Napsterdad

I'm sorry you have to go through this Invicta. I can only imagine the pain this is causing you and your family. I will be praying. From the quote above it seems that 'Rae' is only interested in a one-way conversation: Her way. That is not loving, honest, or respectful. She is in essence stating, 'if you do not accept my position then we can no longer be a part of each other's lives'. Her way or the highway. And her way is certainly the low way. Perhaps, if she rolls her eyes when you speak of God, you could cite some real medical documentation on the subject. It's not hard to find qualified sources. For instance, a quick search on the internet just now turned up an article from the National Library of Medicine that state: In a 2015, Boston study of 180 transsexual youth who had undergone SRS (106 female-to-male; 74 male-to-female), these youth had a twofold to threefold increased risk of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, self-harm without lethal intent, and both inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment compared to a control group of youth. Just a suggestion. As for me, I have told my children that should they ever go against the Bible in some significant way I would treat them as the father did the prodigal son. 'You may go, but I am not following, and I am not helping you in your deviant choices. My door and my heart are always open to you. If you come back seeking honest godly guidance, support and love, I am here. But to support you in your unbiblical lifestyle (or turn a blind eye) would require me to turn my back on God, and that I cannot and will not do. Matthew 10:34-38 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. These are not easy words to hear, especially when we are going through hard times within our own family, but they are true words none the less. Sometimes love has to be tough. Again, I am so sorry, Invicta. I will be praying.

It's not just church, it's everywhere. I remember back in the '60s when you had to wear a tie to get into any decent dinner restaurant. Now even in the classy restaurants you can get in wearing cut-off shorts, sandals and a wife-beater shirt. I was looking at some pictures from my childhood a couple weeks ago and even when we went to visit our relatives and friends we often wore button down shirts and ties. People wore nice clothes because they had self-respect, respect for others, and things were expected (for the most part) to be done neatly and in order. Society has shifted, and not for the better. Hardly anyone dresses up anymore. Go to Walmart and you'll find those that can't even find the time to change out of their pajamas. It seems a growing number of people dress up and preen themselves (tattoos, body piercings, et. al.) in order to shock others rather than positively impress. This trend in appearance is just a symptom of a much more significant problem. A large segment of the population has lost self-respect. With that loss came the loss of respect for others; and, most sadly, lost respect for God (but if there was a true respect for God, these societal problems would go away). Look at the pictures in Pastor Matts OP. Those 'preachers' don't respect God. They respect the trends. They are dressed to impress other people, not God. 'Look at me, I'm a preacher and I'm cool, I'm like you, I can dress as lowly as the next guy'. The interesting thing is these 'distressed' clothes they are wearing cost more at the store than the same clothes without the holes. You'll not convince me that this is a move toward sanity and becoming better. I have seen some of these preachers on the idiot box and look at the venues where they preach. The platform looks more like a stage at a rock concert then a place of reverence. When I go to church the first thing I consider is; 'to whom is the glory being given? Are they trying to please God, or please man'. In the OP pictures I do not see God getting top billing. I would be hard pressed to last a minute in such a "church". Appearances do matter, especially at church, but, IMHO, that should also be true outside of church as well. We are supposed to be God's ambassadors. As such, should our appearance look as though we do our shopping at the nearest landfill?

You sound like a Jehovah's Witness. Their bible is a perVersion but THEY believe it is the word of God; and they certainly push works. Maybe that is why you have so many issues with the church and pastors. Have you been attending a Kingdom Hall?

Another Favorite I Am Free - Ben Everson

Ben Everson is one of our favorites. Thanks for sharing all these others. Complete In Thee - Ben Everson

Isaiah 5:20-24 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! 24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Can verse 25+ be far off?

And I thought I slept bad ?

Seems us Tennessee folk rise a bit earlier than the rest.

...or is that like a bad penny? ?

We tried Hello Fresh some years ago (our oldest gave us a subscription) and I wasn't impressed. The meals were just okay and could be a little lacking in quantity. We didn't see the value for the extra money being spent on the convenience. We have had extra freezers for decades now and regularly buy a pig and/or beefer to keep us in protein for good periods of time. We save a lot of money on food this way. I believe the last beefer we bought came in a $2.75/lb. for everything. You can't even by ground beef for that now.

My 12-year-old LOVES dad jokes. How about these: "I'm afraid for the calendar. Its days are numbered." "My wife said I should do lunges to stay in shape. That would be a big step forward." "Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?" "In case they get a hole in one!" "Singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth. Then it's a soap opera." "What do a tick and the Eiffel Tower have in common?" "They're both Paris sites." "What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?" "Sofishticated." "How do you follow Will Smith in the snow?" "You follow the fresh prints." "What do you call a factory that makes okay products?" "A satisfactory." "Dear Math, grow up and solve your own problems." "Why do seagulls fly over the ocean?" "Because if they flew over the bay, we'd call them bagels." "I only know 25 letters of the alphabet. I don't know y." "How does the moon cut his hair?" "Eclipse it. "What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?" "Supplies!"

