Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Amazing - Jesus (Yeshua) prayed here in the Garden of Gethsemane for us. And then He was crucified.
Dead, buried.
On the third day He rose again.
The Son of God.
The Messiah of the nations.
Jesus Christ
Yeshua HaMashiach
And yes...He is coming back real soon to this very city.
Jerusalem, Israel
Salvation is found only through Him, Who alone can forgive us of our sins, cleanse us from our wounds, and restore us to a living relationship with God the Father. For eternity to come. Anyone can choose to believe.
"As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:15 )
Jesus knew His mission on earth--redemption (Matthew 1:21, John 10:10) and the fact He was going to shed His precious blood for us. He would have to suffer a lot for man's redemption. This suffering would culminate in Him giving up every pint of His blood. Was that going to be very easy? NO. (Matthew 26:39)
The knowledge of the above did not scare Jesus. Rather He was fully expectant of the hour to pay the ultimate sacrifice for man's redemption.
Jesus did not hide His mission from His disciples. On one occasion He told them that as our good shepherd He would lay down His life for us. He was expecting Himself to die like a grain of wheat, to produce a multitude of children into God's kingdom.
This attitude informed His level of preparation for the D-day. By the time the hour came, He was fully prepared for the price of His glorification. He had to open the eyes (minds) of His disciples to this, again, after His resurrection. (Luke 24:22-28)
B. HIS EXPERIENCE (LUKE 23:26-49)
"And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said,"FATHER, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last."
He who had raised people from the dead, after eventually going through harrowing experiences, had to face death at Golgotha, where He was crucified in a slow, very excruciating and criminal death. This did not move Him because He was already focused on, and prepared for, that day and hour. Your preparation informs your readiness to pay the price for your destiny and glory.
Jesus had to endure spiritual death to save man from spiritual eternal death, despite having never sinned. Imagine His mood when He cried in Mark 15:34).
In the presence of the multitude, He surrendered His spirit, in preparation for the glory that was to come, and was buried among the sinners. Would death escape with this serious blow?
The devil is living in the fool's paradise. Had he known that he was sealing his destiny, he would not have moved those people to crucify and bury Jesus. It was too late for him. He was only fulfilling his part of bruising the heel of the Messiah (Genesis 3:15).
The Son of God had risen according to prophecy, and with undeniable proof. By the resurrection of Christ, He had finally, ultimately fulfilled the crushing of the devil's head.
His great resurrection makes Him distinct from other religious leaders. Only Christianity claims an empty tomb.
Have you experienced, and are you experiencing that resurrection power? Jesus came with full expectation. How visionary and prepared are you for what God wants to make you?
The fear of death had been eliminated by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, for us who believe, we need not be unnecessarily afraid of death.
May our good God of Israel bless you this season.
Be blessed, Pastor Abel Oyewale Abba Father International Fellowship-Nigeria Email: souls4christ2005@yahoo.com PASTOR ABEL OYEWALE P.BOX 120 EDE OSUN STATE NIGERIA.
P.S. WE STRONGLY NEED YOUR HELP IN PURCHASING 250 COPIES OF THE HOLY BIBLE. Here in Nigeria we can buy Bibles for only $4.00 each. Please use the DONATE button on the side columns of this blog to give. A gift of $4 buys one. $20 buys 5. $40 will help us buy 10. Please help today. Thank you.
Our school kids in Nigeria
It will be my joy if you, as a son or daughter of God, would allow the Holy Spirit to always control your steps. If possible, please, for the sake of God's Kingdom here in Nigeria, donate Bibles for distribution FREE to those who can not buy a copy as a result of poverty. We would want them in bulk for the big revival/conference we are planning. Please contact Pastor Abel at his contact information, or the USA office for Love For Your People in the Charlotte, North Carolina addresses given below.
Contact us further if you have Bibles that we can send to Pastor Abel and his team in Nigeria for free distribution:
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.
P.O. Box 414
Pineville, NC 28134 USA
loveforhispeople@gmail.com
704-806-6934
www.loveforhispeople.blogspot.com
Pastor Abel and his church members try to help orphans as best they can. Please use the DONATE button on the side columns to help or the tab on our Love For His People website above.
“Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.
(Hebrews 10:23, THE MESSAGE)
Opportunities abound in this present age to doubt the Word of God, to let go of the written Word and let unbelief take hold.
Popular opinions, so backed up with the latest national polls, would tempt to steal away that which has been rooted in our mind and spirit, long taught to be the truth. The everlasting truth. Pushing hard against the bedrock of historical fact, the winds of change and roaring waters beat constantly as they seek to destroy that which has been held sacred.
No doubt, doubt and unbelief scheme to take over what we know to be the truth.
