Podcasts about hardened

Pastor Chas Stevenson

What if the most powerful leadership skill in the world could be taught in a maximum security prison? In this episode, Doug Noll, lawyer turned peacemaker, mediator, and author of the upcoming Empathy Leadership, shares how walking away from a $10 million law career led him to one of the most profound discoveries in human communication. For 10 years he trained over 3,000 incarcerated men and women in maximum security prisons to prevent gang riots using a skill that can be learned in minutes and practiced in seconds. That skill is two words: You feel. The story that changed everything wasn't in a boardroom. It was a woman on a hospital bed in the world's largest women's prison, writing letters to a son who hadn't spoken to her in 18 years. What happened next is something Doug will never forget.   [00:05:00] What He Does and Who He Serves Lawyer turned peacemaker with a master's degree in conflict studies Left the practice of law in 2000 after 22 years as a trial lawyer Teaches nervous system leadership to executives, founders, and C-level leaders [00:06:00] The Three Questions Every Brain Asks Every brain in every meeting asks three questions every microsecond Am I safe? Can I trust you? Do I matter to you? If leaders don't get solid yeses, they've already lost the room A leader's first job is to regulate their own nervous system [00:07:30] How a Lawyer Became a Peacemaker Took up martial arts in his mid-30s and earned a second-degree black belt His teacher sent him to learn Tai Chi; it taught him soft is strong and vulnerable is powerful In a courtroom in the late 90s the thought hit him: what am I doing in here? [00:09:00] The River Trip That Changed Everything Spent 10 days alone on a raft on the Salmon River in Idaho thinking Could only count five people in 22 years of law who came out better than they went in Heard a radio announcement for a peacemaking master's degree and enrolled at 48 Gave one week's notice, left $10 million on the table, and walked away [00:11:00] What Inspires Him Wants to teach as many people as possible to stop fights before they spiral The skill: say "you feel" and name what the other person is experiencing When you name someone's emotions, their amygdala calms and they can think again [00:13:30] Client Impact Trained senior analysts at the Congressional Budget Office to de-escalate members of Congress Mediated a three-day dispute at a billion-dollar company where stakeholders could barely be in the same room Hardened business people regularly break into tears from the release of tension they've been carrying [00:15:00] The Relationship That Changed Everything: Laurel Klaffer and Sarah In 2009 a woman serving life without parole wrote letters from a hospital bed One letter landed with Doug's colleague Laurel Klaffer; she called Doug and read it to him Eight months later they were standing in front of 15 women in California's largest women's prison [00:16:30] Sarah's Letter: The Moment That Defined the Mission Sarah had been in prison 18 years for a fatal DUI that killed a family of four She gave up her three-year-old son when she entered prison; he never visited or wrote back Using what she learned, she wrote naming how he must feel For the first time in 18 years he wrote back: Mom, I love you; I'm bringing my girlfriend to visit [00:18:00] Prison of Peace: A Program That Went Global Sarah's story confirmed the work was about restoring humanity, not just peacemaking The program expanded to Corcoran State Prison, one of California's two supermaxes Prison of Peace is now operating in prisons across the world [00:22:00] Mike's Story: A Father Reconnected from Behind Bars Mike, a gang member at Corcoran, had a daughter who ran from him during visits He started naming her emotions on their weekly calls; within weeks she was a changed girl She began requesting her own weekly call just to be listened to On the next visit she ran and jumped into his arms; the guards looked the other way [00:27:30] Final Word: Two Words That Change Everything Conflict is inevitable; the painful emotions around it are not Every fight is a cry: please listen to me Say "you feel" and the argument dissolves; the problem can finally be solved   KEY QUOTES "Every fight, every argument is nothing more than a cry: please listen to me." - Doug Noll "When you name what someone feels, you choose humanity over ideology. You choose connection over being right." - Doug Noll "If the most violent men I've ever worked with could learn how to listen people into existence, imagine what it could do for everybody listening to this show." - Doug Noll CONNECT WITH DOUG NOLL Website: https://www.dougnoll.com Substack: https://www.dougnoll.substack.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougnoll   Thanks for tuning in! If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe! Find me on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher  

TODAY - TUESDAY, JUNE 16th from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM EST on The Kim Jacobs Show, You Don't want to miss: Wounded But Not HardenedSome experiences leave scars… but they don't have to leave us bitter.Join me Tuesday, June 16th from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST as I welcome Rev. Dr. Ken Gordon, Jr. to The Kim Jacobs Show for a powerful conversation about resilience, faith, healing, and choosing purpose over pain.Pastor Ken's journey has included navigating racism, betrayal, loss, career setbacks, church hurt, failed relationships, and life's unexpected battles — yet he refused to allow his wounds to harden his heart.We'll discuss:How do you heal without becoming cynical?How do you overcome betrayal without losing your ability to trust?How do you keep your compassion in a world that can feel harsh?How do you fail forward and turn adversity into purpose?We'll also talk about his books “Combat Zone: Navigating Corporate America While Black” and “Bad Dogs – The Complete Story” and the lessons he learned from a life of perseverance, leadership, and faith.Watch us LIVE and be part of the conversation!Subscribe on YouTube: YouTube.com/c/Kimjacobsshowand turn on notifications so you receive an alert when we go live!Our next session to Start Your Virtual Show from Scratch begins June 17th! Email Kimjacobsshow@gmail.com or call 704-944-3534 to grab one of the final seats left!Your financial contribution is greatly appreciated! Let us know in the comment section during our live broadcast and we will acknowledge your financial support!PayPal: paypal.me/Kimjacobsinc Venmo: @ThekimjacobsshowZelle or Apple Cash: 704-962-7161This is a conversation for anyone who has ever been hurt… but still wants to grow.#TheKimJacobsShow #WoundedButNotHardened #Resilience #Faith #Healing #Purpose #Leadership #KenGordonBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kim-jacobs-show--2878190/support.

