Things don't just happen to us who love God;They're planned by His own dear hand.Then molded and shaped, and timed by His clock.Things don't just happen; they're planned.
We don't just guess on the issues of life,We Christians just rest in our Lord.We are directed by His sovereign willIn the light of His holy word.
We who love Jesus are walking by faith,Not seeing one step that's ahead,Not doubting one moment what our lot might be,But looking to Jesus instead.
We praise our dear Saviour for loving us so,For planning each care of our life,Then giving us faith to trust Him for all,The blessings as well as the strife.
Things don't just happen to us who love God,To us who have taken our stand.No matter the lot, the course, or the price,Things don't just happen; they're planned.
by Esther L. Fields (before 1944)
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152 comments:
It's me again!
Total luck though. I just got home from work and saw that a new post might be up;-)
Hey there, Quickdraw.
#4! wahoo!
I think I will wait and be #7.
Did they get the cat out of the wall yet?
Phooey! Didn't make 7
about like Jim C. to jump in ahead of me.
We're singing praise songs now- the Cat just came out! We came home w/the goods (tuna catfood) and within a 1/2 hour he was back.
(Stinker wouldn't say a peep the rest of the day-almost though he was croaked.)
(The ironic part is a friend of mine- non-practicing Catholic (liberal-ish type) sent this onto me.)
Written by a 15 yr. old School Kid in Ohio :
New Pledge of Allegiance
(TOTALLY AWESOME!)
Since the Pledge of Allegiance & The Lords Prayer Are not allowed in Schools anymore .Because the word 'God' is mentioned...
A Kid in Ohio wrote the attached.......
NEW SCHOOL PRAYER :
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites, It violates the Bill of Rights. And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now..
Our hair can be purple, orange or green, That's no offense; it's a freedom scene. The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all. In silence alone we must meditate, God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen, And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King. It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls, Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess. So, Lord, this silent plea I make: Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
Praise the Lord Lisa!
I just read all of the news about the snow storms in the Northeast and I got really concerned about all of our bloggers living in that part of the nation. Praying that everyone stays safe and warm.
I don't remember a time when DC had it so bad. Just 8 inches of snow was enough for us and what would we do with 73.5 inches. Eat soup!
Stay safe everyone and dig deeper into God's storehouse of wisdom.
Grany
Wow Lisa,
seems like there are still some decent kids out there.
I've only seen snow a handful of times (maybe two hands full) and always love it when it snows, but you guys have it quite bad in the good ole USA? We should ask Gore to flip his global warming switch back to "on". Where is he these days btw?
Nice, warm and sunny here in South Africa, although we had record numbers of rain this year!
Thuunda
As you all know by now it's clear the ME is heading straight for war.
ME War Rhetoric"
How do you pray for this? We all know it's going to happen one day. So how do we pray for this? There will be a lot of innocent people caught up in this, so do we pray that people are spared the suffereing, pray that war does not happen, pray that this will lead to salvation of many? I'm really not sure how to pray for this.
Please help.
Thuunda
Thanks for the post, Mac...came at a perfect time :-)
We're digging/mostly dug out here in the Philly area. We measured 17 inches today, but some parts of town got 21. This storm brought the wet kind of snow, so there's concern about roofs and trees, etc. although we are feeling blessed to have power and heat, unlike some in other parts of PA.
Tomorrow I hope to get the kids out of the house...they're driving me nuts and I'm sure I'm driving them nuts, too. No school til next Wed. so I definitely need to come up with some ideas for keeping them active. What did people do back in the pioneer days????!!!!
Stay warm & safe, everyone!
Blessings,
Jen
hi all, just back from the ER and not because I'm working. my night off this week was spent in the ER with my own kid. looks like he has a fracture of the leg just above the ankle in the growth plate. he is in a splint and has to use crutches. orthopedic visit in our future. would appreciate your prayers.
for those who want to know it is a Salter Harris 1 fracture which has a great prognosis and treated with a cast.
glad to hear the cat is ok.
Lakewood starts drive-through healing serviceJoel Osteen's Bunch.Saw this on RR.
So after you get lunch @ the Burger joint you can just drive though & get healed.LOL !!!
Well- I guess it can work for some sincere people regardless of the situation. I wonder if they will add on other services like drive though communion?
Lord come quickly! I don't know how much more of this I can take. I rather crawl in the dust on my face & touch the hem of Jesus tunic personally. More of a traditionalist I suppose.
I got jolted awake yesterday- my husband heard a loud noise like an explosion, as did my son 20miles away. my nephew in Madision,Wisc. also felt it.
I found Jim C's blog note from 2008....wonder if the big one will ever come from the New Madrid Fault.
I've been studying the earthquakes in Revelation...larger than the one at the time of Uzziah king of Judah. Uzziahs earthquake is estimated to have been a 8.2, the same as the 1811-1812 earthquake in the U.S.
jamie (lightshint)
Jamie,
You can go to the USGS site and click on blue text, "did you feel it?" and report... Madison is not listed on the page.
Wow! If a 3.8 was that strong, I cannot imagine what a 5.8 would be. They say that for every point, it's 500x worse.
God's Good Morning everyone from Okieland.
No snow here and for that I am very thankful. One of the nice things about getting up early is walking outside and breathing the fresh air. Well, it is fresh alright! Not really very cold but we are having a little bit of a breeze today.
Thankful for all of God's provisions. I know that we are in his care and that is a great blessing. I read Jack Kinsella's Omega Letter about the middle east mess and the likely war that will break out soon. Add in the flaky Iamadinnerjacket and anything can happen. But my prayers for all of those people, people everywhere is going to have to be lead by the Holy Spirit because it is to ascertain what to pray for. My biggest petition is for the protection of God's Chosen People and praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Why? Because God's word tells us to do so. Then I pray for the world leaders in all of those places to come face to face with the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. His will to be played out and our submission to His will.
There is a big part of me that just does not want the war over there to begin because of all blood shed. I have no reason to think that it will be otherwise but I keep hoping for a miracle to happen.
Adding my prayers for your son JIB and thankful for the type of break instead of those others that always make healing difficult. What was he doing? Give him my love!
JIM G. thanks for the link on the previous post for the Alpha Omega Report. Sent it to a bunch of my brothers and sisters in Christ who just cannot or will not see that God is moving us all toward the climax of time.
Shalom all,
Grany
Marzulli thinks this is what the big "Punch" from Iran may have been referring to : 'Tense' Iran marks anniversary, claims nuclear breakthrough.
Real surprise aye?
Wow, some announcement from the little engine that could (#11) I think most of us following story already suspected this. No big surprise. News
#7 Saudi Arabia urges world to condemn Israel
#10 Iran: Destroy Israel if they strike
#37 Global Bank Tax gaining steam
#42 USAF de-certifies nuclear warheads unit in NMexico
Na'aseh VeNishma!
Exodus 24:3 "And he took the book of hte covenant and read it in the presence of the people; and they said, All that the Lord has said we will obey and do."
If anyone wants a little history lesson I've been looking @ The Statue of Liberty & the Italian sculpture Auguste Bertholdi who is said to have copied her face from his mother & her body from his mistress. No surprise there is even more to this design than meets the eye.
Lady Liberty: The Goddess of Demorcacy
The Rays of the Sun God
Isis- Goddess of the Nile
Lori, the Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning that for every "point" you add another "0" to the multiplier: a 4.0 is 10x stronger than a 3.0; a 5.0 is 100x stronger than a 3.0; a 6.0 is 1000x stronger than a 3.0, and so on. For some reason -- can't remember why -- the scale has an upper limit of 10, meaning stuff like the SciFi movie 10.5: Apocalypse is impossible. I think it has to do with the upper limit of the energy that can be stored/released in the rock.
The explosion sounds are not uncommon, but the earthquake doesn't have to be that strong to be felt. There was footage on TV last night that showed the video from a convenience store video camera when the quake hit. It honestly looked like someone had just bumped the camera momentarily. Depending on the age of the structure and the geology of the area, some people farther away from the epicenter could feel the quake more than someone closer by.
(IOW, I've seen some of the buildings in Wisconsin and western Illinois, and I'm surprised they've lasted a hundred years, much less 150. Someone in one of those buildings would DEFINITELY feel the quake more than someone in a modern building closer to the epicenter. Think "reinforced concrete" compared with "structural brickwork.")
<><
Lisa, re: the Statue of Liberty, I think you need to consider the intentions of the majority of the people rather than the intentions of the few. You're not going to find many people burning incense to a copy of the Statue of Liberty in their home shrine. I think a lot of what the conspiracy theorists give as "proof" of some evil intentions are really iconic representations common at the time the art was created. If the meanings of those icons have changed throughout the years, that is not the fault of the sculptor or artist.
An example can be found in Scripture, where Moses created a bronze serpent raised on a pole that would cure all those who had been bitten by snakes and who looked at it. This sculpture was a foreshadowing of the Messiah, as noted in John 3:14, when Jesus compared the Son of Man to the serpent who was raised up for the people to look at. However, in 2 Kings 18 it describes how the bronze serpent was destroyed by King Hezekiah because people were worshiping it, burning incense to it. Something good, a gift from G_D, had been co-opted by something evil -- worshiping the created instead of the creator.
<><
Now look at the inscription @ the base of the Statue of Liberty- the first two lines:Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)
Then look at the Top Picture
Jim C,
Well you should know me by now. I love researching this kind of stuff.
"Hidden in plain site"
Few people spend the effort to find out more than they are told at the tourist attractions or museums. Myself included until recently. That is why so many people fall into the evolution trap. Do people also fall into a "Liberty" trap?