What many now say is truth, based on the contemporary news and the desires of the people, are put forth to dismiss the facts revealed centuries ago. Just keep saying the same thing long enough and enough people will believe it. Thus it must make it true. It must be that the previous generations just had it wrong, and therefore we must modernize our thinking and update our beliefs. How often have you heard that?
What a bunch of hog wash. (I was raised in Iowa, where pigs like to get real dirty in the slime and mud.)
When presented with the notion that Jesus (Yeshua) was not raised from the dead, there is more than enough proof, just from that historical period of time, to dismiss whatever is thrown out as otherwise. Written words, eyewitnesses onsite, and changed lives after His crucifixion stand as bedrock proof of what He said would happen, and then did happen.
His resurrection from the dead completely backs up His words spoken prior, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." (John 11:25-27, NASU)
What is the most important foundational truth of believers, who have committed to receive and bear witness of the truth in their own lives, remains that solid rock upon which we stand. Jesus came, was born of a virgin, confirmed the words of the prophets of old, lived a sinless life, was crucified, dead, buried and rose again, to eternally bear witness to the gospel truth. Doubt and unbelief must go when presented with the firm facts that the written words of Torah and the complete Bible present. Nothing and no one will ever be able to deny for any length of time this eternal fact.
When the times get tough, and the onslaught of the evil one presses hard against us, as believers we can always stand on His truth, fight the good fight of faith, and continue to commit our lives to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach. When the temptation to waver in doubt and unbelief comes our way, it is by His grace and mercy we shall stand strong and live to see our eternal reward in heaven. The truth has set us free. The truth will bring us to the final destination.
This is not just a seasonal word for us. This is the Eternal Word that completely solidifies our everlasting life.
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14, NKJV)
Faith and belief in Jesus will always be the only way. Salvation is found in no other.
The god of Islam is most definitely not the same as the God worshipped by Christians and Jews.
That is the no-nonsense conclusion of Sam Solomon’s new book, Not the Same God (Wilberforce Publications), dedicated to tackling a thorny theological issue which has left many confused and misguided.
A number of Christian scholars are said to have suggested that ‘sufficient similarities’ exist between Islam and Christianity to warrant co-operation between the so-called monotheistic faiths which may even prove helpful in introducing Muslims to Christ.
But the author (writing with Atif Debs) – both of whom are former Muslims – makes a convincing case that Islamic theology amounts to a complete contradiction of the Judeo-Christian faith.
In essence, the Qur’an denies the divinity of Jesus, along with his crucifixion and resurrection. It even denies original sin, thus rejecting the need for salvation and the forgiveness of sins which is surely what Christianity (and Judaism for that matter) is all about.
Extensive quotations from the Qur’an, while uninspiring, clearly serve the purpose of the book by demonstrating how similarity with the Bible is an illusion.
Whereas the entire Bible points to Jesus, with the Old Testament (the Jewish Tenach) fulfilled in the New, Muslims claim that Muhammad is the ultimate ‘seal of the prophets’ and fulfillment of all God-given Scriptures.
And although they reject Christianity as worshipping “three gods” while boasting that they are monotheistic, it is hard to differentiate (in terms of names given and honour ascribed) between Allah, the Muslim name for God, and Muhammad, for whom they claim no divinity.
Furthermore, in dismissing Christian belief in the Trinity as worshipping ‘many gods’, they hold that Jesus’ disciples worship the Father, Son and Mary (mother of Jesus), only adding to the confusion in their understanding of our faith.
But the ‘Grand Canyon’ of the debate – which makes union between the faiths impossible – is the Islamic rejection of the uniqueness of Christ, who said: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no-one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14.6)
Moreover, Allah is described in the Qur’an as the great ‘unknowable’ who does not reveal himself to mortal man. This, of course, is a complete contradiction of Christianity, which says that God became one of us and makes himself known to all who seek him. (Jeremiah 29.13)
Solomon concludes his book (for which he probably won’t be thanked by many, but it is true nonetheless) by saying that the Qur’an can best be described as a set of “…arguments raised up against the knowledge of God…” (2 Corinthians 10.5) and expresses the hope that those looking for a ‘common path’ between Islam and Christianity will in future “reflect the reality, rather than the illusion”.
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com
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Six million brothers - by Yair Engel of blessed memory.
