In remembrance of the Word of God and the Law given to the world we make a vow
Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
May Thy rule come into my heart more and more, and Thy will be done in my mortal body.
Relying on the assistance of Thy promised grace to help in every time of need,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, I register this Vow.
Daily will I remember at the Throne of Heavenly Grace the general interests of the harvest work,
and particularly the share which I myself am privileged to enjoy in that work,
and the dear co-laborers everywhere.
I vow to still more carefully, if possible, scrutinize my thoughts and words and doings,
to the intent that I may be the better enabled to serve Thee, and Thy dear flock. I vow to Thee that I will be on the alert to resist everything akin to Spiritism and Occultism, and, remembering that there are but the two masters, I shall resist these snares in all reasonable ways as being of the adversary.
I further vow, that with the exceptions below, I will at all times and in all places, conduct myself toward those of the opposite sex in private exactly as I would do with them in public — in the presence of a congregation of the Lord’s people.
And, so far as reasonably possible, I will avoid being in the same room with any of the opposite sex alone, unless the door to the room stand wide open.
Exceptions in the case of Brethren — wife, children, mother and natural sisters:
in the case of Sisters — husband, children, father and natural brothers.
Lots of people encounter many struggles in life. Some get to learn how to cope with them, others get pulled down so much that they do not see any reason any more to live.
All have good and bad moments in life and whether we’re going through the worst of times or the best of times, history and our own experiences show us that life does go on and that we are just a very tiny atom in it
In this world there are people who, like Ray who grew up in London, moved away and travelled the world, ending up back where he started, are not able to raise their arm but found ways using other parts of their body to communicate or to move things, though at times it may feel for them like they might as well be trying to move the earth.
It is not the Most HighCreator Who brings all that badness over us. But it is Him Who give us the opportunity to work around it and to become stronger, if we allow Him working in our midst.
We should not fear man nor fear worldly situations or diseases, but should fear God and come to trust and honour Him, putting our ‘tiny’ hand in His Big Hand, to be carried through life.
There are no rules to how life plays out. We have no control over it. The only thing we have control over is how we face those challenges. We are not so much a product of the challenges placed before us as we are a product of how each of us has faced those challenges. {To Live And Ride With ALS}
He does not believe God causes trials and he doesn’t believe we will ever fully understand, at least not in this life.
But, whatever other reasons God has for allowing trials, I discovered two big things that He accomplishes through our trials; He helps us reset our priorities and forms our character. (Obviously He had a lot of work to do on me).
For sure he is not the only one to whom God has a lot of work to do. For the creator of this and some other lifestyle magazines had also to go through two near death experiences before he decided to work more for God. It does not mean, that took all the pain and frustrations away from him, but he gets encouraged by feeling the Hand of God at work in him … and that keeps him going….
One night, about a year before Bill was diagnosed with ALS, he and his wife Mary were up late watching “Nightline” on which Ted Koppel was doing three nights of interviews with retired college professor Morrie Schwartz who also had ALS and was sharing his life-lessons with Ted Koppel just as he had done previously with one of his former students named Mitch Albom who compiled these life-lessons and wrote a best-selling book titled “Tuesdays with Morrie.”
Bill has one vivid memory from watching those interviews
having to rely on his wife + caregivers for virtually all of his needs = helpless he was
Bill turned to Mary and told her
I would rather just go to heaven than live trapped in my own body like him.
a year after making that statement = diagnosed with same “trapped-in-your-own-body” disease
=> hastily-made statement began to haunt + taunt me
=> change view + began trying to do best to live one day at a time <= grace of God in me, urging me to keep going
Hastily-made statements carelessly uttered by healthy people = spoken out of pride = cannot comprehend grace of God <= self-reliant, self-righteous + just plain selfish
Trials cause us to reexamine hastily-made statements we’ve made before the trial, when we so carelessly said what we’d do if this thing or that thing happened to us.
One night, about a year before I was diagnosed with ALS, Mary and I were up late watching “Nightline.” Ted Koppel was doing three nights of interviews with a retired college professor named Morrie Schwartz. Morrie had ALS and was sharing his life-lessons with Ted Koppel just as he had done previously with one of his former students named Mitch Albom. Mitch later compiled these life-lessons and wrote a best-selling book titled “Tuesdays with Morrie.”
I hate to admit this, but even after seeing the three nights of interviews and reading the book, I cannot remember most of the life-lessons that Morrie taught. But, I do have one vivid memory from watching those interviews; it occurred while listening to Morrie describe his daily routine – having to rely on his wife and caregivers for virtually all of his needs. After hearing how helpless he was…
4:3 ‘Abraham believed God …‘ the quotation is from Gen. 15:6. Righteousness is imputed by God on the basis of faith, not works of the law. Gen. 15 predates the giving of the law. This is the thrust of the argument in verses 4:4,5 and circumcision – the implications of this are developed in Rom.4:9-13.
Man reading Psalms at the Western Wall. Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine, March 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
4:6-8 The appeal to Psalm 32:1-2 which is a Psalm that David wrote after Nathan had spoken of God’s forgiveness for David’s adultery [2 Sam.12:13] continues the theme of forgiveness from ch. 3:4 We should take great comfort from the fact that God was willing to forgive the repentant David.
4:7 Notice the subtle but important difference between the language of Psa 32:1 – and Paul’s words here. Whilst the Psalm has ‘he’ whereas Paul here says ‘they’. Paul generalises from the Psalm. The Psalm has specific relevance to David’s situation. Paul says that specific application of forgiveness actually extends to all who follow David’s example of repentance.
4:11 Whilst Israel seemed to see circumcision as the ultimate test of Jewishness Paul clearly says here that it is a sign of what has already been seen in Abraham – that is his faith in God which was counted for righteousness.
4:18 ‘against hope believed in hope‘ tells us that Abraham had to have faith in the promise of the seed as it was humanly speaking impossible.
4:23 The implication from ‘now it was not written for his sake alone …‘ is that Abraham had a written copy of the promise.
Cliff York comments
Romans 4 – To meet the views of the Jews, the apostle first refers to the example of Abraham, in whom the Jews gloried as their most renowned forefather. However exalted in various respects, he had nothing to boast in the presence of God, for he too was saved by grace, through faith, even as others. Without noticing the years which passed before his call, and the failures at times in his obedience, and even in his faith, it was expressly stated in the Scripture that “he believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness,”Genesis 15:6. From this example it is observed, that if any man could work the full measure required by the law, the reward must then be reckoned as a debt, which evidently was not the case even of Abraham, seeing faith was reckoned to him for righteousness.
It is clear from the Scripture, that Abraham was justifiedseveral yearsbefore his circumcision. This then is Paul’s point to those who prided themselves on their pedigree and/or on the very private mark they received in their flesh whilst they were too young to effectively protest otherwise. It is, therefore, plain that this circumcision was not necessary in order to that justification which is by faith.
+
It is truly fascinating to reflect on the great wisdom of the Father as one reads the 3 portions of Scripture each day, and often there runs a “Golden Thread” through them all. For example, one of the Golden Threads evident today, is the concept, that we can only be Justified by the Grace of God. Paul deals in great detail with the subject, of course, in Romans, Joseph in his life revealed how great a force faith in God is the life of each of His saints – Genesis 47:12, and the Psalmist captured the same beautifully in the closing verse of Psalm 50 – “Whoso offers praise glorifies me: and to him that orders his conversation aright, will I show the salvation of God.”
John Wilson comments
Prayer of David, psalm 51 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rom 4:7 As we read from Psa 32 the other day, and as we read from Psa 51 tomorrow, we can clearly see, and appreciate that the confessionof sin is not seeking forgiveness, it acknowledges the righteousness of our Heavenly Father. We must also be aware of the fact, that our failings can not be forgiven unless we are prepared to acknowledge them.
Rom 4:17“I have made thee a father of many nations.” Paul is quoting from Gen 17:5 Sarah was still barren at this time, but we see that this is written in the past tense. This was foreordained. There is a difference between pre-existence and being foreordained. The seed of Abraham, both Isaac and Christ were foreordained.
4:21 All promises that have been made by God, he is able to perform, certainly different from promises made by man. God never forgets a promise, while man frequently forgets, God’s promises are priceless, while promises of man are often times useless, God’s promises are always right, while mans are often wrong.
Michael Parry comments
Paul; the writer to the Hebrews; James; and Peter all talk about Abraham. He was the patriarch of the physical Jewish nation and also father of the faithful (4:16).
He was given the promises before the Law (Gen 17:5-8) – even before his circumcision (Gen 17:24). The particular seed of his promise was Christ who fulfilled the Law (Matt 5:17, Gal 3:16). However, God still has a covenant with the Jewish nation and the land of Israel even though they have not (yet) accepted Christ. It is a mistake to believe, as some groups do, that any prophetical reference or future application concerning the Land and people of Israel is purely spiritual and not physical.
Rob de Jongh comments
For many of us the intricate arguments of scripture are too much to grasp. That’s why we’re given Abraham as an example. All we need to do is read about his life, emulate what we see, and we will obtain the same promises as him. Rom 4:3, 11-12, 16, 20-25.
Often Christians do think they are saved for ever because they call themselves reborn and got themselves baptised in one or the other Christian denomination. Most often those who think they are saved for ever do belong to a denomination who honour three gods and do not mind bowing down in front of graven images of their god or gods.
Jesus never wanted to do his own will and he asked his followers also not to do their own will but the Will of God. Jesus offered himself totally for the cause for God and ran the race, showing the world he was a true lover of God, keeping to the commandments of the Only One God.
God cannot be tempted but Jesus was more than once. Though he did not fall in the trap, so many people fall into. He always kept to the Law of God, not doing his own will but trying to fulfil the Wishes of his Most High God. Being aware of what his Father wants from man, Jesus tried to explain what we have to do and how we have to prepare ourselves to be able to enter the Kingdom of God.
Though many are mistaken and think they do not have to do anything now they have found Jesus. They think once baptised for ever whitewashed and saved for ever. Nothing so. If we are not careful we lose the possibility of entering the Kingdom of God. Jesus gave many parables to illustrate this. Lots of Christians do seem to forget or not to understand those illustrations.
The Bible warns us that faith without works is dead. (James 2:26) Christian faith should be solidly build and provides us with the means to try to stay in the right path. But every day we do have to work at ourselves. Everyday we should keep the self-discipline, fighting against temptation and evil.
Every moment we have to try not to sin and in case we do something wrong we shall need to repent, otherwise we shall not find that promised salvation.
It is true that any liar, thief, child molester, fornicator, rapist, murderer can receive salvation. To every human being it is given freely. But! A great But, if we do not live up to this salvation we shall not earn it or loose it. Those who think because they are reborn, they can walk freely, are mistaken and could miss the boat.
If we are not citizens of another world, but want to stay of this world we missed the Bible message and shall miss the gift of Grace.
Citizens Of Another World (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
True Christians are pilgrims and strangers in a strange land. Not only is our citizenship in heaven, but positionally we are now seated in Christ Jesus in the heavenlies.
Suffering Persecution for Jesus Christ is Glory (endtimesprophecyreport.com)
the Bible tellsbelieversto be victorious in the end times. Anyone who tells the reader any differently is not their friend.Anyone who says differently, who tries to get the reader focused on this life, is speaking for the dragon.Fear is a tool of the dragon.
Instead of teaching what the Bible says to believers about persecution, the apostate churches promote fear with their lurid tales of being “Left Behind” and facing persecution.
The Journey of Love and Commitment (vineandbranchworldministries.com)
When we wonder about in life, do we ponder the meaning of the many gifts before us and offer praise and thanksgiving or do we literally take life for-granted. Sanctification sets us apart and instills our hearts and spirit with the desire to follow the pattern Jesus gave.
