‭Mark 9:1-50 MSG‬
[1] Then he drove it home by saying, “This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you who are standing here are going to see it happen, see the kingdom of God arrive in full force.” [2-4] Six days later, three of them did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus. [5-6] Peter interrupted, “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing. [7] Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him.” [8] The next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing nothing but Jesus, only Jesus. [9-10] Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t tell a soul what you saw. After the Son of Man rises from the dead, you’re free to talk.” They puzzled over that, wondering what on earth “rising from the dead” meant. [11] Meanwhile they were asking, “Why do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?” [12-13] Jesus replied, “Elijah does come first and get everything ready for the coming of the Son of Man. They treated this Elijah like dirt, much like they will treat the Son of Man, who will, according to Scripture, suffer terribly and be kicked around contemptibly.” [14-16] When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, “What’s going on? What’s all the commotion?” [17-18] A man out of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn’t.” [19-20] Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth. [21-22] He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?” “Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!” [23] Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” [24] No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!” [25-27] Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!” Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, “He’s dead.” But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up. [28] After arriving back home, his disciples cornered Jesus and asked, “Why couldn’t we throw the demon out?” [29] He answered, “There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer.” [30-32] Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it. [33] They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?” [34] The silence was deafening—they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest. [35] He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” [36-37] He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.” * * * [38] John spoke up, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t in our group.” [39-41] Jesus wasn’t pleased. “Don’t stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath slam me. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally. Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice. [42] “On the other hand, if you give one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple…[Read more]

I don’t know a lot about Hebrew Israelites, but it certainly does not sound like something that God is pleased with.

This has taken my understanding of this teaching of Jesus and filled in several gaps of understanding. Really good explanation.

Wow, this is absolutely crazy that people could decide that it’s okay to do this!

This guy is awesome, and he explains the evidence for Christianity being true very well!

I need to learn a TON from him.

I have a true fear that my desire for any non-believer I come across to become a believer will combine with my ignorance on a specific topic and the discussion will end up mirroring this discussion. I am trying very hard to work on not only my breadth of knowledge, but also not being so desperate to prove that what I believe is correct. The former, while still hard, is WAY easier than the latter.

I very seldom hear anything about the masculinity of Jesus, and that’s a shame.

I’ve never heard anyone explain it this way, that’s an awesome analogy!

I love seeing debates like this!

I’ve seen a lot of evidence pointing to the Bible being true accounts of historical events, but I’ve never this piece of evidence. That’s cool!

Wow, this is an incredible testimony!

Here’s a video for the people who don’t believe you can prove the Bible with the Bible.

Reading this would’ve made me cry, too.
https://youtu.be/B2cWz8o8VUM?si=d28Dx0T1sG8lW9P1

This is a great walk-through of this section of the Bible.

While I don’t feel like I have a dog in the race politically (because I’m not knowledgeable there), I agree with the theological aspects of this discussion.

This is how conversations about the gospel should be. I pray that God gives me and everyone else the ability to have conversations about things that we disagree on in the kind and respectful way displayed here.

Studying multiple opinions about one specific topic, choosing one opinion to lean towards, and also not being belligerent to people who have other opinions all at the same time, I believe, is an incredibly important part of being a Christian. Yes, Matthew 7 talks about the narrow way, but I believe this is referring to the way of living, not specific doctrinal nuances. Doctrines do not cause salvation, the way we walk with God does.

This video compliments and better explains the points I made above about the narrow gateway to salvation.