For me it just confirms what God has already stated in the bible who the ruler of this world is @ the moment and who owns the kingdoms of this world.
When Christ comes back to rule I doubt He will be leaving up the pagan goddess/god combination of the Statue of Liberty & the reminder of the intentions of the dark spiritual forces at work.
My daughter's picture is on Georgia State Park site. My brother is an interpretative ranger at Panola Mtn State Park. He brought vertical tree climbing to their state park system. It's the only one in the state of Georgia. Yes! I'm a proud mom!
(A friend sent this today)
There are news reports that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin.
Their leader, Osama Bin Lucifer,trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.
However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.
Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return.
Which cell group do you be long to? And guess what, no church is exempt. However, you can spot them if you "bin lookin."
Bin Prayin ? No ? Then you better get busy, cuz our country needs all the prayers you can pack in a day, not just when you are in church.
I "bin lookin." YOU Bin Prayin ?"
Jim C:
Perhaps your technical expertise extends to the technical differences between processing uranium to 80 percent and 90 percent. (90) being required for the bomb)
Is there a different technology needed, or just run it thru the centrifuges one more time?
Wayne
Wayne,
Over on the Catholic Answers Forum, this topic has had a lot of discussion lately. If you go to End Times Speculation Part VII, about three-quarters of the way down, you'll see a comment about EMP. This kicked off a lot of technical explanations and analysis. Upshot is that it takes about 114lbs of uranium to make a 10-12KT bomb, but only 22lbs of plutonium. You may need to get 80% HEU to get a bomb, but at 20%, you can use the uranium in a breeder reactor. A breeder reactor that's designed to produce 100MW(t) (that's thermal energy -- about 30MW(e) -- electrical energy) will produce about 100 grams of plutonium a day, or enough to make a bomb about every 2 months. A 30MW(e) reactor is a little bigger than your usual research reactor; the commercial reactor that's about 60 miles north of where I live is a 500+MW(e) reactor.
If you do click on the link, please read through to the end over the next two pages, because I have a post there that corrects some of the information I gave and updates timelines.
<><
Oh, and to answer your other question, yes, it's just a matter of running the stuff through the centrifuges a few more times. The hard part was getting the HEU to 20%; any further enriching just takes patience.
JIM C.
I went, I searched, I read and now I am completely enlightened. You want to know what I learned and will remember? Your name on the Forum. Your Fish!
But I am impressed but not one little bit surprised at your excellent explanation there. One other thing I would like to say: you have been searching for employment in all of the wrong places my friend.
That link on John McTernan was really excellent and looking forward to hearing more from him. Found all kinds of links that he has done.
Beddy bye time for this one. Praying for all that you remain in love with the Lord, listen carefully to the Holy Spirit and abide in safety and blessings all the days of your life.
Grany
Great post, Mac! I love it!
(and obviously agree)
about prayers in school...I read a quote in my daughter's room:
"As long as there are tests, there will be prayers in school" :)
Does anyone here remember the earthquake that hit Illinois just two years ago in April? (i think it was April)I think the epicenter was down South somewhere but it jolted me awake here in East Central Illinois. The windows were rattling and the bed was shaking. VERY scary considering I had never felt an earthquake before. And this was just two years ago. The last one that I remember in Illinois was about 20 years prior! Yes, it does make me wonder about that New Madrid fault
Diana
This is no ordinary cat. The tortoiseshell tabby can sense when patients are about to die.
Hmmm...maybe the cat has something to do with it. Where's Holmes when you need him?
answer the phone
Thanks Jim C.
I now know enough to irritate the lesser informed :<}
learning is fun.
Wayne
Love the snow we received last night. Made our neighborhood look like Narnia.
Going outside at 7:00 am to survey the scene in the silence (except for the crunching of snow underfoot)made a wonderful opportunity to discuss (with my kids) how our hearts are made pure as snow again with Jesus Christ.
God's ability to give us opportunities to stop and reflect on His majesty is priceless. What a nice morning.
Praying for Israel,
Jenny
Anybody had relatives in WW2? My grandad was in North Africa for some time. I remember playing with his Captain's Cap when I was small, was always fascinated by WW2.
Heroes indeed and a tribute:
Hymn to the Fallen
Thuunda
The news is up!
Everyone is taking sides... with Iran, against Iran.
The ipod giveaway has been stopped! yeah!
Cool video on link #27, new military tech vehicle... both my son & I were intrigued. The site is specifically on a new Afghan offensive in Marjah. We need to pray for our soldiers/allies in this offensive, for protection and wisdom.
I've been swamped lately! But, just about every comment I read I want to respond to and say something, shoot, no time! It seems like you are all sitting in my kitchen and I want to converse with each of you.
Gotta run...again!
Thunda,
All of my uncles served in the campaigns of WW2, plus most of our neighbors and the fathers of my school mates. All of our factories, where I lived, had to be operated by women when the men were called up to duty. But long before most of them were called up, they enlisted by the train loads.
Used to play with my uncles boots on and wear his captains helmet. That was when he came home on leave prior to shipping out to England. Last time we saw him.
My uncles numbered 13, cousins 5, and of that number 7 came home.
Seems so long ago!
You start talking about centrifuges & my brain implodes. TMI. Way more than I'm capable to handle.
Shelter I love these songs- a little sampling.
Lisa, did you mean "spins out of control"?
Some interesting developments. True or not things have been boiling in the ME for the past few years so I would not be surprised if something does happen....
ISRAEL WILL ATTACK LEBANON and IRAN in the next 48 hours.
Found on GLP
-----------------
BREAKING !!! Debka.com is on HOLD because of an imminent attack on Iran & Lebanon !
Quote
This is a warning and a plea for reason to anyone who will listn.
An undisclosed associate of mine who works closely with debka.com recently informed me that the MOSSAD has put the Israeli News service debka.com on temporary vacation because of an imminent conflict about to erupt involving the IDF, Hezbollah and Iran.
ISRAEL WILL ATTACK LEBANON and IRAN in the next 48 hours.
I have never been more scared about any thing in my whole entire life, I am writing this from my apartment in downtown TEL AVIV.
This article is thanks to Grumpy!
Wow. I checked the Debka site and found this story Syria slips Hizballah missiles for destroying Israeli cities about Syria giving Hizballah the Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missile system. This line in the article is significant:
Israel had warned it would deem their passage into Lebanon Syrian casus belli by Syria.
"Casus Belli" means "Act of War". In the eyes of Israel, Syria has committed an act of war against Israel.
<><
Is 17 anyone?
I think it was Lori's news item that told of the 5,000 trainees in Iran learning how to kidnap and take over the area around the Galilee Sea. People that is a very big area and holds most of the sites where Jesus ministry was conducted. There is a lot more importance to the area than that but it is all that I can discuss. Things change but no way do any of us want them Hamas and Hezbulls to capture that area, under any circumstances.
Time to burn the midnight oil! Is. 17 right on and combined with Ps. 83 BOO might learn that talk is cheap when dealing with the devil.
and on that note Hamas says next war with Israel will be regional
sobering words indeed
Here is the article I was commenting about: ESPIONAGE
Here's a link to the post at GLP (I hadn't heard of GLP before but I found the site).
BREAKING !!! Debka.com is on HOLD because of an imminent attack on Iran & Lebanon !
During the Olympics? Nah!
But of course, if they do attack Iran it could summon Christ's return because this would become a regional war and draw Russia in - much like Ezekiel 38. Just a little something to keep in mind.
JIM G.
I went to the GLP link and after reading, reading and reading a whole lot more, plus the Moderators response about the James Judah fellow, I don't really expect anything other than Debka is taking a break.
but I did find it odd that any mention of the topic on the other Israel sites are very silent regarding any activity of interest. I would even go so far as to call it benign.
I guess if you really wanted to spook some other nation or group, the internet blogosphere would be the place to accomplish it.
It makes for interesting reading and sure helped get my breakfast digested quickly.
I know it is all going to come to a foaming confrontation but I also remember that the beginning of Is. 17 and even to a degree Ps. 83, represent a lot of blood shed. For that reason, I grieve. God's purposes, plans and pursuits are always well broadcast yet we don't really cherish the idea of divine judgment coming on the nations.
Shalom
I just spent the last hour composing a reply on GLP, talking about how A-jad may be doing a Kansas City Shuffle, talking about 20% HEU and making people think that's what he's focusing on, when in fact he may be signaling that he's starting to produce plutonium. Building a plutonium fission bomb is more complex than building a uranium bomb, but not significantly so. Any reasonably intelligent college student can design one. The tools needed are like those needed to make glass lenses. So, not outside the ability of a reasonably well-stocked machine shop.
2 months to get the plutonium; maybe another month or two to build it... The possibility of Iran having a bomb that is much more easily transported, and having it available by June... Yeah, I can see where Israel may be a tad miffed...
Of course, after spending that hour, when I went to post it I got a message saying that my IP is banned!
stupid GLP...
<><
JIM C.
Maybe you could send it to one of your blogger friends, they could copy, then paste it into the comments at GLP or whatever, then it would be posted. Besure to put your Persona so you can get the credit. Always more than one way to skin a rabbit.
grany
This is too funny, not to post!
THE DIFFERENCE IF YOU MARRY A TEXAS GIRL
The first man married a woman from OHIO. He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man married a woman from MICHIGAN. He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table
The third man married a girl from TEXAS . He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything either. But by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher. He still has some difficulty when he pees.
Hi Grany,
Last night I read through 7 pages of comments on the GLP link.
I did notice that that someone really wanted a moderator to confirm that the original post come from an internet address in Israel.
