The Wrath of Radical Muslims

The Wrath of Radical Muslims
CBN News
October 19, 2006
CBNNews.com- Five years after the attacks of September 11, America continues to face a challenging enemy.
"One which is totally invisible, which is submerged within the civilian fabric of society which wears T-shirts, denim jeans, baseball caps" said Terrorism Analyst M.J. Gohel, but is infected by an ideology of violent global jihad.
Today, radical Muslim terrorists have renewed their war against Jews, Christians, the United States, and other non-Muslim nations.
"They wish to destroy the democratic and secular world," Gohel said.
In its place, they want to impose a 7th century totalitarian ideology that would control all religious, social, and political life on earth.
Gohel said, "They want to impose Islamic caliphates, Islamic super states on the entire world."
In such a world, all debate or criticism about Islam would seize to exist.
Some argue that such a world exists already. Since 9/11, anyone who dares to criticize Islam or its agenda and history, faces the wrath of potentially millions of Muslims.
Case in point: Pope Benedict's citation of a 14th century emperor who called Islam "evil and inhuman" and the cartoon drawings negatively depicting the prophet Mohammed. Both drew violent reactions from Muslims worldwide.
To some, it appears, that Muslims are always ready and waiting to be outraged. But many ask, where's the outrage at the violence committed by Muslims.
For example, where is it when Muslims kill Muslims in Iraq and Darfur, a Catholic nun is gunned down in Somalia, and an Iraqi priest is kidnapped and beheaded in Baghdad after the pope's challenging remarks? Or when Muslims in Indonesia cut off the heads of three teenaged girls on their way to a Christian school?
In Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Christians are regularly persecuted by Muslims for their faith. And in London, Madrid, Bali, and Amman, Islamic terrorists kill dozens of innocent victims in suicide operations.
In all these incidents, there's no outrage or apology from the Muslim world. Just silence.
Karen Hughes, the Undersecretary of State, says "this is not right." In a letter published in USA Today titled, "Where's the Outrage,"Hughes writes that, "a much louder chorus of voices needs to join in condemning it. Terrorism threatens all of us. It targets the very foundation of a free society."
But those who are engaged in radical Islam's war against the West see themselves as following the examples of the prophet Mohammed. And according to them, anyone who insults Islam or the prophet, should be put to death.
Robert Spencer knows a thing or two about the prophet Mohammed. Spencer takes on the most sacred figure in Muslim history.
His latest book, The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion, looks at what Islam's founder actually did and taught.

The Ideology of Islam

The Ideology of Islam
By Lee Webb
CBN News
October 20, 2006
CBNNews.com -- When the pope questions Islam, or cartoons criticize the prophet Muhammed, millions of Muslims around the world threaten death to anyone who insults their religion.
But some are wondering where the outrage is when Muslims murder innocent men, women and children.
Five years after the attacks of Sept.11, America continues to face a challenging enemy.
"One which is totally invisible, which is submerged within the civilian fabric of society which wears t-shirts, denim jeans, baseball caps," said M.J. Gohel who is a terrorism analyst.
But it is infected by an ideology of violent global jihad. Today, radical Muslim terrorists have renewed their war against Jews, Christians, the United States and other non-Muslim nations.
"They wish to destroy the democratic and secular world," said Gohel. "They want to impose Islamic caliphates, Islamic super states on the entire world."
And in its place, impose a seventh century totalitarian ideology that would control all religious, social and political life on earth. In such a world, all debate or criticism about Islam would seize to exist.
Some argue that such a world exists already. Since Sept. 11, anyone who dares to criticize Islam or its agenda and history, faces the wrath of potentially millions of Muslims.
Case in point: Pope Benedict's citation of a 14th century emperor who called Islam "evil and inhuman" and the cartoon drawings negatively depicting the prophet Mohammed. Both drew violent reactions from Muslims worldwide.
To some, it appears Muslims are always ready and waiting to be outraged. But many ask: where's the outrage at the violence committed by Muslims?
Muslims killing Muslims in Iraq and Darfur, a Catholic nun is gunned down in Somalia and an Iraqi priest is kidnapped and beheaded in Baghdad after the pope's challenging remarks.
Muslims in Indonesia cut off the heads of three teenaged girls on their way to a Christian school.
In Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, just to name a few countries, Christians are regularly persecuted by Muslims for their faith.
In London, Madrid, Bali and Amman, Islamic terrorists kill dozens of innocent victims in suicide operations.
In all these incidents, there's no outrage or apology from the Muslim world -- just silence.
Karen Hughes, the undersecretary of state, says "this is not right." In a letter published in USA Today titled, Where's the Outrage? Hughes writes that, "a much louder chorus of voices needs to join in condemning it. Terrorism threatens all of us. It targets the very foundation of a free society."
But those who are engaged in radical Islam's war against the west see themselves as following the examples of the prophet Mohammed. And according to them, anyone who insults Islam or the prophet should be put to death.
Robert Spencer is very knowledgeable about the prophet Mohammed.
Spencer takes on the most sacred figure in Muslim history. His latest book, The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion, looks at what Islam's founder actually did and taught.