‭Mark 6:1-56 MSG‬
[1-2] He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He stole the show, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?” [3] But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “He’s just a carpenter—Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?” They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further. [4-6] Jesus told them, “A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child.” Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that’s all. He couldn’t get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching. [7-8a] Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: [8b-9] “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. [10] “And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. [11] “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” [12-13] Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits. [14] King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone’s lips. He said, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead—that’s why he’s able to work miracles!” [15] Others said, “No, it’s Elijah.” Others said, “He’s a prophet, just like one of the old-time prophets.” [16] But Herod wouldn’t budge: “It’s John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he’s back, alive.” [17-20] Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill him, but didn’t dare because Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back. [21-22a] But a portentous day arrived when Herod threw a birthday party, inviting all the brass and bluebloods in Galilee. Herodias’s daughter entered the banquet hall and danced for the guests. She charmed Herod and the guests. [22b-23] The king said to the girl, “Ask me anything. I’ll give you anything you want.” Carried away, he kept on, “I swear, I’ll split my kingdom with you if you say so!” [24] She went back to her mother and said, “What should I ask for?” “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.” [25] Excited, she ran back to the king and said, “I want the head of John the Baptizer served up on a platter. And I want it now!” [26-29] That sobered the king up fast. But unwilling to lose face with his guests, he caved in and let her have her wish. The king sent the executioner off to the prison with orders to bring back John’s head. He went, cut off John’s head, brought it back on a platter, and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and got the body and gave it a decent burial. [30-31] The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, “Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat. [32-34] So they got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves. Someone saw them going and the word got around. From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them. [35-36] When his disciples thought this had gone on long enough—it was now quite late in the day—they interrupted: “We are a long way out in the country, and it’s very late. Pronounce a benediction and send these folks off so they can get some supper.” [37] Jesus said, “You do it. Fix supper for them.” They replied, “Are you serious? You want us to go spend a fortune on food for their supper?” [38] But he was quite serious. “How many loaves of bread do you have? Take an inventory.” That didn’t take long. “Five,” they said, “plus two fish.” [39-44] Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred—they lo…[Read more]

This is a great discussion between a Christian and an atheist. John Linux is an amazing debater.

I believe Ruslan is right here! I also think that what Peterson said at the end was great!

This is very true. My wife and I tried to implement this in our conversations before we married, and it was more difficult for me to do this than her because I never knew this is what you were supposed to do, I had to learn from her.

The actual history of the Bible, things like this, are so cool to me. It makes the stories from the Bible play out like a movie in my head even more than just reading through.

While this guy is an atheist and I disagree with him, I respect him more than I respect MYSELF, even, because of how he actually evaluates everything rather than just saying, “this is what I believe, therefore, I’m right”. No matter how difficult it is for me, I believe that it’s biblical to “test all things”, which includes looking at things through the lens of someone who I disagree with. His understanding of Thomas Aquinas’ arguments is really good!

I could feel my blood boiling when those self-proclaimed Christians came and started cussing him out for preaching the Word. In that moment, though, he was cool as a cucumber, and I strive for the ability to do that. I pray for God to give me that!

Wow, that’s amazing! This program is EXACTLY what a lot of our generation needs! Praise God!

Cliffe and Stewart answer some important questions here.

This guy’s doing some amazing work!

Praise God that He pulled her out of this! I see a genuineness in how she speaks about her experience, however, she does mention having the spiritual gift of discernment WHILE she was a satanist, which I’m a little skeptical about, but I’m not going to OBJECTIVELY say that the Holy Spirit would NOT do that. It’s possible that the Holy Ghost did give her the gift of discernment at that time, it’s possible that she’s mistaken and thought that she was discerning something when she really wasn’t, or it’s possible that she’s making it all up, I suppose we’ll never truly know until we get there and are able to ask Him.

For those who don’t know, J. Warner was an atheist homicide detective who looked at the evidence for Christianity being true the same way he looks at evidence for his homicide cases and he proves it true. It’s amazing, both the work that he’s done proving Christianity, and the work that God’s done in him!

Wow, this makes me sad, too!

This is a great response!

It’s crazy that this stuff is happening everywhere.

I’ve been aware of the theory that Melchizedek was a preincarnation of Jesus for a while, but I didn’t know that it went this far! Wow, that’s amazing!

This is a great response to a lot of the supposed contradictions in the scriptures.

