This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/

On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up

Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Christian Tradition

The word tradition can have two meanings, one secular and one religious. The secular understanding is that tradition is a long-established ritual, custom, or belief that is passed down from one generation to the next. For example, families have certain traditions in the way they celebrate holidays, birthdays, or vacations. Family traditions can be a healthy and positive way to maintain family cohesiveness.

Social traditions can help create a sense of belonging within a community. A school may have a tradition that each year the incoming freshmen are escorted to the first football game by the seniors. Following those traditions builds unity and helps maintain social norms.

In the religious arena, however, tradition can blur the line between God’s truth and man’s invention, thereby confusing many. Christians should view religious tradition with caution.

Religious tradition was in full force during Jesus’ earthly ministry. He often scolded the religious leaders, saying, “You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). The scribes and the Pharisees had added so many of their own ideas to God’s Law that the common people were confused and felt helpless to obey it all. In Mark 7:6–8, Jesus quoted from Isaiah to reprimand the religious leaders, saying, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Notice that the “commandments of men” were being taught as if they were divinely inspired “doctrines.” And that was the problem.

One of the many traditions kept by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day involved a ritualistic hand-washing before meals. The observance of this tradition had nothing to do with cleanliness; the Pharisees’ concern was ceremonial purity. Once, when a Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him, Jesus bypassed the tradition: “His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom” (Luke 11:38, NLT). Jesus had broken no law—nothing in the Mosaic commandments required such hand-washing—but the Pharisee expected conformity to the custom nonetheless. Jesus’ outright disregard of that manmade tradition sets up a clear distinction between what is binding (God’s commands) and what is not binding (human tradition).

Religious traditions that supersede or displace God’s law have been around since the earliest days. They are still in full force within every religion as well as most Christian denominations. The liturgical branches of Christianity have the most obvious traditions, but more relaxed worship venues can have them as well. Most of us have our favorite style of music, method of preaching, organizational structure, and serving routines that we accept without question. When faced with change, we might even feel a sense of moral outrage, as though changing the service format or adding a bass guitar were a direct violation of God’s commands. What we’re really doing, perhaps without even realizing it, is guarding our own pet traditions, just as the Pharisees did. We can even become offended at Jesus, as the Pharisees did, when He disrupts our traditional view of what we think Christianity should look like (see John 9:16).

Scripture has layers of meaning. The more we delve into God’s Word, the more we learn about God, and it often upsets our own ideas. Just when we think we have things figured out and we are certain that we are theologically, morally, and socially right about it all, we uncover another layer that shatters those confidences. When we cling to tradition—whether denominational, theological, or structural—as if it were God’s Word, we keep the door closed on God’s revelation of truth to us. He wants to keep maturing us with the knowlege of Who He is as we continue to pursue Him. But religious tradition is often in the way. “That’s been our tradition for hundreds of years” is the battle cry of the traditionalists. Breaking tradition can be uncomfortable for many, just as it was for the Pharisees (Matthew 5:33–34; Luke 6:26–27). But when we can clearly see the dividing line between our own traditions and God’s truth, we stay humble and pliable as God continues to transform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). 
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-tradition.html

Whenever Jesus publicly healed someone on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused Him of breaking the Sabbath law (Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2, John 5:14; 9:14–16).

God instituted the Sabbath for the Israelites when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8–11). On the seventh day of the week, the Israelites were to rest, remembering that God created the universe in six days and then “rested” on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1–3). The Sabbath was given for the benefit of the people (Mark 2:27) and as a sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:13).

By Jesus’ time, the religious leaders had added burdensome rules that became traditions for keeping the Sabbath and had elevated their own traditions to the level of God’s instructions. It was so bad that, when Jesus’ disciples picked and ate some heads of grain as they walked through a field, the Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath because they were supposedly “harvesting” and “threshing” (Luke 6:1–2).

The Pharisees had so conflated their own standard of holiness with God’s that they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath law. Jesus acted against the Pharisaical interpretation of the law and their traditions,

Just as the Sabbath was originally instituted to give people rest from their work and to turn people to God, so Jesus came to provide us rest from attempting to achieve salvation by our own labors. His sacrifice on the cross made a way for the law to be fulfilled and for righteousness and rest to come to all who trust in His finished work.