ISRAEL AND THE PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE

ISRAEL AND THE PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE
Edited by J.Lindell
Many people announce, that the Bible does't tell anything about Israel and the happenings in the Middle East today. In this booklet you can read about various subjects concerning Israel. Part of these prophecies has already been fullfilled, some are happening in these days and some will be fullfilled in the near future. The Bible verses chosed from King James Version are systematically grouped according to certain subjects without any comments.
1. GOD ANNOUNCES HIS PLANS IN ADVANCE

2. ISRAEL - CHOSEN BY GOD

3. THE CHOISE AND ATTITUDES OF ISRAEL
4. THE SCATTERING OF ISRAEL

5. WHY ISRAEL WAS SCATTERED ?

6. THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL AND ITS REBUILDING PROCESS

7. ISRAEL STILL THE CHOSEN PEOPLE

8. THE ATTITUDES OF THE WORLD AND THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL

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1. GOD ANNOUNCES HIS PLANS IN ADVANCE
The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: .... 26. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? ( Is. 14:24-27)
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11. ... I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Is. 46:10-11)
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. (Is. 48:3)
I the LORD will hasten it in his time. ( Is. 60:22 )
Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. (Jer. 1:12)
The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. (Jer. 23:20,30:24)
Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezek 12:28)
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matt 5:18 etc) (Word of Jesus)
Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matt. 22:29)
To the beginning
2. ISRAEL - CHOSEN BY GOD
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Ex. 19:5-6)
And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. ( Lev. 20:26 )
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8. But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; ( Deut. 7:6-9 )
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. (Deut. 14:2)
And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 19. And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken. (Deut. 26:18-19)
Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; (Is. 49:8)
The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name. (Jer. 10:16, 51:19 )
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. ( Amos 3:2)
For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. ... 12. And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. (Zech. 2:8, 12)
To the beginning
3. THE CHOISE AND ATTITUDES OF ISRAEL
Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27. A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28. And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. (Deut. 11:26-28)
2. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9. The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, ... 13. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deut. 28:2...14)
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. ... 18. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. .... 37. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. ... 43. The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. ... 45. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: 46. And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. (Deut. 28:15...19, 37...46)
And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, (Deut. 30:1)
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (Deut. 30:19)
And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. (Jer. 21:8)
And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20. And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. (Lev. 26:18-21)
And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? (Judg. 2:2)
But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. (Is. 63:10)
To the beginning
4. THE SCATTERING OF ISRAEL
And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. 34. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 35. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 36. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. 37. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. (Lev. 26:33-38)
And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. (Deut. 4:27)
And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67. In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (Deut. 28:64-67)
I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them. (Jer 9:16)
and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. (Ezek. 5:10)
And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. (Ezek. 22:15)
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. (Micah 3:12)
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. ( Zech. 7:14)
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. ( Luke 21:24)
To the beginning
5. WHY ISRAEL WAS SCATTERED ?
Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? 25. Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: 26. For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: 27. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: (Deut. 29:24-28)
And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city? 9. Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. (Jer. 22:8-9 )
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: 19. Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD. (Jer. 29:18-19)
Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. 6. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. 7. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; 8. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. 9. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. (Ezek. 5:5-9)
And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. (Ezek. 39:23-24)
To the beginning
6. THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL AND ITS REBUILDING PROCESS
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5. And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. (Deut. 30:3-5)
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23. For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. (Is. 10:20-23)
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Is. 11:12)
For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. (Is. 14:1)
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6. I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7. Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. (Is.43:5-7)
Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (Is. 51:11)
The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. (Is. 56:8)
Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. (Is. 60:4)
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? (Is. 60:8)
And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. (Jer. 12:15)
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15. But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 16. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. (Jer. 16:14-16)
And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
8. But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. (Jer. 23:3-8)
And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (Jer. 29:14)
3. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4. And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. (Jer. 30:3-4)
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: (Jer. 32:37)
Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 17. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. ... 19. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20. That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezek. 11:16...20)
For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41. I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. 42. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. 43. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44. And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezek. 20:40-44 )
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 21. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof. 22. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you. (Ezek. 22:19-22)
Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. 26. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God. (Ezek. 28:25-26)
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. (Ezek. 34:12-16)
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; ... but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. (Ezek. 37:21-28)
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26. After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28. Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezek. 39:25-29)
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. (Is. 61:4 )
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, 7. And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Is. 62:6-7)
Ezek. 36 Israels rebuilding. (Read the Bible)
Ezek. 37 "Dry bones " become alive. (Read the Bible)
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. 13. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God. ( Amos 9:11-15)
To the beginning
7. ISRAEL STILL THE CHOSEN PEOPLE
Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. 44. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. (Lev. 26:42-45)
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31. (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. (Deut. 4:30-31)
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. (Is. 54:10 )
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. (Jer. 31:35-37 )
Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; 21. Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, .... 23. Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24. Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25. Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26. Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them. (Jer. 33:20...26)
As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. (Rom. 9:25-29 )
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. ...11. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? ... 15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? ... 26. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. 29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Rom. 11:1...29)
To the beginning
8. THE ATTITUDES OF THE WORLD
AND THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. (Zech. 12:1-4)
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. (Zech. 14:1-3)
1. But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 2. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 4. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. ( Micah 4:1-4) (See also Is. 2:2-4)
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
4. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5. And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. ( Is. 4:3-5)
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2. And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. ( Is. 11:1-10)
He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. (Is. 27:6)
Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. 18. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; (Is. 32:15-18)
Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. (Is. 44:23)
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. 4. For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. 6. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. 7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. 9. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Is. 52:1-10)
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jer. 3:17)
And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (Jer 24:7)
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jer. 31:31-34)
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. (Jer. 32:40-41)
And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 8. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it. 10. Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, 11. The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD. (Jer. 33:7- 11)
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. 25. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezek. 34:23-30)
Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. (Hos. 3:5)
Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. 20. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD. (Zeph. 3:19-20)
And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. (Zech. 8:13)
To the beginning