The way our older two (now 32 and 30) were going we figured we were never going to get grandkids. So we decided to make our own. I now have an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old that have been major blessings to us. God is so good. Still waiting on grandkids, but God knows best. As an aside my oldest was in the Navy; and just before his 21st birthday his ship pulled into Norfolk after an 8-month deployment. We had our 3-month-old daughter with us at the time. As all those sailors were coming off the ship to meet their sons or daughters for the first time, our son met his sister for the first time. My two youngest spent last night with this same brother to let mom and dad have a night out. They get along great and have a lot of fun together. I am so blessed. So, for now I am completely content without grandkids?

My brother would have been 65 this year. He passed two years ago. He was 2 years 11 months older than me. I always introduced him as my SIGNIFICANTLY older brother. Emphasis required ?

It is likely their tithes went up in smoke. ??️

KJV and S&W Shield 9mm.

South America? Panama? I've been to Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, as well as El Salvador and Panama. No thanks. Even if we have war on our own soil America will still be better. I have been to A LOT of countries, and I can't think of one that I would pick over the US to make a stand and fight.

Romans 16:17 ¶ Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

I use the Matthew Henry and John Gill Commentaries regularly. I have read a good amount of Spurgeon in the past, but not for a while. Like all commentaries you have to use what is good and spit out the bones. My use of commentaries is primarily to get my grey matter working. I'll take it on my own from there.

I don't think Christie is in it to win it. He has to realize from his last run that his time center stage is over. I believe once it is clear he is an also ran, he will offer his support (and voters) to the one he sees as the likely winner of the primary hoping for a cabinet position or favorable appointment in return. It is his only chance of staying relevant.

You pretty much covered it, Tony. Having come from New York just last year I must also add that the people here are far more friendly. The countryside is beautiful as well. We have taken to hiking to the various waterfalls in our area. God's handywork is all over. Unfortunately, we have similar traffic issues here in East Tennessee. The I-75 from Atlanta to Chattanooga and anywhere close to the I-40 interchanges north and south of Knoxville are terrible. It's only going to get worse as more people escape to here from the liberal states. Sorry Tony, but it appears I am part of that problem.

The championship was actually OU against FSU. FSU knocked TN out in the semis. I was pulling for OU in the championship anyway because of that.

Thanks for posting this. That is awesome. We were rooting for Tennessee because Ashley Rogers (their star pitcher) went to our church's school, but OU may have just become my favorite team. I wonder how much coverage this interview got.

Looks like your nose isn't big enough. ?

Is your supposed doctorate in "How to be obtuse"? If so you probably graduated Summa Cum Laude. The link provided in my post which you make reference to gave actual statistics of the progression from women as pastors to LGBTQ+ membership and leadership. No slippery slope there. As to your "gender neutral" platform. 1 Timothy 3:2 clearly nails down that all of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 is addressing men. It would be nonsensical to say a bishop must be the husband of one wife (obviously being a male) if verse one could then be understood as "she" desireth a good work. (Taking the female side of your gender-neutral argument.) That would be like a pastor addressing his congregation on Sunday saying: Next Saturday will be a men's workday at the church. I need you to be here at 0900. We will likely finish by lunch which will be provided. Please bring your lawn tools if you have them. I appreciate your support. This example is similar to 1 Timothy 3:1-7. The words "you", "we", and "your" are all gender-neutral words, but it is clear that from the first sentence only the men are being referred to. No woman would think they had to be at the church at 0900 the following Saturday. In 1 Timothy 3:1-7 the second sentence makes it clear that it is men being referred to for the office of bishop. Stop the gender-neutral nonsense. As to your other questions with regards to these and like verses, I personally have no problem with the pastor having to be either married or widowed, and being required to have children. I believe those two attributes add much to his ability to be a capable minister to the whole congregation. An exception would be a Youth Pastor that would likely not be dealing with marriage and child rearing issues. Again, that is me. I personally think it is wise. The longer this discussion drags on the more I question the intent of you being on this forum. You say your motives are pure, but I'm not buying it. Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Which is why I noted in the same post that they either "specifically agree or lean toward my point of view". The point of the matter is there are opposing views from viable sources. You accept yours; I'll accept mine. What I also noted in a subsequent post is that denominations that began accepting women as pastors, were then more apt to begin accepting LGBTQ+ people, not only as members, but as leaders and pastors as well. That is not a path I want my church to follow. Those are results that are antithetical to God's word (KJV anyway, maybe not some of the versions you like). The bible says in Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. It seems the seed you want us to sow, "doctor", has a good chance of reaping corruption. I'll pass. Christian women have a vital part in every church's ministry. Many have contributed significantly to my own spiritual growth. Those on this forum alone have helped me along in my scriptural understanding. But they are not to be in church leadership positions. Especially not the pastor. This is my position, and you are not going to change it. If I err, I err on the side of caution and I will let Jesus correct me when that time comes. "Doc", you remind me of the snake oil salesmen we used to have in the US back in the 19th century. You initially came here to try and sell us your physical wares, and while that didn't work you have remained to try and sell us your spiritual laudanum. Well, doc, I'm not buying your opiates. As far as I am concerned you should pack up your wagon and head out of town; but that is not my call. Titus 3:10-11 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.