Historical Evidence That Proves “Jesus Christ” Never Existed & Was Created By The Romans (Constantine) (tarnews.co.za)
Christians, do your research. There may have been aman that walked the earth in the land known as Nazareth that attempted to guide the people back to righteousness, but, this man was not Jesus Christ. You see no mention of any man in Nazareth named JESUS mentioned during the meetings in Rome, or of a woman named Mary (the virgin) giving birth to a child named Jesus.This would explain why there is so much emphasis put on Jesus Christ in the bible, which further explains why God all of a sudden had to have a “son” (sun of God was turned to the son of God by Europeans, which is why every picture of Jesus has the sun behind his head. (Sun Ra, Sun of Ra (God)). The man you acknowledge as Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born in 4 BC; all of the above took place before that date.
Christianity teaches that no one deserves to go to Heaven (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
Christianity does not teach that only Christians deserve to go to heaven. Rather, it teaches that no one deserves to go to heaven, because we have all done wrong during our lives (Rom 3:23). We can gain admittance to heaven by repenting of our wrongs, accepting Jesus Christ’s death as payment for our wrongs and deciding to follow and worship him as Lord.
What is Christianity? (aboriginalwriter.wordpress.com)
The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.
Those Blasted Bishops (insightscoop.typepad.com)
Throughout the Church’s twenty-century history, the primacy and necessity of the bishop has always been emphasized as the glue uniting the people of God to the Church of Christ. St. Ignatius of Antioch, in his letters from prison before being eaten by lions in Rome’s Coliseum, emphasizes over and over again the importance of being in accord with the bishop: “Defer to the bishop and to one another as Jesus Christ did to the Father in the days of his flesh, and as the apostles did to Christ, to the Father, and to the Spirit. In that way we shall achieve complete unity.” (Letters of Ignatius: Magnesians, 97) And later, “Flee from schism as the source of mischief. You should all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ did the Father.” (Letters of Ignatius: Smyrnaeans, 115). Ignatius, like others after him, refers to the essential familial relationship of disciples to the bishops like Christ to his Father.
For Those In Christ Jesus (frbekomson.com) > Originally posted on ChristianBlessings:
For those in Christ Jesus we are now set free
From the bondage of sin that put Christ on a tree
We are no longer in bondage, a slave to our sin
When we open our hearts and let Christ Jesus in
New Minds (genesisone.wordpress.com)
Use the resources and power that God makes available – don’t try to live without them.
Does Life Have Meaning? (undergroundhealth.com)
The peoples and cultures of the world pursue many things, trying to discover the meaning of life. Some pursuits are humanistic – people look for meaning by doing good for others or trying to make the world a better place. Some are existential – people look for meaning in pleasure, fun or relaxation. Other people pursue business success, wealth, power or politics. Others search for meaning in family or romantic relationships. But ultimately, a deep emptiness remains.
Respecting The Most High In Words (prophecynewsandviews.wordpress.com)
We all should practice righteousness not unrighteousness below are scriptures that would help one with this problem to Respect the Most High not only in Word but deed.
Daily prayer (0: have a free day (0: (hmweimar.wordpress.com)
Lord- thank you for always giving us a way to salvation and peace. Thank you for the grace you cover our lives with and thank you Lord God for your son.
Evangelism (hiwaychristian.wordpress.com)
True belief in the power of God within us ought to be visible in a boldness, and Godly wisdom.
While it is true that each of us stands before Christ on our own, it is also true that our opportunity to testify to any one man, may be the slightest of opportunity. And so we are encouraged to make the most of the situation.
2-17-2015 Mardi Gras (fellowshiproom.org)
No Christian has God’s permission to celebrate Mardi Gras, and any church who gives sanction to such is not a church of Christ! Nor will any church of Christ follow a religious calendar that includes such as this. Giving up something for Lent is NOT penance for willful sin!
“I Die Daily” (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
When we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ we say by that surrender, “I am dying to the world and coming alive in Christ, to walk in His steps, to share the cross with Him, to lose my life in His service.”
No one is saved by the law. Salvation is by faith through Grace. But the Grace of God is not a license to sin (Galatians 5:13; Romans 6:1-3), but rather an opportunity to please God through faith, (Hebrews 11:6). Righteousness is obtained without the law, (Romans 3:21-22).
Now, there is righteousness by the law and righteousness by faith. We are encouraged to seek the righteousness which is by faith, because as James said, if you obey the whole law and yet offend in one, you’re guilty of all, which means you’re no longer righteous, (James 2:10). So Paul in writing to the Galatians said, “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain“, (Galatians 2:21). How clearer do people want the Scriptures to be?
The Spirit of God is the One who empowers us to do…
Recently the mega churches have been in the news with many things going wrong in that business. They also are churches which often make use of the modern media and use a lot of audio and visual material.
The film industry has seen a renewal of interest in religious movies and therefore is releasing again some films with Biblical stories.
+
+
+
Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide, as well as chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission and Tom Snyder, Movieguide’s editor, wrote the underneath article which originally appeared on Movieguide.org.
***
I Thought I Knew How Christians Should Act Toward Hollywood, Until I Read This …
Twenty years ago, when Jesus’ name was used in a movie, it was usually used as a curse word. Last year, 67 percent of the movies released had at least some pro-Christian, pro-biblical content.
This year, an incredible number of the major movies being released have positive, overtly biblical and often evangelical content. As might be expected, many of these movies have attracted criticism. Sadly, some of the most spiteful, angry and mean-spirited criticism has come from Christians.
Movieguide was built on the premise of exposing the fruitless works of darkness and commending the good. As a result of doing this consistently for many years, we have seen a great growth of the good, the true and the beautiful, and a decrease in the darkness in the movies released. Much of that could be attributed to our detailed economic analysis of the box office, combined with the fact that we see the gospel for what it is: good news.
So we try to present our analysis and criticism in light of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control), which dictates that we love the people who created the works we’re examining enough to try to be constructive. There are exceptions, but the exceptions are not the rule.
Recently, I had a chance to talk to one of the top people at Paramount Pictures, whom I’ve known for years, who’s a co-producer of Noah. He had told me about Noah years ago when we met for lunch. He wanted Noah to be very evangelistic, which it is not, and he wanted to tell an Old Testament story in light of the New Testament revelation of God’s grace. I asked him about Darren Aronofsky, and he said Aronofsky was wrestling with forgiveness and mercy because of a crisis in his family.
The producer, one of the brightest, most conservative Christians in Hollywood, noted that the same thing had happened to him. We discussed the fact that Mel Gibson had been bashed so badly for the trumped-up charge of anti-Semitism that he went off the deep end.
There is no doubt that my friend and Aronofsky needed guidance and perhaps even faith formation, but personal, ill-conceived attacks don’t make it easier for him, as a conservative evangelical Christian, to do more movies that touch upon Christian and biblical themes.
With regard to Downey and Burnett, the situation seems even more mean-spirited. One attack article claimed The Passion of the Christ was more biblical, when, in fact, The Passion was based on visions a Catholic nun had over 100 years ago.
Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Other articles commended the Jesus film, which, for the record, is only 66 percent of the book of Luke and is produced by a good friend of mine who is Jewish and extremely wary of the Christian community, as well as a director who’s known for some very salacious movies. In fact, the star of the Jesus film told me years later he was an atheist. Also, Jesus of Nazareth was funded by a Muslim and directed by a bisexual who chased one of the male stars around his villa.
Thus, of all the 130 Jesus films that have come out, Burnett and Downey’s Son of God is one of the few made by people who constantly say they love Jesus. That doesn’t mean they got everything right. In fact, I sent them a theological analysis months before the movie was locked in editing.
In this regard, however, has any sermon ever gotten everything right? If so, I have yet to hear such a sermon, though I have walked out several times on sermons that have gotten most of their theology wrong.
Many of the mean-spirited articles about Noah have been written by people who admit to having never seen the movie. Others have been written by people who don’t seem to understand some of the Bible’s basic theological concepts or realize the difference between a Christian ontology (a real world with real sin and real pain that needs a real Savior, Jesus Christ) and an anti-Christian, nominalistic ontology (a nonmaterial, great-thought maya world where all is an illusion and there is no need for a savior, such as The Last Temptation of Christ).
Movieguide has been critical of Noah, but also fair. We’d love to see the theology of each movie improved and would love to see the theology of most of these articles improved.
One theologian complained to us that, unlike depicted in Heaven Is for Real, no one has gone to heaven and come back, although I pointed out to him that Paul said he did just that in 2 Corinthians 12:2. Was Paul lying? Where do we get such strange eisegetical views?
Thank God that iron does sharpen iron.
But even so, what enabled a small group of Christians to overthrow the most debauched empire in history, Rome? As Professor Alvin J. Schmidt points out in the book How Christianity Changed the World, one major reason was that people knew the Christians by their love and wanted to convert.
Did the people who criticized Mel Gibson love him? Or those who criticize any of the Christians working behind the scenes in Hollywood?
Most biblical movies and most movies dealing with heaven contain things that you won’t find in the pages of the Bible. To make a really dramatic movie that millions of people will go see requires at least some dramatic artistry. Furthermore, it’s really easy to poke holes in almost any movie, whatever the subject matter.
So, let us commend the good while gently instructing those who might have gone astray so that we may encourage everyone to focus on the Good News of Jesus Christ that enlightens us all.
– Ted Baehr & Tom Snyder
Ted Baehr is a Christian film critic whose Movieguide has grown from a modest newsletter into a mammoth Web database that attracts millions of readers each month. For thirty years, the site has reviewed most every Hollywood film released in theatres, picking up on thematic intricacies that other critics tend to overlook. For instance, Movieguide noted that the first Harry Potter movie relies heavily on “evil occult themes and a spirit of selfish rebellion among its children characters.” In the year that “Avatar” swept the awards shows, Movieguide cautioned against its “New Age pagan worldview, which contains extremely anti-capitalist content with a strong Marxist overtone. It promotes group-think and argues in favor of the destruction of the human race.” (Sam Sweet)
As a Christian myself there are certain things in the Bible where creative liberties have no place. That may not allow me to be the most objective critic of some Bible-based movies but it is a belief that is inseparable from who I am. On the other hand some stories from Scripture leave themselves open to interpretation while others may stir our imaginations by omitting many of the details. Such is the case with the story of Noah. The story of Noah and his ark takes up only a small portion of Scripture so there are definitely areas where our creative imaginations (in this case Aronofsky’s) may kick in. Yet you always look for respect of the spirit of the story and at least some type of adherence to the material.
The disclaimer admits some “artistic license” has been taken with regard to the story, but that the movie is “true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide.”
The disclaimer also adds, “The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis.”
The disclaimer is being added at a suggestion coming from a panel on the movie NOAH at the recent National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention in Nashville last week. The panel, led by President and CEO of the NRB, Dr. Jerry Johnson, discussed NOAH’s positive qualities and its departures from the Bible.
Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone) begins as Noah’s nemesis from a scene in the hero’s childhood and finishes as his enemy in a violent hand to hand combat scene on the ark. In between, Tubal-Cain tries to turn Noah’s son against him, launches a military attack on Noah’s ark project during construction, and finally manages to hack his way into the ark as the flood surges.
The “Watchers” assist Noah. They are Aronofsky’s fanciful development of the biblical Nephilim concept. We are told angelic creatures helped early man with technology; humans abused it for evil; God cursed the angels for this and turned them into rock giants; these fallen angels help Noah defend and build the ark; when they die in the battle against the bad guys, the mysterious beings go up to heaven. Of course, in Christian theology, fallen angels keep falling, down to the other place.
While showing images of war, violence, theft, and sexual sin, the main evil of humankind according to Noah is the abuse of the environment. Man has been guilty of a scorched earth policy brought about primitive industrialization, resulting in apocalyptic scenery reminiscent of the Mad Max trilogy.
Son of God marks the first time in more than 15 years since a major Hollywood studio has put major money into a movie aimed at depicting the life of a biblical character, since 1997’s The Prince of Egypt about Moses.