This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren ,

This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren ,
"Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in
California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a
nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last
forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body--
but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions
of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.
God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life
isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just
coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character
than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making
your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of
life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the
toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark
time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe
that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of
like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something
good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something
bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something
good you can thank God for
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,
"which is my problem, my issues, my pain."
But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off
yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of
thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for
her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her
character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For
instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million
copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with
before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego
or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety
and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide
what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from
the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace
Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the
sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since
I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be
able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions?
Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness?
Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God,
if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and
love You better ...
God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more
interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human
beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
I would rather live my life as if there is a God, And die to find out
there isn't, Than live my life as if there isn't, And die to find out
there is!

Martyrdom Not New to Nigerian Christians

Martyrdom Not New to Nigerian Christians
Greg MusselmanVoice of the Martyrs
Last month, a Muslim mob stoned a Christian woman to death for openly sharing the gospel. But martyrdom is nothing new to Nigeria's Christians.
Jemima Samson Bukar lost her husband when militant Muslims started rioting in the market village of Yelwa in southern Plateau State on February, 24, 2004. The well-armed attackers started killing Christians and burning houses at around 7 a.m.
“We all went out for morning devotions in the church. The rioters had already planned the attack,” Bukar said. “They brought weapons around our house and around the church. When we were inside the church, we were singing praises and were worshipping God. The rioters came and surrounded the church.”
Bukar told her husband, who was the pastor of the church, to run. But he refused, saying that he was going to stay with his congregation
“In the midst of the killing my husband died, my son was also killed, he had just finished secondary school,” she said. “The killers made us go to our homes, and they said they were going to kill us. We told them we weren’t afraid of dying. We will die if God wants us to die. Our husbands were killed during the fighting.”
According to Human Rights Watch who investigated the incident, 48 Christians died in the church that day, another 30 also perished during the attack.
“When we came back to the village after the killings our church was burnt down, my husband was killed, my son was killed,” Bukar said. “We did not have anything left with us except for the Bible that we took when we were running away. That was the only thing we had with us. All other things were destroyed. Our house was also burnt by fire.”
But Bukar is not a bitter woman because she has an eternal perspective.
“Now I have hope because I know that my husband has gone to be with the Lord,” she said. “I used to be very angry because of the death of my husband, but the most important thing for me now is my prayer for the killers of my husband that God will forgive them.”

