Leo Tolstoy knew plenty about the rank injustice, evil, and sheer brutishness that have dominated the world throughout history. He’d witnessed a public execution in Paris and had lived through the European revolutions of 1848, as well as the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, followed by the ultra-repressive regime of Alexander III.
By the end of the century, Tolstoy was reading daily newspaper reports about workers’ riots, bloody bombings by revolutionary terrorists, religious persecution, and pogroms.
And what counts is this:
Having lived through all of that, he never lost his faith in the possibility of goodness, of human promise.
In his seventies, Tolstoy asked to be buried on the spot where, as a boy, he and his brother Nikolai had discovered a little green stick — a stick on which they believed was inscribed the secret to universal happiness.
“And just as I believed then, that there is a little green stick, on which is written the secret that will destroy all evil in people, and give them great blessings,”
Tolstoy wrote in his Recollections (1902),
“so now I believe that such a truth exists and that it will be revealed to people and will give them what it promises.”
In War and Peace, one of Tolstoy’s finest literary achievements, no character embodies the spirit of idealism more than Pierre Bezukhov, the big-hearted, bespectacled Russian count who at the beginning of the novel inherits the largest fortune in Russia. After that, he enters into a disastrous marriage, becomes a leading Freemason before growing disillusioned with its politics, botches his attempts to free the peasants on his estate, and eventually winds up as a French prisoner of war during Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia.
Then, just when he thinks things can’t possibly get worse, Pierre is brought before a firing squad. Prepared to die, he discovers, miraculously, that he has been escorted there only as a witness. Still, the sight of the blindfolded factory worker being shot in the head (which Pierre well realizes might just as easily have been him) is enough to shatter his every illusion he’s ever had about his own power, every ounce of his faith in
“the world’s good order, in humanity’s and his own soul, and in God.”
Yet he survives, both physically and spiritually, and emerges from captivity neither cynical nor bitter, but with a redoubled commitment to the ideals he has always believed in.
“I don’t say we should oppose this or that. We may be mistaken,”
He tells his wife after the war, upon returning from St. Petersburg, where Pierre has been trying to unite conservatives and liberals, who are at each other’s throats over the future direction of the country.
“What I say is: let’s join hands with those who love the good, and let there be one banner — active virtue.”
We all have to choose between life and work, words between people or words on paper, white screens or social and other media.
Everything around us may inspire us and bring us further “on route”, so let the words, be it vocally or on paper or in books, always bring life into us and spread life to others.
Equipping The Saints on the 24th of December 2014 found himself enjoying that Christmas Eve evening by watching one of his favourite of all time films and he had to talk to you about the movie, and the times.
Original poster for the 1947 Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies
Seaton, George American screenwriter and director original name George Stenius April 17, 1911 South Bend, Indiana, U.S. July 28, 1979 Beverly Hills, California American screenwriter and film director who was perhaps best known for his work on Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and The Country Girl (1954), both of which earned him Academy Awards for best screenplay. The son of Swedish immigrants, raised in Detroit, got his breakthrough with the holiday classic about a young girl (Natalie Wood) who begins to believe that the elderly man (Edmund Gwenn in an Oscar-winning performance) hired to play Santa Claus at Macy’s department store might actually be St. Nick. After a jealous fellow employee frames him for an assault, Kringle is placed in a mental hospital. At the ensuing sanity hearing, Kringle and his attorney attempt to prove that he is indeed Santa Claus.
The actor John Johnson who played the official Santa Claus for St. Albans finds that Gwenn who starred in the 1947 holiday film classic, helped set the standard for what a movie Santa Claus is supposed to be. When we were children looking forward for the many presents we could find under the Christmas tree we nearly every year got to see a performance of a homespun Christmas Street with a group of neighbours smitten by sugar-plum dreams and equipped with lots of extension cords, Santas, Snoopys, and inflatable snowmen, nativity scenes and teddy bears, model trains and flashing rooftop sleighs. In several stage versions we got to see as a child the scoundrels were mad more obvious and there were more of them. Also according to the times and popularity of names, the names of some of the characters were adapted to be more contemporary and to find more recognisable characters.