20th Century Fox is releasing Son of God, a movie version of the Gospel portion of The Bible that aired on The History Channel in Spring 2013. In December, they’re scheduled to release Exodus starring Christian Bale as Moses.
Sony Pictures has Heaven is for real scheduled for release in April. It’s based on the popular book telling the story of a boy who died, went to heaven, and came back to tell about it.
Warner Bros. has its own Moses movie, Gods and kings, in the works, but no release date has been set. They had hoped to get Steven Spielberg to direct, but he turned them down. And, there is talk at MGM about a remake of one of the greatest Christian epics ever made, Ben-Hur.
The 22nd Annual Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry honored the best, most family-friendly, and most inspiring movies and television programs of 2013 at its annual awards show, held last month in the Grand Ballroom of the Universal Hilton Hotel.
+
Grace Unplugged and The Bible took home the two $100,000 Epiphany Prizes for the Most Inspiring Movie and TV Program of 2013. Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the Epiphany Prizes honor the best movie and television program that “greatly increase man’s love or understanding of God.”
Tolerating self-destructive or socially destructive behavior in our children is not a sign of love, but hate, as well as parental neglect. If a child has a propensity to beat themselves or beat other children, the parents are required by love to intervene and help the child get over such abhorrent, intolerable behavior. To do anything less is a sign of child abuse!
Our narcissistic society is on the brink of stewing in the vile juice of its own self-destructive behavior. Consequently, we seem to have forgotten what love entails.
God calls us all to love our neighbor as ourselves, both Jew and Gentile. That divine call entails helping ourselves and our neighbors get over intolerable destructive behavior, such as violence against the innocent, alcoholic stupors and perverting our children’s innocent hearts and minds by frankly intervening and correcting such behavior in a manner that brings about significant change or repentance (see Lev. 19:17,18).
Obligatory Noah Thread (scottpaeth.typepad.com)
Having devoted valuable time and bandwidth to God Is Not Dead, it is, I suppose, behoovenly for me to say just a bit about Noah. These days, of course, I seldom get to see movies that aren’t streaming on Netflix, so I’m no more likely to get out ot see Noah than God Is Not Dead, nevertheless, in both cases I’m fascianted by the zeitgeist surrounding them.
+
Tony offers a lot of plot details in his review, but does not reveal the outcome of what is the actual spiritual core of the film — Noah’s crisis of faith in the aftermath of the flood. This is the thematic hook on which the movie rises or falls, and I suspect that the very idea that Noah may experience any kind of a crisis is at the heart of evangelical objections to the movie.
Bible Films ‘Noah’ and ‘Son of God’ Are Competing for Christian Audiences This Spring (thewire.com) The first two so-called Bible films of the year have very different backgrounds and intents. Son of God is produced by Mark Burnett and RomaDowney, who also made The History Channel’s Bible miniseries. The pair are capitalizing on the commercial success of that miniseries by releasing the mix of re-purposed and new footage from The Bible as a film. And they’re also Christians, making a Christian movie. On the other hand, Noah is not an explicitly Christian film, although it has its basis in a well-known biblical story, to which it remains rather faithful. Aronofsky, it should be noted, did not make Noah to glorify God, or to promote religious belief. He was understandably opposed to his studio’s efforts to repackage the film in the editing booth for a conservative Christian audience.
Thoughts on “Noah” (pianonate.wordpress.com)
By and large, the movie is fantasy. (And I firmly believe in the Flood account of Genesis!) But this no doubt plays like a “Lord of the Rings” or “Clash of the Titans” film. This is not an attempt to re-create the events as they actually were, a la “The Passion of the Christ”.
+
If the Bible is merely a collection of stories, as is often portrayed, than “Noah” is par for the course. But the Bible is more than that; it’s the story of God and how He redeems people.If the character of God; His holiness, justice, purity, is not explained, then the story makes no sense.If the Fall of man, and the pervasive nature of personal sin is not explained, then the story makes no sense.If God’s redemption plan is not clearly spelled out, especially in the light of the rest of Scripture, then the story makes no sense.
Does God Have A Prayer In Hollywood? (wreg.com)
The National Religious Broadcasters insisted “Noah” include a disclaimer acknowledging the filmmakers took “artistic license” with the Bible story.Several Muslim countries have banned the movie, citing Islam’s injunctions against depicting prophets.Even Paramount, the studio releasing “Noah,” has agitated Aronofsky, testing at least five different versions of his film with focus groups.“I can understand some of the suspicion because it’s been 50 years since an Old Testament biblical epic has come to the big screen,” Aronofsky said recently. “And in that time a lot of films have come out of Hollywood that have rubbed people the wrong way.”
2014 is supposed to be the year Tinsel Town reversed that trend and finally got religion.
Review: “Noah” (keithandthemovies.com)
As a Christian myself there are certain things in the Bible where creative liberties have no place. That may not allow me to be the most objective critic of some Bible-based movies but it is a belief that is inseparable from who I am. On the other hand some stories from Scripture leave themselves open to interpretation while others may stir our imaginations by omitting many of the details. Such is the case with the story of Noah. The story of Noah and his ark takes up only a small portion of Scripture so there are definitely areas where our creative imaginations (in this case Aronofsky’s) may kick in. Yet you always look for respect of the spirit of the story and at least some type of adherence to the material.
The Christian Oscars (newyorker.com)
Baehr has no interest in this year’s Academy front-runners: Movieguide called “American Hustle” “predominantly pagan,” and complained that “12 Years a Slave” portrays “a mean Christian who uses Scripture to justify slavery.” But that doesn’t concern him, as he has his own awards show: the twenty-second-annual Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Gala, which will be held tonight, at the Universal City Hilton, in Los Angeles. Better known in industry circles as The Christian Oscars, Baehr’s ceremony gives cash prizes to films and television programs that “increase man’s love and understanding of God.” Originally a fringe event, the gala has recently attracted the attention of the major studios, who come for Baehr’s annual report to the entertainment industry, which attempts to demonstrate a correlation between Movieguide-approved content and box-office revenue.
What’s at Stake in the ‘Noah’ Controversy (news.moviefone.com)
various Christian organizations, including consulting firms that can help Hollywood market its films to Christians and ministries whose thumbs-up or thumbs-down will influence large numbers of congregants. So far, they’ve been wary of “Noah,” not just because of long-standing skepticism toward Hollywood, but because of reports since “Noah” was still just a screenplay that the film strays from scripture in ways that may rankle the faithful. Will Paramount’s disclaimer placate the Christian power brokers and the viewers they claim to speak for? And if it doesn’t, can the film succeed without them?
ABC’s Christian-Bashing Show Canceled (americanclarion.com)
I like to think we humans developed the amygdala about the time we decided to climb down out of the trees and live in holes in the ground and the sides of mountains and cliffs we later came to call caves. I’m no anthropologists or biologist, or any other kind of “ologist,” so I have no clue when the human amygdala became standard equipment. So, I’m just winging it here.Still — smart people pay attention to the warnings from their amygdala. A great number of those who didn’t — aren’t here any more. And a disproportionate number of those who still don’t today, will not be with us much longer.
+
the American people are, like that humming bow string I mentioned above, strung about as tight as they have ever been. It won’t take much for then to utter an oath, grab their semi-automatic rifle, all the ammo they can carry, and head for the swamps and woods and form up into organized resistance. Many groups of citizens have already “formed-up.” They are simply awaiting orders from headquarters.
Faith Films Win Box Office War (foxnews.com)
It seems in 2011, pro-America sentiment mixed with conservative values and faith-centered themes equaled a hit.This according to an annual study conducted by the Christian-focused entertainment advocacy group Movieguide, which found that in 2011, American audiences preferred movies with strong conservative content and values over movies with liberal or left-leaning values by an almost six-to-one margin.The 760-page report claims that films with a conservative or pro-American edge, such as “Captain America,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Soul Surfer,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Battle: Los Angeles” raked in significantly more box office green than more liberal films like “Red State,” “Super 8,” “J. Edgar,” “Glee” and “Ides of March.”“People want good to overcome evil, justice to prevail over injustice and liberty to conquer tyranny. They respond to strong heroes and even strong heroines, but they are turned off by radical social engineering and big government programs,” Movieguide publisher Dr. Ted Baehr said of the report, which rates movies using several criteria such as “anti-communist content,” “strong biblical morality,” and “strong pro-capitalist content.”
Hollywood honors faith, family films (wnd.com)
Since the mid-1980s Baehr’s Movieguide organization has been on a quest to completely transform the movie industry by revealing to Hollywood executives that positive-themed, faith and family-friendly films make significantly more money at the box office than their more salacious and often R-rated competitors.The quest has been hugely successful, as each successive Movieguide awards gala has enabled Baehr to present Hollywood’s power players with extensive studies proving America’s audiences would much rather watch faith than filth on the silver screen.And Hollywood, where money talks and box office receipts are king, has heard the message.
When Winter let us see its last breath 1st Nisan brings a New Year.
At the appearance of the first “new moon” of Spring, that is, when the waxing crescent of the moon is first sighted we come to celebrate the Biblical New Years Day.
After the dark months we look forward to a time of more light. We are also confronted with what happened many thousand years ago. There was an event in history which was going to influence the coarse of history up to today. In Egypt a people felt restricted and threatened by how they where treated. Nisan brings the start of their big journey. It is the start of the month of the Exodus from Egypt and the beginning of Jewish national history. It is also the first month used for counting the festivals (mo’edim) of the Hebrew Calendar and for reckoning the years of reign of the Kings of Israel.
Head of the months
Israel’s Escape from Egypt, illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rosh Chodashim (ראשׁ חֳדָשִׁים), “the head of the months,” and its observance is considered the very first commandment given to Israel before the great Exodus from Egypt took place. For the world now got days they should remember for ever.
“This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Exodus 12:2 ASV)
“3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 This day ye go forth in the month Abib.” (Exodus 13:3-4 ASV)
“The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out from Egypt); and none shall appear before me empty:” (Exodus 23:15 ASV)
“The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.” (Exodus 34:18 ASV)
“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.” (Deuteronomy 16:1 ASV)
Commemorating miracles the Creator performed
Creation in itself is already something special about many people may have many theories. Still people are not sure how everything came into existence. They still continue to have many debates about how the world came into existence. By wondering and concentrating on the theories of man they do not see the first miracle nor the other miraclesGod did in this universe which still hides a lot for our small eyes.
The Ramban (Nachmanides) wrote:
“By counting every month from Nisan, we constantly commemorate the miracle that God performed when He took us out of slavery.”
Month for the Redeemed
Since the redemption from Egypt took place during the month of Nisan you also could call it
“the month of the redemption.” [Chodesh HaGeulah (חדֶשׁ הַגְּאֻלָּה)]
The Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Rosh Hashanah 11a) states:
“In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt and in Nisan we will be redeemed.”
Not only for Jews it is an important month; Also for Christians it should be the most important month of the year. It should be a period where we remember how the Divine Creator has chosen Him a people, Israel, the Jews. But also because it is the month of the New Creation. The God of gods not only in that month took care that His own people got liberated from the slavery in Egypt. Many years later God also took care that all people got liberated from a bigger and worse slavery, namely the slavery of sin. Therefore not only for the Jews, also for Christians and Muslims, but also for those who do not (yet) believe in the True God, Nisan is also Chodesh ha-Yeshuah (חדֶשׁ הַיְשׁוּעָה), the “month of the salvation,” both in terms of the physical deliverance from Egypt, but more profoundly in terms of the spiritualsalvation given at Zion/Moriah through the Messiah. The Month of Jeshua has brought a change for the whole world, Jews and gentiles or to believers and non-believers or non-religious.
When you take Nisan to come from nissim (נִסִּים, “miracles”) or from the word nitzan (נִצָּן, “bud”) we got presented the greatest miracles in humankind.