Brigadier General Blaine Holt provides a strategic analysis of a rapidly escalating military conflict between the Trump administration and the Iranian regime. The discussion highlights a series of devastating American air strikes that successfully dismantled the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and threatened the total destruction of Iran's vital oil infrastructure on Kharg Island. Holt suggests that this display of overwhelming force has pushed the theocracy toward an imminent capitulation agreement, potentially leading to a complete collapse of the current clerical government in favor of a new civilian resistance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brigadier General Blaine Holt provides a strategic analysis of a rapidly escalating military conflict between the Trump administration and the Iranian regime. The discussion highlights a series of devastating American air strikes that successfully dismantled the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and threatened the total destruction of Iran's vital oil infrastructure on Kharg Island. Holt suggests that this display of overwhelming force has pushed the theocracy toward an imminent capitulation agreement, potentially leading to a complete collapse of the current clerical government in favor of a new civilian resistance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marriage, Divorce and Fornication (1) (audio) David Eells, 5/24/26   Scriptural Marriage and Divorce David Eells I know this can be a real can of worms and such a touchy subject when dealing with people who love each other, but we owe it to the brethren to speak the truth concerning their eternal life. We must consider scripture rather than human reasoning, which has gotten a lot of people in trouble and they don't know why they are there. Here are some basic things the Lord has shown from scripture on divorce and remarriage: Jesus' commands superseded the Jews' permission for divorce by His statements, so we cannot go to the law to justify divorce. (Mat.19:8) He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. Once again religion is wrong. Hardened hearts cannot be turned easily but in respecting scripture there is safety. There is only one reason for divorce. (9) And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication (Numeric) and marries another woman commits adultery.” If a spouse commits fornication, whether outside of the first marriage or by illegal remarriage, the other is free to remarry because the first spouse broke the marriage bond. Being legally able to remarry does not mean this is God's will for you. God loves to restore. If your mate repents and asks your forgiveness, then forgive as Christ forgave you. Also, spiritual fornication of the heart is not an excuse, for the scripture speaks of physical fornication of the body. You may be concerned, thinking, “What can I do if I got married before I came to the Lord?” Don't worry about that, because everything we did before we came to the Lord was sin, and we can't go back and do anything about it. After you're saved, you are now a new creation in the Lord, and your sins are washed clean by the blood of Christ. The disciples admitted this was a hard statement, and many think so today, but it is better to obey than to bring yourselves under a curse that many endure. (Mat.19:10) The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” Even in the Old Testament, it was fornication for a believer to be married to an unbeliever but hear me out... (Ezr.9:2) For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. ... (Ezr.10:10) And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. (11) Now therefore make confession unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women. Don't act here without reading on. And so it is in the New Covenant: (1Co.7:39) A wife is bound for so long time as her husband liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. Notice we are to marry “only in the Lord”. (1Co.9:5) Have we no right to lead about a wife that is a believer. Notice the condition, the wife must be a believer.. (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? (If one becomes one with an unbeliever to some extent they are leavening themselves.)(16) And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you. Better not even to date an unbeliever, saints. You don't want to go there because it will bring you a lot of heartache and curses in the future. However, God makes a concession in the New Testament when a person comes to the Lord with an unbelieving spouse because the unbelieving spouse might eventually be saved through their faith. (1Co.7:12) But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her. (13) And the woman that hath an unbelieving husband, and he is content to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband. (14) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the brother: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. If that spouse, as an unbeliever, departs, you can remarry. (15) Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such [cases]... Even if you are remarried illegally many times before coming to the Lord, the commands are to Christians and are not retroactive to the old life, for we are a new creation, cleansed of all past sins. Also, Christians can do things in ignorance that are under the blood, for knowledge precedes sin in the New Testament, as before the Law. (Rom.5:13) for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. (Rom.7:8)... for apart from the law sin [is] dead. (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (Joh.15:22) If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin. This is not an excuse for someone to falsely claim ignorance because God looks on the heart and knows all; He knows what you understand and what you do not. Judgment is sure for fornicators and adulterers. (1Co.6:9) Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators (Basically illegal sexual actions), nor idolaters, nor adulterers (Sometimes this is marrying someone who is already married and not scripturally divorced), nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, (10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (Rev.21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (8) But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. Marriage and divorce can be a very convoluted problem. If, after diligently searching into all that the New Covenant teaches on this subject and asking elders with no satisfaction, remember what Moses did. (Exo.18:25) And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (26) And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. God told Moses that he would be as God to Israel. For some things, we need to get a word from our Lord. But be careful that you don't receive a flesh pleasing answer from your own mind. Samson kept choosing women for looks rather than staying with scripture and it got him killed. Let's look at what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about marriage. (1Co.7:1) Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. (2) But, because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. (3) Let the husband render unto the wife her due: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. (4) The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife. (5) Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency. (6) But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment. (7) Yet I would that all men were even as I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that. (If you're not married, then you won't be distracted, but not everybody has this gift to be celibate, and we're told, (Pro.18:22) Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favor of the Lord.) (8) But I say to the unmarried and to widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. (9) But if they have not continency, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. (10) But unto the married I give charge, [yea] not I, but the Lord, That the wife depart not from her husband (11) (but should she depart, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and that the husband leave not his wife.  (I know there are circumstances where a believing or unbelieving husband can be very obnoxious, very overbearing, very sinful, and that's very crucifying to the wife, but that's not an excuse to leave. In most cases, unless he is asking the wife to willfully sin, there can be submission on her part. However, no one should stay in a situation where their life or the lives of their children are in physical danger. We have permission in such a case to flee (Matthew 24:16; Luke 21:21; etc.). (12) But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her. (13) And the woman that hath an unbelieving husband, and he is content to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband. (14) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the brother: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. Sanctified here means that the influence of you Christian life can save them and also your faith can stand in for them. (15) Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such [cases]: but God hath called us in peace. (Just know that in the New Testament, being married to an unbeliever is not grounds to leave them; again, only if they leave you, are you free. In the Old Testament, however, if a believer married a non-believer, they demanded a divorce over that because for Jews to be married to non-Jews was fornication (Nehemiah 13:23-30; Ezra chapters 9 and 10). (Neh.13:26) Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin. (27) Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women? Back to (1Cor.7:16) For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife? …(25) Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be trustworthy. (26) I think therefore that this is good by reason of the distress that is upon us, [namely,] that it is good for a man to be as he is. (27) Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. (28) But shouldest thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Yet such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I would spare you. (29) But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none; (In other words don't let this distract from your service to God.) (30) and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not; (31) and those that use the world, as not using it to the full: for the fashion of this world passeth away. (32) But I would have you to be free from cares. He that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; (In other words, they're not divided in their attention. However, people don't have to be divided in their attention; they can be celibate or they can always put the Lord first.) (33) but he that is married is careful for the things of the world, how he may please his wife, (Well, if a man is married, it's necessary for him to please his wife, but not to the extent that he lets her be the head of the house; that's bad, very bad. That's like Jezebel and Ahab  and I'll share more on that later.) (34) and is divided. [So] also the woman that is unmarried and the virgin is careful for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married is careful for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (Is this a bad thing? No, it's commanded, as a matter of fact. It's not a bad thing; it's just that your ability to have your total attention on the Lord without being distracted by family situations is going to be limited. God created the family, so He's not against families. He's against families where they're not married, obviously. What Paul is saying is that if a woman is married, she has to please her husband.) (35) And this I say for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is seemly, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. (36) But if any man thinketh that he behaveth himself unseemly toward his virgin [daughter], if she be past the flower of her age, and if need so requireth, let him do what he will; he sinneth not; let them marry. (You have to understand that a woman was under the authority of her father until she married.)(37) But he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power as touching in his own heart, to keep his own virgin [daughter], shall do well. (38) So then both he that giveth his own virgin [daughter] in marriage doeth well; and he that giveth her not in marriage shall do better. (39) A wife is bound for so long time as her husband liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. (40) But she is happier if she abide as she is, after my judgment: and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.   Polygamy in the Church? Question from a sister: Someone told me that polygamy is allowed by God! I don't believe this, but I had no way to refute this claim. I tried finding some scriptures, but to no avail. When I looked this subject up on the internet, I actually found a “Christian” website promoting polygamy. What will they think of next? Can you share some scriptures that refute this claim? My answer: Under the Law, they were permitted to have more than one wife and divorce their wives because of their “hardness of heart” but under grace, there is no such permission. Jesus said a man could have one wife and “the two shall become one flesh.” (Mat.19:5-8) and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh? So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put [her] away? He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it hath not been so. From the beginning, God gave Adam, the Son of God, one wife. It appears his righteous seed through Seth were monogamous also. Cain's evil descendant, Lamech, was the first to take two wives. (Gen.4:19) And Lamech took unto him two wives. In order that a line of Israel not be extinct, the next of kin was permitted to raise up seed to a dead man's wife. But the seed of New Testament spiritual Israel is passed on through the Word (seed or sperma) of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Although they disobeyed God, the Kings of Israel were forbidden to multiply wives. (Deu.17:17-19) Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of [that which is] before the priests the Levites: and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them. The Apostles had one wife. (1Co.9:5) Have we no right to lead about a wife that is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? All of God's people must be upright, but Paul required elders to be “without reproach” and “blameless” in that they were to be the “husband of one wife.” This is definitely one wife at a time because fornication is a legal ground for divorce and remarriage (1 Corinthians 7), and the death of a spouse is a legal ground to remarry. (1Ti.3:2) The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach. (12) Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling [their] children and their own houses well. (Tit.1:6,7) if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly. For the bishop must be blameless, as God's steward... If the elders or the mature in the Lord need to be upright in having one wife, all need to be this way to be mature. The husband is the head of one wife as Christ is the head of one church. (Eph.5:23-33) For the husband is the head of the wife (not wives), as Christ also is the head of the church, [being] himself the saviour of the body. (24) But as the church is subject to Christ, so [let] the wives also [be] to their husbands in everything. (25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; (26) that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, (27) that he might present the church to himself a glorious [church], not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (28) Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself: (29) for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church; (30) because we are members of his body. (31) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife (not wives); and the two shall become one flesh. (32) This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church. (33) Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and [let] the wife [see] that she fear her husband. Now, I want to share this, too. Men, do not appease a Jezebel spirit; it's going to seduce you and lead you astray. This is our command from God. (Eph.5:22) Wives, [be in subjection] unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (The Lord, not I, said this, but those who have a Jezebel spirit will still get angry, although this is the truth. We have to obey God's Word, or we can't call ourselves “disciples.”) (23) For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, (Just as much as Jesus is Head of the Church, the husband is the head of the