Tag: #Relationship

United Church of God: Be genuinely happy for your friend’s accomplishments.

August 12, 2025
Becky Sweat

The first part of Romans 12:15 says to “rejoice with those who rejoice.” Truth be told, we’re not always inclined to do this. Many times in our dog-eat-dog world, people find themselves competing with friends, sinking to envy if a companion one-ups them. But there’s no way two people can be close if one is jealous of the other.

In a strong, healthy relationship, friends rejoice in each other’s achievements, successes and blessings. There’s no rivalry, envy, comparisons between them, or one person trying to out-do the other. Each person wants the other to do well, even if it means being outshone. Good friends find true happiness in each other’s happiness, always cheer

ing the other on to do his or her very best. That includes when your friend gets the job promotion you wanted, goes on a luxurious vacation you could never afford, or is accepted to the college you couldn’t get into.

We need to remind ourselves that as wonderful as these achievements are, what’s most important is that we’re the kind of people who want to build up others and cheer them on to success (as we’re told to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:11), even if that means they’re going to pass us up. Doing so strengthens our relationships, and it’s also the kind of character God wants to see in us.
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Prophecy News Watch: When AI Starts Deciding What Matters.

Meta’s patent takes that concern considerably further.

The proposed system would not simply capture everything indiscriminately. It could use facial-recognition algorithms to identify people, evaluate facial expressions, incorporate information about the wearer’s relationship with those individuals and use eye-gaze information to determine which subjects deserve focus.

In Meta’s dinner-party example, the technology could recognize people important to the wearer and automatically assemble memorable moments afterward.

That sounds convenient.

But consider the same capability from the perspective of everyone else in the room.

You may not merely be visible to another person.

You may be visible to a computer system attempting to determine who you are, what expression is on your face and whether something you just did qualifies as an interesting event.

That moves wearable technology from recording reality toward interpreting reality.

And the people being interpreted may never have agreed to participate.
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Because God Created the Family, We Should Expect to Find Benefits to the Family

The United States Government has published a report which gives the Benefits of Healthy Marriages.

 

The Benefits of Healthy Marriages for Women:

  • More satisfying relationship.
  • Emotionally healthier.
  • Wealthier.
  • Less likely to be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other violent crimes.
  • Less likely to attempt or commit suicide.
  • Decrease risk of drug and alcohol abuse.
  • Less likely to contract STD’s.
  • Less likely to remain or end up in poverty.
  • Have better relationships with their children.
  • Physically healthier.

For men:

  • Live longer.
  • Physically healthier.
  • Wealthier.
  • Increase in the stability of employment.
  • Higher wages.
  • Emotionally healthier.
  • Decrease risk of drug and alcohol abuse.
  • Have better relationships with their children.
  • More satisfying sexual relationship.
  • Less likely to commit violent crimes.
  • Less likely to contract STD’s.
  • Less likely to attempt or commit suicide.

For children:

  • More likely to attend college.
  • More likely to succeed academically.
  • Physically healthier.
  • Emotionally healthier.
  • Less likely to attempt or commit suicide.
  • Demonstrate less behavioral problems in school.
  • Less likely to be a victim of physical or sexual abuse.
  • Less likely to commit delinquent behaviors.
  • Less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol.
  • Have a better relationship with their mothers and fathers.
  • Decrease their chances of divorcing when they get married.
  • Less likely to become pregnant as a teenager, or impregnate someone.
  • Less likely to be sexually active as teenagers.
  • Less likely to contract STD’s.
  • Less likely to be raised in poverty.

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Having the mind of (and relationship with) Christ.

I’d like to start sharing posts I’ve read that catch my mind and heart and will hopefully serve to strengthen your faith. This actually works out because I’ve left Substack (which means I can no longer comment on my favorite Substack blogs), BUT I can at least share them with you here when a great […]

Having the mind of (and relationship with) Christ.

Crosswalk : Renounce Ungodliness

Casey B. Hough
Updated Aug 07, 2026

The renunciation of ungodliness is essentially what it looks like to live a life marked by repentance.

Repentance is not a one-time event.

Instead, repentance is a full renunciation of godless living.

Christians must not drift back into the abyss of sin from which God has delivered them.

We have received the Spirit of God that we might no longer be “debtors to the flesh” (Romans 8:12-17).