Some of our friends had lost their dad in the war and others had their parents working so hard that they had not so much time for their kids. also the writer of 121714 – Christmas In The 50s his step-father was usually away from home working as a merchant seaman, so his mother would take his younger brother, sister, and him “downtown” on shopping excursions.
My mother was very good at shopping and not letting us know that all of the wrapped boxes “were not really ours.” As with many downtown shopping areas in America “in the 50s,” we had streets in my home town that were lined with tall buildings, such as Sears, Penny’s, Woolworth’s, McCrory’s, Kress’s, and you know the rest of them. The streets were nicely decorated with “Christmas” markings (not Happy Holidays yet!). The store personnel would always say, “Merry Christmas,” without the fear of being fired! {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}
Here in Belgium in front of nearly every big store there were Christmas singers for a good cause and the Salvation Army was unmistakably part of the Christmas Season picture. In town you could not pass one shopping street without finding a Salvation Army band singing carols, around their little ‘fire’.
At that time the shops were still so incredibly decorated we just went to gaze in front of the shopwindows for all the magic bringing us into many special Christmas dreams. Everywhere you could feel the special spirit and people seemed much more friendly than the rest of the year.
My family didn’t have a car, so we would always ride a city busy or take a cab. The drivers were very friendly and would also give “Christmas greetings” to us. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}
Global warming had not reached us and we still could find real Winters with freezing cold days, having people to warm themselves very warm.
Equipping The Saints can remember the long kelly green coat that his mother wore;
she always had a wide black belt around the coat; and, she would have on black high heels – she had given up on wearing a hat and white gloves (sort of what Aunt Bea would wear!). And, we didn’t have a television at home. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}
We at home having one of the first television had that extra dimension in the holiday period able to see the Christmas specials in the salon, after we had spend hours of reading in the library of the house and having had nice Christmas sweets in the lounge and some interesting chats in the parlour.
The writer of 121714 – Christmas In The 50s was very envious of the people of his age who were able to do their “downtown shopping” in the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis and the other large cities.
The stores that are mentioned in “Miracle On 34th Street,” such as Macy’s, Gimbel’s, Stern’s, Bloomingdale’s, McCreery’s and Hearns must have been wonderful places to shop. In the movie, a Macy’s store employee referred a shopper over to Gimble’s for an item that cost $2.98; can you imagine that? the price or the courtesy! {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}
The Christmas window displays seen in the film were originally made by Steiff for Macy’s. Macy’s later sold the window displays to FAO Schwarz in New York. FAO Schwarz then sold the windows to the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they are on display every December in the bank’s lobby on North Water Street. {Miracle on 34th Street (in the United Kingdom first released as The Big Heart}
On the stage as well on the screen many versions saw the light and tried to bring some nice atmosphere in the Winter Holiday season. today there doe snot seem such a search for family warmth and ‘togetherness’ any more and the shops do not make so much work for decorating their shop-windows. In the shops and at the Christmas markets everything focusses on material gadgets and on alcoholic drinks, whilst non-peaceful music is yelling out of the loudspeakers. Though I must agree it sometimes was too much of having for weeks all those Christmas songs and jingle bells coming out our ears. 😉
Equipping The Saints thinks rightly that many of our age have those “Miracle on 34th” times of Thanksgiving and Christmas memories neatly and protectively stored in the wonderful areas of our minds. He writes
I can vividly remember how J.C. Penny looked on Broughton Street; Sears & Roebuck was actually located about a mile away. Lerner’s was a dress store, kind of high-end, that made me really think that I was in New York… I trust that you will always cherish those memories, just as I do.
