They certainly don’t support Israel! They have always supported Palestine!………And Palestine supports Hamas! 🤔

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/11/israel-hamas-china-middle-east-policy-00120995

China appears to have decided that its road to greater global clout lies through the Palestinians — no matter what hits it takes for going soft on Hamas.

Beijing’s initial statement failing to condemn Hamas for this weekend’s attack drew immediate backlash from Israeli and U.S. officials for minimizing the brutality the Palestinian militants had visited on Israel.

Alienating Israel, however, could come at high cost for China. It has lucrative tech-sector trade with the country, often importing more than $1 billion worth of semiconductors a year from Israel. And Beijing’s efforts to position itself as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians may now be damaged.

China is “clearly afraid of offending the Arab side. And they sort of bow their hat lightly in the direction of the Israelis but being very careful while they do so,” said Robert Ford, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria now with the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank. “The Israelis will tend to look at that and say this is not a neutral arbitrator.”

In its first statement following the strikes, China urged both sides to “exercise restraint” and embrace a “two-state solution.”

In response, Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli embassy in Beijing, expressed disappointment because he said Israel saw China as a friend, according to a Reuters report.

“When people are being murdered, slaughtered in the streets, this is not the time to call for a two-state solution,” Waks told reporters Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who was leading a congressional delegation to China starting over the weekend, lectured Chinese leader Xi Jinping for going too soft on Hamas.

(Go to the site for the rest of the report)

Maranatha!

In my opinion hate and forgiveness goes hand in hand. How would the loved ones of those massacred in Israel not feel hate for those responsible……..headless babies, babies found burned in ovens, women raped and butchered, entire families found tortured and murdered, and many being held as hostages. Faithful Christians are human! Who among us would not feel hate for these inhuman acts? How is it possible to forgive them and replace the hate with peace?………….The Bible has the answer!

We need to make an effort to understand God’s forgiveness of us if we are going to forgive others in a way that reflects God’s forgiveness. Sadly, in recent decades the word forgiveness has taken on a connotation of “psychological freedom” instead of freedom from sin, and this has brought some confusion about the whole concept of what it means to forgive.

It is true that the forgiveness God extends to us is conditional upon our confession of sin and repentance. Confession involves agreeing with God about our sin, and repentance requires a change of mind concerning the wrong attitude or action and a change in behavior that evinces a genuine willingness to forsake the sin. Sin remains unforgiven unless it is confessed and repented of (see 1 John 1:9; Acts 20:21). While this might seem a difficult condition for forgiveness, it is also a great blessing and promise. Confession of sin is not an act of self-condemnation but of seeking God’s provision of the remedy for sin in forgiveness through Christ.

God’s requirement that we confess and repent of sin does not mean God is unwilling or unready to forgive. He has done everything on His part to facilitate forgiveness for us. His heart is willing, not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), and He has gone to the most extreme lengths imaginable to provide the means by which He can forgive us. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God freely offers us that forgiveness.

Scripture says to forgive others as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32) and love one another as we are loved (John 13:34). We should be willing and ready to extend forgiveness to anyone who comes to us confessing his sin and repenting (Matthew 6:14–15; 18:23–35; Ephesians 4:31–32; Colossians 3:13). Not only is this an obligation, but it should be our delight. If we are truly thankful for our own forgiveness, we should have no hesitancy in granting forgiveness to a repentant offender, even if he wrongs us and repents again and again. After all, we, too, sin again and again, and we are thankful that God forgives us when we come to Him with a true repentant heart of confession.

That brings us to the question at hand: should we forgive a person who does not confess his sin and is not repentant? To answer this properly, the term forgiveness needs some explaining. First, what forgiveness is not:

Forgiveness is not the same as forbearance. To forbear is to patiently endure a provocation, overlook a slight, or maintain self-control in the face of frustration. Forbearance causes us to weigh someone’s sinful action or attitude with love, wisdom, and discernment and choose not to respond. Scripture uses various words for this quality: patience, longsuffering, endurance, and, of course, forbearance (see Proverbs 12:16; 19:11; 1 Peter 4:8).