Grany, you said,
"...and after reading, reading and reading a whole lot more, plus the Moderators response about the James Judah fellow, I don't really expect anything other than Debka is taking a break."
I saw a comment from (what appeared to me to be) someone who simply claimed to be a moderator. The whole comment from that person seemed to be tongue in cheek and in a mocking spirit. So, I went away thinking that any true GLP moderator never did post a comment regarding the origin of the original post.
Anyway, someone did point out that while it isn't unusual for Internet sites to cease operations for a holiday, there is no Jewish holiday during the time that the Debka site says it will be on holiday.
The DEBKA site itself says:
DEBKA is on vacation from Feb. 12, returning Feb. 23. 2010.
As best as I can tell, the next Jewish holiday is Purim
February 27 - March 1, 2010.
A couple of other items that might indicate something that there may indeed be an imminant attack on Iran and Lebanon:
When the Sabbath ends this evening, there will be a New Moon. The skies will be darkest.
We know that Netanyahu made a very recen trip to Moscow. (Perhaps warning Moscow that it Israel WILL defend itself.)
Can you imagine Putin's pride? I can imagine Putin telling Israel, "Don't you dare or, I promise, we will come down and make Israel pay a heavy price." Plus the fact that Russia has assisted Iran with its "peaceful" nuclear power program.
So, if Israel then attacks Iran, it would be like a hook in Russia's jaw...
God's word does say, "Pride comes before a fall."
Yes, Pride does come before a fall and all of the rumbling in Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea is very much Pride.
That site is something that could take up a whole day and I don't think I have seen that many Anonymous posters since Joel's blog. But the important thing to all of it is, is the original story true and like you said, we will know soon enough. I know it will come but I am hoping it isn't tonight. But right now as we are conversing, Israel is at midnight. It is already Feb. 14th there.
After I posted my previous comment I read Jack Kinsella's article again that Mac posted and it is very possible that all of this is leading up to the breaking point, or should I say "flash line". Reading about Syria and the double dealing of their leadership along with the PA leader and all the other "Trustworthy NOT" voices, and considering the full moon and the other details of the perfect night to wham Iran, I would tell them to go for it.
Shock anyone here to see me saying that. Well, don't be! The world fooled around with Hitler, took his lies as truth and wasted a lot of precious lives in doing so. Why drag out what is going to happen anyway. All that does is give them more leverage to propagandize the world into thinking that Israel is the little devil and we are the big devil.
I'm more interested in what God is going to do to demonstrate His self to the whole world when this all comes down, and down it will all come.
Grany
Grany, I'm not so certain Putin would react that way. For one thing, Teheran is supporting the Chechen rebel gangs. Not only do the gangs support attacks in the surrounding republics, they are also major drug lords throughout Russia and especially in Moscow. Where we have Sicilians and "La Cosa Nostra", the Russians have Chechens. Compared to the Chechens, though, the Mafia is group of Girl Scouts. Putin may bluster, but he would have no problems getting the support for these groups cut off. If Israel is successful, that may help Russia. Besides, as long as Russia's gotten paid for the work on the reactor, they're probably cool with anything that happens to Iran.
<><
JIM C.
Huh? Please refresh my memory about Putin. Been a long day and I have managed to sprain my right hand. Hurts!
I have ice packs on it and my Doctor put an ace bandage on it but it hurts.
Happy Valentines Day, everyone :-)
Nate, I'm hoping to go to the conference (hubby is happy to watch the kids, so that's not a problem) but he's not keen about me going alone. I'd probably take the train into town unless I can find a friend to drive down with. Sad thing is, I can't think of a single Christian friend who wouldn't roll their eyes if I asked them to go :-)
Which is your fav cheese steak shop? Personally, I love Jim's on South Street but my all-time fav is one outside the city, above King of Prussia, from a shop called Pudge's. Yum!
I updated my blog for those who are interested with the March deacon's letter. it went in an unexpected direction but still combines the essence of what Grany said with Esther.
Ezekiel's Birds Gather for Gog of Magog Meal!
The new news site is up, if you're in Google Chrome, it'll look a little strange. They have some formatting problems that are causing the graphics to links to be elongated.
If you at any time experience any problems with the site, use the contact button on the site to let me know what's happening.
FYI: advertising is not on the site yet. It will be necessary for me to advertise to cover the expenses of my 3 urls, my publisher expenses and my future MacBook Pro loaded with software.
Jim C., I'm using a program called Amaya, I'm not too fond of it yet. But it's the easiest way right now to keep a lot of junkie codes off my links.
Hyde, thanks for the article, I'm linking to it today.
#2 US: Israel, we're at your side
#3 Ottawa Minister: An attack on Israel is an attack on Canada
#4 Medvedev, Netanyahu discuss RF-Israel relations, Mideast situation
#5 Russia says 'Nyet' to Israel on Missile Sale to Iran
#6 Russia denies new Iran fuel swap proposals
#7 Israel army to teach Russian army
#12 Opium City Captured
#13 Get that Noble Peace Prize ready for Karzai, The Taliban Terrorists: Bribes for Peace?
#14 The Taliban is defeated, now to win the support of the villagers
#30 An iron fist has come down upon Europe
#35 Turkey lobbies for "Muslim Veto" at UN
#37 Remarks and Q & A session at US-Islamic World Forum
GO
Just returned from a Dance Competition @ Disneyland Hotel. This time we went to Disneyland/CAL Adventure- a giant mistake. Waaaaay too busy. An hour + wait per ride. Fast pass kiosks used up & closed.
It's just so nice when it's slow & so miserable when it's packed.
But- being in the midst of so many people I was contemplating how many people I was looking at who don't know Christ. A sea of bodies all living for self.(just like how I used to be.) And then thinking about the delusion God will eventually send upon them.
Can you imagine looking at masses of people believing the NWO- Anti-Christ? (think of the Hitler days) And then there you are-a Christian?
Hopefully we won't still be here but w/o the Spirit of God upon us
we would be toast. It's one thing to read stories of events and yet another to feel like you sitting in the middle of a Lion's Den.
People are wearing so many satanic symbols these days. They even add a "cross" to it. Not because they follow Christ but because it's a fashion statement.
There was a young man- 20s- who was wearing jeans w/a big silver skull belt buckle, black finger nail polish, & when he smiled he had dental implants attached to his canine teeth so that he had long fangs like a vampire. (Of course we were in the "Tower of Terror" line.)
Then I'm looking around and thinking- "I wonder how many of these people could be demon possessed?"
And the little kids these days are exposed to looking at people like this? Society has become really sick. Granted we were in the LA area- freeko city.
After this weekend I'm ready to go cloister myself on a farm in a Shaker community.
Some articles you might find interesting:
What Does It Mean to Fear the Lord?
Explains the differences between different fears: worldly fear (wherein we fear some evil or threat from the world), human fear (wherein we fear some evil or threat from others), servile fear (fear of punishment) and filial fear (whereby a son fears to offend his father or to be separated from him.)
Part 3: Showdown of Prophecies
This is part 3 of "HISTORY'S 'NOSTRADAMUS EFFECT'", dealing with different prophecies and the infallible prophecies in Scripture.
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Lisa, I'd talk that "Shaker community" idea over with your hubby first. You know one reason the Shakers have almost died out is because they all take vows of chastity and vow to "remove from ourselves all fleshly desires."
I'm just sayin'...
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Who is "the least" in your life?
I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it for me!
Matthew 25:40 NLT
Loving the Least
I remember a poster on a dorm-room wall during my days in college. The poster was a picture of a homeless man lying in a dirty gutter holding a bottle in a paper bag by his side. The inscription on the bottom was a quote from Mother Teresa. It read, "You love Jesus only as much as the person you love the least."
For all we don't understand about the life of Jesus and the true nature of God, there is one truth that he made completely clear. The Christian faith is about service and humility. It's about helping those who can't help themselves. It's about loving others more than we love ourselves—even the most unlovable among us.
What is the sign of true followers? Is it the amount of knowledge that we have? Is it the money we give to missions? the degrees we've earned? the number of people we've preached to? the hours we've spent worshiping in church? the books we've read or written?
According to Jesus, the sign of the saved is their love for the least.
It is said that when Francis of Assisi left his wealth behind to seek God, he stripped naked and walked out of the city. The first person he encountered on his journey was a leper on the side of the road. He first passed him, then turned back. He embraced the leper in his arms before continuing his journey. A few steps down the road he turned and saw that the leper was gone. Until his dying day, Francis of Assisi was convinced that the leper was Jesus. Even if he was wrong, he was right.
Lisa-I agree. I look at a mass crowd like that or even a group of teens at the mall and it makes my heart sad almost hurt for them....what must Jesus feel?
Secondly, we are doing a study with our care group from church on fear. In our group we are all 30's and up-up and it is interesting the fears we have are not monumental....we have all been through the refining fire more than once (death of children, family members, financial ruin, loss of job, etc) not to say that we don't have fears but it is not the intensity for this study (like our study on grace was much harder) The interesting thing is that one couple showed this study to a younger 20 something Sunday school group and they all voted for it unanimously. They are wracked with fear (new parents, jobs, supporting their family, etc.) I think a huge reason people don't turn to Christ is FEAR. I'm going to keep that in mind as we approach people these next coming months. It doesn't matter who they are (rich, poor, Goth, different religions) if they don't have Christ they have fear.
Thirdly, Aleshia right on with that post....loved it!
Praying for Israel,
jenny
Jim C., Well that definately would not go over big w/D.H. }:
I ran into this article over @ Wilkerson's blog & thought to myself- this is similar to how I feel after two days @ Disneyland!