I Harvest Crusade Addresses End of the World Fears
Between the war in the Middle East and the terrorist plot in England, many are asking the question, “Is the end of the world near?”
Evangelist Greg Laurie addressed the question at his 17th Annual Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, Calif. this week.
More than 100,000 people came to the three-day festival of gospel music and preaching. Laurie told the crowd that the events taking place today are 'signs of the times' that Jesus is returning soon.
And he urged them to put their faith in Christ. Harvest reports that more than 9,000 people prayed to receive salvation at the event.

IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH REASONABLE ?

IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH REASONABLE ?
REFLECTIONS BASED ON EVERYDAY OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCES
J. LINDELL
Many people, even religious ones, think that many biblical truths are absurd or at least difficult to explain. Pontius Pilate´s question : "What is truth ?" is even today an actual question. Many reject Christian belief only because they don't understand everything - but simultaneously they approve the newest accomplishments of technology, although they don't know at all how do they operate. The thing that matters is only, that technology works.
The gospel works still today, too. Thousands of people even in our country as well as millions in the world can prove that. Some people might have been disappointed, as Christian message has not indicated its power. But that is perhaps just because they haven't wanted to accept it. Christianity is to many people only a pleasant doctrine or respected habit, which has no practical meaning - and they lose a lot.
Although we are not able to comprehend God's acts with our brain, it does not mean that Christian belief has to be absurd. On the contrary it can be more absurd not to believe in God. Unfortunately there are many authorities nowadays trying to annul spiritual issues. Evolution-doctrine tries to verify that no Creator is needed any more. Liberal theology tries to abrogate the Divine inspiration from the Bible claiming that it is just written by men and its contents are very contradictory. In addition there are many non-biblical religious sects and trends today about which people are very confused. It seems very difficult, almost impossible to find out the truth. Does the truth exist at all ?
I will not deal with these questions scientifically or theologically. My intention is just to try with the help of common sense indicate some facts, which came to my mind at that time I struggled with these problem's myself. Before one can get to any solution it is important to examine different alternatives versatilely and without prejudices, honestly selecting the most reasonable solution among various possibilities, or the least absurd, if not all can be explained. Often in our disbelief we can remain staring at some small details, according which we make up our mind, without realizing, that the entity is pointing out to quite another kind of direction.
IS THERE GOD?
To many people this is completely needless question, while other people enormously struggle in their minds with this question without reaching any clarity. Evolutionists try to explain, how everything developed phase by phase from nothingness. First there was an enormous explosion. After that life was born by itself. An enormous evolution chain got it start leading in time being to the appearance of a mankind. Because all this can be explained "completely naturally", there is no need for Creator nor God. All this is scientist's theory, in which we laymen are unable to interfere. But - how does a healthy common sense react to this issue?
Let us compare a small detail in the majestic macrocosm - a person – with a process of modern chemical industry. All we know, who is a person, man or woman. Many have some kind of picture of industry as well. Between these pictures there are many kinds of similarities. A person is a really well developed "process industry". Our body produces large amount's of chemical compounds in order to be able to operate. The amounts of these compounds may not be large but in the diversity and complexity they exceed those achievements of a large chemical industrial plant. And these human "industrial plants" are already over 5 billions in this world.
Our body is equiped with its own power plant, which produces power and heat to us. We use as fuel many kinds of food material. There is a large pipe network, which reaches every place in our body. Blood circulation system takes care of both food and waste product transport. This transport is kept running by a pump, which continuously without intervals works even 70 - 90 years (our industry would take gladly so longlasting devices into use).
Our small process industry is also equiped with extremely high level instrumentations. Sight of eyes, hearing ability of ears, taste, smell, and tactile senses are even today nearly undefeatable dispite the enormous technical development. Do we still have an addition sixth sense?
In addition to this we have also a very developed computer, which registers enormous amount of impressions and controls that quite complicated automatism, which allows us to remain alive and do our daily jobs. We are so accustomed to all this, that mostly we do not react until some part fails. In other words we live and do our work normally without thinking how all is possible. If our understanding would be prerequisite to our living functions, we would have to admit, that our live were completely absurd, which we under no circumstances can believe in. But there are also many kinds of differences, such as person's instinct or person's capacity for reproduction, which are only a distant dream as far as today's industry is concerned.
The result from this comparison is, that a normal person is much more complicated and further developed being than any of the most developed industry to which an enormous developmental resources are invested. If now, from the evolutionists point of view, the mankind is developed from nothing quite accidentally without Creator, so it should be much more simple and more logic to think that some industrial plants have developed from nothing without assistance of researchers, designers, device manufacturers and builders.
All we know, how enormously all kinds of resources have been needed - and still are - to technological development. Each article in our shops has required a huge amount of development and manufacturing work. It seems to me, that only evolutionists dare to insist to theories, which are against this normal, everyday common sense. "Everything has developed and happened slowly during millions of years!" But all we know also what sort of "development" happens already in few years in an industrial building, which nobody takes care of. After thousands of years there is no sign left anu longer.
