oldiesman

Very glad you're ok now Rusty... looking forward to reading all the details you can share ... thank you.

I thought about posting what I heard once that there are Christians who believe that everyone is saved through Jesus' blood, regardless of their beliefs. This book "may" be talking about that but again, I haven't read it. Here's the AI information: what christian group believes that everyone is saved through Jesus' blood - Google Search

I thought that the AI statement is pretty good and sums up my thoughts at present. God made it so we must do some work rather than simply handing us the written truth in complete perfection on a silver platter; i.e. scripture reading, prayer, thought, reflection, assimilation, action and faith etc. to eventually know the truth within ourselves: Question: Why did an all-knowing, all-wise and all-powerful divine being, when wanting to make known his one and only perfect will to all humans for the thousands of years he knew would eventually exist and across thousands of languages and dialects (which he's responsible for because of the Tower of Babel incident) and cultures that would spread throughout the whole world, choose to do so in a written way that has proven to be so confusing and contentious and cherry picked? Answer: (AI Overview) "According to many religious interpretations, the concept is that God desires people to actively seek and "work" to discover the truth, rather than simply having it passively handed to them; this often involves studying scripture, prayer, reflection, and seeking wisdom from trusted sources."

Another AI overview that I thought was a decent answer: God wants us to do a little work to find the truth - Google Search

This is one of my favorites, although it's not only about Christmastime. In light of this please feel free to post any inspirational music you feel on this thread... I would love to hear, thx.

I only look at Jesus to see he wasn't talking about money. I think Jesus was the richest man who ever lived, yet he gave it all up laying down his life so we can have life through his precious blood. WOW.

Christ is the Judge. I did another search through AI asking if Christ's judgment involves mercy, and there certainly appears to be some good tidings awaiting for us: does the judgment seat of christ involve mercy - Google Search

Raf I respect your opinion ... delete if you must.

I'd like to place this here as another aspect of the topic on Israel, namely, that God needed a people, sect or tribe to eventually bring forth the Messiah, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, which was one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His sacrifice was able to redeem mankind through the shedding of his precious blood. Thank you Jesus.! ‘Tis The Season For Historical Revisionism: The Myth Of Jesus As A Palestinian