(Not that I'm any Elisha but it's sort of the same premise.)
Elijah exercised the power of prayer. He closed and opened the heavens, called down fire, and parted waters with his mantle. A man of action who brought entire governments under his spell, he stood on Mt. Carmel and mocked the prophets of Baal, killing them right under the king’s nose.
This mighty man entered God’s throne room seven times, earnestly praying for rain. Seven times Elijah talked to God about this one need. A little cloud appeared, and the prophet, who three and a half years before had closed the heavens and caused a terrible drought, now opened the heavens and “an abundance” of rain fell.
Elijah was flushed with victory. A great spiritual awakening was about to take place. The fire of God had fallen and miracles had been witnessed by multitudes. It had been an unbelievable display of God’s power. Elijah thought, “Now, even Jezebel will repent! Even she cannot dismiss these signs and wonders. This is God’s hour for this nation.”
What a shock he got. Jezebel was not at all impressed with miracles and power and she said to Elijah, “By tomorrow at this time, I will kill you just like you killed my priests.”
The next time we see this great man of power and action, he is hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb almost 200 miles away.
What a sight! Forty days and forty nights he spent brooding over how things had all gone wrong. He became preoccupied with problems, his eyes on himself rather than on God. So God called to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here hiding in this cave?” (or Lisa wanting to go live in Shaker country-as far away from L.A. as possible.)
With a pout, Elijah answered, “Lord, the nation is falling apart. The entire government is wicked, immoral. The people have backslidden; they won’t even believe in miracles. Society has gone mad. My message has been thrown back in my face. The devil is in control—he’s got everybody but me. I’m the only one left standing true to you, Lord. I’m hiding out to preserve at least one saint.”
Elijah, a praying prophet, had been so busy for God, so busy demonstrating God’s power, so busy saving God’s kingdom, that he had become a one-way servant. He had been talking to God often, but he had done very little listening. Had he been listening, he would have heard God tell him that there were 7,000 saints who had not compromised.
The latest from Randy and Becky...
------------------------------------------------------------------
From: becky@theagoragroup.org [mailto:becky@theagoragroup.org]
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 2:07 PM
Subject: Young update!
To all our Family and Friends,
We want to first of all Praise God for helping mom make it not only through the surgery but she is recovering well and she came home today. Thank you for all your prayers and please keep praying for her. Mom wanted me to thank you personally from her as well. Just before surgery we were all gathered around her bed and she said last night I felt a touch from the Father. I feel really good now. Mom has Pulmonary Fibrosis which we discovered about 9 months ago as well as suffered from the heart attack and mini strokes. The surgery was very successful as they put a large stint in and she is feeling much better now. They still have to investigate why the mini strokes happened but we are very thankful for how God has touched her and given us some amazing times with her last week. For those of you who don't know mom she is an amazing women of God who enjoys people and loves on them more than any human can. She even spent hours pouring into our lives while we stayed with her in the hospital. She taught me well to teach from everyday life experiences even the grandson's heard courtship stories when they spent the night with her. Mom is such a blessing and we cherish every moment we have with her. Thanks again for continuing to pray! Becky
Update from our crazy lives!!
Randy... I am on my way to Benin with much anticipation for a great
West Africa ministry launch. Our good friends, Tony and Erica
Omoijuanfo with Glean Ministries, are doing a tremendous work, and it
is our privilege to "lift their hands" by ministering at their city-
wide pastor's conference. The goal is to train and unite local
ministries and leaders, and to introduce Glean Ministries to the city
and nation as a tool to assist all in church planting. We are also
exploring a long-term partnership in establishing indigenous church
planters. Thanks for standing with us in prayer.
Colombia finished so strong for Becky and I. Our 35 young church
planters (part of the 120 we have adopted) became our "spiritual kids"
through 8 days of teaching, counseling and prayer. Over the next weeks
we will introduce them to you; I know you will fall in love with them
as we have. I will be returning to Colombia 2 more times in 2010, 6
more weeks in all, to 5 more remote locations to train over 100
pioneer church planters and their "Timothies" called to establish the
church in some of the toughest places and in some of the toughest
conditions on the planet.
Just FYI, I will have very little internet access over the next 10
days, but I will update as I can.
God's best to you and yours today.
Partners in the Gospel,
Randy
Becky...The time we spent with the missionaries was very humbiling as they pour out everything for the sake of the gospel. They are a very enthosiastic group and yet expect nothing in return. When we met with them we had to intentionally go after them. Once we sat down with them they just poured out their stories to us. Some needing supplies, some needing rejuvinated, some hurting, all willing to give their all. What a blessing it was to rub shoulders with them in ministry. Please continue to pray for the ministry going on all over Colombia and for the 120 missionaries being sent out into the dark and lonely places there. Much more to come. Continue to pray for Randy as he will be going into the very hard country of Benin to help train the pastors and leaders there. He will be back on the 25th and leaves again for a conference on the 27th so this is a very busy time for us. Thanks so much for being part of our Agora Family!! Blessings to you all!!
I submitted a design using my graphics to a racing team and it was accepted for voting!
Please go vote for my car, you can vote once a day! If it wins they will race it in a NASCAR race.
Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racing boys!
Great design, Lori! I cast my vote and will go back tomorrow and vote again.
Regarding the lost youth in a crazy culture, this is a ministry which reaches out to these very kids worldwide. My DH and I are very close to the couple who started the ministry, have been since jr. high. They preach the gospel in the roughest of places and get great responses to alter calls from straight Baptist churces to "satan" clubs in Rio or the Middle East. It's quite amazing.
Don't be put off by the wild dress of the ministry members. They started out as very straight Baptist kids and, in obedience to God's heart for these kids, dressed for the part.
Jim C
you beat me to it! lol.
Lisa
I too have the same thoughts only this weekend it was at the Renaissance Festival near our house (it's an hour and a little bit away actually). so many people that are so lost. it's almost overwhelming. But I know what you mean about Disney as
I have had the same thoughts there. The good news is that probably more than we think are believers just like Elijah though he was the only one and wasn't.
would like prayer for a couple of things
1- i think the novelty of cast and crutches is starting to wear off on our 7 year old. pray that when he has his xray this thursday we'll find out that he only has to be in the cast 2 more weeks. thankfully his pain is controlled with motrin.
2-our church has decided to hire a family life associate pastor. since a full 65% of PCUSA PASTORS don't believe Christ is the only way we could really use the prayer that God will lead the right person to our church.
on that note-I would like to say that God is greatly blessing our individual church. It is the only church within our Presbytery that is seeing any growth. It also happens to be the most evangelical and our Pastor preaches the truth come what may. 70 members have been added to the church this week which is just phenomenal. One couple that has come to Christ came to Christ backwards. They changed their politics from liberal to conservative and now are believers through being befriended by conservative Christians who live near us. God can use anything, even politics, to bring people to him.
(I'm posting this knowing there are different views- but I thought it's a good explanation although the manner may be perceived as a little abrupt.)
Predestined, Sealed
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will…” Ephesians 1:3-5
The saints of the Most High God are “blessed...with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” We also read here that “He hath chosen,” not forced, us “that we should be holy and without blame before him.”
Those who are “chosen” and choose to live unto the LORD are made “holy” by Him. If one is not being made holy, it is clear that he has no part with Christ (Jn. 13:8; 2 Tim. 2:19; Tit. 2:11-14; Heb. 12:14; Rev. 21:8, 27).
God’s choosing of us who have trusted in Christ does not automatically determine that the individual believer will answer His call to continue to trust Him.
According to Revelation 17:14, Christ will soon return with those who are “called, and chosen, and faithful.” God unfailingly does His part and the individual must do his part in which he will always be granted the enabling grace of God to perform (Phil. 2:12-13).
The human will must never be factored out of the picture or there will be misunderstanding.
Jesus told us that “many” are “called” yet few “chosen” due to the fact that only a few choose to be “faithful” to the LORD (Matt. 7:13-14; 20:16).
“Without faith it is impossible to please him” and those who “draw back unto perdition (destruction),” not choosing to “believe to the saving of the soul,” will lose out eternally (Heb. 10:26-39; 11:6).
“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:11-14
One will find that the “sealed” teaching is prevalent among those who seek to justify the perversion of the grace of God using His very words. Their teaching on being “sealed” is quite the occasion to privately interpret, twist and misuse the Scriptures. Those who are “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness” find much opportunity to exaggerate what the Bible states and does not state about being “sealed with that Holy Spirit.” Upon a closer, more thorough and sober look at the word “sealed” and in the context it is written, and of the whole of the Word of God, a quite different perspective should emerge.
cont...
Note here in Ephesians 1 that the Holy Spirit is speaking of those who have “obtained an inheritance, being pedestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” or word. His Word is His will and the fullness of His recorded Counsel reveals that the Almighty before destined (predestined) that all be saved and live according to His truth and holiness.
Yet, He never forces any person to believe or obey Him. Is it not the “purpose” of God and the way that has been predestined and not the person? The LORD told us clearly that He wills all to be saved and come to repentance and that none (not one) should perish in hell (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).
In light of this fact of Scripture, we know the LORD would not choose some to be saved and some to be lost. According to His own Word, He clearly has not predestined some to go to Heaven and some to hell. God so loved the “whole world” that He gave His only begotten Son to pay the full price for the sins of all of mankind – not just some (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 2:2).
