Month: May 2024

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I like to think I’m a good Christian, then I read Matthew 7:21-23 and it terrifies me.

  • 21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
  • 22On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
  • 23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

It’s worth remembering Ephesians 2:8-10 here (emphasis mine):

  • 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
  • 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
  • 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Context is critical when interpreting the Bible. John 6:40 reveals God’s will through Jesus’ own words (emphasis mine):

  • 40 “For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.“

We need to do the works that God has prepared for us, but always remember it is our faith alone that saves us.

Also see James 2 for an analysis on James’ comment that “faith without works is dead”.

Related:

 

 

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Resources

  • Romans overview (video): Part 1, Part 2
  • Romans is structured as follows:
    • Books 1-4: Revealing God’s Righteousness
    • Books 5-8: Creating a New Humanity
    • Books 9-11: Fulfilling God’s Promise to Israel
    • Books 12-16: Unifying the Church

Romans 5: Creating a New Humanity

Paul structures his main points in Romans with a clear progression, often broken down into four sections:
  • Need for Rescue (Romans 1-4): Here, Paul establishes the universality of sin and its consequences. He argues that both Jews and Gentiles fall short of God’s righteousness.
  • New Covenant Family in Christ (Romans 5-8): This section introduces the concept of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul explains how faith brings forgiveness and adoption into God’s family.The concept of justification by faith is a fundamental tenet of Christianity.

Here’s why it’s so important:

  • Salvation by Grace: Justification by faith emphasizes that salvation comes through God’s grace, not by human merit or good works.
  • Universality of Sin: It acknowledges that all people are inherently sinful and fall short of God’s perfection.
  • Focus on Faith: This doctrine emphasizes faith in Jesus Christ as the key to being declared righteous before God.
However, it’s important to note some nuances:
  • Debate on Emphasis: While justification by faith is widely accepted, some Christian traditions may place more emphasis on good works as evidence of genuine faith.
  • Different Interpretations: There can be debate about the precise meaning of “faith” and “works” within the concept.

Justification by faith remains a foundational principle for many Christians, especially in Protestant theology.By verse:

  • V1:
    • “Therefore” – check why its there for people though they were righteous because they obeyed the law.
      But Abraham believed and was counted justified – before he was circumcised, before he obeyed.
      See Ephesians 2:8: Hebrews – without faith, we cannot please God
      We cannot merit salvation – only by Jesus.
      Jesus paid our price. We are justified on account of the atonement of Christ
  • V2
    • We have access to justice by faith through Christ.
      Through Grace, we get mercy.
  • V3
    • We are preserved through hard times. The three men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were met in the fiery furnace. They were not delivered from it, they were delivered in it. (Daniel 3)
  • V9
    • We in were justified by His blood, we cannot earn this. This is why Jesus came to earth.
  • V10

 

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UPDATE: The issue with the dropping connection appears to have been fixed.

Make sure you:

  • update to the latest version of Phone Link on your PC (run Windows Update)
  • update to the latest version of Link to Windows (app & service) on Android (update from Play Store)
  • grant necessary permissions to Link to Windows (app & service) on Android
  • ensure Link to Windows (app & service) on Android are not battery optimized

You might need to remove and add back your PC to Link to Windows (app & service) on Android.

———

I love accessing my Android phone apps from my PC but the screen mirroring option kept dropping, making it unusable. After trying many things I finally uninstalled the latest update fom Android and it is now working again. No more disconnections. The version I’m using on Android is shown above.

Update: 

Link to Windows seems to have been automatically updated on my Android and the connection started dropping again.

Follow these steps  to re-install the (as of now) working version of Link to Windows (as referenced in the post above):

  • First, a bit of clarification:
    • “Phone Link” is the Windows app that runs on your PC.
    • “Link to Windows” is the Android app that runs on your phone.
  • Uninstall Link to Windows updates on your Android phone by going into Link to Windows and selecting the Uninstall Updates option from the menu in the upper right corner.
  • Unlink your Android device (see here for directions).
    • You might also need to stop and wipe the storage on the Link to Windows app and service on your phone. To do this go into each one’s properties, stop the app or service, click Storage, and wipe the cache and storage for the Link to Windows app the Link to Windows service.
  • I was unable to find the Android version mentioned in the post above from Microsoft so I re-installed it on my phone from this link.
    • Note: the source for this link is obviously not Microsoft so please take appropriate precautions by running virus scans before installing (I do this for things I install from Microsoft also – trust but verify).
    • After installing from the link above, go to Link to Windows app properties on your Android device and ensure all necessary permissions are added back. Link to Windows will not work until you do this (you’ll have to log back into the Link to Windows Android app again).
    • If your PC is still showing up in the Link to Windows Android app you might need to stop and wipe the storage on the Link to Windows app and service on your phone.
      • To do this go into each one’s properties, stop the app or service, click Storage, and wipe the cache and storage for the Link to Windows app the Link to Windows service.
  • Re-link your phone back to your PC using the Link to Windows app (you’ll need to scan a code that Phone Link will generate on your PC).
  • At this point the connection should remain stable when you view your Android screen from your PC.

If you need to remove and re-install the Phone Link app on your PC follow these directions:

  1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
  2. Run this command: Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
  3. Phone Link will be removed from your PC.
  4. Re-install Phone Link from the Microsoft Web Store – this link will pull up Phone Link in the web Store experience.
    • NOTE: Clicking install from the web Store experience will invoke the Store client in Windows, enabling you to re-install Phone Link on your PC.  I’ve tried searching for Phone Link directly in the the Windows Store client but I’ve never been successful in finding it. So annoying.
  5. At this point the Phone Link app should be fully re-installed on your PC. Now follow the instructions above to re-install the working version of Link to Windows on your Android phone and get things reconnected.

Oy, what a pain in the tuchas.

 

 

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Resources

  • Romans overview (video): Part 1, Part 2
  • What is Romans?
    • Romans contains letters from Paul to the churches of Rome.
    • The church of Rome had existed for a long time and was made up of Jews and Gentiles.  Emperor Claudius had banished the Jews from the church for 5 years.  When the Jews returned there was a split between Gentiles and Jews in how they should follow Jesus and practice their faiths. Paul’s letters were an attempt to explain his faith and unite the Jews and the Gentiles into one faith worshiping Jesus. Paul hoped the Roman churches could become a staging ground to enable Paul to expand the church into Spain and beyond.
    • Romans is structured as follows:
      • Books 1-4: Revealing God’s Righteousness
      • Books 5-8: Creating a New Humanity
      • Books 9-11: Fulfilling God’s Promise to Israel
      • Books 12-16: Unifying the Church

Romans 4

Your righteousness is not because of anything you can earn through good deeds. You are saved only because you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as you’re savior and God forgives your sin because of it.

This blessing is for both the Jews and gentiles. The old Jewish laws such as circumcision are no longer required to be saved.