Coming into new life
When the flowers are come on the earth; the time of cutting the vines is come, and the voice of the dove is sounding in our land, when the fruit-trees put out their green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell, we should get up and go into the world bringing the Good News of Salvation. (Song of Solomon 2:12-13) We should be thankful that the Creator not only redeemed His own people but also gave a solution for the sin of us all.
The 1st of Nisan is counted as the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings of Israel (in Exodus 12:2, the word lakhem (לָכֶם), “to you,” can be rearranged to form the word melekh (מֶלֶךְ), “a king.”). For instance, if a king ascended the throne just a week before the new moon of Nisan, that week would be reckoned as a year in the chronicles of Israel’s kings.
Last king and High-priest assigned to the throne
On the 14th of Nisan, about 1985 years ago a new and the last king for God was put next to the throne of God. A Jewish man from the lineage of king David was chosen to become the major High Priest in the Temple of God and to be the mediator between God and man, sitting at the right hand of God.
“55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56 ASV)
“16 And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; 17 and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17 ASV)
For those who would have doubted God repeated His saying:
“33 And it came to pass, as they were parting from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said. 34 And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my chosen: hear ye him. 36 And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen.” (Luke 9:33-36 ASV)
Bread to be broken as a symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On the 14th of Nisan they had seen that man taking bread and wine, presenting them as if it was his own body, saying it was given to them and the world for their sins, and the action of that coming together and “Breaking of the Bread” they had to repeat until he would come back.
According to Jewish tradition the month of Nisan is also assigned to the royal tribe of Judah (יְהוּדָה), in whose merit both the Holy Temple was built and from whom the Messiah Jeshua (Jesus Christ) would descend. When we look at the name Judah (יְהוּדָה) we can see that it includes the Name YHVH or YHWH (יהוה) {Jehovha} with the insertion of the letter Dalet (ד), suggesting that Judah would be the “door” or “gate” into the presence of God. This Only One God had kept His promise made in the Garden of Eden. His Word had become flesh. (John 1:1) The man of flesh, blood and bones had only done the Will of his Father (and not his own will) and was killed for it and for being an nuisance for the leaders at that time. They could not bear it that this man dared to say he was doing all this miracles in the name of his heavenly Father. If he would told the people he was doing it himself they would perhaps not have bothered so much, but now he called to God for what he did. That was considered blasphemy and therefore he had to be killed.
A preparation for salvation by the full ransom
After Jesus had let his disciples prepare for 15 Nisan, the Passover he on the 14th of Nisan enjoyed his last supper on the 14th of Nisan and asked his disciples to remember that day. All followers of Christ therefore should remember that special day when Jesus installed the New Covenant. The same day he was taken prisoner and impaled to find his death. He was put in a grave and according to the Holy Scriptures was three day under the dead, being in sheol or gehenna (the hell) or what we commonly call the grave. {Those who call the hell a place of torture should wonder why Jesus had to be in it for three days.}
The Door to find and to open
Jeshua or Jesus Christ was from the tribe of Judah and had spoken many times of his Father and about his role in this world-system. He also knew we all have to live in this world, but warned us not to be of this world and to look at him to get to know his Father and to see the light leading up to the gate of the Kingdom of God. Many times Jesus described himself as ha-sha’ar (הַשַּׁעַר) “the gate”(John 10:9). The arrangement of the tribes placed Judah directly in front of the door into the Mishkan (Numery 2:3).
Celebrations and the Day after
“Christ risen from His tomb”, fresco ; cathedral of Spoleto, Italy; (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
These days when so many have celebrations being it for Passover or being it called Easter, they should see the first New Year which marks the month of the redemption of the Jewish people see the redemption Jeshua brought when he was sacrificed upon the wooden stake at Moriah to redeem us from our sins. The second marks the month of Israels’ corporate salvation that will be fulfilled in the End of Days. Oddly enough for most Christians, “New Years Day” should be really celebrated in the spring, certainly not in “January.
After three days in the grave, something incredible happened. It goes beyond any human conception. Though we should grasp a clear understanding of the event. Because of the Passover celebration the loved ones of Christ had no time to properly prepare the body for burial with spices and ointments according to Jewish customs. No work could be done on the Holy Sabbath of Sabbaths, so that task had to wait until the day after.
When in the morning, Mary Magdalene and several other women went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared and arrived at the sealed tomb, guarded by Roman soldiers, so that nobody could do something with the body of that rebel Jesus, they found the tomb had been opened and nobody around the tomb. When they went in, they did not find Jesus’ body, and they wondered what had happened.
Suddenly, two angels in dazzling white clothes were there. The women were terrified, but the angels said to them,
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you that He would be turned over to sinful men, be crucified, and rise again on the third day!”
The women ran back to tell Jesus’ apostles what they had seen. Peter and one other apostle went to the tomb to see for themselves. They looked in and saw the linen cloths that Jesus’ body had been wrapped in but nothing else. Then they went home, amazed and confused.
Not stolen, not mislaid
The Risen Christ, the one who showed his wounds to proof he was not a ghost or spirit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
You can imagine how terrified they must have been. Who had stolen the body of their most beloved rabbi (master teacher)?
When Peter and the other apostle went home, Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb crying. Suddenly she saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him at first. Jesus said to her:
“Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”
Mary thought He must be the gardener and said:
“Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where, and I will take him!”
Can you imagine what would have gone through this lady when Jesus said, “Mary!” and she then recognized him and exclaimed, “Master!”?
All the disciples like Mary Magdalene knew Jesus was the son of God, who had done everything for his Father and who had spoken of the possibility of people going to the reign of his Father, him being there. But Jesus affirmed her that he was not yet by his Father in heaven. It is not by dying that something would go up into heaven or hell. Like every human being, plant or animal, Jesus died and we will die. Normally once death, all thinking and handling will be finished. We shall not be able to do anything any more. Mary Magdalene was aware of the dead not being able to do anything, but now she got to see Jesus. Also others, later, got to see Jesus. To them he also proofed he was not a ghost or a spirit, like his Father is a Spirit. He was a man of flesh and blood who showed his wounds to proof that it was him they were seeing know, after he had died. Incomprehensible!
Not yet in heaven, Still to ascend
Jesus said:
“Don’t hold on to me, because I have not yet returned to the Father. But go to my disciples and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”
Then Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples
“I have seen the lord!”
and she told them everything that had happened.
Many could not believe what had happened. Several got to see Christ Jesus, and saw that he was really risen. They could see and believe.
We can not see that Jesus is rise. For us it is more difficult to believe, because there are no witnesses alive any more. We have to go on the books, the stories told. Most of all we have to go on our faith were we believe what has been told in the Old Books of the Old Testament, where the promises of God are told to all who want to know. In those books are also the signs given to recognise the promised Messiah. Putting everything together, we should have no doubt who the Messiah is and what God has done with him and for us.
Tool to get out of the slavery of sin and its curse, the death
Having the month where God helped His chosen people to get out of slavery by man, we also have the month where God gave mankind a tool to get out of the slavery of sin and its curse, the death. As such this is the Month of Hope and the Month of Salvation.
Instead of being wondering which presents or gifts we should buy for Easter, we should use Easter time to remember the Exodus form Egypt , the Last Supper, Jesus installing the New Covenant, Jesus being impaled for the sins of the world, and Jesus taken out of the dead by his heavenly Father. A resurrection bringing us hope, because in it, we can see what shall be able to happen to us in the future, after Jesus has returned.
All more the reason to look out for the return of Christ and to put our hopes in that man who was the beloved son of God. We should trust in him and his Father and follow his teachings, being thankful for the restored relationship between God and man.
Dominion of sin and Death has been conquered
In Christ Jesus, Jeshua, death has been conquered. He paid the ransom by giving his body to his Father. If Jesus is God, because God can not die and is an eternal Spirit. Than Jesus could not be taken out of the dead and his body raised to be the body showing wounds. Without dying there could be no he resurrection. And if there is no resurrection, then we have no hope.
Christ Resurrected (Photo credit: Waiting For The Word)
If Jesus wasn’t raised, if the tomb was not empty or when Jesus his body would have been stolen out of the grave, than there would be nothing to hold on to accept Jesus was risen. Several people saw Jesus after he had died. They were convinced they had really seen him. Many were willing to die for what had happened, because they were convinced “death now could be reversed”. Now they could believe sin shall not have dominion over them nor us who believe, because from that day onwards we have come under grace. (Romans 6:14)
In case Jesus’ death didn’t pay our penalty for sin, then we “are still in our sins.” And when Jesus was not taken out of death by his Father, meaning that there did not took place a resurrection, then all those who have died before us … no matter what they did …shall have had nothing in their hope.
Isaiah promised that the dead would live (Isaiah 26:19) and Job knew that there would come a moment that he should not hide any more in Sheol. Abraham Isaac and Jesus believed in a God of the dead but also in the God of the living.
“31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not [the God] of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32 ASV)
The one man who did all the time the will of his Father told the people about the hope they could have when he would be gone. If he would not be taken out of the dead, what reason would there be to believe what he said?
“39 And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40 ASV)
“22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23 ASV)
We should know that a great quality is been given to the life of man that cannot be matched by any other soul.
“And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ASV)
“3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5 and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 7 then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to the [child] untimely born, he appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ASV)
“20 But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21 ASV)
By Jesus Christ assurance given
Through Jesus Christ we now have the assurance that we may fall asleep (die), but there shall come a moment, after he returned, that we shall be taken out of the graves and shall come to see what it means to receive the gift of God which is eternal life.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ASV)
“It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Hebrews 9:23 ASV)
“And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.” (Hebrews 11:6 ASV)
In the resurrection of Christ Jesus our faith in him is of incredible value. Let us therefore recognise who that man was and is and follow his teachings and worship his Father, the OnlyOneTrue God, Who gives life.
Today is the beginning of the biblical new year (biblethingsinbibleways.wordpress.com)
Happy New Year!!!! Biblically speaking of course.
Even though January 1st is celebrated as the beginning of the year over the world, as Christians, we need to consider that the Biblical New Year is far more important to us, than a day that was picked by the Romans.
+
The month of Abib/Aviv does not coincide with a month in the standard western calendar in any way. This means that the 1st day of the Biblical Year could fall on any day in the season of March/April. The biblical calendar is not one which is set in paper, but which is set in the heavens. When our Creator made the Sun, Moon & Stars, He proclaimed “let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years”.
Understanding Passover (wqad.com)
Passover, also called Pesach, is the Jewish festival celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery in 1200s B.C.The word Passover comes from the idea that God passed over the houses of the Israelites, who had marked their doorposts to signify that they were children of God.
Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Deut 16:1-16:8) (efinne1540.wordpress.com)
Abib is often called Nisan and usually refers to our April. Here the Passover is to be celebrated at ‘the place that Yahweh will choose as a dwelling for his name.’ It will not be in the towns that Yahweh is giving to them. The 7 day unleavened bread feast is called the ‘bread of affliction.’ No leftover meat may be eaten the next day. Sunset was the time of the meal because you left Egypt at sunset. There was to be a solemn assembly on the 7th day with no work done.
Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach : חַג כָשֵׁר וְשָׂמֵחַ (jewsdownunder.wordpress.com)
The journey initiated during Pesach, that of a nation of slaves racing towards freedom, reaches its climax with the festival of Shavuot, without a rendezvous with God at Mt. Sinai. Here the Jews’ new-found freedom finds its purpose.The agricultural significance of Pesach is that it marks the start of the early harvest period in the land of Israel. The harvesting of the barley grain was marked by a special offering of the Omer commencing on the second day of Pesachand continuing for forty-nine days, concluding at Shavuot.
Rosh Chodesh Nisan (glehrer.wordpress.com)
We learned that Dayenu in hebrew means “enough” and when we sing the song Dayenu at the end of our seder it is because we are thanking God for our freedom, shabbat, the torah, and the miracles he performed to get us out of Egypt when we were slaves. The story taught us about getting ready for the seder, and just when you think you’ve done enough to prepare for Pesach, there is usually at least one more thing you can do to make your seder even more special.
