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The sweltering summer heat got me thinking about this intriguing "no sweat" message in the Bible. Can you relate? WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT A LITTLE SWEAT? If you live anywhere in the northern hemisphere, you’ve probably been dealing with sweltering temperatures in recent weeks. Here in the Carolinas, we’ve had several days near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and my Pakistani friends have had it even worse. There has been abundant heat and lots of perspiration this summer! Against this current backdrop, I was stunned by an intriguing Old Testament passage about the priests who would minister in the temple: “When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists” (Ezekiel 44:17-18). Hmmm… So, what’s the big deal about wearing linen instead of wool? The passage continues with this explanation: “They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat.” This may seem like an insignificant difference to you, but it’s not. We all sweat, so perspiration is an inevitable part of our physical lives. But sweat in this passage is emblematic of something much deeper—God’s curse pronounced after Adam sinned: “You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground” (Genesis 3:17-19). This was a profound change from the life Adam and Eve originally had in the Garden of Eden. The Lord had lovingly placed them in a garden already abounding in food and other necessities (Genesis 2:8-9). No work on Adam’s part was necessary. All he had to do was partake of God’s gracious, unmerited gift. It was a wonderful life, and no sweat was required! The temple priests in Ezekiel’s day were supposed to model this same reality: salvation and provision based on grace rather than striving. In contrast, “wool” would have been symbolic of human effort and religious works—the very opposite of what Jesus later revealed in the gospel. When we see the marriage supper of the Lamb at the end of time, it shouldn’t surprise us how the bride will be dressed: “She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure” (Revelation 19:7-8). Notice that her wedding dress was a GIFT, something she was “given.” Personal Application I find myself quite challenged by this “no sweat” message. Those of us who “work for God” often perspire far too much. Instead of relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit, we exert our own fleshly effort. Rather than trusting in the Lord, we lean on our own expertise and ingenuity (Proverbs 3:5-7). Jesus taught that fleshly effort is unfruitful in bringing about eternal fruit (John 15:5, 15:16). Even worse, the thing it does produce is SWEAT. And although I don’t want to be too graphic, what does our sweat inevitably produce: BODY ODOR! Are you getting a clearer picture of why God’s holy priesthood should be clothed in “linen” garments instead of wool? Religion always ends up stinking! Let’s be brutally honest here. The world is tired of breathing the fumes of our religious perspiration. Instead, they’re craving a much different fragrance: the sweet aroma of Christ: “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Thanks be to God, indeed. This amazing supernatural transformation will impact our own lives and everyone around us. Yes, the Bible teaches that God’s grace will motivates us to work hard (1 Corinthians 15:10). However, the secret to the Christian life is not hard work but “Christ in us” (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:27). That’s the only way we can experience victorious, no-sweat Christianity. Some of us are due for a refreshing shower of God’s love to remove the stench. And let’s not forget to ditch the stinky religious attire infused with our sweat. Praise God, fresh linen garments are our future! www.JimBuchan.com

Thought leader, Rabbi Jason brings fresh meaning to the Bible by connecting the Old and New Testaments with the teachings of Jesus the Messiah.

No one explains Krsna Consciousness or how he so wonderfully describes Krsna's Pastimes 🌺🙏📚 The Way that Srila Prabhupada does

When you read the word of God; there is a consistent theme you will find in it. And that my friend is ORDER. There is order to how marriage should be, order in how to be a friend, order for how a church is to operate, order in how we should live our lives as believers, order in how we should love God, ourselves, and others! There is even order in how to speak to people with respect, and so much more. My point in saying this is; do not allow what the world considers “good” to influence you to steer away from what God mandates as GOOD. Don’t believe in the lie, don’t feel that you have to agree with everything because we live in a society that will “cancel” you because you choose to STAND BOLDLY on the word of God. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬ ✍🏽:@chinaolaitan #bold #evil #good #wisdom #faith #believer #1inamill #fyp #fypage #Jesus #Christ #bible #scripture #encouragement #yougotthis

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of God. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by; he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37). It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation or repentance, of salvation.

What is Worship?