wife.), [being] himself the saviour of the body. (If a wife does not obey her husband, she is not going to get saved.) (24) But as the church is subject to Christ, so [let] the wives also [be] to their husbands in everything. (To make this possible for the wife, we are then told,) (25) Husbands, love your wives (Feeling unloved isn't an excuse for a wife to disobey her husband, but love makes it easier for the wife to obey her husband.), even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it. Men, loving your wife does not include giving in to a Jezebel spirit. Giving in means you are putting yourself under a demon spirit and taking yourself and your family out from under God. If you do that, you will pay the price. On the other hand, do not judge the lost wife. God insists on Christ the Word being your Head. Don't judge her, but don't allow her to be your Head. If Jesus is not your Head, then you are following a false god. It's very plain. (Mat.12:30) He that is not with me is against me… If, because of your stand for Christ, your wife leaves you, then suffer for Christ's sake. We all have to suffer in one way or another, but do not follow a false god. The Bible says, (1Co.7:15) Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such [cases:] but God hath called us in peace If your spouse leaves because you follow Jesus, then so be it. You are not bound in such a case; God never really wants you to be married to an unbeliever anyway. He says to stay married to them only if they are content to dwell with you, because they can be saved through your witness. Amen! The wife who has an unbelieving husband should obey him up to, but not including, moral sin. (1Pe.3:1) In like manner, ye wives, [be] in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives. (Read our book on our site, Word Woman and Authority.) If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, you have to follow the Word. If you want to be a “Christian” and not be a disciple of Jesus, you are not going to be saved. It's that simple. The word “Christian” is a very loose term in our day, meaning almost nothing. In the early days, people were called “Christians” because they followed Christ Jesus and did His works. Today, the word “Christian” should mean more, but, sadly, it doesn't mean much to people. Jesus told us, (Mat.10:34) Think not that I came to send peace on the earth (You might think, “Peace between me and my wife is the most important. I have to do whatever I have to do.” No, you don't. Jesus did not come to send peace on the earth.): I came not to send peace, but a sword. (And that “sword” is to divide those who are loyal to God's Word from those who are not.) (35) For I came 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 (Now, there are many more relationships. He's just making a point.): (36) and a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household. When you come to God, and they have not, you have no communion there. The Bible says, (2Co.6:14) Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? If you follow the Lord, they can be converted by your witness. If you don't follow the Lord, you have no favor from God, and in that event, don't expect your family to be saved. For your family to be saved, the most important thing for you to do is follow the Lord as a disciple of Jesus Christ and have favor from God. He will save your family if you believe Him for it. (Mat.10:37) 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. You can love people more than you love the Word. The Lord and Word are the same. If you love someone or something more than the Word, you are going to be deceived. It's possible to pity demon-possessed people and then, through demons manipulating that pity, to be deceived and fall right into their situation. Don't believe that all those who call themselves “Christian” are going to be saved, because (Mat.10:38) And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. (We are to die on our “cross” in order to gain our higher life, the life of the born-again man.) (39) He that findeth his life (This is the old psuche life.) shall lose it; (39) and he that loseth his life (Again, this is the old psuche life, the carnal self.) for my sake shall find it. Let me share with you a testimony we have on our site called:   Marriage Lost and Found William and Jamie Leek - 02/09/2010 My wife and I have been separated and near divorce twice since the year 2000 because we loved “our sin”, plain and simple. The first separation was in 2002 and 2003. This separation wasn't as bad as the second, but there were a lot of lies and deceit practiced by both parties during the first separation. We got back together in 2003, where our “Mother in the Lord” renewed our vows. The only problem with this is that we were still mocking God in our walks with Him and still “playing church.” We had made a “confession” of Jesus Christ, but we were not being taught the “whole counsel of God,” so we thought the Lord forgave our sin at the cross, and we were “Covered in the Blood.” According to Matthew 12:43-45, when we confessed Christ and His blood cleansed us from our sin and the curse, we allowed that sin to remain in our lives. The demons, which plagued us, brought seven more back with them, stronger than the first. Thus, we were worse off than ever before. We thank the Lord for His mercy, grace, and long-suffering with us. In 2004 came the second separation. This time, the Lord had given us both over to the desires of our very own wicked hearts and allowed us to sink to levels of darkness that we never knew we had in us. During our second separation, the Lord allowed us to see just how sick the human heart, will, and emotions really are (Jeremiah 17:9). During this time of separation, we both fled at top speed back into the world, and we returned to our old ways. I began to smoke pot again (all day EVERYDAY), and she began to drink more than she ever did. We both began to sleep around with other people outside of our marriage. We were separated for nine months, and the combined number of people the two of us slept with was 16. The Lord really allowed us to fall to the bottom of the depths of the sea of sin, which our lives had become. We were going to a little Pentecostal church at the time when these separations took place. It was here we met a woman I considered to be like a mother in the Lord. She loved my wife and family with all her heart. She took time to come to our home and share the scriptures with us once a week for an extended period of time. She believed with her whole heart that we were “called” to the ministry. She would call me in the middle of the night and say, “I woke up in tears, praying in tongues because I just had such a burden for your family.” The Lord would end up using this mighty woman of God and her fervent prayer life to reconcile our marriage and heal our family. She also told me during the 2004 separation that the Lord gave her a dream where He showed her my family living together in a home happier than we had ever been. This, of course, did not matter to me at the time because my heart was full of rage and hatred. I don't believe in accidents; I believe in the sovereign God written about in the scriptures. In January of 2005, I took a trip to Florida with a woman with whom I had been committing adultery. We drove down together, but for some reason at the end of the trip I made her get on a plane, and I drove home alone. On the trip home, my wife and I started to talk again. The Lord also began to really convict me of my sin. Even though, at the time, I did not understand the meaning of “conviction of sin.” All I knew was that I had an overwhelming feeling of guilt for what I was doing. I knew that a change had to come. In April of 2005, my wife and I really started to talk again on a regular basis. At the beginning of May, we had been together for the entire weekend when we received a phone call from a lady with whom we had gone to church. This lady had news that would shake my wife and me to the very core of our being. She told me that my Mother in the Lord, Shirley Summers, was dying of cancer. Well, this is where we know the Lord began to heal our marriage. When the woman shared this news with me on the phone, I began to weep. With tears streaming down my face, I shared the news with my wife, and we shared tears together. She looked at me and said, “I am going to my parents' house, and I'm getting my things, and I am coming home.” That was on May 4, 2005. The next day, my mom called me on the phone and told me that Shirley had gone on to glory. The reason this stands out as one of the most important events in our marriage is that this woman prayed for us fervently (James 5:16). She never stopped believing in our call to the ministry, and she stood in faith for our marriage when we couldn't. Also, the number “5” in the scriptures signifies “GRACE,” and we didn't realize that until a year later, that our Mother in the Lord had died on 5/05/05, a number and day of GRACE. The Lord was very long-suffering with my wife and me. It was not until after we reconciled that we ran across a website where we began to hear the “full Gospel” being preached. We had never heard all the important doctrines taught throughout the scriptures. We had not been taught about repentance, obedience, holiness, or real Bible faith. We also realized that neither one of us was truly saved, as spoken of in the Bible. The scariest thing of all is that we realized that if the Lord would have called our numbers, we would have gone to HELL! It has been a long journey for both of us, as we got rid of the leaven in our lives after leaving the organized church. Over the years, we have had to learn what it means to repent and to truly come to the Lord, believing who He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. We thank the Lord for UBM for standing for the “TRUE GOSPEL”! Deuteronomy 4:30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Now, what about common law marriage? Is that biblical? Most states in America have abolished common law marriage, and only a few states recognize it as a legal marriage between two people who have not purchased a marriage license or had their marriage solemnized by a ceremony. The few states that do recognize it have conditional statutes. Scripture is clear that marriage is a binding commitment before witnesses and God; a public, covenantal relationship. It is a commitment agreement until death. When Christians marry, they commit to loving each other just as Christ loved the church. If you are not married, you are living in fornication.   Heterosexual and Homosexual Fornication Letter from a friend:  Hi! I have a neighbor friend with whom I've been having sort of an ongoing “discussion/argument” about whether sex outside of marriage is OK, according to the Bible. I know in my heart it is not, but he wants me to prove it to him with scripture. I haven't studied it extensively, but what I've read doesn't say it precisely enough to prove my point. There is one passage about two unwed people being found in the act and having to marry. Since the Ten Commandments do not say, thou shalt not have sex outside of marriage, he thinks it is ok. (LOL) Of course, the real issue is that he's not a born-again believer. But he asked me to prove it to him, so I'm going to try to do it. I don't know much about the Hebrew meanings of the words, etc. Can you help when you have time? :-) Thanks! My reply:  Fornication is the broad term that covers all sex outside of heterosexual marriage. Adultery, homosexuality, whoremonger, bestiality, and masturbation all fall under this category. The Greek word for fornication is “porneia”, from which we get pornography. Many commit fornication with pornography in print or on any visual screen, TV, social media sites, movies, etc. (Mat.5:28) but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. The same is true for any other illicit sexual desire. Repentance and faith deliver from these sins.   Heterosexual Fornication Everyone who has sex out of marriage is a fornicator. (1Co.7:1) Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. (7:2) But, because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. All fornicators must repent or face eternal damnation. (1Co.6:9) Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, (10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. (15) Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ? shall I then take away the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid. (16) Or know ye not that he that is joined to a harlot is one body? for, The twain, saith he, shall become one flesh. (17) But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (18) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1Co.10:8) Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. (Gal.5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (License to “go beyond the things that are written”), (21) envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Rev.21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (8) But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. (Rev.22:14) Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right [to come] to the tree of life, and my enter in by the gates into the city (the bride). (15) Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. (1Co.7:9) But if they have not continency (self-control of sexual appetites), let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. (1Ti.5:14) I desire therefore that the younger [widows] marry, bear children, rule the household, give no occasion to the adversary for reviling: (15) for already some are turned aside after Satan. (Job.31:1) I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin? (9) If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door; (10) Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her. (11) For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges: (12) For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase. (Pro.2:16) To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words; (17) That forsaketh the friend of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God: (18) For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead; (19) None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life: (Exo.22:16) And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. (17) If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. (Deu.22:28) If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; (29) then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty [shekels] of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days. Do you believe that because you are “saved” that you can get away with this willful disobedience? (Jer.7:9) Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods that ye have not known, (10) and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that ye may do all these abominations? (11) Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, saith Jehovah. (12) But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. (13) And now, because ye have done all these works, saith Jehovah, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not: (14) therefore will I do unto the house which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. (15) And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. That is just the Old Testament, you say? In any place that we are willfully disobedient, we need the fear of God. Sins of ignorance (Rom.5:13; 7:8,9) and sins of failure (Rom.7:19-25) are under the blood when we repent. However, we cannot claim the sacrificial benefits if we willfully walk in premeditated sin. (Heb.10:26) For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment... Jesus bore all sin; He also bore the penalty for all sin, except willful disobedience. Notice that there is “no more a sacrifice” for that sin. We would have “a certain fearful expectation of judgment.” Many of us have been lied to about the cleansing of the blood. (1Jn.1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. The blood cleanses the one who walks in the light of the Word, not in the darkness of willful disobedience. For willful disobedience, we are promised certain judgment. We pay the penalty for this sin here and now, as in the following verses: (Mat.18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors (demons), till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. God will use the demons to make us pay for a sin of the will. (Mat.5:25) Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge (God), and the judge deliver thee to the officer (demon), and thou be cast into prison. (26) Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing. The prison here is spiritual bondage to sin and the curse, administered by the demons. Jesus came “...to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound” (Isa.61:1). Willful disobedience throws us back into the prison that Jesus delivered us from. David sinned willfully with Bathsheba. When he repented, Nathan the prophet said, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin”, but he also said, “The sword shall never depart from thy house.” In other words, I forgive you, but you will have to pay the penalty. This proved true, for David lost three sons and many people. His own son Absalom won the sympathy of the people and usurped the kingdom. David had to flee for his life. As parents we do not spank our children for failure or mistakes, but for willful disobedience. Paul said, “For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not (willed not), that I practice. But if what I would not (willed not), that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me” (Rom.7:19,20). Paul was failing God in a sin that his will was against. Notice that he hated the sin and was not accounted guilty; the old sin nature was guilty. When we are against the sin, God takes our side against the sin. He takes the side of the spiritual man against the old man. In this state, Paul cried out to the Lord. (24) Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? Then he accepted God's promise of deliverance by faith. (25) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus bore the curse of the sin for a person who, like Paul, is repentant. The curse of death is upon the one who will not save themselves for marriage. (Deu.22:13) If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,(14) and lay shameful things to her charge, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came nigh to her, I found not in her the tokens of virginity; …(20) But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the damsel; (21) then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee. Only repentance and faith in the sacrifice of Jesus removes this curse. (22) If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband,(Adultery) then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel. (23) If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; (24) then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them to death with stones; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee. (25) But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die: (26) but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter; (27) for he found her in the field, the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.   