I never knew all of these descriptions of the 3rd person of the trinity. God is amazing!

Even with me being a charismatic, I’m still sceptical about exorcisms the way that Catholics practice them. I’m not going to OBJECTIVELY say they don’t happen, in fact, I believe that they HAVE happened that way (just that it’s not the standard method of getting rid of demons), but I still need a little more evidence than other people.

‭Mark 5:1-43 MSG‬
[1-5] They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones. [6-8] When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then howled in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”) [9-10] Jesus asked him, “Tell me your name.” He replied, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting mob.” Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country. [11-13] A large herd of pigs was grazing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we can live in them.” Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. [14-15] Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man. [16-17] Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back. [18-20] As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town. [21-24] After Jesus crossed over by boat, a large crowd met him at the seaside. One of the meeting-place leaders named Jairus came. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, “My dear daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live.” Jesus went with him, the whole crowd tagging along, pushing and jostling him. [25-29] A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with. [30] At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” [31] His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!” [32-33] But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story. [34] Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.” * * * [35] While he was still talking, some people came from the leader’s house and told him, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?” [36] Jesus overheard what they were talking about and said to the leader, “Don’t listen to them; just trust me.” [37-40a] He permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader’s house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Why all this busybody grief and gossip? This child isn’t dead; she’s sleeping.” Provoked to sarcasm, they told him he didn’t know what he was talking about. [40b-43] But when he had sent them all out, he took the child’s father and mother, along with his companions, and entered the child’s room. He clasped the girl’s hand and said, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up.” At that, she was up and walking around! This girl was twelve years of age. They, of course, were all beside themselves with joy. He gave them strict orders that no one was to know what had taken place in that room. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

https://bible.com/bible/97/mrk.5.1-43.MSG

I need to be better at this.

This describes the the exact belief that I have on spiritual gifts in general, not just prophetic revelation.

I, currently in my ongoing learning, don’t really like when people refer to specific sins as “the spirit of [variable (types of) sin]” because that implies that there is a specific demon or spiritual entity that controls that specific sin. That could be the case, but I don’t believe that is ALWAYS the case.
Also, the subject of disfellowship is a murky one for multiple reasons, yet Chris LaSala speaks in objective, black-and-white terms about it. Should a very promiscuous person be kicked out of the church? I believe that, as with everything, the answer changes depending on the situation. If this person is promiscuous in their own personal life but doesn’t (generally) bring this into the fellowship of the body of Christ, then this would be a case where, if they are led by the Holy Spirit, an individual person CAN go to them PRIVATELY but it isn’t exactly necessary for the entire church to get involved. If this person is promiscuous at church, then a group of head members of the church (the only time the entire congregation should be involved is if the church is smaller than 10 people, and that is a HUGE maybe) should pull them to the side and have a gracious and loving, yet corrective and, if necessary, stern conversation about the person’s behavior and how to correct it. If the person is still promiscuous in church after the conversation, the head members of the church should discuss whether it is appropriate to bar this person from serving in the church or attending the church altogether depending on the level of severity. If they are told not to be part of the fellowship anymore, you shouldn’t completely shun them, heck, you should go OUT OF YOUR WAY to be friendly to them, ask them if they’re doing alright, if they need anything, eat lunch with them, anything BUT shun them!
Also, Jesus never taught grace; really?!

This is such a powerful testimony!

I obviously don’t agree with everything that they do, but it’s AMAZING, they’re going into bars and places where sin abounds and preaching the Word! Also, they are very talented.

In my understanding, both Thomas Albin Holmes and Brandon McGuire are correct. The death and resurrection of the Christ is both penal substitutionary atonement for our sins, AND ALSO it’s proof that the claims that He made are true.

This is very true.
https://youtube.com/shorts/pKEnAjBL2Gg?si=b2ulhWTMOX7Ln4lw

Wow! This, ladies and gentlemen, is what they call a cult. It’s incredible how a religion can get so skewed into one side of the debate that it comes to this.