Forgiveness is also not forgetting. God does not suffer from amnesia about our sin. He remembers very clearly; however, it is not a remembering to condemn us (Romans 8:1). King David’s adultery and Abraham’s lying—these sins are recorded for all time in Scripture. God obviously did not “forget” about them.

Forgiveness is not an elimination of all consequences. Even when we are forgiven by Christ, we may still suffer the natural consequences of our sin (Proverbs 6:27) or face the discipline of a loving Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:5–6).

Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a commitment to pardon the offender. Feelings may or may not accompany forgiveness. Feelings of bitterness against a person may fade with time without any forgiveness being extended.

Forgiveness is not the private, solitary act of an individual heart. In other words, forgiveness involves at least two people. This is where confession and repentance come in. Forgiveness is not only about what happens within the offended person’s heart; it is a transaction between two people.

Forgiveness is not selfish; it is not motivated by self-interest. We do not seek to forgive for our own sakes or to relieve ourselves from stress. We forgive out of love of God, love of neighbors, and gratefulness for our own forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not the automatic restoration of trust. It is wrong to think that forgiving an abusive spouse today means the separation should end tomorrow. Scripture gives us many reasons to distrust those who have proved themselves untrustworthy (see Luke 16:10–12). Rebuilding trust can only begin after a process of reconciliation involving true forgiveness—which, of course, involves confession and repentance.

Also, importantly, forgiveness offered and available is not the same as forgiveness given, received, and transacted. This is where the word forgiveness on its own with no qualifier is often used differently from, and beyond, how God’s Word uses it. We tend to call the attitude of forgiveness—being willing to forgive—“forgiveness,” just the same as the actual transaction of true forgiveness. That is, in popular thinking, as long as a person is open to granting forgiveness, he has already forgiven. But this broad definition of forgiveness short-circuits the process of confession and repentance. Forgiveness offered and forgiveness received are entirely different, and we don’t help ourselves by using a catch-all word for both.

If this is what forgiveness is not, then what is it? An excellent definition of forgiveness is found in the book Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns:

God’s forgiveness: A commitment by the one true God to pardon graciously those who repent and believe so that they are reconciled to him, although this commitment does not eliminate all consequences.

General human forgiveness: A commitment by the offended to pardon graciously the repentant from moral liability and to be reconciled to that person, although not all consequences are necessarily eliminated. (Crossway Books, 2008, p. 55).

Biblically, full forgiveness is not just something that the offended person offers; it requires that the offender receives it, bringing reconciliation to the relationship. First John 1:9 shows that the process of forgiveness is primarily to free the sinner; forgiveness ends the rejection, thus reconciling the relationship. This is why we must be willing to forgive others—if we aren’t willing to forgive, we refuse to allow others to enjoy what God has blessed us with. Modern pop psychology has wrongly taught that “forgiveness” is one-sided, that reconciliation is unnecessary, and that the purpose of this unilateral forgiveness is to free the offended person of feelings of bitterness.

While we must not harbor bitterness in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15) or repay evil for evil (1 Peter 3:9), we should make sure we follow God’s lead and not extend forgiveness to the unrepentant. In short, we should withhold forgiveness from those who do not confess and repent; at the same time, we should extend the offer of forgiveness and maintain an attitude of readiness to forgive.

Stephen, as he was being stoned to death, illustrates the principle of forgiveness. Echoing Jesus’ words from the cross, Stephen prays, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60; cf. Luke 23:34). These words show a definite willingness to forgive, but they do not indicate a completed transaction of forgiveness. Stephen simply prayed that God would forgive his murderers. Stephen held no bitterness, and, when and if his murderers repented, he wished them to be forgiven—what a wonderful example of loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

The Bible commands the counter-intuitive action of feeding our enemy when he is hungry (Romans 12:20). There is nothing to say we must automatically forgive our enemies (or trust them); rather, we are to love them and work for their good.

If “forgiveness” is given prematurely without the prerequisites of confession and repentance, then the truth has not been dealt with openly by both parties. If the offender doesn’t acknowledge his sin, then he really does not understand what it means to be forgiven. In the long run, bypassing confession or repentance doesn’t help the offender to understand the significance of sin, and it precludes a sense of justice, causing the offended person to battle even more against bitterness.

https://www.gotquestions.org/withholding-forgiveness.html

You missed the actual point!………..No wearing of HATS! It had nothing to do with her wearing her traditional Muslin head covering!