Only those who appropriate His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, by meeting the conditions He set forth, will spend eternity with Him and His family in Heaven (Isa. 1:19-20; Jn. 1:12; Col. 1:23; Heb. 3:12-15; 10:26-39; Rev. 2-3).“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL men.” Titus 2:11
“Sealed” comes from the Greek word sphragizo which is defined this way: to stamp with a signet or private mark for security or preservation. (Lit. or fig.) by implication. To keep secret, to attest: - seal up, stop.
A seal can be broken. A sealed envelope can be opened. It is conditionally sealed. This Greek word, sphragizo, is the same word translated “sealing” concerning the tomb in which Christ was laid after He died on the cross for the sins of the world.
“So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, SEALING the stone, and setting a watch.” Matthew 27:66
Christ’s tomb was sealed and we all know that the seal of Jesus’ tomb was broken, and He rose again. It was not a permanent bond that could not be broken just as the sealing work of the Spirit of God in the believer is not necessarily a permanent bond. The LORD wants it to be, yet will not force any saved person to continue to meet the conditions to be ultimately saved into His holy presence.
As it is that the Father in Heaven alone could have broken the seal and raised Christ from the dead, so only God can break the seal He has formed. From His Word we learn that He will break the seal and loose the person who was once saved from His kingdom, if that person departs from the faith (Ezek. 33:12-13; Acts 1:25; Rev. 2:5; 3:16).
From the whole of Scripture, we can conclude that it is the divine intention that the subject be sealed all the way until the day of redemption and yet no individual’s free moral agency has been removed or diminished. If one begins to rebel, the seal is in jeopardy.
Every believer is “sealed” when they initially get saved yet this does not prevent that believer from sinning which grieves the Holy Spirit of God who is their seal and brings forth spiritual death (Ezek. 18:4, 30; 33:13; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Rev. 21:8, 27).
cont...
The person who believes in “once saved always saved” will say “When one is saved he is sealed by the Holy Spirit and no power in Heaven or earth can break God’s seal!”
To this position, Jeff Paton decrees:
“There is no Scripture verse in Heaven or Earth that says that we cannot break God’s seal! Must they prey on the ignorance of their readers to get them to believe something the Scriptures never say in order to prove their point? Ephesians 4:30 warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit, the very One who is our Seal. A warning that serves no purpose if there is no danger! Maybe they should take off their theological glasses long enough so they can stop seeing things that are just not there!”
It should be remembered that the Greek definition, no matter the scholar rendering it, is never more authoritative than collating the Scriptures in English on any particular subject matter (Isa. 28:9-10; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16). This must be realized or there is the distinct vulnerability to deception by leaders who use Greek ad Hebrew to their own advantage.
Concerning this text (Ephesians 1:13-14), Donald Stamps, in the Life in the Spirit Study Bible, writes:
“‘Holy Spirit…the earnest.’ The Holy Spirit is an ‘earnest’, i.e., a first installment or down payment, guaranteeing our inheritance. In this age the Holy Spirit is given to believers as a down payment of what we are going to have in great fullness in the future. His presence and work in our lives is a pledge of our future inheritance (cf. Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5).”
Let’s look at the last part of this text, verses 12 through 14.
“…who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:12-14
cont..
Here we observe that in this context, the writer of Ephesians speaks of those who “first trusted Christ” and this they chose to do after they “heard the word of truth.” Trusting Jesus and His full payment for our sins is volitional (left as a choice to each individual). Those who believe, trusting Christ, are then said to be “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” The whole context here is that these who are “sealed” are trusting in the LORD. The text says nothing of those who “depart from the LORD” which is a clear possibility according to the Word (Heb. 3:12-14).
The Bible has much to say of this and how all who leave the LORD by not continuing to follow and obey Him to the end of their earthly lives, will perish. Those who depart from Christ after knowing Him will have a worse time in hell than if they had never believed and been saved in the first place (2 Pet. 2:20-22).
In this text, the sealing is clearly connected to one’s trust or trusting in the LORD. Carefully notice that the word “trusted” appears ahead of (prior to in sequence) the word “sealed.” In the divine economy, trusting Christ fully precedes and is a prerequisite to the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
The Scriptures teach that a believer can stop believing, that sin can separate him from God, and that he can fall from grace (Isa. 59:2; Lk. 8:13; Gal. 5:4; 19-21; Heb. 12:14-15; Rev. 21:8, 21).
According to Ephesians, the presence of the Holy Spirit is the earnest, down payment or deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession. This however does not promise or automatically conclude that the one blessed to be chosen and redeemed will continue in the grace of the LORD and be ultimately saved.
The individual’s ongoing choice to love and serve God are controlled by himself and no one else. God will not force the free will of men (Gen. 6:3; Deut. 30:19; Isa. 1:19-20; Gal. 6:7-9; Rev. 2-3).
(cont..- longer than I thought!)
Let’s look at an equally divinely inspired passage of Scripture – equal in divine authority as Ephesians 1. And we know that the divine Person of the Holy Spirit would never contradict Himself in His Word. This will also help to balance and account for the whole divine counsel that we might apprehend the mind of Christ in this matter.
To see that departing from Christ after trusting Him is possible, let’s look at Hebrews 3:6, 12-15:
“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end…Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you (brethren) an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Hebrews 3:6, 12-15
Being “sealed” in no way exempts the one who has “first trusted in Christ” from obedient faith. He must “hold” his “confidence (in Jesus) stedfast unto the end” and not “depart from the living God.” The one who endures to the end must remain in the grace of God, not possessing “an evil heart of unbelief,” and becoming a “castaway.”
A “castaway” is a biblical word for one who is cast away from God after being with Him. The very apostle who wrote these words in Ephesians did not believe that he was indelibly sealed into salvation with no possibility of departing from the LORD (1 Cor. 9:27; Heb. 3:6, 12-15).
“Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.” 2 Corinthians 1:10
No Scripture states that the child of God is locked into salvation. Paul says here in 2 Corinthians 1:10 that the great LORD has “delivered us…doth (presently) deliver us” and will “yet deliver us.” Those born again are presently saved, are being saved, and as we continue in His grace will be saved. This verse 10 must be taken in context with the text, including the words which precede this verse. Here this apostle of Christ is speaking of those whose lives are truly in Christ. The words of verse 9 are the following - “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” (2 Cor. 1:9)
Those who are saved, must continue in grace and if they do they will ultimately be saved into eternity with the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 21:6-8; 22:13). According to God’s Word Christ must reign in the lives of those who will be His now and forever (also see Rom. 6; Gal. 5:24). In relationship with Christ and by His grace and our own free will, we must sentence to death the deeds of the body that the resurrection life of Jesus might dwell in our mortal bodies (Rom. 6; 2 Cor. 4:10-12).
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24
In Ephesians 4:30 we are instructed to “grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
The whole verse says:
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30
Grieving the Holy Spirit is obviously possible or such a warning would not appear in God’s Word. In no place does the Bible hint that the seal cannot be broken. The grace-corrupters assume such with no Scriptural authority.
The Bible truth that one can depart from Christ after believing makes it self-evident that God’s sealing does not mean that one who initially believes is automatically locked into or forced to remain a child of God and go to Heaven. This truth must supersede the conclusion drawn by those who insist upon a “once saved always saved” theology and therefore seek to make the sealing of the Holy Spirit a permanent thing without the consent of the individual.
(cont..final)
There are those who vainly believe they are “sealed” in such a way as to exempt them from personal accountability or responsibility for their sins. This many times leads to gross irresponsibility.
What the Word of God is communicating here in Ephesians 1 concerning sealing is that the Holy Spirit’s presence is in the one who has trusted and is trusting Christ.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer is the “earnest” or divinely-given down payment until final salvation has occurred when that person is in Heaven (Eph. 1:13-14). One must “believe to the saving of the soul” and be “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” to be an overcomer and receive the heavenly crown (Heb. 10:39; 1 Pet. 1:5; Rev. 2-3).
There is no hint of an unconditional eternal security in this Ephesians 1 text where the Bible uses the word “sealed,” yet when dishonest men are bent upon convincing themselves and others of something, they will twist and spin Scripture until they accomplish this. While violating the text and intentionally excluding the whole Counsel of the Word of God, these men make up their own doctrine and are leading many astray. These who corrupt the grace of God for their own purposes, vainly imagine that they are “sealed” in a way the Bible never describes or validates. The “sealing” they speak of is a sham – a sin-justifying lie, placing their souls in danger and at ease in Zion – “Woe unto them.” (Amos 6:1)
The OSAS proponents are assuming something without proper biblical authority. They run with the sealing doctrine and yet cannot prove what they teach – Beware!
Be not deceived when men attempt to hold the Greek over you as if they have some superior position of understanding with the LORD. This is where they supposedly prove their error from the Greek. God gave us His Word in our own language as He promised (Ps. 12:6-7). Knowing the Greek and Hebrew is far inferior to knowing the full spectrum of Scriptures in our own language. Collating the Word in our own language - line upon line – is said to determine the divine verdict on any given subject (Isa. 28:9-10; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16). The LORD Himself clearly breathed His Word to us and had it transmitted to us in our own language from Genesis to Revelation. Numerous clearly revealed truths in the Bible overwhelmingly nullify the misuse of the “sealed” doctrine peddled among the deluded. In utter defiance of volumes of scriptural warnings, some convey by what they teach and do not teach that there should be no thought of eternal danger for the believer who strays into rebellion.
Todd Tomasello
safeguardyoursoul.com
The news is up!
I have no idea what is going on with gmail, but I have been sending out news links for a few years now and suddenly they are marking my emails as spam. I have only sent the links to those that requested them. A few months ago, my list grew like crazy, so I split it into two groups and had no problem. Now, out of the blue, they will not deliver the e-news flash. It's very disturbing.