Homosexual Fornication (Jude 1:7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh (Men with men/women with women), are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. (2Pe.2:6) and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly; (7) and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (8) (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): (9) the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; (10) but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. We have seen many people who fell into faction and ultimately into fornication of many kinds, and God reprobated them. Let me share a portion of a dream from Reynaldo Portela: In this dream, an angel put me in a room where a group of men was practicing homosexuality, and the angel told me, “The man who has sex with another man is going to regret it. God hates the practice of that sin.” (David: In the spiritual, we are reborn with Christ's spirit. Therefore, we should only sow Christ's spirit in our soul, which is our mind, will, and emotions. If we receive the spiritual seed of “men”, we often lose our first love and become reprobate.) (Rom.1:24) Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves: (25) for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (26) For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: (27) and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due. (28) And even as they refused to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting (32) who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them. In an open vision, I, David, saw a factious group, and one of them that I knew left them and went behind a wall. The Lord said, “Follow him,” so I did. What I saw behind the wall was this man committing sodomy on 3 of his friends. Over the next day or two, I went to this man and told him my vision, and his eyes widened, and Michael and I both saw he was guilty. He didn't deny it, but later he threatened me. The factious leader told me about three times that he spoke with them during a certain time period, when he was supposed to be with us, and then he fell away three times. I told him he could not associate with them according to the Word. Eve Brast had a dream where they had captured her, and they were bisexual. Other factious leaders had the same problem and were also bisexual. They all have sexual perversion. Satan demands perversion from his servants. The DS are satanists also and are bisexual. They have the same spirits. God is always willing to deliver anyone like this if there is repentance. (Gal.5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (21) ...they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (1Co.6:9) Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, (10) ... shall inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. (Deu.23:17) There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel. (18) Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God. (Rev.21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (8) But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. (Rev.22:14) Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right [to come] to the tree of life, and my enter in by the gates into the city. (15) Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. Sodomite Crossdressers -(1Ki.14:24) and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which Jehovah drove out before the children of Israel. (1Ki.15:11) And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, as did David his father. (12) And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. (Deu.22:5) A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God. (Lev.18:22) Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Lev.20:13) And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.   Bestiality (Exo.22:19) Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. (Lev.18:23) And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (Lev.20:15) And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. (16) And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Deu.27:21) Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.   Masturbation (Gen.38:8) And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother. (9) And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. (10) And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and he slew him also. Remember I said that through repentance and faith in Jesus and His sacrifice for us, there is deliverance from these sins and its curses. Now God knows that you did not necessarily choose this life, and some of you think you had this from birth, which is not true. A lot of you already know that you were molested at some point in your life, and you became a sinner. Well, these demons entered in then. Now the Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ bore this sin upon Himself for you, and He is offering you grace to repent and be delivered from it so you will never have these wrong desires and emotions again. He took away the sin nature of homosexuality and any sin of fornication. He wants you to repent and surrender your life to Him. Confess your sins as the Bible says in 1Jo.1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God will give you a new, clean spirit and a new nature, this free gift of His salvation! Let's pray. Father, we thank You, and we ask You, Lord, to reach out and touch the people out there who are in bondage to sin, homosexual, heterosexual, or any kind of sin, and we ask You, Lord, to reach out and touch them with Your convicting power. Father, we ask You to show them that Your word is true. We ask You to reveal Yourself to them, and to show them the Real True Good News that Jesus has already delivered them from this; He's already borne their sin on the cross, and they don't have to bear it any longer. Father, we ask it in the name of Jesus that You go forth right now and deliver those who are listening to us who believe what's been shared here. Please, Lord, go forth and deliver them now in the name of Jesus. We rebuke these demons from your life in the name of Jesus Christ! O Lord, we thank You for Your mighty power going forth to restore those that You have loved from the foundation of the world. Thank you, Father.  Now, friends, if you agreed and prayed this with us, you need to go and start reading your New Testament and believe what it says and know that the Lord is working in you both to will and do of His good pleasure. It's not by your works, it's His working in you! Now, I want to share a published article on a study done that proves there is freedom from homosexuality.   'Groundbreaking' study shows 'gays' can change  Posted: September 15, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com In the first longitudinal, peer-reviewed, scientific study of its kind, researchers have concluded that some homosexuals can change their “orientation” through religiously mediated guidance. Researchers Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse released the results of a three-year study on Thursday during an address at the American Association of Christian Counselors World Conference. Their conclusions contradict the claims of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, which contend that such a change in sexual orientation is impossible and attempting to pursue it likely will cause depression, anxiety, or self-destructive behavior. The new study concluded such changes do not cause psychological harm to the patient. Nicholas A. Cummings, former American Psychological Association president, praised the research. “This study has broken new ground in its adherence to objectivity and a scientific precision that can be replicated and expanded, and it opens new horizons for investigation”, he said. Exodus International, the world's largest Christian ministry to homosexuals, said it funded the research because of the absence of any scientific, peer-reviewed research on the topic. The major findings are reported in a book to be released by the evangelical Christian publisher InterVarsity Press, “Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation.” A homosexual-activist group called Truth Wins Out warned news organizations “to be highly skeptical of a biased 'ex-gay' sham study.” The homosexual group said, “Caution should be taken in prematurely critiquing the study until the full methodology is available. However, based on unconfirmed reports, there is great concern that these notorious anti-gay researchers did little more than professional ex-gay lobbyists and ministers from Exodus International, and ask them if they had 'changed.'” Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International and a former homosexual, said, “Finally, there is now scientific evidence to prove what we as former homosexuals have known all along - that those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attraction can experience freedom from it.” “For years, opponents of choice have said otherwise, and this body of research is critical in advancing the national dialogue on this issue”, he said. Chambers said, “the life-changing process of leaving homosexuality behind” is not easy, but “for thousands of us, the journey has been well worth it, and we are grateful that these study findings give credence to our existence as men and women whose lives have been transformed by Jesus Christ.” Jones, a provost and professor at Wheaton College, an evangelical school in Wheaton, Ill., told CitizenLink magazine in an interview he was prompted to do the study because of the “ever-increasing pessimism expressed in the professional world that sexual orientation could ever be changed.” “This was in contrast to the fact that I occasionally met individuals in Christian circles who claim to have experienced precisely such change”, he said. “When the mental-health field actually began to say that change is impossible - that sexual orientation cannot be changed - it formed the perfect scientific hypothesis to be able to conduct a study.” Jones noted there have been dozens of studies conducted suggesting change is possible for some people, but “the research is not of the highest quality and has been deeply and highly criticized.” After studying the criticisms of those studies, Jones and Yarhouse concluded the proper methodology would need to be both “prospective and longitudinal.” “Prospective means that you catch people before they begin the change process and follow them through the process, while longitudinal means that you're actually following people over time to see if the change is stable”, Jones explained to CitizenLink. “The scientific characteristics of the study are unique, in that no one has ever started early and then followed people over a long period of time like we did.” Jones said they found that, by following the subjects over time, “not everyone is successful, not even a majority is successful, but a very substantial group of people report fairly dramatic change.” “We found that 15 percent of our sample of about 100 claimed to actually have changed from homosexuality to heterosexuality”, he said. “These people experienced significant enough change that they really felt like they had left one sexual orientation to shift into another.” He acknowledged “life is still complicated for these people, and some still have some residuals of their homosexual attractions.” “However, they are people who report being able to function as heterosexuals, they're happy with their marriages, and they feel that their lives have changed dramatically”, he said. The other type of success he found - in almost a quarter of the subjects - was “people who left the homosexual lifestyle and experienced very substantial reductions in homosexual attraction by embracing the Christian discipline of chastity, not acting on their sexual impulses.” “These were people who felt like they were free now to orient their lives not on their sexual, erotic desires and needs, but on their relationship with God and on healthy, nonsexual intimacy with other people”, Jones said. The two groups together, those who converted and those who experienced chastity, made up about 38 percent of the sample. “We feel these changes observed over this substantial period of time provide a clear indication that the opinions of the secular mental-health field that change is impossible are simply wrong”, Jones said. The second area of the research focused on the secular mental-health community's claims that the attempt to change is harmful. Jones and Yarhouse administered a standard psychological inventory that measures psychological distress to subjects at every point along the way. “We found that there was essentially no change in their psychological distress over time”, Jones said. “On that basis, we feel that there is no evidence that the change attempt is harmful, and we found evidence that change is possible for some people.” He added, however, the research does not prove that anybody can change or that no one has ever been harmed from the attempt to change. “It just suggests that the forceful way in which the secular mental-health community is saying change is impossible and harmful is just not well-advised”, he said. Jones pointed out that the American Psychological Association has a blue-ribbon panel right now examining the question of how it should formulate its policies on the subject of attempts to change sexual orientation. Certain members, Jones noted, have already said publicly that change is impossible and harmful. Jones said he hopes “there will be enough of an open mind on the part of the secular mental-health community that they will not continue the movement towards banning these kinds of attempts to change sexual orientation, harassing them out of existence and labeling as unethical any professional person who cooperates with them.” “There is a need to respect the autonomy of individuals who are distressed about what they have experienced sexually and for religious or moral reasons want to try the attempt to change”, Jones told CitizenLink. “Those people first need to be fully informed about just how complex and difficult that process is, and then they should have the right as individuals, as an exercise of personal and religious freedom, to seek support in their attempt to change sexual orientation.”   Printer-friendly version