When we speak about randomly developed evolution, we deal with such kinds of probabilities, that nobody hardly understand what it is about. For example our body's genes include such an amount of information that is equivalent to thousands of pages of normal text in a book. How have "letters" in this gene information been able to arrange themselves into a functional and reasonable order? On the other hand there is a big probability of the "letters" in some situation to form a command, which destroys all previous development. How are the "building stones" of this gene information, aminoacids, been formed? They are formed of the initial material only in very limited conditions and in reducing environment. In other words: oxygen may not have been present. But we know, that life needs oxygen. So, how is it possible, that life has developed in conditions in which it can not function?.
Randomly developing evolution occurs against the second wellknown law of thermodynamics. According to the law of entropy the disorder of a system will steadily increase without external supply of energy. The very good order of this creation does not thermodynamically fit with the random evolution.
These were only some very simple statements indicating that the evolution theories have not been proved enough. When we look at that enormous harmony, which predominates in the world, if the mankind do not disturb it, we must humbly and in deep respect honour Creator, who has planned and made all this.
WHY IS EVERYTHING EXISTING?
Previously I tried to indicate simply, without complicated scientific or theological theories, that it is much more simple to believe that God is the Creator of this universe than to believe that it has developed by itself from nothing.
If God has created all this, many kinds of questions raise up to mind. Why did He creat the world? What is his intentions? Who is God? What is the purpose and the tasks of the mankind? Questions like this have been asked innumerably.
But let us return to our process industry. Behind each modern industrial plant there are people, which either as private persons or representants for some company, foundation, or the state's agents have made the decision to build up the manufactory concerned. There have always been clear motives and intentions for the decision. In addition there have been plans for financing and other resources. (It is another question if these plans have always been realistic.)
No reasonable person will build a complicated manufactory just for fun. In the same way we can assume, that God has had a clear intention and accurate detailed plans, when he created the world and the mankind. Like the staff of a manufactory, the mankind neither have always the accurate information about all things, and often we can wonder, why everything is and happens in a particular way.
A newly built industrial plant is not left empty. The managers employ workers, they give them working rules and training. There are very accurate instructions, mostly in written form, how to operate in various situations. It is a serious crime against the employment conditions to neglect these instructions. For example neglecting security instructions can cause both for oneself and other workers serious damage, and punishments could be considerable.
If God has created the mankind to this world, has he also given us some instructions? Yes, He has done it.
Earlier He often spoke directly to His people,or through the prophets. Nowadays we have the Bible from where we can learn His will and instruction for the mankind.
IS THE BIBLE RELIABLE ?
Is the Bible then really reliable ? What is the difference between the Bible and other books? Liberal theologians insist, that the Bible is just written by men, and it is equivalent with other books. That is why it can be examined with the same methods as other books. Many things in the Bible are difficult to understand with human sense. What is the testimony of the Bible itself?
The Bible is really written by men but these have been inspired by The Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:10-11 etc.), and they have been able to bring messages directly from God. Even if their own human nature can be seen in the writings, these are still reliable.
Translation difficulties can cause problems to understand, as also our lack of knowledge about the people and their customs at that time. The Bible tells us about things from many points of view. If we ask four persons who look at the same building from different directions to describe what they see, we would get four different descriptions. Many details may seem to be in conflict with each other, but they are however real. Perhaps most of so called "faults" in the Bible arise from translation inaccuracies and from our inability to see the multitude of aspects in God's creation. Even as believers we are often blind in this sense, which has often scattered the Christians into smaller separate groups. We can't take some single verses from the Bible to support our own opinion if the Bible as a whole does not support them. We should try to seek and find the true message of the Bible and form our opinion according to that.
Who is the person, who dares to set himself above God and decide in which Bible verses we can trust - and which not? Because the Bible is given to us for teaching and guidance, I believe, that God has supervised His Word so that it is to us sufficiently reliable, if we really want to obey it.
When we people try to examine various things, we need suitable gauges and methods. Nobody would even try to measure electrical flow in a cable with a kitchen scale or a liquid capacity with a measure of length. Somebody think, that they can examine the nature of God and His Word with same methods they use to examine people and their writings. They don't realize, that "The Allmighty God"-concept requires new dimensions, for which new "measure methods" are needed. The Bible tells us, that only through the Holy Spirit we can examine God's depths. Otherwise we make serious mistakes. This demands great humility because nobody can "command" God's Holy Spirit. Paul deals with these questions in 1st letter to Corinthians chapter 1-2.
But how react to the miracles and other points in the Bible, which are difficult for us to understand?
Firstly we must understand, that God, who has planned and created all, has also possibilities to act in various situation in a manner we do not comprehend. Many people have clear experience of this, when they humbly trust in God's assistance. For example there are no difficulties for some device manufacturers to modify the working manner of some device. Or think about a computer program, which under certain circumstances acts in a quite unusual way.
Unless we believe in the Bible as God's Word, how can we then for example explain those prophecies, which after thousands of years have been fulfilled very literally with small details. Professor Kaitera has mathematically counted the probabilities for this kind of fulfillments of some prophecies and has found out the probability non-existent, if they were just human attempts.
And how can we neglect the experiences of those thousands, even millions of people, who have found, that Bible's Word has been reliable, when they have trusted in it. These pieces of evidence can not be annulled even by liberal theologians.