America in her generous bid to be tolerant and welcoming, has completely lost the essence of benevolence. She has allowed tolerance not only consume and blind her, but now, the many she welcomed with open arms are threatening to usurp her original self and traits. I know this country has seen many ugly sides such as slavery and denigration of fellow man, I do not speak of these times or traits, but rather of true fellowship of his ways and words, and the freedom to practice so, without being labeled one ridiculous thing or the other.
What about these generosities be reverted and extended to the people of America who still have traditional values and beliefs, regardless of how politically incorrect some may view their take?
I have a different sort of memory myself growing up in Christmas times back in Nigeria. It was a period of joy and celebration for us. A time when parents travelled back with families from cities to small hometown and villages, so the extended kin can all gather to celebrate our Lord and gift.
Many kids got their very own new cloths or shoes for the first time that period because parents saw it as a good time to reach deep into very thin pockets to give as Christ gave to their kids.
Total strangers would give kids money or sweets, and families would invite strangers off the streets to sup or dine with them. It depicted true brotherhood and such were glory days.
Today, it’s completely different. There are rapes, murders, crime of all imaginable sorts, and small hometowns and villages now overrun with thuggery, kidnapping ,rage and you name it.
The utopia Christmas no longer exits, and kids are no longer happy with sweets, new clothes and shoes or a simple supper. Everyone wants a mac, kindle, I Phone 6 or tablet, …
People of faith and followers of Christ are made to feel inferior for having an opinion and the very government that should protect everyone’s right to free worship, is now the same stifling some who want to celebrate our Lord.
We don’t all have to believe in the same thing, but the founding fathers of these united states as many mistakes as they made, in my humble opinion got one thing right… That is stating firmly that In God We trust. America is not and will never be anything other than In God We trust. If only present people will allow us follow our oath.
***
A fragment of the 1947 film with the little Dutch Girl and Mary Field as her Mother, where the child shows the true spirit of Christmas, to be with some one loved. After she tells the Santa she does not need anything else than to say with the nice lady she sings the Dutch Saint Nicholas song in Dutch “Sinterklaas kapoentje”
Many times we look for solutions in the wrong directions. Often we have an idea of difficult solutions when they could be so simple, and there lying in front of us, without us noticing them. At moments we also can loose trust in the Higher Being because it looks as if we do not get the answer to our question right away. When we look at it, after we needed some patience, we shall see that the Most High always provides the best answer in our, but mainly also in His interest, and at His time.
We should trust Him more and give our live in His hands instead of directing it so much ourselves.
+
To remember
Scrambling for cover > crawled inside one of the caves.
After praying … he thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one.”
“what I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”
“I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”
Facing times of great trouble it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways.
With God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Trust and believe that He is with you always. Just ask for his help and you will see His great power and love for you.
Encouragement! (whatshotn.wordpress.com)
…”In the time of the Old Testament, wild animals were much more prevalent in the Middle East than they are today. The Bible mentions lions…Judges 14:5…wolves Jeremiah 5:6…bears…1 Samuel 17:34…leopards…Hosea 13:7…and hyenas…Isaiah 13:22…Although stone walls could keep predators away from living areas and livestock, the walls would have to be very tall and would take a long time to make…
Ear Maggots- Woman Has 57 Maggots Removed (blogpestcontrol.com) Imagine an excruciating burning and itching inside your ear. After three days of constant pain and ear tugging, you are shocked to discover a maggot crawling out of your ear; and the worst part… Not being able to tell anybody about it! That’s exactly what happened to 92 year old Catherine McCann of Arlington Heights, Illinois.
The Example of Nehemiah (Part 2) – The Enemy (flaniganjames.wordpress.com)
Non-believers explain away the existence of God and convince themselves that His divine attributes are accredited to some impersonal “force” of nature. Like the saying made popular by the Star Wars movies, “the force be with you”, they believe in some mysterious, unknown force that can possibly be harnessed by a select few “masters” who can train their senses to connect with this force to control it for their purposes, thus placing human beings as the highest form of life in the universe. This lie goes back to the garden where Eve was told that if she ate the apple she would be “like God”. Popular today is the phrase “thank the universe” as if to honor this unknown force that somehow controls our fate.