They look down on us from above, Six million brothers. They look down on us from above crying or laughing, and we're down here, not understanding at all
sitting on another planet, crying and embarrassed. How can a person get up in the morning A seemingly normal person And cut down the living plucking away dreams Erasing yesterday's world How can a simple man created from the earth Bring desolation and ruin to the world, That I will never understand. And to think that everything was done so quickly And systematically, it just drives me crazy. And here's another group of people So good, so innocent dying inhumanely Their world erased between four walls. And now it's late, people, Very late only memories remain, Only memories remain. And even if we try and think a very long time, We will never understand how they allowed themselves To turn six million people into six million names. That I will never understand. And to think that everything was done so quickly And systematically, it just drives me crazy. And despite it all we need to continue Living and be strong because They look down on us from above, crying or laughing, And his sons are so confident, his sons are so confident - Six million brothers. That I will never understand. And to think that everything was done so quickly And systematically, it just drives me crazy.
Yair Engel's grandfather was an Holocaust survivor. An high school visit to Poland's death camps touched and completely changed Yair's life. There, on Poland's bloody earth, he composed this poem. There he chose to serve as a IDF Navy Seal.
Yair passed away in 1996 in a tragic diving accident. After his death his mother found the above poem while cleaning his room.
Tomorrow, on May 5, 2016 - Holocaust Remembrance Day - this poem, written 20 years ago, will be performed in Poland during the "March of the Living".
Yair's father says that two circles will be closed for him, that of Yair and that of his father, an Holocaust survivor.
After listening to this Dottie Rambo's composition so melodically and so profoundly rendered by Sandi Patty, I was motivated by the words of the song to produce a video of the events soon to enfold. As a believer I look forward to the soon coming King of Kings, Lord of Lords Jesus Christ who was and is and is to come. The video depicts my interpretation of the events that will occur on that glorious day. The video was produced from clips edited from videos and photos found on the internet. No copyrights infringement is intended. All copyrights of each clip and photo are the sole property and rights of each owner. The video is produced exclusively to motivate believers into preparing themselves for the soon coming King. I hope you enjoy it.
Miracles are unfolding in a Texas prayer garden. (CBN)
Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
On a summit overlooking Kerrville in the beautiful hill country of west Texas, a 77-foot cross towers over the landscape.
Max Greiner shares, "The empty cross is the main sculpture, contemporary sculpture made of CorTen steel. It's 77 feet tall, and it weighs approximately 70 tons.
At the foot of the cross, lies the "Coming King Sculpture Prayer Garden." It's a collection of donated art and sculptures depicting Jesus's life. Artist and sculptor Max Greiner is the founder and president of the foundation.
Max says, "We've built this garden as a place where people can connect with God without having to go through a bunch of religion."
Max says God gave him the vision for the garden in 2002. But it would take 13 years of praying, planning and more than a few miracles to see that vision come to life. Since then, thousands from over 30 countries have visited to encounter Jesus in a creative and imaginative way.
Max shares, "It attracts people that are looking for art or just for an outdoor garden experience. And in the process, they find God."
Max believes it's no coincidence that the landscape of the garden is similar to the holy land.
Max states, "This garden is at the same latitude as Israel. So God sovereignly put it in this place, this Bible belt of Texas. The plants, everything, the hills, the limestone rocks, it all looks like Israel."
As visitors walk the stone path to the cross, they can read different Bible verses written in Spanish, English and German that explain God's love. Visitors can also speak with one of several volunteer chaplains on hand, or write prayer requests on stones and place them near the cross. Some have reported miraculous encounters.
Max says, "Addictions are being broken off, alcoholics are coming, drug addicts are coming. Again, 19 people were suicidal that we know of, and came up, and God set them free from the spirit of suicide. And they gave their life to Christ."
They also hold a special Easter service to help people celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
Max shares, "We've also now started an Easter celebration on the Saturday before where we invite in Christian bands and Christian worship teams and then speakers of different denominations that come in. And so all day Saturday, we have this free celebration, resurrection celebration."
Max hopes to reproduce the garden around the world so that others can experience the love of Jesus.
Max states, "All you have to do is come, and you'll find Jesus there. You'll find the Holy Spirit there, and the Father's there. And it's for everybody, whether you're a believer or whether you're from other religions or no religion, or just wondering. We just invite you to come."
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Jesus spoke very few words when he hung on that cross for six-plus hours. (Lightstock )
Take a few moments with your New Testament and look up every passage detailing the crucifixion. Once you've found them all, write out the statements recorded as coming from the lips of Jesus while He hung on the cross.
Now, slowly repeat those statements aloud, one after the other. You'll find they barely fill one minute of spoken conversation when strung together. Seven one-liners!
What was Jesus saying during the rest of His six hours on the cross?
There is much He could have said. He could have ended the opening argument of His extradition with an ear-splitting sermon or offered up a plateful of prophetic thunder as a parting shot for Pilate. He could have unloaded an earful at the elders. He could have undressed with righteous rhetoric the Roman cohorts who stripped His clothes, and then showered condemnation on those who spat upon Him. He could have bellowed out a few shots from Jeremiah's prophecies to wayward Israel or ordered up a few hungry bears as Elijah did.
