. Whether it's a sunset under a mackerel sky.Or a blood red rose. And even an emerald green lawn! (what's that?.. I'm in California) or a sun bursting orange delicate fabric for sneezing.... And i don't care what kind of looks i get. It is not their ignorance or preferences that matter in my decision of what I wear. Or music I listen too. I love the Lady Singers that milk every note. I love that this Blogger points that out..I grew up with peeps who say boys cant wear pink? "Uhhhh let me tell you like it is... blue and pink helps identify the gender as babys where they can pass for either (well most). After that we get to choose for ourselves!" And if we are judged over it. They are gonna have to take it up with GOD who made the RAINBOW! Thanku again teresaq! really kool God bless you! And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Rev 4:3

Excellent post teresaq.

Prayer of Repentance Anonymous Merciful God, we have sinned in what we have thought and said, in the wrong we have done and in the good we have not done. We have sinned in ignorance: we have sinned in weakness: we have sinned through our own deliberate fault. We are truly sorry. We repent and turn to you. Forgive us, for our Saviour Christ's sake, and renew our lives to the glory of your name.