When I weigh all these alternatives for and against Gods Word, I become convinced that it is much more reasonable to trust the Bible as the Word of God, although I do not understand everything, than to refuse it and reduce it to some sort of "mytology".
The biggest and most important question is: do we obey the instructions given by God or do we leave them carelessly aside ? "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." This truth from the Bible can never be annulled by a man.
IS IT DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE ?
Earlier I briefly argued, that the belief in God as Creator and in the reliability of the Bible can be much more reasonable alternative as denial of those things. I want to continue by telling about some every day phenomena.
When I personally began to deal with these problems, God himself spoke to me through the process plant, where I was working. I found how difficult it is to accept spiritual truths, while on the other hand we very easily accept similar things on the technical side.
One of today’s very serious delusions is to believe, that we do not need spiritual things as long as all goes well and we have a feeling that we can easily manage our lives on our own. In an industrial production chain even small deviations in the initial stage of the production line may cause serious faults to the quality of products seen not until in the final stage of the process or not until in the customer’s use. Otherwise process goes on well and anything suspicious can not be found in the tests during the manufacturing stages. But the small unclean infiltrations at the initial stages will be revealed during the special tests for the end product. But then it is too late to repair the faults. In the same way can our selfmade "small" (?) deviations from Gods "instructions" be exposed on the judgement day, although otherwise we have lived an exemplary life. Everyone needs to be made righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. (One of Luther's main principles.)
What is justification and salvation from sin? The Bible says: "Thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Can it really be so simple to get saved? Do we not need almost superhuman efforts to repair the broken contact with God?
My thoughts turned to electric lighting. It is twilight outside and darkness comes also into the rooms. We switch on the current and - immediately there comes light. What would one of our ancestors think if visited us now? In stead of touching the switch he would have started to examine the system with great wisdom. After having found only metal wires, no chips, no oil, the conclusion might have been: It is impossible to get light! But however it will work - on condition that the system is connected to the power source. Otherwise it don't work. Also spiritual salvation works only, if we accept the redemption prepared and offered to us by God in Jesus Christ. Any home made faith, no matter how fine and intelligent, cannot save us.
What about relationship with God, who seems to be so far from us? (Although He is everywhere.) Can God hear our prayers? We know, that with today’s technology distances do not hinder us to get connected. From our living room we can talk to people on the other side of the world. Through television we can see what happens simultaneously on a distance of thousands of kilometers. Few of us understand, how all this is possible, but all we can benefit this technology by using our devices according to given instructions. But "with own connections" we do not achieve anything. To our "wise ancestor" stories about these accomplishments of modern technology had been mere insanity, fairy tale or just a nice daydream.
Is God aware of everything we do? When I think about the today’s developed measurement and information technology, there is no difficulty to assume, that it does not cause any difficulties to Him, who has planned and created everything in details. We must also recall, that God is not material, but He has much wider dimensions and possibilities in use than we can image.
A journalist mentioned recently, that he could not understand resurrection, about which the Bible speaks. Ironically speaking we could say, that it is good that this journalist did not become a farmer. Farmer needs a strong believe in "resurrection"! What an insanity it is in spring time to throw away and "bury" it in the soil valuable grain of which could be prepared food to many people. But the farmer knows, that although he does not get his seed back, soon will come the "resurrection" day in the autumn when he can harvest the crop in manyfold. Paul deals with this subject in the first letter to Corinthians chapter 15.
What it means to be born again what Jesus emphasized so many times (John chapter 3)? It is life in connection with the living God. Dead materia can not produce life. Nor can spiritually dead person, because of sin, by himself create this connection to God. Only through Jesus we can get this connection. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." What is this connection and spiritual life about? Obviously nobody can satisfactorily explain that.
But who can explain, what as a matter of fact our physical life is all about? Nobody can define that either, although we know much about how it works. But to most of us it is enough that the life works in practice. One just lives without knowing, what the life itself is. It is the same with spiritual life, too. We cannot create life on our own.
In order to live we must eat and breathe. In our spiritual life we must also get nourishment from God's Word and prayer.
It is often said: "Faith is my private issue and nobody else needs to know about it". Is it so? In principle perhaps it could succeed that way, but we have to admit that it is very odd and exceptional, if someone lives so isolated and apart from other people, that nobody knows about him. According to the Bible we should spiritually be light and salt in our environment.
In all education and research this paradox is valid: "The more we know, the less we know". When a person penetrates into a new subject area, he will find, that all the time new views open up before him and new questions arise. This is how it is regarding reading the Bible, if we approach the text with open and humble mind. "Omniscient" and critical attitude can however hinder us from finding answers to the real life questions.
Almost all of us have sometimes been driving car with help of a map. In that kind of situation three questions are quite important: Where am I coming from? Where am I travelling to? Where am I right now? These three questions are also important, when we seek the right direction in our lives with help of the map given by God, the Bible.
I hope, that these scattered thoughts could stimulate those who honestly seek answers to their life questions. However we must remember, that real Christian faith is not a belief of our brain, but a belief coming from our hearts. You cannot create faith no matter how much you struggle. The true faith created by Jesus Christ gets birth in our hearts, when we realize that before God we are sinners who need to confess our sins and repent, and receive in our hearts the gift of reconciliation that Jesus brought us through his death and his resurrection.