Passover Guide for the Perplexed, 2014 (algemeiner.com)
The Passover legacy constitutes the foundation of Judaism, and is therefore included in most Jewish blessings (“in memory of the Exodus”). Passover symbolizes the rejuvenation of nature and mankind, spiritually and physically, individually and collectively/nationally. Passover stipulates that human rejuvenation – just like the rejuvenation of nature – must be driven by memory/history/roots.
The Evolution Of Passover – Past To Present (jewishengagement.wordpress.com)
The first Passover’s preparation and celebration is described in Exodus 12:1-28. In a nutshell, the Israelites were commanded to take an unblemished lamb, watch over it and then slaughter it on the 14th day of Nisan marking the doorposts and lintels of their homes with its blood. They were instructed to roast it over a fire in its entirety and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were to eat hurriedly with their clothes on, sandals on their feet and staff in their hands within the confines of their homes.
Being Filled (mymorningmeditations.com) We celebrated Easter this year with our community of Christian and Jewish interfaith families. Our minister started off by pointing out that Easter is not in the Bible, and that our holiday traditions make reference to ancient goddesses, and the fertility rites of spring. She then gathered the children together and talked to them about the Buddhist metaphor of a cup of tea representing the comforting memories of life after the tea bag (or body) is gone. She’s not your typical minister.Next, our rabbi gave an adult sermon about the themes of intimacy, transcendence and unity in the story of the resurrection of Jesus. Somehow, the idea of life beyond death, of renewal and regeneration, seemed completely universal to me as he spoke. As a Jew, I do not feel I need to believe in a messiah or a personal savior in order to celebrate these Easter messages. Our rabbi spent his career at Georgetown, knows his gospels, and has been called a “closet Catholic” by Catholic friends. And yet, he’s an erudite, dedicated and deeply spiritual Jew. He’s not your typical rabbi.
This holy week having celebrated 14-15 Nisan we had also lots of time to think about those people who were liberated but refused to see the light and kept complaining about futilities, not wanting to see the greater things.
.
By not wanting to see further than the length of our nose, we also often are in the dessert, feeling more the loneliness and the cold instead of feeling the heath and seeing the sun shine.
Having had these special days to think about the love of the Most HighElohimHashemJehovah, we should make a commitment to remember Him more this year and to try to come closer to Him, Whom we should trust with all our heart.
.
To remember or to question:
do we know where we came from
do we know where we are going
do you think of the wilderness as a good place.
wilderness is not only a place of uncertainty (not knowing where you are going), it is also the place where people encounter God.
Hagar the maid servant of Sarah; Moses who fled into the wilderness after he killed the Egyptian; the Israelites when they entered the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea; they ran into the wilderness not knowing where they were going but met God and God spoke.
descendants too numerous to count
trust God for your daily bread
God’s peace passes all understanding and keeps heart and mind in Christ Jesus
Gods = cool drink of water in wilderness
God’s grace = manna from heaven – it nourishes soul
Jesus in the Wilderness (maranathayoga.com)
Lent is the time of year before Easter when we remember the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before he began his ministry. Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist. In Luke 4:1 it says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” So, newly baptized, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit. He is led BY the Holy Spirit into the Wilderness. Most scholars feel the place called “wilderness” means what is now named the Mount of Temptation. It is in the Judean desert, in the southern part of Israel, close to the Dead Sea.During the preparation for His ministry, Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. He fasted and prayed.
The Wilderness of Sin (joshuamcelhaney.wordpress.com)
As I read of Israel’s journey out of Egypt, I see an all too familiar scene unfold in Exodus 16. Israel has only been out of Egypt for 2 months when the Bible says that Israel found themselves in a wilderness of Sin. I am of the opinion, that once God brings you out of Egypt, you will find a wilderness of sin along your journey towards Canaan. Oh I’d love to tell you that Canaan comes immediately after Egypt, but truth be told there is a journey that must be traveled!
Moses Got Screwed Out Of Passover (yidwithlid.blogspot.com)
The “instructions manual” for the Seder is called the Haggadah, a book that contains the narrative of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Sages, and special Passover songs. Seder customs include drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate (bitter herbs, hard boiled eggs, etc), and reclining while we eat to act as free people. In my house that is supplemented with song parodies, stupid parlor tricks (like changing water into blood) and family discussion about the meaning of the freedoms given to us by God.
I’m surprised I haven’t really thought about it before.
Sustenance for the Wilderness Journey (inkindle.wordpress.com)
I feel like I’ve been walking in the wilderness lately, and God has sent me bread from Heaven. The encouraging, sustaining words from some of my praying friends are strengthening me in the journey.
+ The truth is, “old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.” In my life it is more like they are becoming new. Praying for (him) to walk in newness of life as he draws closer to the Comforter in his pain.
Led into the Wilderness (wherefaithmeetsreallife.wordpress.com)
The Judaean Wilderness is describable….but it’s also a lot like taking pictures of amazing sunsets or epic snowfalls. Never does them justice. True perspective and definition get lost in the translation both verbally and on film. At some point, the person(s) trying to do the explaining of all that grandeur will finally come to the same conclusion….for the full effect, you just had to be there yourself.
The History and Origins of Easter (personalcreations.com) Easter, which celebrates the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ, is a holiday actually based on an ancient Pagan ritual. Unlike most holidays, Easter does not fall on the same set date each year. Instead, Christians in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is celebrated each year between March 22 and April 25. The exact origins of Easter are unknown, but some sources believe that the word “Easter” is taken from the Teutonic goddess of fertility and spring – Eostre. Easter has also been traced to the Latin words Hebdomada Alba – meaning white week – referencing Easter week in which white clothing is worn by people who get baptized.The Pagan ritual of the Spring Equinox is a celebration of renewed life and the change that comes with spring. This solar festival is celebrated when the length of the day and the length of the night are equal, which occurs twice a year at the spring and fall Equinox. Throughout history, this turn in the seasons has been celebrated by various cultures that had held festivals in honor of their gods and goddesses at these times of the year. Today, Pagans continue to celebrate spring and attribute the change of the seasons to the powers of their god and goddess – also portrayed as The Green Man and Mother Earth.
Wilderness Wanderer (istellorton.wordpress.com)
We have a tendency to describe our emotional or spiritual state in terms of the seasons. But a long conversation with a friend, over several cups of coffee, made me think differently. Maybe, just maybe what we describe as a winterseason is actually a wildernessexperience.Physically the wilderness is a place where the climate is arid, a place of barrenness, deep distress and loneliness. The wilderness is a hostile, potentially deadly environment and has a reputation for supporting very little life. Spiritually the wilderness, according to Henri Nouwen is “the place of the great struggle and the great encounter”. The wilderness was, and still is the setting for divine acts of grace, revelation, nurture, preparation and intense encounters with God. It is a place of wonder, silence and spiritual renewal.
+
Remember that the wilderness is not your final destination, but while you are doing some wilderness wandering may you know that The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame and you will be like a watered garden and like a stream that never runs dry (Isaiah 58:11).
Parshat Beshalach: Let Them Eat Manna (acquiescere9.wordpress.com)
In the desert the people suffer thirst and hunger, and repeatedly complain to Moses and Aaron. G‑d miraculously sweetens the bitter waters of Marah, and later has Moses bring forth water from a rock by striking it with his staff. He causes manna to rain down from the heavens before dawn each morning, and quails to appear in the Israelite camp each evening.
+
The main event of the “Giving of the Torah” at Sinai is recounted in next week’s parshah of Yisro (and also in the ensuing parshah of Mishpatim, as well as partially in Va-Eschanan, the second parshah of Deuteronomy). However, the lessons learned by the Children of Israel in All their wanderings in the Wilderness are integral parts of this same Torah, as in this week’s parshah of Beshalach, which begins to relate their encounter with the harsh reality of the Wilderness after the exuberance of the Exodus.
Women of the Word: Hagar (virtuousgirls.wordpress.com)
In Genesis 16 and Genesis 21:8-21, we come across the story of Hagar. Hagar was the slave girl of Sarai (later Sarah), who was the wife of Abram (later Abraham). God had promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child and He would make of them a great nation. But they were very, very old and not quite sure they could bear a baby. Abraham and Sarah believed God but their faith sometimes wavered and doubt often clouded their hope.
While part of a Rabbinical studies group last year, the Rabbi was talking about the Israelites and their relationship to the wilderness. And how the wilderness has greater meaning – like most things in the Jewish culture, than just being a place where they wondered for 40 years. For the Israelites, the wilderness is this place that symbolizes that time when you know where you’ve come from but you don’t know where you’re going. And it is in that place where you encounter God. It’s that place where God comes to you and reveals Himself to you in new ways.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about the wilderness and the journey that Terry and I are on with our kids. We are definitely in the wilderness right now. We know where we came from – we just don’t know where we are going –…
Because of certain unpleasant things that happened to individuals who belonged by their family tradition to a church, they left that church as soon as they left the parents house.
After some experiences they tried to keep quiet for years the last few years their wounds were opened again. Perhaps matters can gain momentum. The development presented by the pontiff of the Catholic Church may ease some pain many had to endure for many years.
Gods Own County (Photo credit: tricky (rick harrison))
The events which sometimes took them by surprise, and for some became a chain for many years,brought them in the darkness. But not always bad experiences had to bring people in the dark corners of this world. Many experiences in our childhood or in our adulthood may have disappointed us and given a bad picture of the world we are living in.
Maybe some of the readers coming along here are facing some darkness in their life or are currently going through a desert period with God. The might feeling abandoned by people but worse, by the One Who they thought would resolve all their problems, or the One which they heard talking about from early childhood onwards.
We shall not be saying that you can not have happiness without That One Who has been spoken off in your childhood or about Whom you heard so many talking. To those who believe in god or gods we shall also not say they shall have only happiness and shall have no pain. Be sure, also a believer in God shall have his or her share of unhappiness, fear, frustration and pain. It is not because you would believe in the God of gods that you shall have no suffering.
Some (or perhaps many) may feel abandoned by “Him”. Even His most beloved only begotten son cried at one moment
“Father why have you abandoned me?”.
Nonetheless, this son of Him had all the time been faithful to his Father and had only done His Will. So why and how could this man of 33 been calling on his Dad when he was put on a wooden stake, to find his death?
Did this son think his Father had broken His promises to him and to His people? When you look at the history of that Nazareneman you might find that he could do many unbelievable things, just because his Father was with him. the son also recognised that and told others he could do nothing without that Father in heaven who was much mightier than he.
Joh 14:27-31 NHEBYSE Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (28) You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. (29) Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe. (30) I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me. (31) But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
Giotto’s depiction of Jesus before Caiaphas in the morning based on Luke 22 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Lots of Christians as soon as they started to be pointed out what was written in their Scriptures came to see how much their church institution had ‘lied’ to them or told them many things which they could not find in the Book of books. They became so disillusioned by their church and its teaching they left it, without wondering if there were no alternatives. Many laughed at that man who had to be at the same time God, but hearing them say things that contradicted their own saying. The idea of God in human form made Daniel 7:9–13 crucially important. In this famous vision scene, the Ancient of Days (God) sees “a human one” (“son of man”) coming to him with the clouds. It is to this figure that God may give everlasting dominion, but that does not mean that God gives Himself into the being of that man. Worldly fathers also can try to do everything they can to give to their son. Many shall even hope that their son will become like them. But they all know that their son shall never become the same person as they are. Though many in Christendom would like to believe that. They want to see that the unity between father and son means that father and son become one and the same person. They misunderstood the oneness like Caiaphas hears the passage Jesus quotes from Daniel, when the high priest demands to know who he is. Many claim Caiaphas’ reaction tells us immediately that he knew Jesus was claiming to be the God of Israel in human form — the second power. But that is not the case. It is not because many people may accuse somebody to be saying that he is god, like Pharaoh, or even Moses or some angels, that he or they are really the God of gods. That Caiaphas tears his clothes and charges Jesus with blasphemy also does not proof that Jesus is The God (Matthew 26:63–68).