We return again to Murdo's favourite parable: The parable of the Sower. It comes with Murdo's favourite question to ask you: How's your heart? It is good to ask this searching spiritual question to examine our spiritual health. This parable helps to challenge us whether we are listening the God's Word and to remember that how we hear affects our hearts. Is your heart Hardened? Hollow? Hungry? or Healthy? Has it changed since Murdo last preached this sermon? If so, which one describes your heart today?

Quiet Moments with Russ Ep276 - Hardened Believers (Hebrews 3)

The newly released Epstein material adds serious weight to long-running suspicions that Zorro Ranch was not simply a remote New Mexico hideaway, but a heavily protected operational site built for secrecy, control, and secure communication. According to the analysis, Epstein's 2016 email exchange about internet service at the ranch shows him choosing the most expensive and difficult communications option available, one that allegedly required industrial or military-grade equipment and would have made outside interception extremely difficult. That matters because Zorro Ranch was already one of the most disturbing locations in Epstein's empire: a massive secluded property tied to abuse allegations, unexplained access, powerful visitors, and years of unanswered questions about why law enforcement never treated it with the same intensity as his New York, Palm Beach, or island properties. When a man like Epstein is building hardened communications at a remote compound, it becomes much harder to dismiss the ranch as just another billionaire playground.Taken together, the details point toward Zorro Ranch functioning as something closer to a protected command post than a normal private estate. The communications setup, the remote geography, the reported involvement of contractors with government and defense-world proximity, and Epstein's broader pattern of cultivating politicians, scientists, financiers, academics, and intelligence-adjacent figures all fit the profile of an operation designed to keep sensitive activity insulated from scrutiny. That does not mean every claim has been formally proven in court, but the pattern is too consistent to wave away as coincidence. Zorro Ranch looks less like a loose end and more like one of the central missing pieces of the Epstein map: a secluded compound with hardened infrastructure, elite access, trafficking allegations, and a level of protection that demands a far more aggressive investigation than it has ever received.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Little-known detail at Epstein's Zorro Ranch may point to CIA ties: veteran reporter - Raw Story

The newly released Epstein material adds serious weight to long-running suspicions that Zorro Ranch was not simply a remote New Mexico hideaway, but a heavily protected operational site built for secrecy, control, and secure communication. According to the analysis, Epstein's 2016 email exchange about internet service at the ranch shows him choosing the most expensive and difficult communications option available, one that allegedly required industrial or military-grade equipment and would have made outside interception extremely difficult. That matters because Zorro Ranch was already one of the most disturbing locations in Epstein's empire: a massive secluded property tied to abuse allegations, unexplained access, powerful visitors, and years of unanswered questions about why law enforcement never treated it with the same intensity as his New York, Palm Beach, or island properties. When a man like Epstein is building hardened communications at a remote compound, it becomes much harder to dismiss the ranch as just another billionaire playground.Taken together, the details point toward Zorro Ranch functioning as something closer to a protected command post than a normal private estate. The communications setup, the remote geography, the reported involvement of contractors with government and defense-world proximity, and Epstein's broader pattern of cultivating politicians, scientists, financiers, academics, and intelligence-adjacent figures all fit the profile of an operation designed to keep sensitive activity insulated from scrutiny. That does not mean every claim has been formally proven in court, but the pattern is too consistent to wave away as coincidence. Zorro Ranch looks less like a loose end and more like one of the central missing pieces of the Epstein map: a secluded compound with hardened infrastructure, elite access, trafficking allegations, and a level of protection that demands a far more aggressive investigation than it has ever received.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Little-known detail at Epstein's Zorro Ranch may point to CIA ties: veteran reporter - Raw StoryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

The newly released Epstein material adds serious weight to long-running suspicions that Zorro Ranch was not simply a remote New Mexico hideaway, but a heavily protected operational site built for secrecy, control, and secure communication. According to the analysis, Epstein's 2016 email exchange about internet service at the ranch shows him choosing the most expensive and difficult communications option available, one that allegedly required industrial or military-grade equipment and would have made outside interception extremely difficult. That matters because Zorro Ranch was already one of the most disturbing locations in Epstein's empire: a massive secluded property tied to abuse allegations, unexplained access, powerful visitors, and years of unanswered questions about why law enforcement never treated it with the same intensity as his New York, Palm Beach, or island properties. When a man like Epstein is building hardened communications at a remote compound, it becomes much harder to dismiss the ranch as just another billionaire playground.Taken together, the details point toward Zorro Ranch functioning as something closer to a protected command post than a normal private estate. The communications setup, the remote geography, the reported involvement of contractors with government and defense-world proximity, and Epstein's broader pattern of cultivating politicians, scientists, financiers, academics, and intelligence-adjacent figures all fit the profile of an operation designed to keep sensitive activity insulated from scrutiny. That does not mean every claim has been formally proven in court, but the pattern is too consistent to wave away as coincidence. Zorro Ranch looks less like a loose end and more like one of the central missing pieces of the Epstein map: a secluded compound with hardened infrastructure, elite access, trafficking allegations, and a level of protection that demands a far more aggressive investigation than it has ever received.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Little-known detail at Epstein's Zorro Ranch may point to CIA ties: veteran reporter - Raw StoryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Pastor Steve Gray explores the theme of revival, questioning if America is on the brink of a spiritual awakening. Through the lens of Jesus walking on water, he examines the rumblings of faith taking place outside traditional church settings. Gray challenges listeners to prepare for a deeper level of divine power and commitment, urging them not to miss God's unfolding plans. He also hints at his upcoming book about faith and politics, inviting engagement with current resources and encouraging followers to stay attuned to God's work in their lives.Key Takeaways:Pastor Steve Gray proposes that America might be experiencing the initial stirrings of a spiritual revival.True revival historically involves significant transformation beyond just church gatherings.The story of Jesus walking on water serves as a reminder of recognizing divine authority and not reverting to old beliefs.Hardened hearts can prevent believers from understanding God's present work, leading to missed spiritual opportunities.A deeper commitment and readiness to perceive God's new and different ways are essential for future spiritual awakenings.Looking for more? Join our More Faith More Life community: https://morefaithmorelife.com

SHOW FEATURES: Are You Smarter Than A Community College Dropout, Redneck Report, Pop Trash and The Voicemail.Follow Dave & Mahoney everywhere:Instagram: @daveandmahoneyTikTok: @daveandmahoneyFacebook: @daveandmahoneyYouTube: @daveandmahoneyAgree? Disagree? Want to yell at us?Voicemail: 833-YO-DUMMY Additional Content: daveandmahoney.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Craig Carton recounts his time in prison, detailing how fellow inmates were unexpectedly captivated by reality TV shows like 90 Day Fiancé. They also speculate on the upcoming NFL schedule release and whether the league favors teams like the Kansas City Chiefs. 01:00 - NFL Schedule Release Talk 03:24 - Chiefs Schedule Favoritism Theory 07:59 - Prison Reality TV Stories

With this series of dramatic miracles, Mark concludes the first half of his gospel where he sets forth Jesus as the authoritative Son of God. Even though Jesus' healing power and compassion are on full display, both the Pharisees and his disciples keep failing to understand who he is because they are spiritually deaf and blind, and have hardened hearts. We too often struggle in the same way to understand Jesus' identity and purposes for our lives. How do we address this? We should:I. See Jesus as the compassionate provider through eyes of faith (7:31–8:10)II. Heed Jesus' warning against unbelief with ears of faith (8:11–21)III. Understand who Jesus truly is by a cross-shaped heart of faith (8:22–26)

Built in six months, the bustling metropolis of 40,000 lasted just six years before being turned, by order of the U.S. Government, into a ghost town and cut up for salvage. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2505b1004d.camp-adair-699.071.html)

It is possible to sit in the presence of God, and remain unchanged. The Parable of the Sower challenges us to examine the soil of our hearts. Jesus teaches about 3 types of soils that bear no fruit and 1 that does:Hardened soil of a calloused heart, shallow soil of an emotional rollercoaster, and the crowded soil of a cluttered mind will all lead to stunted growth, and end in a fruitless life. However, a heart that is ready to hear and understand the Word of God is fertile and will bring multiplication!!! Be convinced today that God will do what He says He will do, and that it's His Word alone that is able to produce in your life, and watch your roots grow and your fruit blossom!!!!