The Egg Trick
Lisa, it is a reasonable article, however, when one uses as a starting point the assumption that the other interpretation is looking for an easy way out of holiness, then all of the conclusions become suspect.
"One will find that the “sealed” teaching is prevalent among those who seek to justify the perversion of the grace of God using His very words."
"The person who believes in “once saved always saved” will say “When one is saved he is sealed by the Holy Spirit and no power in Heaven or earth can break God’s seal!”"
"There are those who vainly believe they are “sealed” in such a way as to exempt them from personal accountability or responsibility for their sins. This many times leads to gross irresponsibility."
Each one of these statements and accompanying attitude tells me that Todd seems to be more interested in winning the argument than understanding Scripture. That sounds harsh, but where is the accompanying concern over "extreme holiness" and a lack of a trusting assurance of salvation.
Unfortunately, this type of apologetic creeps into our own lives, mine included, and obfuscates the manifestness of the straightforward essence of one's consanguinity with the Divine.
All this is to say that one must work out their salvation with fear and trembling, while living in complete trust that God will bring to completion every good work that He has begun.
Wayne
Jen said,
"Which is your fav cheese steak shop? Personally, I love Jim's on South Street"
I LOVE Jim's! That's the best cheesesteak I've ever eaten. I would have gone back for seconds, but the line was too long.
Nate,
It's great that you're going! Are you already signed up? I want to confirm with my brother that he's going and I'll be in too. We should definitely meet up there...and get a cheesesteak. Jen, you can join us so you won't be there alone. Just tell your husband that you'll be hanging around with a few guys from the internet. That should ease his mind. :)
Dave, LOL
WAYNE,
I like your comment. Yes!
I know that without the saving Grace of Jesus Christ I would got zooming straight to hell. Faster than bullet! There are a lot of things I have never done but thinking that I am above all of that is just as big a sin. That's why I have to leave my shoes outside the door so much. Do do you know.
Grany
P.S. Jen don't tell hubby who the guys are though. LOL
Lori, they've probably fiddled with the virus filter software and changed something that causes it to identify your mail as spam. It often happens to Jack Kinsella's OL briefings.
Oh, okay, well, I didn't feel warm fuzzy feelings when I got 45 rejected emails in my inbox... gag, puke!
What I've done for the last two days is just send them a note with a single link to the site, telling them the news is up... like I do here.
I may wait a few days and see if I can send the links again.
lori
You might enjoy reading THIS ABOUT BOO.
Just a short note, this involves CNN and I don't know if it has been posted about previously.
Grany
Lisa,
I have two coworkers who are both JW. One has her office cubicle right next to mine. She sneezed the other day. My reaction was to say "God bless you." She didn't respond at all. That made me think, I bet JWs don't say God bless you. I'm thinking the kind and respectful thing to do is to ignore her sneezes in the future. Thoughts, advise, or insights?
Incidently, these two coworkers are very kind and pleasant to work with.
Ooops. Should have written "advice," not "advise."
Jim G, next time you hear the sneeze, try saying "Jehovah Rapha," and see what kind of response it elicits. hehehehhe
Jehovah Rapha - The LORD our Healer
Anne here, my password won't work!
Interesting testimony from Gene Veith's blog, by one who was searching in the emergent scene and found what really matters in the traditional church. Third post down, The emergent church meets the “Spirituality of the Cross”
Here's a quote:
Only within the last year or so have I begun to deconstruct the deconstruction, so to speak. I began by reading “Why We’re Not Emergent” and “Why We Love the Church,” both by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. Those books helped me realize that “so much that passes for spirituality these days is nothing more than middle class, 20-something coffee culture. If you like jazz, soul patches, earth tone furniture, and lattes, that’s cool. But this culture is no holier than the McNugget, Hi-C, Value City, football culture that most people live in. Why does incarnational ministry usually mean hanging out at Starbucks instead of McDonalds?
Well, the news is up, at least part of it... I have to get some sleepy person to help me finish just as soon as he wakes up.
I have 3 pages full of cheat sheets that made sense yesterday, today it looks like Greek.
oy!
to bring a smile to your faces
Call the Nestle Hotline at 1-800-295-0051. When asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, wait quietly for about 10 seconds and I PROMISE you will smile. Keep going and press 4. Then press 7. Don't ruin the surprise for the next person.
and yes I did it. very funny too
Anne
great link!
Lori, is it Koine Greek or Modern?
<><
URGENT prayer request for Alesia's sister. Please pray for Marcy (and her family situation). Cannot provide details at the moment.
Thank you all.
Here's one my son just gave me...
561-986-0035
Well, he's 18, I can understand why he has it
So this was the big, stunning punch!
Khamenei: Iran won't let arrogant powers ruin world
"The enemies predicted that the rallies would plunge Iran into a civil war," the Leader noted. "But the massive turnout of the Iranian nation was tantamount to a punch in the mouth of Iran's enemies."
Press TV
MAC,
just got home and read your request for Alesia's sister Marcy and family.
Grany
Praying for Alesia's sister and family, too
Seems to be a lot of beating up on the body lately... Praying for all.
Thank you all for the prayers & for Mac posting the request for me.
Please keep praying though!
I have not, personally, met anyone who has fallen on such hard times as my sister and her family this past year.
She now has double pneumonia, is malnourished, anemic, severly dehydrated & sky high blood pressure. Because she is out of work & has no insurance, the hospital pretty much told her what was wrong & sent her home!
Home life is beyond ridiculous, very volatile at the moment.
Financial ruin, marriage collapse - I could continue but frankly am getting too depressed.
Please pray for Marcy, Bob & Madison (daughter) 1st & foremost for their salvation & spiritual life. Marcy's healing, their marriage & lastly for their financial situation.
~sigh~
Thanks so much
Well, I did it! For the first time using this new "Greek" I was able to follow the directions..
The news is up... let's celebrate with ice cream!
Alesia, I'm really sorry for your families' situation, I prayed that God would meet their spiritual, physical and financial needs...
blessings, Full and running over
"And the European Union Council of Financial Ministers put Greece on notice that it must comply with EU austerity demands by March 16 or lose its sovereignty as a nation." (boldface mine) wow! if you don't reign in your spending you can't be a sovereign nation. does this send chills up and down anyone else's spine?
Soverignty at stake
Alesia
you know, federal law prohibits hospitals from discharging people from the ER when they are really sick irrelevant of ability to pay or insurance. praying for your family
Praise for my family
looks like our son will be non weight bearing only 1 more week. leg is in good alignment, new bone is forming, but he will need to be in cast for an extra week.
Alesia, I've been praying.
Jib, the Greece link caused me to go to the London Telegraph to check the source and I saw this headline "Britain at risk of worse deficit crisis than Greece". This whole situation causes me to wonder if David Wilkerson really did hear from the Lord about two countries in Europe defaulting and then Mexico is next.
China has been dumping US treasuries and if I'm correct, it appears that Japan has made a larrrrrrge purchase. China has since announced they are ready to make a very large investment in NKorea.
It really does seem like so many things are coming together. However, I've been saying that for a long time!
Hopefully soon!!!
Alesia, I am so sorry to hear about your sister. I know several people going thru this same type of situation.
Health care costs are exhorbatant sp?) and with so many people out of jobs with little or health insurance, the whole thing is causing lots of additional problems.
My sister in law has worked hard for many years in a specialized field. She was let go due to downsizing. Has been out of work, no health insurance and has recently had some unexpected high medical bills, not to mention medication costs.
I'm glad I live in a state that allows families to buy into a state program and has nice new federally funded clinics, for folks with and without insurance.
Hopefully He will come back soon and then we won't have to worry about all of these things!
Another update...
--------------------------------
From: becky@theagoragroup.org [mailto:becky@theagoragroup.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 6:43 PM
Subject: Update from Benin
Hi guys,
I'm so excited I just heard from Randy this afternoon for the first time in 4 days. He sounds great. He said it is really hot there in Benin and he was calling me from the roof of the house where there was a slight breeze. Today was the first day of ministry where the pastors and leaders gathered together. He said he was very tired before he spoke (probably because he took NightQuil just a few hours before) but he felt great when it was time to teach. The teaching time was great and they really opened up and shared. Prayer time was very strong as well. Randy will be speaking for 6 hrs tomorrow, Friday and Saturday too. Sunday they will be in a church in the morning and then go to a port where all the slaves from Africa were sent out to go all over the world. As the leaders gathered together they prayed that one day soon missionaries would be sent from the very same port to go all over the world to preach the gospel. Redeeming Love is what its all about!!
Monday they will go to a village where not long ago they had a young lady who had a growth on the side of her face. Erica our missionary friend had heard of this growth and knew that their were surgens near by on one of the Youth With A Missions mercy ships that could help her. They took her there for surgery and after some 6 hrs she was completely healed. But not only was she healed physically but spiritually too. When Erica's husband Tony went to the village to tell them about Jesus shortly after that the people said," If your coming to tell us about Jesus don't bother we already know Him and we all want to serve Him the rest of our lives". They had seen what God had done in this young girls life and now the whole village has come to Christ. How awesome God is, and to think that we get to meet some of his amazing kids all over the world.
Thanks for all your prayers and continue to pray for Randy as he is tired but excited to be able to serve.
Becky
Alesia,
Joining the others in prayer for your sister and family. Also for you, as it is very hard to be so close and yet so sidelined in situations like this.
I wanted to share a few thoughts about the OSAS article posted a few days ago. Not about the OSAS topic, but rather the comment the author made cautioning readers not to depend on the Greek to interpret the meaning of Scripture. The author said, "Be not deceived when men attempt to hold the Greek over you as if they have some superior position of understanding with the LORD." I wanted to share from my personal experience how very freeing it has been to spend time understanding the original language.