The church that I grew up in was a very conservative Baptist church (but didn’t feel rule-bound or oppressive). After I left for college, they actually split over the tradition of the senior deacons having their choice of when to serve or whether the junior deacons would serve with them in a rotation. Many in the congregation held to tradition so closely that they were willing to split the congregation over the continuance of that tradition.

What the opposing groups and the deacons themselves missed is covered in Philippians 2:3-8:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

I would suspect that Christians in organizational authority across the entire Christian spectrum, as well as us, would benefit by a thorough understanding and application of those principles.

The issue concerning any church and its practices should be “Is this biblical?” God is more interested in whether a church is doing His will and obeying His Word than whether it can trace its traditions back through history. Jesus was very concerned about abandoning the Word of God to follow the traditions of men (Mark 7:7). Traditions are not inherently invalid…there are some good and valuable traditions. Again, the issue must be whether a doctrine, practice, or tradition is Biblical. How then do the doctrines, practices, or traditions of any church compare with the teachings of the Word of God?

If a teaching is Biblical (taken in context), it should be embraced. If it is not, if it supercedes or displaces, or adds to or diminishes God’s Word, it should be rejected. Scripture must be the only standard of Christian faith and practice. The Word of God is always true and reliable. The same can never be said of church tradition.

Our guideline is to be: “What does Scripture say?” (Romans 4:3; Galatians 4:30; Acts 17:11). 2 Timothy 3:16-17 declares, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257600/vatican-to-publish-new-document-on-marian-apparitions-next-week

“The Vatican’s doctrine office will publish a new document next week on discerning Marian apparitions and other supernatural events.

The Holy See Press Office announced on Tuesday that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), will unveil new norms for discernment regarding “apparitions and other supernatural phenomena” on Friday, May 17.”

In thinking about apparitions, their reality, their source and their message, we should definitely not pass them off as trivial . . . as though we’re talking about some old lady from Oshkosh who is promoting a piece of toast with a likeness if Christ on it as the most important Christian icon of the 21^st century.

The issue is real . . . and important. False prophets and false Messiahs will definitely appear in the future and will perform great signs and miracles to deceive mankind.

How can we discern counterfeit miracles?
In Matthew 24:24, Jesus warns, “For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” Similarly, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.”

When God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He performed miraculous signs through Moses to prove that Moses was indeed His messenger. However, Exodus 7:22 states, “But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he wouldn’t listen to Moses…” (see also Exodus 7:11 and 8:7). God later demonstrated His superiority by performing miracles the magicians, or more accurately, the demons who were empowering the magicians, weren’t able to replicate (Exodus 8:18; 9:11). But the fact remains that Pharaoh’s magicians were able to perform miracles. So, if miracles can be from either God or the demonic world, how are we to discern the difference?

The Bible doesn’t give specific instructions on how to recognize counterfeit miracles. The Bible does, however, give specific instructions on how to recognize counterfeit messengers. “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16, 20). First John 4:2-6 elaborates, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that doesn’t acknowledge Jesus isn’t from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist … They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever isn’t from God doesn’t listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

These two passages present two methods for recognizing a false teacher. First, examine his/her fruit. Does he/she display the Christlikeness that is a qualification for a messenger from God (1 Timothy 3:1-13)? Second, examine his/her teaching. Is what he/she teaches in agreement with God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; 4:2; Hebrews 4:12)? If the teacher fails either of these tests, he/she isn’t from God. It doesn’t matter how many miracles are present. If a person doesn’t walk the truth or teach the truth, we can discount any miracles he/she performs. Miracles performed by a false teacher aren’t from God.

In the New Testament, miracles were performed almost exclusively by the apostles and their close associates. The miracles served to validate the gospel message and the ministry of the apostles (Acts 2:43; 5:12; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4). While we should never doubt God’s ability to perform miracles, the biblical purpose of miracles should give us a degree of skepticism concerning reports of modern-day miracles. While it isn’t biblical to say that God never performs miracles, the Bible is clear that we are to seek after truth, not miracles (Matthew 12:39).