Giant Spider In The Pants (blogpestcontrol.com)
While at work today, I got a frantic phone call from my four year old daughter.
“Daddy,” she cried. “I went to put on my pants and out jumped a big spider!”
“It’s scary Daddy!” “We caught in a jar.”
After a examining the spider, and talking to some spider control professionals, I was able to determine that the spider in question was a Giant Arizona Crab Spider; a common spider in Arizona.
During World War II, a US Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire, he had lost touch with his comrades.
Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.”
After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He…
Lifestyle and Readers Digest Magazine founded by Marcus Ampe on the 26th of March 2014
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This site does not want to be a specific religious site, though now and then religious articles may be presented. The main interest on this site is about worldly matters, social affairs and the behaviour of human beings in this universe.
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Recent Posts on the other Lifestyle Magazine: Stepping Toes
Geschapen mens God heeft de mens geschapen naar Zijn beeld en als Zijn gelijkenis. Maar hij werd niet zo geprogrammeerd, dat hij alleen maar kon doen wat God wilde. De mens werd geschapen met een vrije wil en heeft dus keuzevrijheid. God stelt ons door middel van Zijn opvoedingsproces voor keuzes. Uit wat wij kiezen, […]
Vervolg van Bijbel en Wetenschap – Geloof en onderzoek een wetenschappelijke benadering Het bewijs van Gods bestaan 1. De weg van veel goden naar geen God 2. De weg van de filosofie Bij de discussie over de vraag of je Gods bestaan wel of niet kunt bewijzen, of zelfs maar zou moeten bewijzen, moet je […]
Vragen naar het goede Nu kwam er iemand naar Jezus toe met de vraag: ‘Meester,wat voor goed moet ik doen om het eeuwige leven te verwerven?’ Hij antwoordde: ‘Waarom vraag je me naar het goede? Er is er maar één die goed is. Als je het leven wilt binnengaan, houd je dan aan zijn geboden’. […]
“Many in the church have turned their back on serious study, and have embraced an anti-intellectualism which refuses to learn anything from scholarship at all lest it corrupt their pure faith. It is time to end this stand-off, and to re-establish a hermeneutic of trust (itself a sign of the gospel!) in place of the […]
Many who call themselves Christian do like to follow Augustine, even more than Christ. they do agree with him that reading the Bible is no longer necessary once God had fully cultivated faith, hope, and love in us (On Christian Doctrine, 1.39). In other words, according to them, once we are mature in Christ, the […]
Pew Research Center asked thousands of Americans where they find meaning in life. Their responses were rich, thoughtful and varied. Here are just a few examples of what they told us… “That’s a gosh darn big question for a survey like this, I’m used to the check boxes. I find meaning in career, family, spiritual […]
GOD DESIGNED HUMAN NATURE FOR LOVE By Jesse Morrell Everything God created has a function and a design. God created human nature. Therefore, human nature has a proper function and a design. What is the proper function that human nature was designed by God for? “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by […]
Nederlandse Reformatorische christenen beweren dat wij mensen vanuit onszelf niets zijn. Dat zou maar heel erg zijn. Gelukkig is dat niet zo en mogen wij er op aan dat elk menselijk wezen, gelovig of niet gelovig, wel degelijk “iets” en zelfs “iemand” is. Ieder individu heeft een eigenwaarde en heeft ook iets te betekenen in […]
President Trump, long a trafficker in anti-Semitic stereotypes, treated American Jews to a classic anti-Semitic canard Tuesday afternoon. When asked about two Congresswomen, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, who had been barred from Israel at Trump’s own behest, he broke out an oldie but a goodie from the closet of anti-Semitic tropes. “Any Jewish people […]
Thoughts by and a Look at the world by Marcus Ampe on: Marcus Ampe's Space
Belgium has had already its Black Sunday long before a bleak period came over the United States by fear mongering having succeeded and getting a bugaboo a victory. Lots of people were caught in the nets of influencers like Bella Hadid, Kylie Jenner and Meghan Markle, not noticing how they were bombarded with advertisements by […]