God can not die, but from historical writings and also from the Bible itself we do know that Jesusdied. The Nazarene Jew found an end to his life at the age of 33. Christians are even remembering his death these coming days. Did many forgot the words of this man saying it was not him doing those miracles? Jesus answered them that it was not him but his Father Who worked until now. And it was that calling onto the heavenly Father that people got bothered and angry. That calling onto the Elohim was it that made the Jews their blood boil. Therefore they sought the more to kill this troublesome Jewish rabbi, who got more followers than they. People got glued to his lips and that the Pharisees did not like. Because Jeshua (Jesus Christ) not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, they thought he was making himself equal with God. In the Bible it does not say that he was God, but that the people were weary with him claiming equality. Jesus answered very clearly he was not doing the things out of himself. He told them that he was just a son of God and that he as son could do nothing by himself, but what he saw the Father doing. For whatever things The Father does, these also does the son likewise. Clearly all the time Jesus speaks about two different persons. First there is the Father Who loves the Son. Several people could hear that Father saying that from heaven, when they were standing at the River Jordan, by the baptism of Jeshua.
Mat 3:16-17 RHB (1.5) And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up immediately out of the water: and lo, the Heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: (17) And lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I AM well pleased.
The few years Jesus walked from one place to the other preaching the Good News of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, he made the name of his Father known and asked people not to praise him but his Father, the OnlyTrue God, Whose holy Name should be known by the whole world as Jehovah.
Jesus let the people also know that what he did was nothing compared with what his Father did. In the past the People of God had already seen incredible things and had felt how the Hand of the Maker of the universe guided them away from slavery, through the dessert, giving them daily manna? But the wonders would not end because Jehovah, the Only One God was going to do greater works than these Jesus could do, so that all people may marvel. Jesus knew he was going to die. He was prepared to give his body for the sins of many. But he believed also that he could trust his Father,like many other prophets had trusted Him. For as the Father raises the dead, and vivifies them; even so the son vivifies whom he will, could he add and create hope for all those who would come to believe in what and whom he, Jeshua rally was. We should come to understanding that Jeshua was that long awaited Messiah. He is the Christ. The son honoured his Father in heaven, who had sent him. He taught others to come to his heavenly Father and to come into the footsteps of the send one. Many did not want to hear his words, and later many twisted his words. He always spoke about the love we should get for others, because all were created in the image of his Father, Who should also be our heavenly Father, and to Whom we also should pray “Our Father“. Instead of sitting in the dark corners and not believing that there can be hope for everybody, we would do better to listen to that Nazareneman his words. Not only because he himself told us that those who would hear his words, and would believe on Him that sent him, would have everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but has passed from death to life.
When we look at what is happening in the world we should see signs of which the send one from God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah has spoken. We then should see that the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Even when we had a bad life, we can look up at the son who on 14 Nisan remembered how his Father brought His people out of slavery. He there in the upper-room also installed the New Covenant as sign of a restored relationship of God with his son Jeshua (Jesus Christ) and with us, as children of God. Many took offence in the time Jesus was living that he said that for as the Father has life in Himself that he himself also had received the power from God to have life in himself; and that God would have given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the “Son of Man“. These coming days we shall remember what that “son of Adam“, “son of Abraham” and “son of God” has done and why he can take in the place of the first Adam, to become the second Adam.
Joh 5:17-26 NHEBYSE But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” (18) For this cause therefore the Jewish leaders sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (19) Jesus therefore answered them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. (20) For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. (21) For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. (22) For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, (23) that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. (24) “Truly, truly, I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (25) Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. (26) For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.
Bytča (Nagybiccse) – mosaic in the catholic church Slovenčina (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Those who do not belief in a God are also blessed by the Grace of God. They also are allowed to live here on this earth. All people, but first of all those who believe in God, should respect all others who live on this world. In respect for the Creator His creation, they should respect everything what God allows to be in the universe. But those who are in the dark corners we should show the light which can come over them. Because God has taken care that light can come over all those who want. All who want to hear and believe can be partakers of the blessings, which came onto this earth by that son of God. He made an end to death and therefore we should not fear any more for the death. It shall not be able to do much, and we know that all shall have to die one day, so we better make the best of our life, as long as we live, because from Scriptures we know we can not take anything into our death and shall be nothing with the treasures gathered in this life.
It is Now we have to make it. It is Now we have to create a nice place to live. It is Now that we have to work for Peace.
For those who feel left alone or left in a dark corner, please come with us and join us on the road to better pastures. Do you think God left you, come to see otherwise. Do you think the god of your previous life is not a good one, try to find the Right God, and let us help you to find Him. Is He refusing to talk to you? Do you get depressed every time you read the Bible? Are other Christians getting on your nerves? Are you burned out by church? Use this and some of our other sites to come to see it is not so. You might even come to see that why cussing Him out and hating Him doesn’t mean you’re a spiritual failure. Learn how you can tell that He absolutely will not leave you here forever.
Who is Forsaken? (stlukeumc.wordpress.com)
World War II was one of the most destructive times in all of human history, in terms of both human lives and property. And many historians believe that one of the most destructive battles of that terrible war was the battle for Stalingrad, between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which took place between July 17, 1942 and February 2, 1943.
+
the fourth word that Jesus spoke from the Cross. The word is: Forsaken. And I believe it is the hardest word of all.
+ No, my father, there is no God, for if there is, where in the world is he? And may I be so bold as to say that there are times in life when each one of us finds ourselves, if only for a moment, at that place in life. That place of aloneness and isolation. That place of hopelessness. That place where we are totally cut off from everything we have known and there is seemingly no way out. When we wonder why we have been abandoned by God and everyone else?
Burnt (shughar.wordpress.com)
I fear that I will perish in this, my lost pride
I’m filled with hate for myself
If this is fate, I curse mine
If this is love, then I’m confused
I’m nothing more than a broken vessel
One that can never be patched
Like spilled water that can never be gathered
The One Who Would Die, that Others Will Live (justifiedandsinner.com)
When during our time of confession and absolution earlier, I mentioned that God daily and richly forgives our sins and grants us new life, those are not just mere words. They are what we believe, what we count upon each day.
But we realize as well, and take great joy in the knowledge that this has been God’s plan from the beginning, that Jesus, the one, would die that all the children of God would never fear the power of sin, that is, that death would somehow be the end.
Jesus, A Forever Friend! (carolynpriesterjones.org)
It does seem that running in the same circles draws us together. As we share the same experiences or know the same people, it seems easier to view the world together. But once the events, times and places change, some friendships seem to fall away.
Love Wins, Week 5: Rocks (revjillhoward.wordpress.com)
How and when have you encountered God in your life? Or are you not sure if you have at all? Anne Lamott, in her book, Traveling Mercies, shares her story of how she came to faith through a series of intense life experiences. After years of dependency on drugs and alcohol to escape the difficulties of life, she found herself in the depths of her own hell, drunk, on drugs, and alone on one particular night. Shaky, scared, sick, and finally sobering up, she crawled into bed and after a while, felt a presence in the room with her, hunkered down in the corner. She explains that the feeling was so real that she actually turned on a light for a moment to make sure that no one was there. But after awhile, in the dark again, she knew beyond a doubt that the presence was Jesus. And she was appalled. Why? Because she couldn’t imagine what her friends would think if she became a Christian, or how she would handle it herself based on the Christians that she knew. She simply could not allow for that to happen. She screamed out in the darkness to the wall, “I would rather die!” But yet she felt Jesus there on his haunches in the corner, watching with patience and love.
Maybe Tonight (The Pedophile) by Nicole Eva Fraser (secondwindpub.wordpress.com)
In daylight my room was a haven. Safe behind the closed door, I could read, write letters to my pen pals, and commune with the tall lilac bush just outside the second-floor window by my bed. But in the dark of night, my room was a chamber of panic.
It is no exaggeration that in all my conscious memories of childhood, I never fell asleep without terror. I knew I wasn’t safe from people in my family or from the evil presence lurking in our house that would one night snuff me out. I would lie in bed, my mind and body throbbing with spiraling panic, seemingly for hours—then the next thing I knew, I’d be opening my eyes to another morning.
+
I didn’t expect comfort from my mother, and she didn’t provide any, nor did she mention the incident that night or the next day. I figured she had forgotten about it. And I told no one else what had happened to me; it was too terrifying, and somehow my fault, and I was afraid my friends wouldn’t want to be my friends if they knew.
+
I felt like the world was going dark, like I was going to vomit, like I was sinking into the darkness and never coming back. “No,” I said, “I don’t want to,” but I didn’t cry because I knew that wouldn’t change her mind.
The Fire Changes EVERYTHING! [Part one] (nnyphishnet.net)
It really was ‘one of those days’ that left me feeling stunned, numb, burned beyond recognition, invisible, and abandoned. Like a building had collapsed on me, and there I was- seemingly left for dead [at least somebody was] or just left to go it alone…
Before the Council – April 6, 2014 – Matthew 26: 47 – 58 (prissiesissie.wordpress.com)
Since Caiaphas didn’t have enough testimony for a conviction, he turned to Jesus looking for a confession, but Jesus was silent. Jesus had done nothing wrong. He had nothing to confess and the Sanhedrin couldn’t find enough witnesses to claim He had. They couldn’t even find enough false witnesses to agree on what He had done.
Easter without Hindsight Wk2: The High Priest Caiaphas’ worst fears….? (bloodofinnocents.wordpress.com)
Caiaphas’ probably felt his worst fears were confirmed when Jeshua arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday, the first working day of the week that Passover started. Hebrew tradition said that messiah would arrive in Jerusalem through the Golden Gate riding on a donkey. As Jeshua did precisely that, thousands of Passover pilgrims, camped on hillsides around the city, flocked around him. Cheering him on they covered the road to the gate with cloaks and palm branches. Jeshua knew exactly how the Hebrews would interpret his arrival.
+
Jeshua was not particularly attacking the traders. The modern church often interpret these verses as an attack on commerce but that isn’t Jeshua’s point. Monopoly suppliers protected by an institution often line their pockets unfairly but that was a minor issue. Jeshua’s real target was the institution itself.
Palm Sunday 2014 , April 13, 2014 in the World (liveloveandpray.wordpress.com)
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Indeed, many dogs surround me,
a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.
+
The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake
and all that was happening, and they said,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
Lifestyle and Readers Digest Magazine founded by Marcus Ampe on the 26th of March 2014
Translate – Vertaal – Traduction
Welcome
New to this site. You may like to read this first
If this is your first time you visit us, you might like to know about our aims and intentions.
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.
Our aim is to bring first articles about our responsibility in the progress of human relations and peace involvement.
Please find to read about our aims and aspirations:
Messengers of Peace and Positivism – Boodschappers van Vrede en Positivisme
We belong to the Bloggers for Peace and you can join them too. (Click on the picture to know more and to connect.)
Club members their own blog-writings – Clubleden hun eigen persoonlijke blogs
Articles by Guestwriters members – Artikelen bij Gastschrijvers leden
Most club members "From guestwriters" do not have their own blog, but shall write under their own name as "Guestspeaker" on the Lifestyle magazine Stepping Toes.
