So many people get the “where two or three are gathered” part of this passage wrong. They think it means that Jesus shows up if two Christians are there. But does He leave the room if someone gets up to go to the bathroom? The passage is about church discipline, not prayer or anything else. It means that if you follow his instructions for church discipline, it is as if He is there. The system works, but most churches are too cowardly to do it. It honors him to believe what He said, and it is the best way to love your neighbors.
A former church did a spotless Matthew 18 process, and at a church meeting, they described how a woman was divorcing her husband unbiblically. If she didn’t repent, they would remove her from fellowship. The husband was in the meeting and seemed to appreciate the support. The wife wasn’t there. (We moved at that time, so we don’t know how it ended.)
They also did church discipline on a guy leaving his wife for unbiblical reasons. He became the worship leader at another church, even though the elders at our church warned them of his issues. The wife deeply appreciated how the elders stood by her and did the right thing.
At a Methodist church that we left for doctrinal and many other reasons, a guy had an emotional affair and was divorcing his wife for unbiblical reasons. The female associate pastor (one of the reasons to leave) heard about it but did and said nothing. And the guy had taught the youth for many years. There was zero church leadership involvement or discipline.
Matthew 18:15–20 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
__________
fyi – I’m on Truth Social (https://truthsocial.com/ ) as @1EternityMatters . You can use it on your PC now.
__________
When Lifeway authors get together . . .
__________
__________
It is sad that the country has sunk this low, but a good sign that middle-ground people will shift away from this God-mocking insanity.
__________
Has anyone seen 2000 Mules? Sounds legit. Disappointed that some supposedly conservative outlets are pretending it doesn’t exist. Seems like they should address it whether they agree with it or not.
__________
University Public Health Article Pushes To Cancel ‘Obesity,’ Says ‘Weight-Based Approaches’ Rooted In Racism — I’ve been to remote parts of Kenya 5 times on mission trips. There were surprisingly few fat people, and I can’t recall one truly obese person. They walked and worked a lot and ate healthier food. Some suffered from a lack of food. So no, it isn’t racist to say that obesity is unhealthy.
“Healthy at any size” is a vicious lie designed to virtue signal — or, for some women, to eliminate the competition. It is more like “high blood pressure at any size” or “Type II diabetes at any size.”
__________
Oklahoma Passes Ban On Almost All Abortions Starting At Conception — Good for them! That will save a lot of lives. Almost there. I have great sympathy for rape and incest victims, but we shouldn’t kill the children of rapists. And many abortions are done to hide the crimes of rape and incest. And watch out for skyrocketing false rape claims in Oklahoma.
__________
__________
Waiting for feminists to demand equal representation in these jobs . . .
__________
__________
NFL and NBA Silent About Highly Questionable Spending by Black Lives Matter — Suckers.
BLM deceived the NFL and NBA. BLM is a business, not a movement. A shady one, at that. And yet, neither league will admit it. . . .
The two most influential sports brands in the country didn’t normalize a group protesting racism, they instead promulgated a Marxist, often violent, political organization which enriches themselves rather than helping the causes they pretend to champion.
Sports have not eased racial tensions. Rather, the leagues have assisted in the divide by spreading fear.
Sports have also helped lift a fraudulent organization to enough prominence that it can pay a baby daddy around $1 million. I just hope he gets a mansion out of the deal, too.
__________
Eternity Matters 
When Lifeway authors get together . . .
Priceless!
The lady who said she believed men can get pregnant and have abortions was lying through her teeth; she did want to be “cancelled.” Coward.
When I read the article this week about issues with obesity being racist, I just had to remind myself that to racists, everything is racist.
“Just to be clear…” That one definitely needs to be shared!!!
The last meme really made me laugh!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the Oklahoma bill. I wonder why some pro-life people disparage incremental bills. Like pro-lifers would settle for this. I have a bunch of these “no incremental measures” people who comment at my blog.
LikeLike
I’m leery of the politicians and national groups that profit from the debate on either side – i.e., they are mainly in it for the fundraising. I detest those who are anti-abolitionist, but I’m all for those who want to keep chipping away at it. More lives saved = more lives saved. And I think the incremental laws will drive the point home more and more that if the unborn are worth saving at 6 months (as most oppose late-term abortions), then why not 5 months, or 4, or 3, etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How is it on Truth Social?
LikeLike
OK so far. Some good content, but the usual fluff as well. I don’t know how it will grow, but I’m going to check it out for a bit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍👍👍
LikeLike
I love hearing of states banning, limiting or otherwise confounding the ability to unjustly kill the unborn. I’ll take whatever degree of anti-abortion I can get, and agree that incremental measures have value. Mankind went from total vengeance for the slightest infraction, to an eye for an eye, to turn the other cheek. Some people just need to be weened.
As regards 2000 Mules, I’ve not seen it yet but this is just one more bit of evidence too many won’t consider, because it’s easier to pretend the 2020 election was on the up and up because the MeanTweeter was deposed and that’s all that matters. And gee…aren’t we so much better off now as a result? I hold as responsible all who didn’t vote for Trump.
LikeLiked by 1 person