From the New World came the most amount of fancy stories in the year 2019. One can wonder how many people In the U.S.A. really believed all the nonsense or false stories Donald Trump produced from his mouth and from his department. November 21, Donald Trump called himself the great man who opened a major […]
Since a few years some world leaders seem to have their hands on one stomach. They are really of the same kind, so their unity or similar speech should not surprise us. Only problem is that so many people are carried away by their eloquence or ability to overwhelm others with their voice and attitude. […]
It looks like it were only a few days which were given us to prove once more how mankind is a hero in putting its head in sand. Worst of all, was to see how millions of animals did not find a way out to escape the blazing fire, that managed to put to ash […]
We may not forget that reducing the greenhouse gas emissions shall not only have an impact at global warming of 1.5, 2, 4 and 6°C but shall have implications for food, water security, energy security, flooding, infrastructure, ecosystems, health, and human migration. The increase in global mean surface temperature (GMST), which reached 0.87°C in 2006–2015 […]
Already months we can find youngsters coming on the streets to wake up politicians, opening their eyes for the miserable predicament for our climate and conservation of plants and animals. This week, leaders from some of the most heavily polluting industries on the planet – shipping, aviation, iron and steel to name a few – […]
The European Union is only e very tiny part of the world surface. In that Union loads of languages are spoken and it is very important to come to a harmonious co-existence of 24 official languages. It is one of the most distinctive features of the European project. Multilingualism is not only an expression of […]
Today’s thought “Which is the great commandment …?” (January 20) Today Matthew’s record of the life of our Lord reveals how events were building up to a climax. Jesus was becoming more challenging in his contact with the Pharisees and Sadducees; he bluntly tells the Sadducees they “are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures […]
Today’s thought “They were indignant” (January 19) Today’s Matthew 21 is full of drama and thought-challenging incidents. The opposition to Jesus caused by his popularity had reached fever pitch. The religious leaders were afraid to take any action against him because his popularity had become so intense. We read of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, […]
In March 1885 the founding editor, Thomas Williams, sent out the first edition of The Christadelphian Advocate magazine to the brotherhood of Christadelphians The revival of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus came about in the mid-eighteen hundreds through one John Thomas, whose indefatigable labours in the glorious cause of truth, have resulted […]
Once again for the month of January, the Birmingham Christadelphian Office’s extensive range of e-books is available at half price. This applies to all Office publications, which number around 180 titles, except the hymn book. This makes January the ideal time to add to your electronic library, or possibly to start one. All the e-books […]
Tensions between the USA and Iran escalated towards the end of 2019, culminating early this month with the killing in Iraq of Iran’s second most powerful figure, General Qasem Soleimani, in an American airstrike. President Trump justified his decision to act in this way by claiming that “Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on […]
Recent Posts by the Brethren in Christ: Broeders in Christus
Wanneer de mens wil zien wie hem heeft gemaakt en zijn eigen fouten erkent in zijn bereidheid om dichter bij zijn Schepper te komen, kan hij zijn problemen loslaten, ze aan de Allerhoogste geven, en als een oprechte er toe komen om gepassioneerd glorieuze liederen te zingen om Hem, omdat door Hem alles op zijn juiste plaats staat.
Slechtheid en egoïsme zorgden ervoor dat mensen zelf voor god probeerden te spelen en dominantie over anderen wilden verkrijgen. Een dergelijke houding van in het vlees zijn maakte dat de meerderheid de majesteit van God verloor.
Wanneer we ons verhaal over ons falen aan God durven komen te vertellen en bereid zijn om ons wangedrag toe te geven, zal God willen luisteren en onze zonden vergeven.