It is possible to sit in the presence of God, and remain unchanged. The Parable of the Sower challenges us to examine the soil of our hearts. Jesus teaches about 3 types of soils that bear no fruit and 1 that does:Hardened soil of a calloused heart, shallow soil of an emotional rollercoaster, and the crowded soil of a cluttered mind will all lead to stunted growth, and end in a fruitless life. However, a heart that is ready to hear and understand the Word of God is fertile and will bring multiplication!!! Be convinced today that God will do what He says He will do, and that it's His Word alone that is able to produce in your life, and watch your roots grow and your fruit blossom!!!!

Struggling with compacted soil and drainage problems? Discover how organic liquid aerators offer a natural, equipment-free alternative to traditional lawn aeration. Learn how these eco-friendly solutions work below the surface to transform your lawn's health year-round. Learn more at https://gsplantfoods.com/collections/soil/products/softsoil GS Plant Foods City: Lake Mary Address: 4300 West Lake Mary Boulevard Website: https://gsplantfoods.com/

When the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus, they demanded a sign from Him (Matt. 12). Jesus responded, "No sign will be given...except the sign of Jonah." What did Jesus mean by this? What does Jonah have to do with Jesus? In today's Easter sermon, Pastor Sam Cabra explains that the Gospel is a message that every generation must confront. Hardened hearts can prevent us from receiving the Sign of God standing right in front of us; what will we do with the message that God sends us? The Gospel of Jesus Christ becomes either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse for each person that it confronts.Thank you for partnering with Reunion Hawaii! To GIVE online, please visit our website at www.reunionhawaii.comMake sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to this podcast!You can follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/reunionhawaii@reunionhawaii

Send us Fan MailIn late 2025, we met with artist Edward Inchbold in his studio in Sydenham. A self-taught painter, he is deeply interested in the surface and texture of paint, as well as art history and the philosophies surrounding art-making. Edward began his practice in 2020 at the age of 25. Since 2021, he has presented five solo exhibitions, including a recent trilogy at Stella Downer Fine Art spanning eighteen months: Brand New People (2024), Wisteria Lemonade (2025), and Shedding Velvet (2026). This body of work signalled a series of pivotal shifts in both his approach and philosophy, positioning his practice within a broader contemporary context.Inchbold's paintings are defined by constant reinvention and a resistance to fixed stylistic identities. His compositions are built through processes of compression, erasure, and revision, resulting in dense, atmospheric surfaces. He employs a dynamic and controlled handling of materials, working with brushes, knives, and large scrapers to articulate his images.Alongside his solo practice, Inchbold has participated in numerous group exhibitions since 2021, with presentations at Velvet Lobster (Sydney, 2026), Brenda Colahan Fine Art (Sydney, 2025–26), Straitjacket Art Space (Newcastle, 2025–26), and AK Bellinger (Inverell, 2023–25). His work has been recognised in several art prizes, including the Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Awards (2021), the Lethbridge Landscape Prize (Salon), The Lethbridge 2000 (Salon), and the Galerist Emerging Art Prize (2021), where he was highly commended. His paintings are held in private collections both in Australia and internationally.Inchbold approaches painting with a commitment to sincerity, material risk, and sustained inquiry, avoiding irony or sentimentality. His works are driven by tension rather than resolution, seeking to unsettle while holding the viewer's attention over time.Edward is represented by Stella Downer Fine Art in Sydney, and his exhibition Shedding Velvet runs from March 31st - 25th April. - 'Shedding velvet marks a transitional phase in a deer's antler development, one of renewal. While growing, the antlers are wrapped in a soft, living layer called velvet, rich with blood and nutrients. As growth concludes, internal changes slowly withdraw this support, causing the velvet to dry and decay. In response, the deer presses and scrapes its antlers against trees and rough surfaces, gradually peeling away the withered covering. What remains is bare bone. Hardened, exposed, and newly formed, they eventually, through some labour, reveal a structure shaped through both gentle nourishment and the necessity of abrasion. This deliberate and forceful act prepares the animal for the coming season of competition and display.'

Bill Roggio reports that the US exercises extreme caution with battle-hardened Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, fearing retaliation against its small footprint of personnel and the Baghdad embassy. 14.PASHA

TABLE READ: My Lady's SongWritten by Dan LauriaNew York. Late-night Eighth Avenue. Strip clubs, limos, politicians, porn stars, and ghosts of the old neighborhood.My Lady's Song drops you straight into the smoky, blood-soaked underbelly of a city that doesn't forgive and never forgets.Sal “The Barber” Marino is an aging ex-soldier of the streets — a limo driver who once did twelve years without talking. Now he drives high-end clients and keeps his head down. But when a powerful senator, a pair of porn stars, and a blackmail tape collide during sensitive union negotiations, Sal is pulled back into a world he thought he left behind.This is not a nostalgia piece.This is loyalty versus survival.Old code versus new money.Family versus leverage.Set against a soundtrack style of Billie Holiday, Etta James, Dinah Washington, and Bessie Smith, My Lady's Song moves like Goodfellas at midnight and feels like The Sopranos when the jokes stop being funny.What starts as a simple drive to Los Angeles turns into a reckoning — with betrayal, with memory, and with the cost of keeping your mouth shut.Nobody in podcasting is bringing this level of writing, performance, and cinematic scope.This is prestige drama.Performed. Not narrated.Hollywood caliber. Start to finish.___________________________________

If clay begins to dry, it can become so hard that a potter cannot use it anymore. But if it has not completely hardened, the potter can add moisture and work with the clay until it becomes soft and usable. The human heart is naturally hard and hostile against God, but He alone is the master potter who can work in us to soften our hearts and use us for His glory. Find out more on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/791/29?v=20251111

In this episode your host and Co-Founder of PADT, Eric Miller is joined by Ansys technology partner Electro Magnetic Applications' (EMA) VP of Business Development, John Twerdok, and Lead Software Product Manager, Kevin-Druis Merenda, as well as PADT's LFEM Application & Support Engineer Tyler Buntin. They discuss challenges facing those working with advanced electromagnetics in the space industry, and how simulating radiation hardened electronics with Ansys can help provide solutions. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to suggest a topic for the next episode, shoot us an email at podcast@padtinc.com we would love to hear from you!

Mike Ritland wraps up the interview with original Delta Force operator Mike Vining. Hear raw accounts of Urgent Fury in Grenada, Desert Storm bunker-busting, prison riot support, hardened target planning (Tahuna, Taji), moral injury, leadership lessons, retirement adventures, and his upcoming memoir Blasting Through. A legendary career summed up in one powerful close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May of 2025, Docker launched Hardened Images, a secure, minimal, production-ready set of images. In December, they made DHI freely available and open source to everyone who builds software. On this episode, we're joined by Tushar Jain, EVP of Engineering at Docker to learn all about it.

In May of 2025, Docker launched Hardened Images, a secure, minimal, production-ready set of images. In December, they made DHI freely available and open source to everyone who builds software. On this episode, we're joined by Tushar Jain, EVP of Engineering at Docker to learn all about it.

In this Everyday Judaism episode, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe continues Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Siman 40 (laws of netilat yadayim before bread) and transitions to Siman 41 (breaking bread & hamotzi blessing).Key Halachot covered:Invalid waters — Salty, putrid, bitter, or muddy water is disqualified if unfit even for a dog to drink.Chatzitzah (interposition) — Hands must be free of barriers (remove rings, clean under long nails, remove substantial dirt/paint); incidental staining (e.g., ink) is not a chatzitzah, but substantial matter is. For certain occupations (painters, dyers, butchers), minor work-related staining is permitted unless it covers most of the hand. Dressings/band-aids are not chatzitzah if painful to remove (same for mikvah).Dipping foods — Wash hands (no blessing) before eating anything commonly dipped in liquid or still moist from liquid; only the seven liquids (wine, honey, olive oil, milk/whey, medicinal blood, water) trigger this—fruit juices/liquors usually do not.Preserves & butters — Hardened coatings are not liquid (no washing); soft/moist ones require it.Hamotzi & breaking bread — Recite hamotzi on actual bread (five grains + water, bread-like consistency); pas haba b'kisnin (snacks like pretzels, cake, danishes) get mezonot. Cut from choicest/hardest part (respect for blessing); minimize delay between blessing and eating (no interruption > ~12–30 seconds). Hold bread with all 10 fingers (corresponding to 10 mitzvot in bread production); on Shabbos, lift both loaves when saying Hashem's name.Salt on table — Mitzvah to have salt (table = altar; salt preserves covenant; repels evil forces); dip challah in salt.Order & customs — Head of household washes last to minimize delay; eat from blessed piece first; no feeding animals from blessed bread.The rabbi emphasizes spiritual depth: washing humbles us before bread (countering arrogance of "my power made this wealth"); hamotzi reminds us of Hashem's constant renewal of creation. Episode ends transitioning to Ask Away #29.The episode concludes with a transition to the Ask Away #29._____________The Everyday Judaism Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and appreciating the greatness of Jewish heritage and the Torah through the simplified, concise study of Halacha, Jewish Law, thereby enhancing our understanding of how Hashem wants us to live our daily lives in a Jewish way._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Marshall & Doreen LernerDownload & Print the Everyday Judaism Halacha Notes:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RL-PideM42B_LFn6pbrk8MMU5-zqlLG5This episode (Ep. #83) of the Everyday Judaism Podcast by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH is dedicated to my dearest friends, Marshall & Doreen Lerner! May Hashem bless you and always lovingly accept your prayer for good health, success and true happiness!!!Recorded in the TORCH Centre - Levin Family Studio (B) to a live audience on January 11, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on February 1, 2026_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!_____________#Halacha, #Jewishlaw, #blessings, #Kitzur, #Halacha, #EverydayJudaism, #Hamotzi, #BreakingBread, #NetilatYadayim, #Challah, #SaltOnTable ★ Support this podcast ★