Jesus Christ was a powerful teacher and the core of the doctrine he preached was God's plan of salvation through repentance and faith in him. Jesus taught with divine authority, revealing God's will and fulfilling Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. His teaching centered on the forgiveness of sins. After his resurrection, Jesus passed on the mission of teaching this true doctrine to his disciples, empowering them with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel to all nations. Salvation is not attained through knowledge alone or religious acts, but through humble repentance and trust in the redemptive work of Jesus. Deep theological understanding is not required. Childlike faith in the gospel is all that is needed. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7). Read more: https://kingdomofpeace.net/articles-living-faith/endeavoring-in-faith/the-teaching-and-doctrine-of-jesus/ Image: Päivi Martikainen, Credits: SRK

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝟏𝟑:𝟏𝟗 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥: 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥. Man could be perpetually happy, but most men despise the way to happiness and success. The greatest source of human fulfillment and joy is found in righteousness, truth, and wisdom. When a man obtains these things, it is the sweetest accomplishment on earth. But most men despise these things so much and love sin instead that they refuse to even pursue the reward. They hate and loathe the thought of giving up their sinful lifestyle. Here is a proverb of Solomon – a dark saying of the wise – needing interpretation (Pr 1:6). The desire accomplished is not desires in general, for that teaches little wisdom of value, and it does not fit with the disjunctive conjunction, “but.” The desire accomplished is not lustful greed of fools, for that would directly violate the disjunctive. Though all men and fools have pleasure meeting goals or fulfilling lusts, such is not taught here. The interpretive key is the word “but,” which places the first clause in adversative contrast to the second clause. “But” in this usage is a disjunctive conjunction, joining two clauses set in opposition to each other. The desire accomplished must be the holy desire of the righteous by virtue of it being sweet to the soul and set in opposition to the evil of fools in the parallel clause (Pr 10:24; 11:23). Consider this carefully before proceeding. The desire of a righteous man is to increase in righteousness, truth, and wisdom (Pr 4:7; 16:6; 18:1; 23:23). These are the goals for his life, and they produce enormous pleasure and profit when they are achieved (Pr 3:13,18,35; 4:8-9; 22:4; 29:18). The pleasure of walking with God and living a holy life far exceeds the superficial joys of the fool, even when he seems to be basking in prosperity (Pr 10:22; Ps 4:6-8; 43:4; 63:3-5; I Pet 1:8). The sweetest accomplishment is to be resurrected from the dead and be in heaven enjoying your eternal inheritance with God the Father and Jesus Christ. That was truly Abraham’s only goal (Heb 11:8-16). The Psalmist thought it was better than the pleasures of this life (Ps 17:14-15; 49:6-20; 73:1-26). And so did Paul (Phil 1:23; 3:8-11; II Cor 5:6-8). Where does it rank among your goals? And what have you done to secure it? Solomon observed that fools hate the idea of leaving their sins. They cannot see the great reward they are missing, and they refuse to deny themselves any of the pleasures their lusts crave. They deceive themselves that their sins are pleasing and profitable. They pursue sin greedily to their own destruction. They cannot do right. They cannot and will not seek God any more than an Ethiopian can change his skin color or the leopard his spots (Ps 36:1-4; Is 26:10; Jer 13:23; 17:9; Rom 1:18-32; 3:10-18; 8:7-8; Eph 4:17-19). The lesson is quite simple. There is a strait gate (think straitjacket) and narrow way that leads to life, and only a few men find it. It may involve some sacrifices of self-denial now, but the sweet rewards later are much greater. There is a wide gate and broad way that leads to destruction, and most men choose it instead (Matt 7:13-14). Fools continue to return to folly like dogs to their vomit and pigs to wallowing in mud again (Pr 26:11). If you desire godliness, God has done a great work to cause you to love what you once hated and to hate what you once loved (Phil 2:12-13). He will fulfill your desire, and it will be precious sweetness to your soul. But all the wicked shall be punished and destroyed for their folly in rejecting God’s offer of righteousness, truth, and wisdom. You can prove to yourself whether this is true of you or not by eight things (II Pet 1:5-11).