Rond de jaarwisseling zijn er heel wat mensen die nieuwjaarskaarten sturen en anderen veel voorspoed en geluk toewensen. Maar wat mag dat geluk betekenen of inhouden?
Hoe vaak moeten we geconfronteerd worden met moeilijkheden of moeilijke tijden doorstaan? Bij het lezen van het boek Psalmen voor vandaag, zien we dat David tot zijn Allerhoogste God bidt, op wie hij bereid is al zijn vertrouwen te stellen. David geeft toe dat hij in moeilijkheden zit en dat hij de Eeuwige Elohim Jehovah […]
In Scripture, all things are directed towards a man who was a servant of servants, in whom people should come to have faith. First we saw the connection with Eve and her seed, and in this article you may see the connection with Abraham.
Already in the Old Testament we find the focus on a son of man who is called the son of God, who shall be the most pure set apart (holy) servant of God who was been told about in the Garden of Eden, to be the one bruised.
Many Old Testament writers wrote about the prophet to come, about whom is spoke in the book of Moses and who shall be the special “Seed of a woman” given by God and who will bruise Satan’s head whilst his heel would be bruised with nails on the wooden stake.
Jewish and Christian literature since the time of Yeshua or Jeshua have pointed to Genesis 3:15 as the first reference to the Messiah in the Torah. Genesis 3:15 NHEBJE I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his […]
The first human beings had chosen to go their own path. As any good father would do when his children had done something wrong, God punished them. But as a loving Father He in His great mercy promised for a solution and preserved David’s bloodline and the Messianic promise. Mankind had chosen Yet, we each […]
Recent Posts: Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
Matthew 24:9-14 – The Acts of the Apostles Foretold || Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-19 MT24:9 {MK13:9 “But, (LK21:12 before all these things[1]) you look after yourselves:[2] they will turn you over to Sanhedrins[3] (LK21:12 and synagogues[4] and prisons) to be beaten and flayed. And you will stand before kings and governors[5] on my account (LK21:12 […]
Matthew 24:4-8 – The Answer: Part One – Beware Being Misled || Mark 13:5-8; Luke 21:8-11 MT24:4 And, Jesus answered them:[1] “Look out no one misleads you. MT24:5 For many will come using my name,[2] saying: ‘I AM THE ANOINTED!’[3] {MK13:6 Or, ‘I AM HE!’[4] LK21:8 Or, ‘THE APPOINTED TIME HAS COME!’[5] Do not follow […]
Matthew 24:3 – The Apostles’ Question || Mark 13:3, 4; Luke 21:7 MT24:3 But, while sitting on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him in a private spot, asking: “Tell us, when will this occur?[1] {MK13:4 and the sign when all this will be fulfilled?[2]} And, what will be the sign[3] of your […]
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: DESOLATION, OPPRESSION, AND THE PAROUSIA [“Prove Yourselves Ready!”] (Key word: Oppression) [Often called “the Little Apocalypse” we have here combined the parallels in Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.] Matthew 24:1-2 – The Setting || Mark 13:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6 MT24:1 And having gone out from the Temple[1] Jesus was going […]
A new year has entered our age again. On the first of New year lots of people made promises to those around them. Many are exceptionally excited when going into a new year. Some are even going mad about it. Every New Year people you try to find suitable presents for others and they get […]
Een kijk op de ongeveer 250 meter onder zeeniveau liggende oudste stad ter wereld, op de Westelijke Jordaanoever, niet ver van de rivier de Jordaan en ongeveer 15 kilometer ten noordwesten van de Dode Zee. Jericho is beroemd in de Bijbelse geschiedenis als de eerste stad die door de Israëlieten onder Joshua werd aangevallen nadat ze de Jordaan waren overgestoken (Joshua 6). Na de vernietiging door de Israëlieten werd het volgens het Bijbelse verslag verlaten totdat Hiel, de Betheliet, zich daar vestigde in de 9e eeuw VGT (1 Koningen 16:34).