In this Everyday Judaism episode, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe continues Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Siman 40 (laws of netilat yadayim before bread) and transitions to Siman 41 (breaking bread & hamotzi blessing).Key Halachot covered:Invalid waters — Salty, putrid, bitter, or muddy water is disqualified if unfit even for a dog to drink.Chatzitzah (interposition) — Hands must be free of barriers (remove rings, clean under long nails, remove substantial dirt/paint); incidental staining (e.g., ink) is not a chatzitzah, but substantial matter is. For certain occupations (painters, dyers, butchers), minor work-related staining is permitted unless it covers most of the hand. Dressings/band-aids are not chatzitzah if painful to remove (same for mikvah).Dipping foods — Wash hands (no blessing) before eating anything commonly dipped in liquid or still moist from liquid; only the seven liquids (wine, honey, olive oil, milk/whey, medicinal blood, water) trigger this—fruit juices/liquors usually do not.Preserves & butters — Hardened coatings are not liquid (no washing); soft/moist ones require it.Hamotzi & breaking bread — Recite hamotzi on actual bread (five grains + water, bread-like consistency); pas haba b'kisnin (snacks like pretzels, cake, danishes) get mezonot. Cut from choicest/hardest part (respect for blessing); minimize delay between blessing and eating (no interruption > ~12–30 seconds). Hold bread with all 10 fingers (corresponding to 10 mitzvot in bread production); on Shabbos, lift both loaves when saying Hashem's name.Salt on table — Mitzvah to have salt (table = altar; salt preserves covenant; repels evil forces); dip challah in salt.Order & customs — Head of household washes last to minimize delay; eat from blessed piece first; no feeding animals from blessed bread.The rabbi emphasizes spiritual depth: washing humbles us before bread (countering arrogance of "my power made this wealth"); hamotzi reminds us of Hashem's constant renewal of creation. Episode ends transitioning to Ask Away #29.The episode concludes with a transition to the Ask Away #29._____________The Everyday Judaism Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and appreciating the greatness of Jewish heritage and the Torah through the simplified, concise study of Halacha, Jewish Law, thereby enhancing our understanding of how Hashem wants us to live our daily lives in a Jewish way._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Marshall & Doreen LernerDownload & Print the Everyday Judaism Halacha Notes:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RL-PideM42B_LFn6pbrk8MMU5-zqlLG5This episode of the Everyday Judaism Podcast by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH is dedicated to my dearest friends, Marshall & Doreen Lerner! May Hashem bless you and always lovingly accept your prayer for good health, success and true happiness!!!Recorded in the TORCH Centre - Levin Family Studio (B) to a live audience on January 11, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on February 1, 2026_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!_____________#Halacha, #Jewishlaw, #blessings, #Kitzur, #Halacha, #EverydayJudaism, #Hamotzi, #BreakingBread, #NetilatYadayim, #Challah, #SaltOnTable ★ Support this podcast ★

In this Everyday Judaism episode (continuing Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Siman 40), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe completes the laws of netilat yadayim (ritual hand-washing before bread/meals). Key halachot include:Invalid waters: Salty, putrid, bitter, or muddy water is disqualified if unfit even for a dog to drink.Clean hands requirement: Hands must be free of interpositions (chatzitzah)—remove rings, clean under long nails, scrape off substantial dirt/paint; incidental coloring (e.g., ink stains) is not a chatzitzah, but substantial matter (paint, grease) is.For certain occupations (painters, dyers, butchers, scribes): Minor staining from their work is not a chatzitzah unless it covers most of the hand.Dressings/wounds: Band-aids or painful-to-remove coverings are not chatzitzah (same rule applies to mikvah immersion).Dipping foods: Wash hands (no blessing) before eating anything commonly dipped in liquid or still moist from liquid; seven liquids qualify (wine, honey, olive oil, milk/whey, blood [medicinal only], water); fruit juices or liquors generally do not.Preserves & butters: Hardened sugar/honey coatings are not liquid (no washing needed); soft/moist ones are.Hand foods vs. utensil foods: Dip hand-eaten foods require washing; spoon/fork foods do not if no hand contact.Practical notes: Soap is not required; focus on water coverage and one continuous flow.The rabbi stresses spiritual depth: washing humbles us before bread (countering "my power made this wealth") and prepares us for holiness. The episode transitions to Ask Away #28, inviting questions on intentional Judaism.The episode concludes with a transition to the Ask Away #28._____________The Everyday Judaism Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and appreciating the greatness of Jewish heritage and the Torah through the simplified, concise study of Halacha, Jewish Law, thereby enhancing our understanding of how Hashem wants us to live our daily lives in a Jewish way._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Marshall & Doreen LernerDownload & Print the Everyday Judaism Halacha Notes:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RL-PideM42B_LFn6pbrk8MMU5-zqlLG5This episode (Ep. #83) of the Everyday Judaism Podcast by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH is dedicated to my dearest friends, Marshall & Doreen Lerner! May Hashem bless you and always lovingly accept your prayer for good health, success and true happiness!!!Recorded in the TORCH Centre - Levin Family Studio (B) to a live audience on January 4, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on January 26, 2026_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!_____________#Halacha, #Jewishlaw, #blessings, #Kitzur, #NetilatYadayim, #HandWashing, #Halacha, #SpiritualHumility, #EverydayJudaism ★ Support this podcast ★

Gossip feels small, but it quietly fractures the Body. Hardened hearts feel protective, but they slowly separate us from love. In this message from Colossians 1–2, we're invited to let Jesus deal with the inner places that disrupt unity and to become a church rooted, tender, and firmly established in Him. Salt Church in Wilmington, NC, led by Pastors Parker & Jessi Green, exists to know Jesus, worship Him, and do the works He did.Plan Your Visit to SALT Church:https://www.saltchurches.com/Ways to Support the Ministry:https://www.saltchurches.com/givingSubscribe:https://www.instagram.com/saltchurches/Subscribe @saltchurchNC Connect with Parker + Jessi Green:Instagram Parker / https://www.instagram.com/parkerrichardgreen/Instagram Jessi /https://www.instagram.com/jessi.green/Websites https://www.saltchurches.com/https://www.jessi-green.com/https://www.saturateglobal.com/#prayer #bible #biblestudy #saltchurch #revival #parkergreen #jessigreen

In this Everyday Judaism episode (continuing Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Siman 40), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe completes the laws of netilat yadayim (ritual hand-washing before bread/meals). Key halachot include:Invalid waters: Salty, putrid, bitter, or muddy water is disqualified if unfit even for a dog to drink.Clean hands requirement: Hands must be free of interpositions (chatzitzah)—remove rings, clean under long nails, scrape off substantial dirt/paint; incidental coloring (e.g., ink stains) is not a chatzitzah, but substantial matter (paint, grease) is.For certain occupations (painters, dyers, butchers, scribes): Minor staining from their work is not a chatzitzah unless it covers most of the hand.Dressings/wounds: Band-aids or painful-to-remove coverings are not chatzitzah (same rule applies to mikvah immersion).Dipping foods: Wash hands (no blessing) before eating anything commonly dipped in liquid or still moist from liquid; seven liquids qualify (wine, honey, olive oil, milk/whey, blood [medicinal only], water); fruit juices or liquors generally do not.Preserves & butters: Hardened sugar/honey coatings are not liquid (no washing needed); soft/moist ones are.Hand foods vs. utensil foods: Dip hand-eaten foods require washing; spoon/fork foods do not if no hand contact.Practical notes: Soap is not required; focus on water coverage and one continuous flow.The rabbi stresses spiritual depth: washing humbles us before bread (countering "my power made this wealth") and prepares us for holiness. The episode transitions to Ask Away #28, inviting questions on intentional Judaism.The episode concludes with a transition to the Ask Away #28._____________The Everyday Judaism Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and appreciating the greatness of Jewish heritage and the Torah through the simplified, concise study of Halacha, Jewish Law, thereby enhancing our understanding of how Hashem wants us to live our daily lives in a Jewish way._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Marshall & Doreen LernerDownload & Print the Everyday Judaism Halacha Notes:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RL-PideM42B_LFn6pbrk8MMU5-zqlLG5This episode (Ep. #83) of the Everyday Judaism Podcast by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH is dedicated to my dearest friends, Marshall & Doreen Lerner! May Hashem bless you and always lovingly accept your prayer for good health, success and true happiness!!!Recorded in the TORCH Centre - Levin Family Studio (B) to a live audience on January 4, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on January 26, 2026_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!_____________#Halacha, #Jewishlaw, #blessings, #Kitzur, #NetilatYadayim, #HandWashing, #Halacha, #SpiritualHumility, #EverydayJudaism ★ Support this podcast ★