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝟏𝟑:𝟏𝟗 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥: 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥. Man could be perpetually happy, but most men despise the way to happiness and success. The greatest source of human fulfillment and joy is found in righteousness, truth, and wisdom. When a man obtains these things, it is the sweetest accomplishment on earth. But most men despise these things so much and love sin instead that they refuse to even pursue the reward. They hate and loathe the thought of giving up their sinful lifestyle. Here is a proverb of Solomon – a dark saying of the wise – needing interpretation (Pr 1:6). The desire accomplished is not desires in general, for that teaches little wisdom of value, and it does not fit with the disjunctive conjunction, “but.” The desire accomplished is not lustful greed of fools, for that would directly violate the disjunctive. Though all men and fools have pleasure meeting goals or fulfilling lusts, such is not taught here. The interpretive key is the word “but,” which places the first clause in adversative contrast to the second clause. “But” in this usage is a disjunctive conjunction, joining two clauses set in opposition to each other. The desire accomplished must be the holy desire of the righteous by virtue of it being sweet to the soul and set in opposition to the evil of fools in the parallel clause (Pr 10:24; 11:23). Consider this carefully before proceeding. The desire of a righteous man is to increase in righteousness, truth, and wisdom (Pr 4:7; 16:6; 18:1; 23:23). These are the goals for his life, and they produce enormous pleasure and profit when they are achieved (Pr 3:13,18,35; 4:8-9; 22:4; 29:18). The pleasure of walking with God and living a holy life far exceeds the superficial joys of the fool, even when he seems to be basking in prosperity (Pr 10:22; Ps 4:6-8; 43:4; 63:3-5; I Pet 1:8). The sweetest accomplishment is to be resurrected from the dead and be in heaven enjoying your eternal inheritance with God the Father and Jesus Christ. That was truly Abraham’s only goal (Heb 11:8-16). The Psalmist thought it was better than the pleasures of this life (Ps 17:14-15; 49:6-20; 73:1-26). And so did Paul (Phil 1:23; 3:8-11; II Cor 5:6-8). Where does it rank among your goals? And what have you done to secure it? Solomon observed that fools hate the idea of leaving their sins. They cannot see the great reward they are missing, and they refuse to deny themselves any of the pleasures their lusts crave. They deceive themselves that their sins are pleasing and profitable. They pursue sin greedily to their own destruction. They cannot do right. They cannot and will not seek God any more than an Ethiopian can change his skin color or the leopard his spots (Ps 36:1-4; Is 26:10; Jer 13:23; 17:9; Rom 1:18-32; 3:10-18; 8:7-8; Eph 4:17-19). The lesson is quite simple. There is a strait gate (think straitjacket) and narrow way that leads to life, and only a few men find it. It may involve some sacrifices of self-denial now, but the sweet rewards later are much greater. There is a wide gate and broad way that leads to destruction, and most men choose it instead (Matt 7:13-14). Fools continue to return to folly like dogs to their vomit and pigs to wallowing in mud again (Pr 26:11). If you desire godliness, God has done a great work to cause you to love what you once hated and to hate what you once loved (Phil 2:12-13). He will fulfill your desire, and it will be precious sweetness to your soul. But all the wicked shall be punished and destroyed for their folly in rejecting God’s offer of righteousness, truth, and wisdom. You can prove to yourself whether this is true of you or not by eight things (II Pet 1:5-11).