Join in the #BibleCelebration! Today is International Day of the Bible, the day set aside for Christians all over world to take a few moments to read or listen to passages from the Bible together with friends. Wherever you are today at noon (your local time), we hope you’ll participate. Bible celebration 🎉 When you […]
De grote verteller Jezus vroeg zijn tijdgenoten ‘Hebt u niet gelezen’ en ‘Staat er niet geschreven? Zo maakte hij duidelijk dat het geschreven woord van God boven alles staat en dat het belangrijk is onderscheid te maken tussen wat God heeft gesproken en de menselijke opvattingen daarover. “Dan zullen wij op de wolken worden weggevoerd […]
First of all to come to a good relationship with some one, one has to talk with that person and has to listen to what that person has to tell. God talks to the people by the way of His Word, presented to mankind by the many Bible translations, so that most people can read […]
The One Who created everything and Who gave His Word, did all He did with a purpose and out of love. The Bible teaches us that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Everything God does is motivated by love. Out of love created man in His image also with the intention to have a good relationship […]
In the previous writings we saw that the Divine Creator gave His Word to the world so that people could come to know Him. The Bible is a gift from God. It gives us information that we can’t find anywhere else. For example, it tells us that God created the heavens, the earth, and the […]
Tonight the eight days of extra dedication to haElohim started with the commemoration of the victory of the few whose desire for freedom to practice their religion impelled them to battle against great odds and which we should take as an example not to be afraid to show our faith to others..
Elul, the month to reflect and to prepare oneself to perfect oneself plus preparing oneself to enter a new phase in facing the Elohim, coming closer into the Divine presence.
The surest way of ensuring our happiness and success in life is by devoting ourselves wholeheartedly to learning what God expects of us (by studying His Torah), by addressing our prayers directly to Him, and by fulfilling His will.
” We celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, fry the latkes, light the candles toast “L’Chaim!” I dance to “Ocho Kandelikas.” * My husband and I watch the candles burn. We talk of this and that– old memories and to-do lists, the little things that make up a life, the everyday ordinary and the magical […]
Na het historisch gebeuren van Hanukkah en menora onder de loep genomen te hebben bekijken wij verderd tradities omtrent het Hanukkah gebeuren en het gebruik van de 9-armige kandelaar of menora.
Eerst kijken wij naar de achtergrond en symbolische waarde van Hanukkah of Chanouka – het lichtfeest, om vervolgens te gaan zien hoe met praktijken of tradities omtrent het menora gebruik moet omgegaan worden.
The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. In these darker days many may feel depressed or become confronted with the passing away of people or beloved animals. Though we do have 8 days to remember how light is given by God and how the temple, His House, was restored.
De acht dagen ter herdenking van de herinwijding van de Tempel van Jeruzalem in 164 VGT door Juda de Makkabeeër geeft ons heden acht dagen van feesten en lekker gezellig samen zijn.
Joden indien zij hun oude Geschriften diepgaand onderzoeken kunnen tot de ontdekking komen wie de lang beloofde Messiach is en kunnen daarbij ook voldoende redenen vinden om die Messias of Christus te volgen en deelgenoten te worden van ‘zijn lichaam’ en alzo als Jood voor Christus door het leven te gaan.
In het Joodse geloof zijn er de apart geplaatste boeken maar ook legendes welke vertellen over de man Abraham welke wij als onze aartsvader aanschouwen, omdat de elohim hem heeft uitverkoren om de vader van velen te zijn.
De Bijbelse naam Abraham betekent ‘verheven vader’. Dit was de Chaldese naam van Abraham. Toen Abram door God werd gekozen om de stamvader te worden van Gods volk, werd hij Abraham genoemd, wat ‘vader van vele volken’ betekent.
Adam mag dan wel de eerste man zijn die de wereld kent, maar voor ons geloof is de nomade wiens naam van Abram naar Abraham verandert is door God veel belangrijker.