Yet the Bible says, "when He was reviled, [He] did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten" (1 Pet. 2:23). In the natural, Jesus' actions made no sense. When taunted, He remained tight-lipped. When abused and pierced, His words of forgiveness flowed as quickly as His blood.
He didn't require His wounds to dry, scab and scar before He forgave. There is no record that Jesus calculated His personal pain before discharging His pardon. Each bruise and blow was met with silent mercy.
In His silence, Jesus was doing more than dying. He was communicating in red ink the timeless secrets of the kingdom. He was openly showing His bride how to embrace the cross that awaited her—and no true disciple can escape the cross.
We all know that it is tough at times to maintain a pure perspective through strenuous seasons of cross shaping. My only hope of success comes when my eyes remain fixed on the body language of Calvary's quiet Lamb, when I carefully listen to the words He didn't say. For when my eyes and ears tune out the cross, I fast become exasperated with people and plummet into spiritual defeat.
There will always be people who make big things out of small things in my life. But then, I remember the cross—and how Jesus went through it first.
I can always count on uninvited guests who enjoy watching my heavenly Father discipline me—and that can be terribly embarrassing. But again, I remember: Jesus went through that, too.
Even if God sends spiritually immature Christians into my life as part of His mysterious blueprint to grow me—to school me in silence—I must not forget that Jesus felt that too. All of this was the cross! At least it's the one Jesus knew.
But for all the strains you and I face as followers, no one will ever pay a toll like Jesus. His death is filled with endless grace and boundless perplexity.
For it was I, not Jesus, who should have died for violating my Creator's commands. And it was I who deserved the burden of transporting heavy timbers barefoot over jagged hillsides for my iniquity. It was I who merited loud public laughter and the agony of pointy thorns stabbing through my forehead.
And it was I who should have felt my ribs being pierced as pagan spittle dripped from my face. Yes, it was I who should have hung incapacitated for six millennia, not six hours.
Yet it was Jesus, not I, who violently died in silent payment.
So this Easter, I encourage you to rise early, don the bonnets and polish the shoes. It's the day when God's people around the world colorfully rejoice in His resurrection!
But while you're celebrating, pause to remember the greatest silent sermon ever preached—the one that lasted for six hours. It's the one that's easy to memorize but difficult to emulate—the one that was lived, not spoken, by a silent Lamb.
Prayer Power for the Week of March 20, 2016
This week as you focus on God's wonderful gift of reconciliation through Christ, pray that many will find repentance and receive eternal life through Him. Remember Israel and ask for the protection of its citizens and seasonal travelers this week. Continue to pray for revival in our churches, especially during this Easter season. Pray that Christians would unite in prayer and purpose for God's kingdom to expand. Remember the persecuted church and ask God to send more laborers into the harvest field. Thank Him for directing your steps this week and giving you opportunities to share His love with others (John 3:14-17, 1 Thess. 5:15-19, James 5:16-17).
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Dare to go deeper in your faith. Our "Life in the Spirit" devotional takes you on a journey to explore who the Holy Spirit is, how to interact with Him, and how He works in your life. Are you ready to go deeper?
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Listen to this beautiful insight into today's verse from Rashi, a 13th c. Torah commentator. He says that the jewelry is a metaphor for God's commandments: "I adorned you with the adornment of the words of the Torah, written on the two stone tablets." The Hebrew word for bracelets צְמִידִים comes from צמד, tze-med which means to join, as in "I joined one commandment opposite the other, five on each side of the tablet." Now you can proudly wear and enjoy the earthly jewelry of the Land of Israel. These artistic pieces are engraved with Hebrew prayers that add spiritual depth and connectedness.
The Shuk is an Israeli music group that crosses genres and styles to bring listeners a taste of Jewish and Israeli culture across the spectrum. The title of their album “Experience Israeli and Jewish Culture” really says it all: this is a selection of songs that will make listeners familiar with Jewish and Israeli music that crosses the globe, transcends time and defies cultural boundaries. With selections in Hebrew and English from the traditional tunes of the prayer service, covers of contemporary Israeli and Jewish composers, and exotic Sephardic and Eastern blends, the 12 tracks will bring listeners an hour of true listening pleasure.
I live in Ulysses, Kansas, in the far SW corner of the state. I love learning more about Israel, and seeing the beautiful photographs on here! I love Israel! I love her people! I love her (our) God! Thank you for sharing with us!- Janet Damon
I so enjoy your site, some of them are just not long enough. Thank you for enlightening us about Israel. We stand with Israel. God's Holy Land and God's Promised Land. God is my #1 priority in 2016, He always is.- Nancy Shipley