Those who do have their own website can be looked at underneath:
Please do find those independent authors their recent postings on their own website:
Van de schrijvers die een eigen blog hebben kan u op hun site als laatste artikels vinden:
Thoughts by and a Look at the world by Marcus Ampe on: Marcus Ampe's Space
Over the past two weeks I have been trying to get some order again in my office and under a fierce tidying session have thrown all unnecessary papers out the door. This morning, as I sat at the breakfast table and watched the paper collection drive by, I suddenly remembered that I had put all […]
In de afgelopen 2 weken en heb ik geprobeerd weer orde in mijn bureau te krijgen en heb onder een hevige opruimingssessie alle onnodige papieren de deur uitgegooid. Deze ochtend toen ik aan de ontbijttafel zat en de papier ophaling voorbij zag rijden, dacht ik er plotseling aan dat ik al mijn diplomas en certicifaten […]
Britain is a rampantly competitive society. The story goes that Great Britain has evolved from an aristocratic dystopia built on slavery to a civilised democracy with a welfare state. Britain might be more accurately described as a proletarian nation overseen by a cosmopolitan elite. The Big Island is not the only one just looking at […]
JetPack raises a question where I am now putting down something that would belong in a private diary. But I have never maintained a diary. Now, at a more mature age, perhaps we get homesick for certain times or memories come to cloud the mind again.So here is a writing that could have been plucked […]
How has technology changed your job? Modern technology For sure, without modern technology, I would not be here already for a long time. For years I would have been under the sole, having become dust in the earth. After two near deaths, and three heart attacks, I have now once more the opportunity to revalidate […]
Men zou me best kunnen plaatsen onder de overgevoelige types. Al van kleins af was ik erg gevoelig en trok me veel te veel dingen aan. Zelfs als ik een film bekijk kunnen tranen over mijn wangen rollen. Heel wat zaken waar ik geen vat kan op hebben, raken me toch zodanig, dat ik er […]
One could best place me among the hypersensitive types. Since childhood, I was very sensitive and attracted far too many things. Even when I watch a film, tears can roll down my cheeks. A lot of things I can’t control nevertheless affect me to the extent that I sometimes get frustrated. On the other hand, […]
An other look at the world by Marcus Ampe on: Some View on the World
Eurovision Song Contest hit by mass protest against Israel’s Gaza genocide Eden Golan was set to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. The day after Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia was banned from Eurovision “in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. Banning Russia while allowing Israel to participate in Eurovision is a […]
The week begins as Israel is stepping up its genocidal campaign against the people of Gaza, both in Rafah, the last unoccupied portion of the enclave, and throughout the Gaza Strip. A catastrophe of monumental proportions is unfolding in southern Gaza. Over the weekend, another 300,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee from Rafah as […]
For months now, we have seen the rise of far-right thinking in several countries in Europe. Several politicians are also trying to make people believe that Europe is a bad thing for their countries. The future of the EU is being jeopardised by people stirring up social tensions for short-term political gain, Spain’s environment minister […]
The past 12 months have been extremely dangerous for journalists, from those on the ground in Gaza and Ukraine to others risking everything to share stories of environmental destruction. Last week the Guardian has been marking World Press Freedom Day with a series of reports about journalists working in the face of immense danger. They […]
Recent Posts on the other Lifestyle Magazine: Stepping Toes
The Israeli military has established a new mountaineer unit tasked with carrying out operations across the country’s hostile borders with Lebanon and Syria amid worsening tensions over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. “We are in a multi-front war—Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza, and also farther away,” IDF Chief of the General […]
The Times, January 24, 2024 Event Two cargo ships sailing close to the Gulf of Aden came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday night, the White House said — forcing the US navy to intervene as the Iran-backed militia intensified its maritime assault on commercial shipping. Houthi forces fired three anti-ship ballistic […]
The Independent, January 19, 2024 Event It is hard to escape the impression of a theatre of military conflict that is inexorably growing – to the east and the south, if not yet to the north and the west. And if you look backwards, rather than forwards, the Hamas massacres of Israelis on 7 October, and Israel’s all-out […]
VOA, January 12, 2024 Event Thursday’s retaliatory attacks by U.S. and British forces on Iranian-backed Houthis inside Yemen have prompted support and condemnation from the international community. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani “strongly slammed the military strikes by the U.S. and Britain,” in a statement, calling it “an arbitrary move” that “clearly breached Yemen’s […]
The Times, January 12, 2024 Event Explosions were heard across Yemen late on Thursday night as British and US forces launched strikes on Houthi targets, after the Iranian-backed group ignored warnings to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. Rishi Sunak, who had authorised the military action hours earlier and briefed ministers in an emergency […]
Event Guardian, October 20, 2023 Joe Biden has drawn a direct, provocative link between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s attack on Israel as he urged Americans not to walk away from their role as “a beacon to the world”. In only the second Oval Office address of his presidency, Biden said he would ask […]
Hamas launched a surprise attack Saturday morning unprecedented in its scope and deadly impact. The phrase “It’s chaos” was heard repeatedly, from newsreaders, from families and occasionally from people caught in the raids, whispering desperately into their phones. Event The Times of Israel, October 7, 2023 Hezbollah praises the massive Hamas operation against Israel, and […]
One can never reach true self-knowledge without having come to a knowledge of the world. We cannot come to a knowledge of the world without self-knowledge. Neither can we attain self-knowledge without a knowledge of the world. It is like the beating of a pendulum which must swing back and forth. […]
* “Praying together:Two peoples, one land,Three faiths, one root,One earth, one mother,One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny,One broken heart,One God.We pray to You:Grant us a vision of unity.May we see the many in the one and the one in the many.May you, Life of All the Worlds,Source of All Amazing DifferencesHelp us to […]
The Times, April 15, 2024 Event Russia’s navy has shipped thousands of tonnes of weaponry to Libya, using ties with a local warlord to create a bridgehead through which it can bolster its military presence in Africa. The vessel, escorted by a navy frigate, entered the port of Tobruk in eastern Libya on April 8 […]
The Times, April 9, 2024 Event President Putin has compared himself to Jesus Christ as he quoted the Bible to explain his divine mission schooling Russia’s youth in “traditional” values. The Russian president has frequently portrayed himself as a stalwart defender of the Christian faith against the “Satanic” West. But in a revealing insight into […]
Last Sunday we were happy to meet three new brethren who got walking with us on the water laid in front of us. They with us can sing “Teach my your way”. In Newbury, they saw a sort of likeness between brother Marcus and Elija and were pleased to have new brethren and sisters join […]
So that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; in love being rendered firm, and the foundation laid, (Eph 3:17) Paul restates the prayer’s central appeal, identifying the presence of Christ with the empowerment of the Spirit (Eph 3:16). Just as the Church is becoming a holy temple for God (2:21–22), so the individual […]
Whaw! What a nice swimming pool! Not for swimming, though, but for the first baptisms in the very young ecclesia in Anderlecht. Before the start of the ceremony, overlooking the program. We were delighted to find those who started to train with members of the Brussels-Leuven ecclesia to become the first members of the recently […]
Recent Posts by the Brethren in Christ: Broeders in Christus
Reuters, April 16, 2024 Event Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged all sides in the Middle East to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation which he warned would be fraught with catastrophic consequences for the region, the Kremlin said. Putin, who has forged much closer ties with the Islamic Republic since […]
Reuters, April 4, 2024 Event Russia and NATO are now in “direct confrontation”, the Kremlin said as the U.S.-led alliance marked its 75th anniversary on Thursday. NATO‘s successive waves of eastern enlargement are a fixation of President Vladimir Putin, who went to war in Ukraine two years ago with the stated aim of preventing the […]
The Times, February 23 , 2024 Event Israel wants operational freedom throughout Gaza “without a time limit” as part of its postwar plan for the territory, Binyamin Netanyahu has told his war cabinet. In his long-awaited “day after” plan outlining Israel’s post-war intentions for Gaza, the Israeli prime minister also called for a “demilitarised, deradicalised” […]
Jerusalem Post, February 19, 2024 Event Russia has invited Palestinian groups to Moscow, which could bring together Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and other terrorist groups*. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said over the weekend that Russia invited Palestinian factions to meet in Moscow at some point in late February, the latest Russian move to […]
Arab News, February 15, 2024 Event Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has spilled over into neighboring countries and sent shockwaves across the wider region, transforming Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen into battlefields in an escalating proxy war between the US and Iran. This mounting instability has wrought havoc on the economies of the […]
“Want zie, Ik schep een nieuwe hemel en een nieuwe aarde; aan wat vroeger was, zal niet gedacht worden. ” De eerste keer dat wij de uitdrukking “nieuwe hemelen en een nieuwe aarde” in het Nieuwe Testament tegenkomen is in de tweede brief van de apostel Petrus, waar hij waarschuwt voor het vergaan van “de […]
Gemeenschappen hebben ruimtes nodig om te vertoeven. Als men gezinsleden heeft gaan die uitbreiden en zijn meerdere huizen nodig. Ook voor geloofsgemeenschappen is het zo dat die best uitbreiden en aldus nieuwe plekken vormen om samen te komen. In 2023 werden er enkele mensen in de ecclesia Brussel-Leuven voorbereid om ook tot onze gemeenschap toe […]
Het getuigenis van de apostelen De geschriften van het Nieuwe Testament laten geen ruimte voor het geloof dat niet God maar Christus de Schepper was. De apostel Johannes beschrijft in het boek Openbaring een hoogst symbolisch gezicht dat hij op het eiland Patmos had gezien. “Er stond een troon in de hemel en iemand was […]
Het geloof van de eerste gemeente Het is heilzaam deze ontwikkeling in de gemeenten in de heidenwereld te beschouwen vanuit het gezichtspunt van de eerste volgelingen van Christus in de eerste dagen van zijn gemeente in Israël. Zo filosofisch gezind als de Grieken waren ze helemaal niet. Zij waren gewoon van kindsbeen af zich toe […]
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world? Looking at the world, being sad, noticing that so many people are misled by big institutions that claim to be the only right church, whilst they do not follow at all the Bible teachings, nor Christ his teachings and do […]
Bible prophecies do not deal only with the ancient past. They also accurately foretell events that are taking place in our day. But at the moment we focus at numerous prophecies preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures (commonly called the Old Testament) which long before the man was born told about events which would happen in his time and around him, his betrayal, humiliation, torture, execution, death, and burial. From those writings of the Old and New Testament nobody should have doubts who that man is who is called Immanuel, the son of man and Messiah, born out of the root of Jess in the tribe of king David.
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.