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Hats of any kind have been banned from the House floor since 1837, this is 181 years ago.

“During the session of the House, a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not wear a hat or remain by the Clerk’s desk during the call of the roll or the counting of ballots,” the section reads.

Oh my! There is no one on this forum as “emotionally invested” as you are! I would add “hysteria”………IMHO!

You’re right! We and our ilk are ignoring your page after page of rubbish!

It’s to the point now of being comical and ridiculous! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ms. Baptist here! What happened, did your mouth and your politics get you in trouble at church? Too many conservatives and Republicans to suit your taste? 😂😂😂😂😂

I must say that you have all the liberal talking points down pat!

Bless your heart!

I haven’t seen the gay’s rights needing protected! Christians are attacked more than gays! My response to RR was not hateful…….it was truthful! You’re new here so perhaps you should spend some time getting to know folks before you start judging them! Unless you’re another clone! There seems to be an epidemic going around! LOL!

This is just one of Biden’s “Good Works”……………….You can’t blame this on Trump!

https://youtu.be/GfytnsUrbnA?si=DAq4Xpqephkyzq9e. Less independence on oil, anyone? 👿

https://youtu.be/j_6gIgNYG6M?si=Icp_seq-VsE4Em_K Up to 2000 illegal immigrants a day in Arizona!

https://youtube.com/shorts/BmpACnSuv1A?si=uZULt-WsQN5Eyf9_ illegal Chinese Nationals get lost in America!

And the list of Biden’s failures go on and on and on!

And while you and your friends continue to be obsessed with Trump, Trump, Trump…………the entire world is watching the bumbling stumbling fool in the White House! Instead of worrying about the man that isn’t our President, perhaps you should worry about the man that is our President!

https://youtu.be/g8uukADyczM?si=XJqkAwnSqzR9uMkZ

Appearing in the soon to be released James Bond movie………Joe Biden in “License to Fall”.

If we bought something for one of the custom homes under construction from a store that we didn’t have an account, yes, we would use an American Express Business credit card that would be paid off when it came due, which wasn’t very often because we had a business account at the usual places. This sometimes happened when we built custom homes or when we refurbished old homes. Ladies loved to choose items out of magazines……….and they loved to shop in Dallas! It was my job to take these ladies shopping and to hopefully keep them close to their allowance. LOL! That’s when I would pull out the credit card! This was in the 80’s before we went to computers. In the 90’s it was a different story……..the computer did all the accounting from then on, which didn’t hurt my feelings!

We still use our American Express card and we still pay it off every month. When I buy on-line AMERICAN Express will stop payment if there is a problem. And who has not had problems when shopping on-line?

The only problem is that time is getting shorter and shorter! This forum has lost several members in the last two or three years!

And then there is Prophecy! It’s just keeps marching on right in front of us. We can only spread those seeds……….. It’s not up to us if they take root!

“Rascal Riley”. The world I live in is nothing like the hate-filled world that you have chosen to embrace! I have a life other than OPP……..a life that is not obsessed with hating Trump and anyone that doesn’t hate Trump. After all these years of reading your pathetic whining (and those of your clones), I have come to the conclusion that you hate those that have lives full of love, family, friends, and most of all, a relationship with Jesus Christ. Or, IOW, you suffer from jealousy!

The majority do not hate gays, but many of us don’t support the lifestyle. There is a big difference between hate and non acceptance! This is especially true for Christians. You can’t accept this truth because you NEED us to hate!

Joy and Peace is something that I doubt that you have ever had, but I hope you find it before it’s too late. You only get one chance with one life! Sorry, no reincarnation in your future!

We must be in the same circle!………….I believe that it is a BIG circle!

“What I post is perceived as an existential threat to you and yours--or you wouldn't bother to make so many pissing posts.”

How can one perceive an existential threat from your posts that are based on lies and opinions?

Again!!!!!!! Only in your dreams!