Some of the things he’s describing that happened to him spiritually, are things that people have to spend their entire lives learning and he experienced them over such a small amount of time! Praise God!

Part one of this was in the last list of links that I compiled. Wow, this is crazy!

I believe this is exactly correct! This applies to anything, meat offered to idols, baptism, how someone dresses, how someone prays, how someone interprets, anything. Sure, there’s likely an objectively correct way to think about these things, but it does nothing in the realm of salvation.

After about the 27:56 is the main part of this interview that I’m paying attention to. I might not agree with everything that George believes, but how he goes about learning everything is what I would define as biblical.

This is very interesting! Of course, I probably will never know if this is true or not, but it would be awesome to know that people in China were worshiping the the same God that we believe in before Christianity came to China!

Amazing testimony! I pray that this happens more often and to more people!

‭Mark 4:1-41 MSG‬
[1-2] He went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water’s edge. He taught by using stories, many stories. [3-8] “Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams. [9] “Are you listening to this? Really listening?” [10-12] When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward a welcome awakening. These are people— Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing, Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word, Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.” [13] He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way. [14-15] “The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them. [16-17] “And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. [18-19] “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. [20] “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.” [21-22] Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a bucket or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open. [23] “Are you listening to this? Really listening? [24-25] “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.” [26-29] Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time! [30-32] “How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It’s like an acorn. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge oak tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it.” [33-34] With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots. [35-38] Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?” [39-40] Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?” [41] They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”

https://bible.com/bible/97/mrk.4.1-41.MSG

This is another example of someone of a different faith than mine having absolutely wonderful opinions about something.

Before you decide to watch this video, you should know several things.
1. It’s very long (go figure. If the video’s not long enough that you feel like you should clock in to be able to watch it, what’s the point of posting it? lol)
2. It contains an incredible amount of swearing, raunchy humor, and some graphic conversations about sex/porn.
However, the way that they were able to sit down and have an entire discussion about the way they felt like they were hurt by one another and still hug it out in the end. The way that they were both able to break each other down in order to build each other up is AMAZING to me. This, I believe, is the biblical way to “go to your brother”. I, along with 99% of the world, am way too soft and emotional to do this, but I pray that God gives me and the rest of the world the emotional toughness to.

This is a hard teaching, but I believe that it’s a true teaching.

I am obviously not a Catholic. I don’t believe that priests have the authority to forgive sins, only God can do that (Matthew 9:2-7). However, I believe that he is correct that we should confess our sins to one another. While I believe that Catholics make this more complicated than it should be (you don’t need to go into a box where the one you’re confessing to doesn’t know who you are, just simply have someone who you trust to confess to), I can see how SOME people would feel more comfortable confessing their sin anonymously. I can also see the obligation to confess at these specific times as being positive for some people. This seems to be another one of those things that can very easily cause someone to sin or not do all the steps to help them get out of habitual sin, but it could be a net positive for others (i.e. if the person goes to Catholic Confession while also confessing to God and afterwards truly does everything in their power to stop that sin).

I really need to work on this in my own life.

Wow, this is crazy!

As with any testimony, this could all be fake, but it seems genuine. This is so powerful!