My Cousin and Me -- Gary Lane

My Cousin and Me -- Gary Lane
(Cairo) Except for frequent anti-Israeli protests at Cairo’s Al Azhar University, many Egyptians were slow to criticize the Israelis at the start of the Jewish state’s recent war with Hizballah. President Hosni Mubarek’s government denounced Hizballah saying it had prompted the Israeli military response when it kidnapped two IDF soldiers. That response wasn’t made because Egyptians love Israelis—some I talked to here seem to dislike Hizballah even more. It’s a Shiite terror group and most Egyptian Muslims are Sunnis. Many devout Sunnis believe Shiites are apostates because they follow Mohammed’s son-in-law, Ali Ibn Abi-Taleb rather than Mohammed. This is a centuries- old dispute—one that continues as Shiites and Sunnis slaughter each other daily in Iraq.
This thinking was vocalized recently by Sheik Mohammed Ihsan of the el-Mogamma el-Islami Mosque in Port Fouoad, Egypt. He raised the ire of Muslims attending Friday prayers when he said, “Backing Jews and Christians is better than supporting Shiites.” He was referring to Hizballah.
As the war with Hizballah dragged on and images of dead Lebanese appeared hourly on television screens throughout the Middle East, anti-Israeli and pro-Hizballah rhetoric intensified in Egypt. The great divide between Shiites and Sunnis has now narrowed--at least among the radicals. During the fighting, Sheik Mahdi Akef, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood—a banned militant group-- announced he was prepared to send 10,000 Sunni fighters to join Hizballah in it’s battle against “the Zionist enemy” and the United States. Apparently theological differences were set aside because militant Shiites and Sunnis felt they were being threatened by a common enemy.
Emboldened by the belief that they’ve delivered a crushing blow to Israel, Muslim radicals may now work together to destabilize moderate governments in the region. In the days ahead, this development may likely lead to additional acts of violence against the people of Egypt as militant Sunnis like the Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda join forces with Shiite groups like Hizballah in an attempt to overthrow the Mubarek government.
The Lebanon crisis has created a new threat to the region as an age-old Middle East saying is now being realized: “My brother and me against my cousin, but my cousin and me against all the

CAIRO thirsty for the LIVING water!!!

CAIRO, Egypt - For thousands of years, Egyptians have looked to the Nile River for their sustenance. It has provided them with fish to eat and water to irrigate their crops.
Now, in the 21st Century, a growing number of Egyptians are searching for living water and a different type of bread.
Many non-believers are coming to Christ because of dreams and visions and Christian television broadcasts. As their numbers have increased, so has the persecution against them.
And Christians throughout the Middle East are on edge, worried that the violent reaction to the recent words of Pope Benedict may worsen during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Here in Egypt, some fear Christians may fall victim to attacks like the one that occurred last April in Alexandria.
Fakiha Atta tearfully recalls the incident that took the life of her 78-year-old husband Noshi. He failed to return home after a Friday morning church service. She sent her youngest son, Maher, back to the church to fetch him.
When Maher arrived at the church, he noticed a pool of blood at the entrance and a trail of blood leading from the church up the hospital steps next door.
He ran to the hospital emergency room, where he saw doctors and nurses treating a number of church members in blood-soaked clothes. A doctor told Maher that the injured Christians had been stabbed during an attack at the church. Maher says he was shocked after the doctor led him to his deceased father’s bedside.
He told CBN News that no one could possibly know how he felt after seeing his father’s wounds. He says he suffered a mix of emotions—astonishment, sorrow and pain.
Maher wept uncontrollably and wondered how anyone could have murdered his father. His father had no enemies and was loved by everyone.
The Atta Girgis family learned a Muslim radical wielding two long knives stormed into the entrance of the church and stabbed several people while shouting, “god is great!” and “death to infidels!”
Fakiha had been married to Noshi for more than 50 years. How did his murder affect her faith?“It hasn’t hurt my faith... but, it has affected my life. I feel lonely all the time without my husband and that’s the most difficult part,” Fakiha said.
Christianity has existed in Egypt six centuries longer than Islam, yet Christians are only about 12 percent of the total population. Muslims are about 87 percent.
The country’s constitution gives preference to the Muslim majority, and Christians are often treated as second-class citizens.
Some Christian female teens have been abducted and forced to convert to Islam. Others have been lured or enticed into renouncing their Christian faith by promises of wealth and a more prosperous life as Muslims.
Such was the case for the daughter of peasant farmer Saber Sabeh Gadallah.As the late autumn sun set over the fields of El Minya, Egypt, farmer Gadallah placed his last few handfuls of hay onto a donkey cart and walked slowly back to his house.
The teenage son of his Muslim neighbor asked to purchase some hay. A fatigued Saber instructed his 16-year-old daughter Suzanne to go and fetch the hay from the backyard. She never returned.
Saber explains how an official responded when he went to the police station to file a missing person report. “He slapped my face”, Saber said. “And he yelled, what do you want us to do, put a guard at your house 24 hours per day?”
Saber believes Suzanne was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married. Though police may know Suzanne’s location, they have refused to reveal her whereabouts to her parents.
“She’d never do anything like this willingly. She’s very kind, innocent and respectful of her parents,” explained Saber. “If she did this willingly, why will they not let me ask her in person?”
Saber says his family has been torn apart. All he wants is for the truth to be revealed.
This former Muslim, we’ll call her Rachel, says she came to Christ after she fell in love and married a Christian man. We’ve hidden her identity to protect her from attack.
Her family doesn’t know she married a Christian or that she has left the Islamic faith. She is now in hiding because she says family members will murder her if they find out.
It is written in the Koran that they must kill me and take my child,” Rachel said. “They would do it.”While Egyptian Christians say they expect many trials in the days ahead, their faith is strengthened through sorrow and tears. And some like Rachel say they know God is with them in the midst of their suffering.
Rachel said, “The Lord tells us He cares for the sparrows…just think how much more He cares for us!”