Thus, Paul declares that those of us who have responded to God’s grace in Christ Jesus Spirit of God must “deny godlessness” to live a “sensible and righteous life” before God (Titus 2:12-13).

7. How you treat each other’s families.

As a little girl, I often said that I wanted someone in my life who looked after and treated my parents and siblings the way I hope to treat theirs: with a lot of respect, kindness, and love. If you want your relationship to be long-term, you need to bond with each other’s families and try to grow closer to them. In times when your partner fights with his or her family, it is important to be able to give them perspective as opposed to blindly agreeing with them.

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Prophecy News Watch: Russia And China Do Not Need A Formal Alliance

The strategic relationship between Moscow and Beijing makes the problem even more dangerous.

China has provided Russia with dual-use components that support its military-industrial base. Russia can offer China battlefield knowledge, advanced military technology and lessons from years of sustained warfare. The two countries also conduct joint exercises and share a desire to weaken American influence.

Their interests are not identical, and neither government fully trusts the other. But a formal alliance is unnecessary.

China benefits when Russia absorbs American resources in Europe. Russia benefits when China forces the United States to concentrate ships, aircraft and missiles in Asia. Every American weapon sent to one theater is a weapon unavailable in the other.

This creates a strategic form of cooperation even without coordinated battle plans.

Science, Public Health Policy and the Law: Federal Court Rules Against Amish Families in Religious Exemption Case — Will Supreme Court Have the Last Word?

By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.

A federal court last week ruled against a group of Amish parents who sought religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements for their children — a ruling that legal experts suggest may lead to a U.S. Supreme Court showdown that could determine the future of religious exemptions nationwide.

In its ruling in Miller v. McDonald, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said New York State’s law eliminating religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements is “neutral and generally applicable,” doesn’t discriminate against specific religious practices and furthers the state’s interest in protecting the public from disease.

The plaintiffs, a group of parents and representatives of Amish schools in New York, sued New York’s Department of Health and Department of Education in 2023, alleging the state’s law barring religious exemptions violates the U.S. Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause under the First and 14th Amendments.
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Science, Public Health Policy and the Law: Federal Court Rules Against Amish Families in Religious Exemption Case — Will Supreme Court Have the Last Word?

By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.

A federal court last week ruled against a group of Amish parents who sought religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements for their children — a ruling that legal experts suggest may lead to a U.S. Supreme Court showdown that could determine the future of religious exemptions nationwide.

In its ruling in Miller v. McDonald, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said New York State’s law eliminating religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements is “neutral and generally applicable,” doesn’t discriminate against specific religious practices and furthers the state’s interest in protecting the public from disease.

The plaintiffs, a group of parents and representatives of Amish schools in New York, sued New York’s Department of Health and Department of Education in 2023, alleging the state’s law barring religious exemptions violates the U.S. Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause under the First and 14th Amendments.

Just The News: Trump administration formally bans gain-of-function research.

By Misty Severi
Published: July 28, 2026 10:00pm
Updated: July 28, 2026 10:16pm

The State and Health and Human Services departments claim that although biomedical research has produced lifesaving vaccines and medical breakthroughs, it must never come at the expense of public safety or national security.

he Trump administration announced Tuesday it has officially banned gain-of-function research, claiming it has the potential to threaten lives and undermine national security if not properly restricted and controlled.

The State and Health and Human Services departments claim that although biomedical research has produced lifesaving vaccines and medical breakthroughs, it must never come at the expense of public safety or national security.

The policy change comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year that banned federal funding for gain-of-function research in countries like China, which is believed to be at the heart of the COVID-19 lab leak in Wuhan.

The two departments said in a joint statement that an “America First approach to scientific research means ensuring that taxpayer dollars are never used to support dangerous gain-of-function research … in the United States or abroad.”

The new policy also prohibits federal support for gain-of-function research, strengthens oversight of other high-risk life sciences research, and restricts funding for research conducted in countries that lack appropriate safety, security, and oversight standards.

“Scientific leadership requires both innovation and responsibility,” the departments said. “The United States will continue to support biomedical research that develops vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other lifesaving medical countermeasures while ensuring that the highest-risk research is subject to rigorous safeguards.

“We encourage our international partners to join us in ending dangerous gain-of-function research and adopting strong biosafety and biosecurity standards that make the world safer, more secure, and better prepared for future biological threats,” they added.

The policy was developed by top officials including Undersecretary of State Tom DiNanno and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya.
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