‭Mark 3:1-35 MSG‬
[1-3] Then he went back in the meeting place where he found a man with a crippled hand. The Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath violation. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand here where we can see you.” [4] Then he spoke to the people: “What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?” No one said a word. [5-6] He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out—it was as good as new! The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod’s followers and ruin him. [7-10] Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away. But a huge crowd from Galilee trailed after them—also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon—swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves. He told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn’t be trampled by the crowd. He had healed many people, and now everyone who had something wrong was pushing and shoving to get near and touch him. [11-12] Evil spirits, when they recognized him, fell down and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus would have none of it. He shut them up, forbidding them to identify him in public. [13-19] He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons. These are the Twelve: Simon (Jesus later named him Peter, meaning “Rock”), James, son of Zebedee, John, brother of James (Jesus nicknamed the Zebedee brothers Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him). [20-21] Jesus came home and, as usual, a crowd gathered—so many making demands on him that there wasn’t even time to eat. His friends heard what was going on and went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was believing his own press. [22-27] The religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumors that he was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power. Jesus confronted their slander with a story: “Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan? A constantly squabbling family disintegrates. If Satan were fighting Satan, there soon wouldn’t be any Satan left. Do you think it’s possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man, and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out. [28-30] “Listen to this carefully. I’m warning you. There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.” He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil. [31-32] Just then his mother and brothers showed up. Standing outside, they relayed a message that they wanted a word with him. He was surrounded by the crowd when he was given the message, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you.” [33-35] Jesus responded, “Who do you think are my mother and brothers?” Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, “Right here, right in front of you—my mother and my brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

https://bible.com/bible/97/mrk.3.1-35.MSG

I don’t agree with Ruslan on everything, but I agree with most everything he says here.

I wish I could’ve watched this video when I was 12, it might have saved me some heartache.

This stuff is a little over my head, but I’m able to understand the basics.

In this video, Ruslan does not believe that the red heifers that are in the video that he’s reacting to are going to usher in the second coming of the Messiah. I think how Ruslan is approaching this, basically saying “I don’t think so, but maybe”, is exactly how we should handle any biblical controversy. We can stand our ground and say what we personally believe, but also leave room for us to be wrong.

Wow! Memorizing the Bible like this is crazy!

This is exactly how we should discuss things that we disagree on. I’m not saying it’s easy, I give into my flesh and get defensive more often than I’d like to admit, but it is the right way to handle things nonetheless.

This is scary.

This is very interesting, I’ve never thought about that.

This is EXACTLY how I view the basics of the gospel.

I needed this today.

I disagree with all 3 persons of the Trinity having the same will because of Jesus asking for the Father to take this cup from Him if He wills, however, I agree with everything else.

This is a true teaching, but it’s very hard to abide by. I try my best, but I fail most of the time.

Exactly right! The Sabbath doesn’t have to be Sunday or Saturday, it’s literally any time time that you take a rest. The Sabbath is more than just rest, but it also shouldn’t be held so high that if you don’t take a rest on the EXACT day that the church says you should, much less, at all, then you’re automatically anathema.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Q0u7oV6do6c?si=z_3n0SArCxldwVxk

This is something that I wish I could’ve known before.

This is amazing!
https://youtube.com/shorts/baXgYkM8y0c?si=YaqnMMy9Fpawf3Fu

An ex-atheist telling a (well known) current atheist that Christianity is true is incredible! THIS is what I live for.

Blasphemy at it’s finest, ladies and gentlemen!

My initial thoughts when I watched this was that the message that they were giving is very vanilla and does not give evidence for WHY one should believe that Jesus died for our sins, only THAT He died for our sins. But then several things popped in my head:
1. They may be in an area where people know that John 3:16 exists and is associated with Christianity, but they don’t know the details of the details of the details of what that means.
2. If I was in their shoes, I’d stutter and stumble through the first sentence for 20 minutes. I certainly couldn’t do better.
3. They have some dang gonads to be able to preach in a public setting where sitting in the pew and being respectful isn’t common practice.
4. The guy in the blue jacket got on his knees and screamed in order to combat the Christian message. Most non-believers would get angry/offended/upset but they wouldn’t have THIS type of reaction; no one on Earth would act like this on purpose. This could be the result of drugs, alcohol, mental illness, demon possession, or a combination of multiple of these answers. My theory is that he was demon possessed and as soon as they addressed the demonic, the demon acted out (not provable, but these are my thoughts on it). If this is the case, regardless of WHAT level of of theology they are preaching, God’s using it to sow seeds.