It is an interesting conundrum that miracles in the Bible validated the messenger, and yet today, miracles aren’t necessarily an indicator for a true messenger of God. The difference is God’s Word. Today we have the complete canon of Scripture, and it is an infallible guide. We have a more sure Word (2 Peter 1:19) we can use to discern whether a messenger and a message is from God. Miracles can be counterfeited. That is why God points us to His Word. Signs and wonders can lead us astray. God’s Word will always light the true path (Psalm 119:105).
https://www.gotquestions.org/counterfeit-miracles.html

Apparitions are certainly attention-getting, but what’s more important is the message the apparition brings and the effect that message may have on mankind.

Can the elect be deceived (Matthew 24:24)?
In what is often referred to as His Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Jesus speaks about events that will take place before His second coming. One of the warnings Christ gives is this: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (verse 24).

The Greek word translated “elect” is eklektós, which means “chosen ones.” It’s a term used a number of times in the New Testament to refer to true believers in Jesus (e.g., Luke 18:7; Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12). Will the false miracles performed by the false messiahs and prophets in the end times be so convincing that even born-again believers will be led astray?

There are two reasons why the answer to this question is “no.” First, nearly all Bible commentators agree that the grammatical construction of the verse and its parenthetical statement “if possible” strongly point to such a thing being out of the question. The deception will be strong, the miracles will seem real, and the intent will be to mislead everyone, including the elect. But God’s grace will prevail. His chosen ones won’t be drawn away into deception.

Second, the Bible firmly speaks to the fact that the elect are protected by God from deceptions that would result in eternal separation from Christ. Paul tells us that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:4); Peter says that the chosen “are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5); and Jude says that the chosen are “beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1). The elect will persevere in God’s strength.

With respect to following false Christs, Jesus says, “He who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply won’t follow, but will flee from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers” (John 10:2–5). The sheep know their Shepherd.

Being deceived is a mark of the unregenerate: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures” (Titus 3:3). After salvation, we may stray from the truth at times, but the Bible makes it clear that the elect of God can’t be deceived to the extent of being finally lost. If God’s chosen ones could be deceived in such a way, God’s choice of them would be defeated, and that isn’t possible. All who are in Christ have been predestined, called, justified, and will eventually be glorified (Romans 8:30). They have been given to Christ; and of all those who have been given to Him, He will lose none (John 10:28).
https://www.gotquestions.org/elect-deceived.html

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you aren’t alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. (Matthew 24:4-11)

For then shall be great tribulation, such as wasn’t since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:21-27)

The Beast from the Earth
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as wouldn’t worship the image of the beast to be killed. (Revelation 13:11-15)

The Man of Lawlesness
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day won’t come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)

From https://trinfinity8.com/strange-holograms-in-the-sky/ –
“In late 1991, the JFK Center and School for Special Warfare appears to have looked into a psy-ops holographic system able to project persuasive messages and three-dimensional images of clouds, smoke, rain, buildings, and even religious figures and images to use as persuasive messages for worldwide applications. Many of the futuristic vehicles of terrestrial origin carry advanced directed energy weapon technologies using broad-band holographic technology to easily ‘cloak’ or conceal and/or present false targets.”
“The lesson here is not to be fooled by holographic images in the sky as signs from God—especially wearing the face of Jesus, Allah, or even alien invaders. They are nothing more than tools for manipulation of the masses. Governments are capable of deceit as we all well know. John Lear, a retired airline captain, former Lockheed L-1011 Captain and CIA pilot, as well as the son of the famous inventor of the Lear Jet, believes this technology might also have been used in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11.”

[Imagine what the powers that be have up their sleeves with Project Blue Beam 33 years after 1991.]

“Beware of false flag events from those in authority that tell you what is best for you. Stay conscious, cautious, and be aware. These are challenging times as we all search for answers and Truth.”