In voorgaand en volgend bericht gaan wij dieper op die Bijbelse figuur in.
When having many questions an interesting blog to look at: their old and more recent Posts: Questiontime - Vragenuurtje
Volgens de Bijbel is de mens geschapen naar het beeld van God. Allah schiep de aarde en alles erop en eromheen. In plaats van dankbaar te zijn voor wat de mens van hun Schepper ontving, twijfelden ze aan Zijn autoriteit en wilden ze net zoveel kennis en macht hebben als Hij. Daarom aten ze van […]
According to Scriptures man was created in the image of God. Allah created earth and everything on it and around it. Instead of being thankful for what man received from their Creator, they doubted His authority and wanted to have as much knowledge and power like He has. Therefore they ate from the Tree of […]
The intention of this site was to be able to find answers to some serious questions and to know what others thought about it. But there were no answers from others and silence continued to form the fog.
Bedoeling van deze site was op enkele ernstige vragen antwoorden te kunnen vinden en te weten hoe anderen er over dachten. Maar antwoorden van anderen bleven uit en stilte bleef de mist vormen.
In this world we shall become even more confronted by people, be them politicians or church-leaders who would love to tell us than matters or different than we see it. Many of them will give the lie to make sure they would be more popular and receive more power. We must know that we shall […]
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Jesus told his disciples that he will return only once and that when he does, after a time of great tribulation, it will be visible to everyone and be followed by immediate and dire consequences for those unprepared and for those who were adversaries of God.
The disciples expected that Christ would “come” as King, with a royal presence, and to remove the Romans and thrown down the corrupt temple, all at the same time and soon! It was a disappointment for them it turned not out that way, but they came to understand we could have an even much better future because of what Jesus had done. Though they also became convinced of the necessity to be prepared for the time that Jesus would return and that each believer could add by his effort of preaching, to bring the time closer.
The followers of Jesus were convinced who he was and why his task given to them was so important. They continued bringing without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus, and asked their pupils and converted followers to do so too. Coming closer to the end times it is even more important because the world shall not be interested in God and many brought away from the Only One true God, by false preachers and mega churches.
Ek staan vanoggend op en ek is lus om te blog. Dit is die eerste keer in ‘n baie lang tyd wat die behoefte net spontaan in my hart kom lê. Ek is bang en bly tegelykertyd. Ek weet nie waar hierdie jaar heen is nie. Ek kan nie veel onthou nie. Ek het ‘n […]
it is such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother that’s why the world calls her a grandmother jou pa en ma het my lankal laat weeten ek moes jou snoesigweligin my hart laat groeiek het die dae getelwat later wekeen nou maande geword hethoe kan my hart jou langer omsluit? jy […]
You can find what you seek;You can always findWhat you seek,If you go about it rightly.If you seek GodWith all your heartAnd might,Making Him whom you seekYour Senior PartnerIn your seeking,You will find him;If you seek successWith all your heartAnd might,Making GodYour Senior PartnerIn your effort,You will find him;If you seek loveWith all your heartAnd … Continue reading How to find what you seek
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Leo Tolstoy knew plenty about the rank injustice, evil, and sheer brutishness that have dominated the world throughout history. He’d witnessed a public execution in Paris and had lived through the European revolutions of 1848, as well as the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, followed by the ultra-repressive regime of Alexander III.
In War and Peace, one of Tolstoy’s finest literary achievements, no character embodies the spirit of idealism more than Pierre Bezukhov, the big-hearted, bespectacled Russian count who at the beginning of the novel inherits the largest fortune in Russia. After that, he enters into a disastrous marriage, becomes a leading Freemason before growing disillusioned with its politics, botches his attempts to free the peasants on his estate, and eventually winds up as a French prisoner of war during Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia.
He tells his wife after the war, upon returning from St. Petersburg, where Pierre has been trying to unite conservatives and liberals, who are at each other’s throats over the future direction of the country.
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