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝟏𝟑:𝟏𝟗 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥: 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥. Man could be perpetually happy, but most men despise the way to happiness and success. The greatest source of human fulfillment and joy is found in righteousness, truth, and wisdom. When a man obtains these things, it is the sweetest accomplishment on earth. But most men despise these things so much and love sin instead that they refuse to even pursue the reward. They hate and loathe the thought of giving up their sinful lifestyle. Here is a proverb of Solomon – a dark saying of the wise – needing interpretation (Pr 1:6). The desire accomplished is not desires in general, for that teaches little wisdom of value, and it does not fit with the disjunctive conjunction, “but.” The desire accomplished is not lustful greed of fools, for that would directly violate the disjunctive. Though all men and fools have pleasure meeting goals or fulfilling lusts, such is not taught here. The interpretive key is the word “but,” which places the first clause in adversative contrast to the second clause. “But” in this usage is a disjunctive conjunction, joining two clauses set in opposition to each other. The desire accomplished must be the holy desire of the righteous by virtue of it being sweet to the soul and set in opposition to the evil of fools in the parallel clause (Pr 10:24; 11:23). Consider this carefully before proceeding. The desire of a righteous man is to increase in righteousness, truth, and wisdom (Pr 4:7; 16:6; 18:1; 23:23). These are the goals for his life, and they produce enormous pleasure and profit when they are achieved (Pr 3:13,18,35; 4:8-9; 22:4; 29:18). The pleasure of walking with God and living a holy life far exceeds the superficial joys of the fool, even when he seems to be basking in prosperity (Pr 10:22; Ps 4:6-8; 43:4; 63:3-5; I Pet 1:8). The sweetest accomplishment is to be resurrected from the dead and be in heaven enjoying your eternal inheritance with God the Father and Jesus Christ. That was truly Abraham’s only goal (Heb 11:8-16). The Psalmist thought it was better than the pleasures of this life (Ps 17:14-15; 49:6-20; 73:1-26). And so did Paul (Phil 1:23; 3:8-11; II Cor 5:6-8). Where does it rank among your goals? And what have you done to secure it? Solomon observed that fools hate the idea of leaving their sins. They cannot see the great reward they are missing, and they refuse to deny themselves any of the pleasures their lusts crave. They deceive themselves that their sins are pleasing and profitable. They pursue sin greedily to their own destruction. They cannot do right. They cannot and will not seek God any more than an Ethiopian can change his skin color or the leopard his spots (Ps 36:1-4; Is 26:10; Jer 13:23; 17:9; Rom 1:18-32; 3:10-18; 8:7-8; Eph 4:17-19). The lesson is quite simple. There is a strait gate (think straitjacket) and narrow way that leads to life, and only a few men find it. It may involve some sacrifices of self-denial now, but the sweet rewards later are much greater. There is a wide gate and broad way that leads to destruction, and most men choose it instead (Matt 7:13-14). Fools continue to return to folly like dogs to their vomit and pigs to wallowing in mud again (Pr 26:11). If you desire godliness, God has done a great work to cause you to love what you once hated and to hate what you once loved (Phil 2:12-13). He will fulfill your desire, and it will be precious sweetness to your soul. But all the wicked shall be punished and destroyed for their folly in rejecting God’s offer of righteousness, truth, and wisdom. You can prove to yourself whether this is true of you or not by eight things (II Pet 1:5-11).

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ “he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death—death on a cross. So God raised him up to the most important place and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus. Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow. They will all confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and this will bring glory to God the Father.” Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ “You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross.” Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ “And they all sang a new song to the Lamb: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were killed, and with your blood sacrifice you bought people for God from every tribe, language, race of people, and nation. You made them to be a kingdom and to be priests for our God. And they will rule on the earth.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭21 “The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will confuse the understanding of the intelligent.” Isaiah 29:14 So what does this say about the philosopher, the law expert, or anyone in this world who is skilled in making clever arguments? God has made the wisdom of the world look foolish. This is what God in his wisdom decided: Since the world did not find him through its own wisdom, he used the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe it.” #God #Jesus #HolySpirit #Come2Jesus #TrustGod #TheGospelOfJesusChrist #TheNewCovenant #fyp #christian #FaithInJesus #TheCross #JESUS2025 @highlight

Pope Leo XIV sets out his evangelical principles Regarding synodality It is encouraging that Pope Leo XIV links collegiality with synodality, giving episcopal collegiality primacy over synodality, thereby emphasising the bishops primary role as teachers and guardians of the Faith. Synodality doesn't trump collegiality. Previously there was a tendency among some to see the Church shifting from collegiality to synodality. "In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, from which I would like to highlight several fundamental points: the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11); the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9); growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33); attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123); loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53); courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2)." (Evangelii Gaudium was the post synodal apostolic exhortation deriving from the deliberations of Pope Benedict XVI's synod on the New Evangelisation.)