Until recently, all my reading and study of Scripture has been in English and that's the translation I was saved by, as I'm assuming is the case for all of us here. However, lately my study has included alot of digging into the Greek/Hebrew for deeper clarification and it's amazing how much is lost in our English translations, or how much is generalized with our vocabulary.
This digging hit home for me and actually delivered me from a very long-held resentment I've had toward my brother and parents for many years. The revelation came when I was studying the story of the prodigal son, which is a story I struggle with GREATLY. Nutshell version....I'm the older "son" in our family and my brother has been the prodigal and like the father in the parable, my parents always welcomed my brother back, no matter how many times he messed up. I was taken for granted in the process and my entire adult life I've been waiting for them to recognize all that I've done right. Never really happens, but all I hear about is my brother's situation. As happy as I am that he's left his wild ways and is in a normal routine now, I still have held this grudge against him and couldn't find peace with it, no matter how much I prayed and asked God to give me a clean heart on the matter.
(TBC....)
(Cont...)
I had gotten to the point where I felt I might have to struggle with this resentment the rest of my life, and the devil had made lots of inroads with condemnation about that fact.
As I was studying one day, the subject of the word "son" came up and it was explained that there are several words used in Greek for what we commonly call a 'son.' I don't have my notes in front of me at the moment, but the study explained how one word means "child" or "immature son" who is not ready to be entrusted with responsibility. The other meaning is used for a fully matured child who is ready to be treated as an adult and given responsibility and privelege. The study pointed out that these two words are used in the prodigal son parable, but to my great disappointment, the word for "mature son" is actually used in reference to the prodigal and the immature child is the obedient son!!! This made things worse for me for a few minutes and I was even more upset and frustrated. But the study went on to explain that the parable isn't talking simply about the consequences of following rules or disobeying them (which is how I had been interpreting it for so long), but rather the difference between coming to the Father in grace vs. coming to the Father under the law. The obedient son is called a 'child' because he is trying to earn grace by following rules. The prodigal is called the "mature son" because he recognizes he has nothing to offer and comes dependent on grace alone. It was like a truth bomb exploded in my brain and I felt such a weight lift off me! I immediately understood that I had been wanting to earn praise/blessings because of my good choices and hard work over the years, which is the opposite of what Scripture tells us we must understand if we are to receive the blessings and priveleges of the Father's estate. So even though I was saved many years ago, I was still living in a law-mentality.
(TBC...)
(Cont...)
As soon as I understood where I had gotten off track, it was actually very easy to get back on the right track! I realized that I didn't want to have the older son relationship with my Father (as I had been yearning for with my earthly parents) but rather, it was a very good thing to be the prodigal! That's the son that gets the concept of grace, knows there is nothing that can be DONE to receive the reward. BEING a recipient of the Father's free gift was exactly where I wanted to be. So today I embrace the prodigal role because it's where we all start out and it's where the blessings are. Being under the law is very stressful and heavy.
Later on, I went back and checked my English version and sure enough, the only word used in the parable is "son." So if it had not been for the study in Greek, I would never have been delivered from my resentment/guilt/frustration that I carried for so long.
I also re-read the parable with the newly understood meaning of grace vs. law and it's amazing how closely the older son's story follows the Jewish relationship with God (still under the law, not understanding grace) and the prodigal follows the Christian relationship with God (under grace, no more under condemnation). No wonder I felt such a burden when I sympathized with the older son.
I share this because I thought someone might be turned off to studying the Greek/Hebrew as they read the Word, because of the comments in the article. For me, the exact opposite has been true and it's made a huge difference in how peaceful and rested I am.
OK - signing off for the night!
Blessings,
Jen
Really good thoughts, Jen! I must have missed the OSAS article but I think it's important that we know what the Holy Spirit intended to convey through the writers of Scripture and how they used the original words. Often that meaning is lost in English translations.
Jen,
I also find value in studying the Greek/Hebrew translations. However there are some who tactically use
the Greek/Hebrew claim to twist scriptures to support their own agenda.
I think that was the point being made.
The JW's had pulled this one on me years ago. Did you know they have their own Greek/Hebrew translation book? They use this tactic to convince others that the manner in which they have translated the words of the Bible are actually the "correct" way (since I can show you from the original
"Greek/Hebrew") when nothing could be further from the truth.
It was very convincing to me at the time & I didn't double check the claims.
So although someone is trying to make a specific point of translation in affirming the "Greek/Hebrew" aspect of study - one still needs to be particularly aware of the full context of the passage & how the subject is related to the entire word of God.
Moriel's newletter has some interesting articles For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren ,February 19, 2010 The Book Review: An Analysis of John Crowder's "The New Mystics"- is a good one to know about.
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"
The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."
Thank you all so much, I so appreciate it.
Stressful, stressful time, on all fronts.
Good story, Lisa about the blind boy.
Jen, I really enjoyed yours as well.
The news is up!
#1 Netanyahu's Speech: "The Dream of Jerusalem"
#2 Denied gas for praying for Israel
#3 Israel's FM to meet his British counterpart Monday in Brussels
#4 US, Israel reach intellectual property deal after 10 yrs
#5 Abbas to renew talks with Israel next week
#6 Vilnai confirms the obvious "...Hizbullah today does indeed posses missiles capable of striking Ben-Gurion International Airport."
#7 Lebanon-Syria border area preparing for Syrian tanks
#8 Don't expect progress from talking with Syria
#9 Israel calls for speedy Iran sanctions, after IAEA report
#10 Past time to get tough with Iran
#11 Inspectors say Iran worked on warhead
#12 Insurers halt business in Iran This is a warning sign
#16 Islamic finance eyes new regions
#17 Opium trade & corruption: Manifestations of Afghanistan's multidimensional crisis
#18 Taliban leader's brother killed by US missile
Our small community of about 2000 people has been feeling attacks on it's youth. In the last month we have lost 2 fourteen year olds to suicide. Both boys were wonderful promising young men from christian families. Their deaths have left such a dark atmosphere, and we really need prayer for our youth and their families!
Thank you, Linda, for posting this. I am at a loss for words. All I know is that God is in control of all things, even if it does not seem so.
Prophecy in the News Friday's newscast- levels of Biblical interpretation is worth knowing about.
I just read about this in their current magazine & it's quite interesting. (Check out the February front cover as well.)
Here is a brief explaination but the mag goes into detail.
Here are the Rabbinical views:
Peshat- the simple elementary level
(such as Mark)
Remez- the hint level
practical application (Luke)
Drosh- the regal level
considered "Midrash"- parables or riddles (Matthew)
Sohd- the secret level
-not of this world- supernatural-
(John)-Jesus as the personification of the "Word" of God, that He is the "Light".
This is good too America's New Babylonian Syndrome.Perry Stone Manna-fest
(About America & the NWO)
Lisa, that Stone report was good.
The news is ready, well, it's been ready, I just forgot to tell you. lol
Today on Off The Wall News
#1 Netanyahu adds Cave of Machpelah to Heritage sites (Patriarchs) "This is just the beginning," Elkin said. "The next step will be ending the building freeze in Judea and Samaria, and adding the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem to the list of national heritage"
#2- 7th of Adar Commemorated around the country
#3 Israel loses good friend: Alex. Haig
#4 Israel trade office to open in Calgary
#5 Israeli delegation to arrive in Moscow for V-Day celebrations
#6 US Congressman Baird calls for US to circumvent Israeli Gaza blockade
#7 Syria - Our Last Port is Freedom: Turkey is sending a flotilla to break the siege on Gaza (biased article)
#8 EU initiative: recognition of Palestinian state by next year
#9 Israel rejects recognition of Palestinian state
#10 Israel unveils new drone fleet that can reach Iran
#11 Bank of Israel Governor Fischer to woo China on Iran
#12 IAEA: Iran's nukes also for army
#13 Israeli PM calls for imposing embargo on petrol export to Iran
#14 Hubris is behind Brazil's ties with Iran
#15 Enough patience with Iran
#16 Iran confident Turkey will not allow US radar base
#17- 20 Ships to Head for Clash in Gaza
#18 Blast outside Egypt synagogue
#19 US forces converge on Taliban holdouts in Marjah
#20 Top US envoy Holbrooke tours Central Asia seeking help to stabilize Afghanistan "The United States has a sizable base in Kyrgyzstan, which it uses for transportation, refueling and supply for U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan."
#21 Russia, Canada sign agreement to continue sport cooperation
#22 The Right to Self-Defense Pt I
#23 The Right to Self-Defense Pt II
#24 John Bolton shreds Obama's foreign policy at CPAC (The first minute is Steven Crowder, then the introduction)
#25 Glenn Beck addresses CPAC
#26 Are US taxpayers bailing out Greece
#27 Doctors confident of 'cure' for childhood peanut allergy
#28 US scientists warn of fraud of stem cell 'banks'
There are several articles on the web that say that Netanyahu gave his blessing on the "hit in Dubai." Although he did meet with the Mossad leader shortly before the assassination, no evidence has come to light to validate those charges.
Even if the story about Netanyahu is true, Hamas in the Gaza has fired over 12,000 rockets into Israel. I'd say that's a war declaration if I ever saw one. Israel, if responsible, just carried out a covert operation without civilian casualities.
Jenny here,
I guess we can say that the anti-Israel movement is starting to real its ugly head in the USA. It is amazing to me how free these students felt to express their ideas.....very sad really.
go to youtube and type in "uncivilized tactics at UC Irvine-roughcut
Ambassader Oren didn't deserve that. Can you imagine if the tables were turned?
Praying for Israel,
Jenny
First, some IN-Ter-resting (to quote Bugs Bunny) articles, then a rant. I found the articles on the "Spirit Digest" website.
The first two are Guidepost articles about possible angelic assistance:
The mysterious mechanic didn't show up in any of the pictures!
Shelter from the Storm
This photo appeared on the front page of Spirit Digest for Feb. 21:
This companion angel did show up in Florida mom's photo
And since so many of us are experiencing spiritual oppression in one form or another, here is a video of an interview with an exorcist, who touches upon spiritual oppression:
Insight of an Exorcist
<><
Now for the rant:
I have Microsoft Windows Home Server (WHS). I was a beta tester for the product and have used it since 2007 on a server that I threw together, except for some hard drives that I bought just for this project. I am an enthusiastic promoter of the product, an unusual stance for me with any Microsoft product, which is a testament to the product.
One of the biggest draws for the product, from my point of view, is the backup. If there was some way they could split it off and sell it as a stand-alone product, they'd have a real winner on their hands. Simply put, instead of requiring that you have at least 3Tb (terabytes) of storage available to back up 500Gb of data (multiple full backups as well as multiple partial backups), they figured out a way to store those backups using less space, to do it in the background, and to do it automatically, so you don't have to keep hounding your kids to back up their work.
(The third time I had to rebuild my middle daughter's PC I told her that if she caught one more virus (because she wasn't running virus scans) and she didn't have a good backup, she would have to pay to buy herself a new PC because I wasn't going to work on it anymore. She now has a regular backup running automatically and has not had any problems in over a year.)
WHS's restore process is just as easy. So easy, that if you need to replace your C: drive, it's a cinch that takes less than half an hour.
IF your backups are good.
I ran out of space on my C: drive and had to put in a larger drive. No biggie -- just swap out the hard drive, boot with the Windows Home Server Restore CD, and I'd be back up and running an hour after I started opening up my PC.
36 hours later, I managed to extract myself from PC Purgatory (that's Hell with a time limit) to get myself back online. WHS is very robust. So robust it was working fine, even though one of the hard disks was developing some bad spots. If I had taken the time to look at the performance logs, I would have seen the problem right away, but heck! why look at the performance logs when it's working just fine! The bad spots only amounted to about 140Kb, but they were apparently a critical 140Kb. And they were right in the middle of my backups.
Yesterday I spent the entire day doing recover/restore work on the server's hard disks, testing all of them to confirm which ones were good and which weren't. As for my PC, I was able to get an old laptop to work well enough to run a clone program so I got the newer hard drive working in the PC, but I couldn't really use it until I had the server working. I also couldn't get on blogger, email, etc. because I didn't have a copy of all my URLs, passwords, etc. on the old laptop. I wound up swapping out two of the server's hard drives and got it back up and running about midnight last night. My PC booted up this morning and has been working fine all day.
Mostly.
You see, about 3 hours ago, the WHS automatic backup started to run. Since I had to delete all the old backups, this would be a brand new complete backup. It would be, in fact, if it had run. The backup process started; it began calculating what needed to be copied;...
... and my PC rebooted.
I tried it three times. Each time I launched a backup, the PC rebooted. I spent an hour on the Microsoft web site forums and came up with some ideas which I've been trying. If they don't work, I'll just wait and pick things up again tomorrow. Still, it brings to mind something that has been a personal motto far too many times in my life...
"When you're up to your rear in alligators, it's hard to remember that all you wanted to do was drain the swamp."
<><
Interesting ArticleAn Urgent Call From Gershon Salomon, Chairman of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, to All the Nations and to Everyone in the World:
Syria: Next War with Israel Will Be Ruinous
Lisa
I had read that yesterday and meant to post as well. first thought also was Is 17 when I saw the original headline on Drudge or somewhere.
As a side note-be prepared to use you prophecy knowledge I think in the coming year as a tool for witnessing. If Is 17 does happen this year you can tell people the Bible foretold it thousands of years ago. Might be a means leading into witnessing.
as a side note. Our son is most distressed that Satan will never be saved. He was shocked to learn that Satan used to be the most beautiful angel ever named Lucifer and now he is evil and named Satan. for now I told him that we know he will end up in forever torment because Satan does not want to be good he wants to be God. any other ideas out there?
Jib, don't know if this will help, but you can talk to your son about free will and freely-made decisions. The choices Satan made were made when he was in the presence of G_D. When he was in the presence of Infinite Love, he freely chose to reject that love. He freely chose to separate himself from that love.
The problem is that, now, Satan cannot repent. He is suffering such torment, that any choice he might make to repent is not a free choice. If G_D were to free Satan from this torment, any choice Satan made to repent would be made out of fear of being returned to that torment, not because he loved G_D. This is also why those who have chosen to reject G_D's love in life cannot be redeemed after death. Once you have died, you fully and completely see the results of your choices in life. Because of that, you can't "change your mind" -- if the love was not there before death, you won't be able to freely choose love after death because any choice would be tainted by your direct knowledge of the consequences of rejecting G_D's love.
This is also the reason Satan and his minions hate us: we have the graces and the opportunities to be with G_D. We can choose to reject those opportunities that they have already rejected and can never have again.
<><
Jib,
Oh-the mind of a child! Now I'll ask my kids what they think about that too.
Maybe it's because @ that age they don't understand what evil really is.
Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Odd X-Pattern of Trailing Debris
Here's a heads-up, esp. for those people in the Northwest:
Severe Drought Expected for The Pacific Northwest
This is not from the National Weather Service or from the Farmer's Almanac. The author is a trucker who drives all over the Northwest and is basing this prediction on years of experience in correlating winter conditions with what happens later in the year.
Pay special attention if you live in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon, Northern California, Idaho and Montana. The long and short of it is that there isn't enough snowpack to provide enough groundwater to keep trees, grasses, etc. from drying out before the end of summer. At that point it will take only one careless camper or smoker to start a blaze, or series of blazes, that will consume a LOT of land.
The essay has a lot of good points on preparing yourself for such a season.
<><
The news is up and it's very extensive today.
There are several articles of importance on Israel and on the UN.
Jim C
thoughtful answer thanks.
Lisa
just be prepared for a barrage of questions you might not be able to answer. the problem with our son is that he obviously thinks about this stuff and doesn't necessarily ask questions or make comments at the time. Randomly and out of the clear blue it will come up usually several days later. He actually wanted to pray for Satan that he would repent so he could be God's special angel again. I explained that Satan doesn't want a second chance, that he wants to be God not just the most special angel. that might have fixed it for now but one never knows.
They have caught two men in the church burnings in East Texas. I'm grateful they have been caught (I hope they have all and the right people)before someone was killed.
Sad part is they are only 19 and 21 and have grown up in a church in this area.
All churches are praying for them...please pray for them too.
Thanks,
Jenny (previously posting under DH's name scott robinson)
Oh JIB,
I've had fifth graders pray for the same thing with Satan. they truely don't want to see anyone left behind even if it is the Devil himself. They know they are supposed to pray for their enemies. It gets very confusing and complicated for them. Keeping angels separate from humans helps. Also, restating God's Word is absolute. if He says no God means no. If God tells us there is a way and we have a choice as humans then He means that too.
I'm glad you keep the line of communication open. Much rather have them ask you the questions and not have another kid tell them what to believe.
I love when kids make us think too. I learn more teaching Sunday School than I do in a Bible Study sometimes:)
Praying for Israel,
Jenny
Don't worry about him JIB because sooner or later he will realize the difference between good and evil. Why do I think so? Well, when I was about his age, I couldn't stand the thought of an angel going into a pit with fire and darkness. Heard a lot of that in the sermons of my days. I couldn't understand good and evil because I didn't see it. Then a terrible tragedy took place at the home of one of our neighbors and it was at that time my grandfather explained that evil had taken over the father of the victim which resulted in a terrible deed. I was old enough then to understand. Sometimes I wonder if God doesn't smile at the tenderness and innocence of our children.
Maybe that is why Jesus said unless we had the faith of a small child we couldn't enter into heaven. They pray and they expect Father to answer their prayers. They most generally get the answers quicker than we do. But I don't believe this one will get answered.
Jenny R. so good to see you operating in your own name.
Grany
I just asked 5yr Melanie what is going to happen w/Satan. "He's going to get thrown in the pit".
So what do you think about that? "It's good because that's where the bad people are going to go." "Satan is bad".
Jib,
I think your son may have the gift of mercy/compassion! (:
RED SKELTON'S RECIPE
FOR THE PERFECT MARRIAGE
1. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a
little beverage, good food and companionship.
She goes on Tuesdays, I go on Fridays.
2. We also sleep in separate beds.
Hers is in California, and mine is in Texas.
3. I take my wife everywhere,
but she keeps finding her way back.
4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.
"Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said.
So I suggested the kitchen.
5. We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.
6. She has an electric blender, electric
toaster and electric bread maker.
She said "There are too many gadgets, and no place
to sit down!" So I bought her an electric chair.
7. My wife told me the car wasn't running well
because there was water in the carburetor.
I asked where the car was. She told me, "In the lake."
8. She got a mud pack and looked great for two days.
Then the mud fell off.
9. She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, "Am I too late
for the garbage?" The driver said, "No, jump in!".
10. Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.
11. I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her
first name was 'Always'.
12. I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months.
I don't like to interrupt her.
13. The last fight was my fault though.
My wife asked, "What's on the TV?"
I said, "Dust!".
New post is up.
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