Recent Posts: Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
Review Questions on Chapter Five Who became “fishers of men”? What accusation did the Jews bring against Jesus? How was Levi called and what happened? What illustrations does Jesus use? + Preceding Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:1-11 – Fishermen Follow Jesus Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:12-16 – Healing a […]
Luke 5:33-39 – The Old and the New || Matthew 9:15, 16;[1] Mark 2:19;[2] John 3:29[3] LK5:33 Now these said to Jesus: “The disciples of John fast often with prayers just as the Pharisees, but your disciples [only] eat and drink.” LK5:34 Jesus asked them: “Can you force the friends of the bridegroom to fast […]
Luke 5:27-32 – Tax-man Levi Called || Matthew 9:9-12;[1] Mark 2:13-17[2] LK5:27 Now later Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office. Jesus said to him: “Follow me.” LK5:28 So Levi rose, and leaving everything behind,[3] he followed Jesus. LK5:29 Then Levi arranged a great banquet for Jesus […]
Luke 5:17-26 – Who Can Forgive Sins? || Matthew 9:1-8;[1] Mark 2:1-12[2] LK5:17 Now it occurred during those days when Jesus was teaching some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting around – for they had arrived from every village in Galilee and Judea, including Jerusalem – and YHWH’s power was with him to […]
Luke 5:12-16 – Healing a Leper and Then Privacy || Matthew 8:1-4;[1] Mark 1:40-45[2] LK5:12 Now it happened while Jesus was visiting one of the villages, look, there was a man full of leprosy.[3] When he saw Jesus he fell on his face before him and begged: “Master, if you are willing and able cleanse […]
Recent Posts by bible Scholars: Bijbelvorser = Bible Researcher
Beth Snider on the Odd News Show writes about a mysterious large green stone discovered at the Temple complex in Hattusa, the capital of the ancient Hittite Empire, standing on a raised platform and measures 215 by 140 feet (65 by 42 metres). The Hattusa Green Stone is a roughly cubic block of nephrite standing […]
Did Lamech kill Cain? What happened to Cain in the Bible? In the Book of Genesis, we are told about Cain’s birth, his violent act of fratricide and his subsequent exile. We learn that he married and had descendants, but the Bible is strangely mute about his death. How did Cain die? If he did […]
Read Elie Wiesel’s essay on Cain and Abel in the Bible as it originally appeared in Bible Review, February 1998. First republished in BHD June 1, 2015. Cain and Abel: The first two brothers of the first family in history. The only brothers in the world. The saddest, the most tragic. Why do they hold […]
Op maandag 22 april zal onze broeder, Marcus Ampe ter operatie in het ziekenhuis Gasthuisberg te Leuven verblijven. Hierdoor zal hij in de ecclesiae van Brussel-Leuven, Anderlecht, Mons-Lille de avonddienst voor 14 Nisan niet kunnen voorgaan. Wij hopen dat onze leden in hun kleine kringen het vergaderen niet zullen nalaten en Jezus laatste avondmaal in […]
“In vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.” (Matthew 15:9) SPECIALS SPECIALS SPECIALS SPECIALS Every 10 You Order You Will Get 5 Extra Free Copies. Greetings Supporters, If you are not aware of the existence of this book, it would do you service, to all those who sense something not […]
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 […]
Financial Times, April 18, 2024 Event The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Thursday that would have granted a Palestinian state full UN membership, killing a move proposed by Algeria. Twelve of the 15 members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, China and France, voted in favour of the measure. The UK […]
Over the last six months, the Israeli war against Hamas has escalated significantly. In May 2021, violence erupted between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem, leading to a series of rocket attacks from Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip. This led to an 11-day conflict in which Israel launched a series […]
Israel News, February 29, 2024 Event The Iranian regime has given Hezbollah the go-ahead to launch a large-scale attack against Israel within certain parameters, fearing that Israel plans to attack Lebanon in the near future, the Arabic Post reported on Wednesday. The Lebanese terror militia and Israel have traded blows since Hezbollah began its daily attacks against […]
Reuters, February 18, 2024 Event Israel on Sunday formalised its opposition to what it called the “unilateral recognition” of Palestinian statehood, and said any such agreement must be reached through direct negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought the “declaratory decision” to a vote in cabinet, which unanimously approved the measure, according to a statement. Netanyahu […]
The Telegraph, February 14, 2024 Event Israeli fighter jets launched the deepest airstrikes yet on Lebanon, reigniting fears of regional war. The series of deadly strikes, amid months of cross-border violence, came after rockets from Hezbollah killed a woman in a town in northern Israel not previously affected by daily border clashes. One woman was killed and eight […]
The Times, March 21, 2024 Event Binyamin Netanyahu has told senior US Republicans that Israel “won’t stop” its planned Rafah offensive, even if it lacks American support. The Israeli prime minister spoke to senators at a lunch in Washington via videolink, after earlier admitting “disagreements” with President Biden over the potential military operation in the […]
Daily Telegraph, February 23, 2024 Event A Hezbollah “military compound” in Lebanon has been hit by an Israeli strike amid ongoing cross-border fire as tensions intensify in the Middle East. Hezbollah claimed that two paramedics affiliated with the group and one of their fighters were killed in a “direct” attack on a civil defence centre […]
From older news, which should not have been missed: The Telegraph, January 29, 2024 Event Are we on the brink of a third world war? In the age of “peak apocalypse”, it is easy to laugh off such a question. After all, we already find ourselves on permanent pandemic-watch, are besieged daily by predictions of ecological […]
Israel World News, January 21, 2024 Event Israel is giving Hezbollah ten more days to move away from its border and then its military will significantly escalate its reactions to the terrorists’ rain of rockets on northern Israel, The Washington Post reported Friday. Although the end-of-January deadline isn’t absolute, according to officials cited by the paper, the Israelis […]
Israel News, January 16, 2024 Event In an ominous sign of an expanding regional war, Jordan has been seen moving its army closer to the border with Israel. Israeli towns along the Jordanian border have reported gunfire towards their communities from the Jordanian soldiers. With the Hamas war raging and the potential for Israel’s North becoming […]
Dit jaar zijn er nog 2 sjabbatot tot Soekot en is er voor elke sjabbat een parasja en de sjabbat voorafgaande aan Rosj Hasjana lezen wij nu de de parasja Nitsawiem.
Verwonderlijk kreeg ik vandaag het bericht van WordPress dat ik tegen een jubileum mag aankijken. Gefeliciteerd met je jubileum bij WordPress.com! Je hebt je 5 jaar geleden geregistreerd op WordPress.com.Bedankt voor het gebruiken van onze service! Ga zo door met bloggen. Wat zijn die vijf jaren voorbij gevlogen. Voordat mijn pen al mijn gedachten kon […]
Met Rosj Hasjana denken wij aan de wondere scheppingsdaad van de Allerhoogste. Spijtig genoeg moeten wij toegeven dat de mensheid van die schepping een janboel heeft gemaakt.
Recent Posts: Unmasking anti Jehovah sites and people
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world? In Christendom there are lots of denominations but oh such a few, keep really to the biblical teachings. A lot of churches claim they are the only right church. In case they would follow all the teachings of Christ Jesus, […]
The apostle Paul wrote about the dispersion, the dispersed House of Israel. They had been “without covenant“, but Paul was sent out to recover them. So they were “grafted in again“ (Romans 11/23). Or, Grafted back in“. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been […]
Rob Mac wonders when the door to door will return? He wrote this a while back, and went sharing it again. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses hate the door to door ministry, although they won’t readily admit it. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses have developed ‘creative’ ways of counting their time doing this work, and many strategies for avoiding actually […]
Constantine wanted unity in his realm, and his call in 325 C.E. for a council of his bishops at Nicaea, located in the Eastern, Greek-speaking domain of his empire, across the Bosporus from the new city of Constantinople was in a certain way his goal to achieve some agreement by which many could live. Constantine […]
Superstition, misunderstanding and hatred caused the Christians trouble for many generations, and governmental repression they had to suffer occasionally, as a result of popular disturbances. No systematic effort was made by the imperial authorities to put an end to the movement until the reign of the Roman emperor (249–251) who fought the Gothic invasion of […]
When having many questions an interesting blog to look at: their old and more recent Posts: Questiontime - Vragenuurtje
Babies don’t come with instructions. It’s a learn-as-you go game. Trial and error along the way. Babies don’t come with instructions. Childhood scars and sweet memories Layered with guilt, regret and love. Babies don’t come with instructions. It’s a learn-as-you go game. Instruction Manual
God heeft de wereld van Zijn woord en Zijn profeten voorzien, maar niet altijd wensten de mensen van die leiders of profeten weten, waardoor er verscheidene groeperingen ontstonden die elk dachten of denken de juiste aanbiddingswijze te hebben.
Does one need proof to come to a certain belief? We can look at the signs in nature and find out what happened to certain people in the past, such as Noah and Paul. With the Book of Books, Allah has provided the world with His Interpretative Word.
Heeft men bewijzen nodig om tot een bepaald geloof te komen? Wij kunnen naar de tekenen in de natuur kijken en nagaan wat er in het verleden met bepaalde mensen, zoals Noach en Paulus is gebeurd. Met het Boek der boeken heeft Allah de wereld van Zijn Alzeggend Woord voorzien.
When we speak about “Faith” (iman) we look at acceptance of the Belief in the existence and oneness of God (Allah).and the existence of the Book of books of which God is the author, existing of five main parts, the Torah (revealed to Moses),,the Psalms (revealed to David).and the Writings of Kings and prophets as well as the Gospel (revealed to Jesus) with the writings of his apostles,
Vergeet niet dat u bij elk van bovenstaande blogs u als volger kan registreren.
Remember that at each of the above blogs, you can register as a follower.
When you have a Facebook account, you may also connect to following Facebook Pages ("Like" them), to get updates of newly published articles.
+
Wanneer u een Facebook Account hebt kan u de volgende Pagina's ook "Leuk" vinden en aangeven dat u berichtgevingen wenst te ontvangen zodat u steeds op de hoogte wordt gehouden van nieuwe publicaties.
Biblestudents – Bijbelstudenten
A Google Site presenting the Biblestudents with articles in English and Dutch – Voorstelling van de Bijbelstudenten met artikelen in het Nederlands en Engels
Christen Focus
Vanuit de Bijbelonderzoekers oogpunt kijkend waarop de mens hoorrt te focussen
Getuigen voor Christus
Tegenover de Getuigen van Jehovah zijn er ook de Getuigen voor Christus die Getuigenis afleggen voor Christus en zijn God Jehovah.
Relating to God wordPress Blog
Proving there is Only One True God which should be honoured and followed and how we can come in a better relationship with Him by following His only begotten son Jesus Christ as the Way to God.
Unmasking anti-Jehovah people
Debunking all the false sayings of those who fight against non-trinitarian groups and people
Blogroll
Hoop tot leven
Platform van Marcus Ampe voor hulpverlening en hoop geving
Christadelphian
Belgian Christadelphians
Google site with articles in English from the Belgian Brothers in Christ or Christadelphians
C4All
Christ For All – Presenting ways to find Christ in your life
C4U – Christ for you & Christadelphians for you
Site of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, who love the Creator and His creations and want people to show who is the way to Him and to His Kingdom where there shall be peace for ever.
Our World
News and thoughts about what is happening in the world, brought by the Free Christian Marcus Ampe. – Een kijk op het wereldgebeuren vanuit het standpunt van de Vrije Christen Marcus Ampe
Relating to God wordPress Blog
Proving there is Only One True God which should be honoured and followed and how we can come in a better relationship with Him by following His only begotten son Jesus Christ as the Way to God.
Immanuel Verbondskind
A site where issues of Judaism, Christianity, Islamism, their search for continued authenticity and relevance for today are discussed and looked at the position of the Jeshuaist community wrestling with the non- or anti-religious world
Jeshuaisme
Het Jeshuaisme brengt volgers van de Nazareense rebbe Jeshua (door velen beter gekend als Jezus Christus) te samen en verenigd Jehudiem (Jehoediem) of Joden zowel als goyim of niet-Joden en doet een oproep naar alle soort gelovigen en niet-gelovigen om Je
Jeshuaist
Personal pages of a Flemish Jeshua-ist – Persoonlijke paginas van een Vlaamse Jeshuaist
Jeshuaist communities
A community of real followers of Christ, assembling for sharing the Good News of the works of the Moshiach Jeshua and his heavenly Father the Elohim Hashem Jehovah.
Jeshuaist Focus
Uiteenzetting hoe eenieder tot het Volk kan behoren dat het Koninkrijk van god zal mogen binnentreden
Jeshuaisten – Jeshuaists
Een plaats van en voor liefhebbers van de Joodse Nazarener rabbi Jeshua om het bijbelkennis te versterken. – A site of and for lovers of the Nazarene Jewish rabbi Jeshua to strengthen their knowledge of the Scriptures.
Jeshuaists (or Yeshuaists)
Jeshuaists (or Yeshuaists) are followers of the Nazarene rebbe Jeshua who presented himself as a sent one from the Adonai Most High Elohim, Hashem Jehovah.
Jeshuaists for Jehovah
Followers of the Nazarene rebbe Jeshua witnessing for him and his God, the Only True God of Isrrael, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah.
Our World
News and thoughts about what is happening in the world, brought by the Free Christian Marcus Ampe. – Een kijk op het wereldgebeuren vanuit het standpunt van de Vrije Christen Marcus Ampe
Some View on the world
Marcus Ampe presenting general and religious newsitems. – Wereldse en religieuze nieuwsfeiten bekeken onder de loep van Marcus Ampe.
Stepping Toes
A Lifestyle magazine which can be for some a provocative site created by Marcus Ampe