God will use all kinds of ways to get our attention, and today as we study Exodus 8, we'll see that God get's Pharaoh's attention through an total abundance of things they do not want, in order to show everyone, Jew and Egyptian, that there is no God but the Lord. There's a lot here, and it would be a privilege to have you listen in. Join us! DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1. What did the podcast suggest were the reasons why God brought these miracles upon Egypt? What was their role for the Egyptians? What was their role for the Jews? 2. How does Ezekiel 20:5-8 shed light on the spiritual condition of the Jews at this time? 3. Likewise, how does Deuteronomy 4:37 help us understand why God still chooses to deliver these people? How does this help us understand God's mercy and His love for His people even when they sin and rebel against Him? 4. In these passages, how did the so-called "gods" of the Egyptians respond? Why didn't they respond more dramatically? 5. The podcast mentioned that the Egyptians didn't worship frogs and snakes and all that stuff because they loved those things, but because they thought those animals represented the gods who provided wealth and prosperity. These days, we don't look to frogs and snakes for prosperity. Instead, where do people look for these things, instead of the Lord? 6. The podcast mentioned that the goddess Heqet was the goddess of fertility and was represented by frogs. What did the piles of dead frogs show the Egyptians about the Lord's power over life and fertility? 7. Verse 16 Aaron struck the ground and gnats came up. This took on an Egyptian god named "Geb". Were the Egyptian magicians able to create a similar miracle? In verse 19, what did they say about this miracle that God performed through Aaron? 8. The podcast mentioned that the plague of the flies took on the god of creation and rebirth and rising sun named Khepri, who was represented by the face of a bug. What did God's control of the flies show the people about their belief that Khepri controlled the daily cycle of life? 9. In all of this, what was the condition of Pharaoh's heart in verse 32? How do people response similar today, despite seeing God's handiwork all around them? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

SEGMENT 16: NON-NUCLEAR ICBM TO DESTROY UNDERGROUND BUNKERS Guest: Henry Sokolski (Nonproliferation Policy Education Center) Sokolski discusses development of a massive conventional ICBM designed to penetrate hardened underground bunkers without nuclear warheads. Discussion examines strategic rationale for this kinetic weapon against buried Iranian or North Korean facilities, technical challenges of achieving sufficient destructive force, and arms control implications of such capabilities.1956

PREVIEW FOR LATER TODAY: GIANT NON-NUCLEAR ICBM TO DESTROY BUNKERS Guest: Henry Sokolski Sokolski discusses development of a massive conventional ICBM designed to penetrate and destroy hardened underground bunkers without nuclear warheads. Discussion examines the strategic rationale for this weapon, its potential use against buried Iranian or North Korean facilities, technical challenges of achieving sufficient kinetic energy, and arms control implications.1955

This week, we discuss the end of Cloud 1.0, AI agents fixing old apps, and Chainguard vs. Docker images. Plus, the mystery of Dutch broth is finally solved. Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode 556 Runner-up Titles His overall deal Been there and done that been ignoring that shift key for years Cloud is just fine I'll be back in Bartertown The “F” Word Hardened-washing We'll never do this, but we should check back in in 3 months Libraries are the best Elves don't belong in space Rundown Are we at the end of cloud or cloud 1.0 It's the beginning of Cloud 2.0 Spec-driven development system for Claude Code Anthropic and App Modernization A meta-prompting, context engineering and spec-driven development What comes next, if Claude Code is as good as people say. Microsoft Spending on Anthropic Approaches $500 Million a Year Claude Code Won't Fix Your Life Coté and Tony contemplate day two AI-generated apps, and an excerpt. Why We've Tried to Replace Developers Every Decade Since 1969 Well, that escalated quickly: Zero CVEs, lots of vendors Relevant to your Interests Beijing tells Chinese firms to stop using US and Israeli cybersecurity software China blacklists VMware, Palo Alto Networks software over national security fears Kroger taps Google Gemini, announces more key AI moves Texas judge throws out second lawsuit over CrowdStrike outage Apple will pay billions for Gemini after OpenAI declined Dell wants £10m+ from VMware if Tesco case goes against it Tailscale: The Best Free App Most Mac Power Users Aren't Using How WhatsApp Took Over the Global Conversation Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT OpenAI's ARR reached over $20 billion in 2025, CFO says Simon Willison's take on Our approach to advertising and ChatGPT The AI lab revolving door spins ever faster | TechCrunch How Markdown took over the world An Interview with United CEO Scott Kirby About Tech Transformation Conferences cfgmgmtcamp 2026, February 2nd to 4th, Ghent, BE. Coté speaking - anyone interested in being an SDI guest? DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x, March 6th, Pasadena, CA Use code: DEVOP for 50% off. Devnexus 2026, March 4th to 6th, Atlanta, GA. Use this 30% off discount code from your pals at Tanzu: DN26VMWARE30. KubeCon EU, March 23rd to 26th, 2026 - Coté will be there on a media pass. VMware User Groups (VMUGs): Amsterdam (March 17-19, 2026) Minneapolis (April 7-9, 2026) Toronto (May 12-14, 2026) Dallas (June 9-11, 2026) Orlando (October 20-22, 2026) SDT News & Community Join our Slack community Email the show: questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com Free stickers: Email your address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com Follow us on social media: Twitter, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, BlueSky Watch us on: Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté Sponsor the show Recommendations Brandon: The Library will loan you a 5G hotspot Matt: Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (rogue-like Vampire Hunters-type game) Coté: Streamyard shorts generation. Salesforce was inspired by dolphins.

If clay begins to dry, it can become so hard that a potter cannot use it anymore. But if it has not completely hardened, the potter can add moisture and work with the clay until it becomes soft and usable. The human heart is naturally hard and hostile agaisnt God, but He alone is the master potter who can work in us to soften our hearts and use us for His glory. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/581/29?v=20251111

If clay begins to dry, it can become so hard that a potter cannot use it anymore. But if it has not completely hardened, the potter can add moissture and work with the clay until it becomes soft and usable. The human heart is naturally hard and hostile agaisnt God, but He alone is the master potter who can work in us to soften our hearts and use us for His glory. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/791/29?v=20251111

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus (NOT a Morning Mindset resource) ⇒ Listen to our other podcasts: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 3:12–14 - Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, [13] not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. [14] But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. (ESV) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Support a daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: @CareyNGreen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish HINDI version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Hindi CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖~ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/ ***All NON-ENGLISH versions of the Morning Mindset are translated using A.I. Dubbing and Translation tools from DubFormer.ai ***All NON-ENGLISH text content (descriptions and titles) are translated using the A.I. functionality of Google Translate.

Wesley Wright Lighthouse Bible Church Sunday, January 11, 2026 A hardened mind 2Co 3:1-16 Remember, Paul referred to his readers as a letter of sorts (2 Corinthians 3:1) - their lives served as a testimony of the work the Lord was doing via him and the apostles. The Spirit of the living God wrote that "letter," which is better than one written with mere ink (2 Corinthians 3:3). God made the apostles ministers of a new covenant not of the letter but instead of the Spirit. That ministry of death (2Co 3:7) was the Ten Commandments and Old Testament laws/statutes more generally. When you ran afoul of them, you deserved death as a result. Exo 24:12-18 Num 15:32-36 Deu... for full notes: http://www.lbible.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=1771

(3:51) Bible Study: Mark 6:45-52 What makes this the central point in the Gospel of Mark? 1 John 4:11-18 Father talks about love and Agape love. (23:05) Break 1 (26:29) Letters: Father tackles a tough question about choosing who to fie and who to hire. Why’d didn’t they name Jesus Emmanuel in accordance with what the angel said. Father answers these and other questions, send him a letter at simon@relevantradio.com (37:23) Break 2 (38:41) Word of the Day Remain (41:14) Phones: John - Do you when Pope Leo might be coming to the US? 1:53 Mary - Why were there hearts hardened in the reading today? Laura - could you clear up the phrase 'judging the living and the dead'?

Welcome to the Grace in Focus podcast. Today, Philippe Sterling and Sam Marr are answering a question about hearts that have been hardened. Can some hearts become so hard that they get beyond the possibility of eternal salvation? Can hearts be too hard to be able to believe for eternal salvation? If someone is personally

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Even people who sit under the preaching of God's Word every week are capable of hardening their hearts against the truth they hear. Today, Sinclair Ferguson issues a solemn warning from Jesus' parable of the sower. Read the transcript: https://ligonier.org/podcasts/things-unseen-with-sinclair-ferguson/hardened-hearers/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://donate.ligonier.org/ Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts