Friday, February 27, 2015

Martyrdom - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Martyrdom
- Now Think On This
by Steve Martin


“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” (Rev. 12:11-12 NASU)


Fear, especially of death, can grip a person, a city and a nation. It can keep you from doing the right thing, or speaking the truth when it is your time to stand for truth. Fear keeps us from love, and from walking in righteousness and justice.

Do you know who is the one who is the most fearful of all? It is the devil. The master of fear is the one who is the most afraid of all, for he fears the Almighty One Who will end his reign of terror on the earth. Out of this eternal fear and hatred, he continually seeks to kill, destroy and martyr the saints of God who have taken the Name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

During this short time of hellish destruction, while he yet been given time on the earth, men, women and children will give up their lives by the edge of the sword, rather than give up their souls to eternal hell. Because they are called Christians, these believers of Jesus will die by the hands of hateful “followers of God”, or more accurately, believers of Allah. These evil ones have masked themselves as the conquerors, when in fact their soon coming end will result in eternal damnation, along with Satan himself.

While it is gruesome to see our brothers and sisters blood flow from beheadings and ruthless torture, we need not fear that which may come to us too. We have a promise we can stand on.

“…they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Rev. 12:11) Our temporary life on earth is nothing compared to the eternal life in heaven with our Lord. Therefore we can stand without fear when faced with death. For this reason, heaven rejoices at the death of a godly one.

"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
(Rev. 17:14, NASU)

Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Africa, China and more, are with the Lord, and He with them, for they have been called and chosen. They will be faithful even to the end, as they face the edge of the sword. The lord of Lords and King of kings’ strength and love will empower them to give their lives for the greater glory, to later join Him in heaven when others will be judged and condemned to the eternal lake of fire for their murderous actions.

We need not fear our coming time of martyrdom, should that also be the end of this temporal life for us. I for one do fully expect that at some point I too will be called upon to proclaim my faith in Jesus, and be killed as a result of my conviction and belief. By His compassionate grace, I will look into His eyes of love, rather than the eyes of the evil doers.


“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

"And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book." (Rev. 22:1-7 NASU)

A glorious time awaits those who give their lives for the One Who gave His life for us. These are the faithful and true words that we can believe, now and forever.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People. Inc.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

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Now Think On This #168 “Martyrdom” by Steve Martin 
Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (02.27.15) Friday at 8:00 am in Charlotte, NC


All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Thursday, February 26, 2015

JoAnn McFatter- Sapphire Sea (music video)



JoAnn McFatter - "A movie I made with an inspiration of the Spirit of the LORD. Blessings."


Found in Ezekiel's Tomb ✡ "Ezekiel the Priest, the Son of Buzi"

The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

EZEKIEL (1:3)
 

הָיֹה הָיָה דְבַר יְ-הוָה אֶל יְחֶזְקֵאל בֶּן-בּוּזִי הַכֹּהֵן בְּאֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים--עַל נְהַר כְּבָר וַתְּהִי עָלָיו שָׁם יַד יְ-הוָה

יחזקאל א:ג

ha-yo ha-ya d'-var a-do-nai el y'-khez-kayl ben bu-zee ha-ko-hayn b'-e-retz kas-deem al n'-har k'-var va-t'-hee a-lav sham yad a-do-nai

Today's Israel Inspiration

The prophet Ezekiel was buried outside the Land of Israel, in Iraq, during the first exile. In an incredible discovery, a pair of tefillin was found buried with him. On the wall above his tomb remain the Hebrew words: "This is the monument of our master Ezekiel the Prophet son of Buzi the priest, may his merit defend us and all Israel. Amen." May the merit of our prophets and the fulfillment of the biblical command to don tefillin continue to protect the nation of Israel. In India today, Jews are reconnecting and learning about this important commandment. Help them fulfill the mitzvah!
 

The Tefillin Booth

This short animated film presents all the steps to "bind them as a sign upon your arm" (Exodus 13:16, Deut. 6:8).
 

More Snubs by Obama

Apparently, refusing to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to Washington to speak before Congress is not a strong enough expression of discontent.
 

Wood Purim Grogger

In Jewish communities around the world, the Grogger is used during public readings of the Book of Esther to make noise when the Haman’s name is read in order to fulfill the Biblical mandate of “wiping out” his memory and the memory of Amalek for all generations.

Today's Israel Photo

Adam Ingalls captured this image of a rabbi dedicated to helping people don tefillin in Jerusalem.
 

Thank You

Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Kim Cheeseman from Apple Valley, California. Toda Raba!
 

“I So Look Forward Each Day”

It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!
 
I so look forward each day to the beautiful photo of Israel and the verse of Scripture in English and Hebrew. I am a Christian, but I am trying to learn to read and speak Hebrew; so the Hebrew language along with the phonetic transliteration is very helpful. Thank you so much for sending this to me. Have a blessed day, John Concienne

Hello my name is Lynda, I really enjoy reading your emails daily. With my Jewish history I adore the pictures as well. I went to Israel a few years ago. My heart was stretched, I fell in love with Jerusalem, its never far from my thoughts. Regards- Lynda Dries
Shalom,
Rabbi Tuly Weisz
RabbiTuly@Israel365.com
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Report: Saudis Ready to Help Israel Attack Iran

Report: Saudis Ready to Help Israel Attack Iran

Thursday, February 26, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff
European officials say that Saudi Arabia is just as concerned as Israel over the details of the nuclear agreement the Obama Administration is currently negotiating with Iran, and is even prepared to facilitate an Israeli airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, should it come to that.
“The Saudis have declared their readiness for the Israeli Air Force to overfly Saudi air space en route to attack Iran if an attack is necessary,” an unnamed senior European diplomat was cited as saying by Israel’s Channel 2 News.
The source added that Saudi Arabia is “completely coordinated with Israel on all matters related to Iran.”
The one condition Riyadh reportedly had for providing this kind of assistance is some kind of tangible progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The report, if credible, is a major blow to the Obama Administration, which insists that Israel’s urgent criticism of its proposed deal with Iran is unwarranted.
“Anybody running around right now jumping in to say, ‘Well we don’t like the deal,’ or this or that, doesn’t know what the deal is,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, responded by suggesting that perhaps it’s Kerry that lacks the full picture.
“We know all we need to know, and we have an excellent picture of the negotiations,” Steinitz told Israeli media. “Maybe [Kerry] doesn’t know everything we know.”
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Doug Addison Gives Prophetic Insight About John Paul Jackson

Doug Addison Gives Prophetic Insight About John Paul Jackson

   
John-Paul-Jackson

Doug Addison Gives Prophetic Insight About John Paul Jackson



John Paul Jackson went to Heaven on February 18, 2015. I have gotten a lot of inquiries about my insight on his death. I decided to record an audio to help answer some questions and to celebrate John Paul’s life and ministry.
We mourn with and pray for John Paul’s wife Diane, their sons Micah and Aaron and the Streams Ministries family. God is doing something new on the earth right now. I want to assure people that you can trust what God is saying.

Special audio of Doug Addison giving insight about John Paul Jackson:

Blessings,
doug-sig


Doug Adddson
DougAddison.com
Doug
Doug Addison is a prophetic dream interpreter, speaker, writer, Life Coach, and stand-up comedian. Doug travels the world bringing a message of love, hope, and having fun! His unique style helps open people to discover their destiny and experience God’s supernatural love and power. Doug is an award-winning author of seven books. He and his wife Linda live in Los Angeles, California.

Click here: Doug Addison website

Take the Test: Are You Fully Abandoned in Worship? - J. LEE GRADY


Do you worship with abandon?
Do you worship with abandon? (Vitaly Vitorsky)
Fire in My Bones

I was raised in a traditional church where people worshipped God reverently while holding identical blue hymnals. The only instruments in our church were a piano and an organ, and nobody got too excited except for the one old man on the front row who sometimes belted out an uncomfortable "amen" during the preacher's sermon.
Then, at age 18, I had a life-changing experience with the Holy Spirit—and I ended up visiting an African-American church on the other side of town. These people worshipped Jesus with no inhibitions. They flailed their arms, shouted "Hallelujah!" and swayed to the beat of drums. I was so energized by their passionate praise it that I couldn't wait for the next meeting.
I soon learned from studying Scripture that my African-American brothers and sisters were worshipping the biblical way, even though it was foreign to me. God never intended His people to hide their enthusiasm. The more exuberant I became in my worship, the more personal freedom I experienced. I began to leave the shallow waters of religious tradition. I ventured into the deep ocean of total abandonment.
I learned what it means to worship God with my whole heart—with no fear of people's opinions.
Many churches today have adopted a free style of worship, and some of the best praise music ever recorded is available to our generation. Yet I find that many Christians have still not learned the secret of uninhibited praise. Many of us are content to listen to a music team on stage when God never intended a worship service to be a concert. He invites all of us to be fully and radically engaged in extravagant worship.
Have you shed your inhibitions in worship? I often challenge people to compare their worship experience with the book of Psalms, which should be the standard for every church regardless of nationality, culture or denomination. Psalms calls us to joyful, energetic, unreserved, high-voltage praise.
Have you found the freedom to express your worship in these ways?
1. Declaring praise. The psalmist says: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." (Ps. 107:2). Praise is simply honoring God for His character and attributes. But it is not enough to just think nice thoughts about Him—you must verbalize how much you are thankful for His mercy, forgiveness and goodness.
2. Raising hands. King David said: "I will lift up my hands in Your name" (Ps. 63:4). I'll never forget the first time I saw a room full of Christians praising God with their hands in the air. It looked like a bank robbery! God asks us to raise our hands because our physical posture affects our hearts. Lifting your hands will help you surrender totally to Him.
3. Singing. Can you imagine a world without music? It lifts our hearts, releases joy and breaks the power of anxiety. The psalmist said: "I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, to You O Lord I will sing praises" (Ps. 101:1). Don't just listen to songs in church or mouth the words halfheartedly. Turn up your volume and belt it out—and don't worry if you are in tune. All God wants from you is a joyful noise.
4. Shouting. We don't think anything about screaming at the top of our lungs for our favorite sports team. But are you comfortable cheering for Jesus? The psalmist wrote: "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You" (Ps. 71:23). The shouts of God's people caused the walls of Jericho to fall. Some types of spiritual resistance will not come down until you raise your voice.
5. Clapping. The psalms have several references to clapping (Ps. 47:1), but it is not just a way to make noise. Clapping in worship has an invisible spiritual impact. Psalm 149:6-8 says that when we engage in the "high praises of God," we bind spiritual principalities with chains. High-decibel praise is a form of spiritual warfare that has profound impact on demonic powers. No wonder the devil has convinced some churches to stay quiet!
6. Dancing. One of the most powerful moments I ever experienced in worship was when I danced in a church for more than an hour with a group of Christians in Nigeria. I was absolutely soaked with sweat by the end of the service, and my calves were sore the next morning, but my spirit was free. Many Christians are too self-conscious to express their worship in dance, even if it's just a simple sway or a side-to-side shuffle. But the Bible is still clear: "Let them praise His name with dancing" (Ps. 149:3). If you want God to move in your life, you may need to move when you worship!
7. Kneeling. Catholics and liturgical Protestants have practiced kneeling during worship for centuries, but many of us Pentecostals and charismatics have forgotten this vital biblical practice. Muslims bow in prayer five times a day, yet it has become a strange practice in the evangelical church. David wrote: "Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker" (Ps. 95:6). Kneeling inspires humility, and reminds us that we are not God. You may find the most profound experience with Jesus occurs when you are on your knees.
When King David brought the ark into Jerusalem, he was so overjoyed that true worship was restored that he danced before God with abandon. Yet his wife Michal was so embarrassed by his radical display of devotion that she criticized him—and became barren as a result (see 1 Sam. 6:12-23).
Who would you rather be in that story—the wholehearted worshipper or the stick-in-the-mud religious critic? Don't let tradition, spiritual pride or personal hang-ups stop you from experiencing all God has for you. Break out of your box and turn up your volume.
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter@leegrady. He is the author of The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale and other books. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, at themordecaiproject.org.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

As Anti-Semitism Rages, Christians Stand with Israel

As Anti-Semitism Rages, Christians Stand with Israel

CBN News image
At a Washington conference on extremism last week, President Barack Obama claimed the world's terror threats were not rooted in Islam. He sees the issue as a law enforcement problem -- a battle with difficult rogues of all faiths, not a civilizational war.
The president told the conference hosted by the State Department, "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie, and all of us, regardless of our faith, have a responsibility to reject it."
But his remarks come as much of the globe is engulfed in a growing flood of hatred of Jews and persecution of Christians, a large portion of it coming from the Muslim world.
That includes terror groups such as ISIS, the founders of an Islamic empire, and Iran, whose leaders have preached the extermination of Israel for decades.
In addition, French President Francois Hollande visited a cemetery where Jewish graves, some hundreds of years old, had been defaced. He warned that acts of anti-Semitism there doubled in the past two years, with the number skyrocketing in 2015.
The most tragic were the murders in a kosher deli near Paris following the mass slayings at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper.
The murder of a Jewish man in Copenhagen; the January assassination in Argentina of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was investigating Iranian connections to a bombing at a Jewish community center in 1994 that killed 85 people; and the killings of 21 Egyptian Christian Copts in Libya -- these are just a partial list of atrocities committed in 2015 against Jews and Christians by Muslim radicals.
Now, a new survey shows anti-Semitism is rampant on U.S. college campuses. Fifty-four percent of Jewish students say they saw acts of anti-Semitism at their colleges across the nation during the first six months of the 2013-2014 academic year. That's according to a study released by Trinity College and Brandeis University.
At another conference in Colorado, Christians and Jews heard a very different message from the one outlined by the president: to stand firm in the face of the growing persecution.
Wayne Hilsden, senior pastor at King of Kings Community in Jerusalem, spoke at a "Stand Firm for Israel Summit" hosted by Resurrection Fellowship in Loveland earlier this month.
He exhorted believers in Jesus to speak up on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people and to brace for fierce opposition.
Hilsden asked participants from more than a dozen nations and nearly two dozen states, "How many of you know that the more hatred comes against the Jewish people, those who stand with them in their time of trouble will also be hated?"
"We will also be slandered. We will also be lied against and falsely accused. It goes with the package," he said.
At the summit, Hilsden announced the launching of a new group called FIRM: the Fellowship of Israel-Related Ministries. The goal is for believers to learn from the book of Daniel -- to learn from the times we're in and to take a stand, regardless of what it costs -- and to do it in love.
"This is one of the most intimidating times in history, when the attacks of the enemy can spread like wildfire around the world, never eradicated," he cautioned. "And when we are attacked, we will be tempted to attack our accusers in return. But when we stand firm, let us be like Daniel and not return evil for evil; let us love our enemies."
Messianic Jewish leader Jonathan Bernis is president of Jewish Voice and a FIRM board member. He said fundamental Islam is the "carrier of the new anti-Semitism" and that Christians won't be spared in the spirtual battle that is upon us.
"I think the answer for the Muslim world is the same as the answer for the Jewish world, and His name is Yeshua -- Jesus," he told CBN News.
The leaders at the Colorado summit believe there is a special calling for young people, who respond better to calls of support for Israel and the Jewish people when they understand that the character of God's name is at stake.
"Because God's covenant is, endures forever. Because God's covenant is everlasting; because He's a faithful God. Because the calling and the gifts of God are irrevocable, that's why we stand with Israel," explained 22-year-old Michael Mistretta, one of the summit's Jerusalem-based organizers.