Tuesday, April 29, 2014

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM - written by John Paul Jackson

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

John Paul Jackson

Hope is rekindled in our hearts when a word from God is spoken at the right time, in the right way and in the right season. The Psalms put it this way:The Lord wants to increase your hope. No matter what you’re going through right now, whether you view your life overall as a positive or negative experience, whether things are going well or things are going poorly, if you are in good health or poor health, if you are living in surplus or in need, if you are content or sick at heart—the Lord wants to increase your hope.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,And in His word I do hope. — Psalm 130:5

I firmly believe that once we’re transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His most marvelous light, when we ask for a fish, we don’t get a stone (1 Peter 2:9; Luke 11:11–13). He is a good Father, who gives good gifts to His kids. So we can say very simply to Him, “God, I want to learn to hear from You,” and He will teach us how to hear Him. He will change our lives with the sound of His voice.

HOPE: A MIND SET ON GOD

In some ways, hope is the easiest thing in the world to find. It can be like a large elephant standing in a small room—it is right there, all the time, fully visible because of who God is and His unchanging, ever-faithful, never-failing affection for His people. God is God; therefore, there is always hope.

But in other ways, hope can be difficult to find, because when we’re anxious, upset or fearful, it isn’t easy to hear God’s voice. Peace is the great potting soil of revelation—of communing with God and hearing His truth. A mind set on God will recognize God, will hear God and then can respond to Him.

All of us are in a process of tuning, honing and developing our ability to hear Him, and in this quest, all of us are going to succeed, because He wants us to hear His voice. He doesn’t speak to us because He has to; He speaks to us because He wants to. We just celebrated Easter—we know the price He paid to be with His children.

God knows right where you are in this on-going process of building a deep, abiding relationship with Him. He knows that you are still learning. He sees what you’re going through, and He treats you as His prize, not as His burden.

GOD HAS THE TIME

All too often, we allow the enemy to convince us that God doesn’t have the time or the inclination to put up with us and our shortcomings. We can start to think that hope is too elusive and hearing God is too hard, because He’s disappointed with us. We don’t give ourselves grace for where we are. We think He doesn’t take into consideration how each of us is still learning, and so we bypass verses like Psalm 103:13–14, not realizing how they apply to us:

As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

Does that sound like a God who doesn’t understand? Does that sound like a God who is far away? Does that sound like there is no hope for you and your circumstances?

This month, remember that hope is not a small, frail, feather-light thing that would be easy for you to destroy. It is the elephant in the room—it is massive. It is weighty. Hearing God’s voice can change your world and fill even the bleakest of situations with hope.

Do We Really Need More Churches in America? by GREG STIER (CharismaNews.com)

Are more churches needed in America? (Lightstock)

Do We Really Need

More Churches in America?

Right now there are over 300,000 Protestant churches in America. Just do the division—300,000 divided by 50 states—and that equals 6,000 churches per state. Wow! That’s a lot of churches!

Think about it this way: There are just over 10,000 Starbucks stores in America and well over 300,000 churches. So Starbucks can saturate the United States with caffeinated drinks, but almost 30 times more churches can’t saturate the United States with the Living Water. Seriously?

According to church growth and discipleship multiplication expert Bill Hull, “It still takes 100 church attendees, a pastor and $100,000 a year to win a convert. Among evangelicals. ... This is an ugly fact that should grieve us all.”

So our solution is planting more and more churches so that we can reach America for Jesus? Is that really the best solution, or is a revitalization of current churches the best solution?

My answer is a resounding yes! We need more churches planted, and we need to revitalize the current ones.

When I was a 23-year-old part-time youth leader at a church in Arvada, Colo., I wanted to revitalize the congregation concerning evangelism and outreach. This very traditional church was solid theologically but not growing steadily with disciples being made and multiplied.

I’ll never forget presenting an 11-page document called “Operation Arvada” to the senior pastor and asking him to consider it. In those pages were ideas for infusing relational evangelism into the lifeblood of the church. He said, “Let me pray about it” (which is a pastor’s way of buying time so that he can think of a nice way to say no to your idea). Days turned to weeks and I finally realized that it wasn’t going to happen.

It was then that I remembered the words of a former pastor who gave up trying to revitalize that same church to plant a new one. He told me, “It’s easier to give birth than to resurrect the dead.”

That’s when my best friend and I decided to start a church ourselves, Grace Church, in Arvada. Through prayer, tons of mistakes and sheer perseverance, we were blessed to plant a church that grew deep and wide in some powerful ways.

Today, Grace Church is a thriving congregation with over 60 percent of the 3,000 or so who go there having come to Jesus as a result of the church’s focused outreach efforts. What about the other church I was involved in? The new pastor and youth pastor are working hard to revitalize it so it can be more effective in the community where it’s located.

Yes!

We need already existing churches to drop an evangelistic engine into their church chassis. We need new churches planted that grow primarily through new believers being added (as opposed to transfer growth).

So the real question is not how many churches do we have in North America, but how many gospel-advancing churches do we have? We need to revitalize current ones and plant new ones until we reach everyone.

If you are in an established church, work with all your heart to get the people there making and multiplying disciples. Start with those who are willing and build from there. Pray for your church. Challenge your church. Equip your church. By the way, we at Dare 2 Share can help with that. Start by downloading and using our free evangelism training app.

If you feel led to plant a church, determine to build one that grows primarily through relational evangelism and discipleship multiplication. Make intercessory prayer the engine and not the caboose of your efforts and, over time, you will succeed.

It’s time to revitalize current churches and plant new ones that bleed the Good News. Let’s give birth and raise the dead!

Greg Stier is a husband, a father, a preacher, an author, a twitchy revolutionary and a fanatic for Jesus. He’s the president of Dare 2 Share Ministries, which has led thousands of students to Jesus and equipped thousands more to reach their world with the gospel. He blogs at GregStier.org.

For the original article, visit pastors.com.

Monday, April 28, 2014

VIDEO: Palestinian Girl Confronts Anti-Israel Lies - April 2014

VIDEO: Palestinian Girl

Confronts Anti-Israel Lies

Monday, April 28, 2014 | Israel Today Staff

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Christians

Christy Anastas, a young Palestinian Christian woman from Bethlehem, has bravely released a compilation video in which she, in several different venues, confronts the joint lies that Israel is responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians and for the flight of fellow Christians from the city of Jesus’ birth.

The Anastas family is no stranger to the media. When Israel decided to erect the “West Bank” security barrier in response to incessant Palestinian suicide bomb attacks, the Anastas house near the outskirts of Bethlehem was unique in that it was surrounded by concrete walls on three sides, inviting constant media coverage.

But in an address to students at Uppsala University this year, Christy was firm in her position that the inconveniences and suffering inflicted on her family and so many others can not ultimately be blamed on Israel.

The Christian population of Bethlehem actually grew during the years it was under “Israeli occupation,” she reminded her audience, putting to rest the falsehood that Israel is engaged in some kind of ethnic cleansing, especially against Christians.

The real culprits were her own people. Anastas described how when the Second Intifada broke out in 2000, she had a front row seat, as her family’s home is located very near to Rachel’s Tomb.

According to Anastas, the Palestinians began attacking the Jewish holy site “day and night,” purposely endangering the lives of Palestinian civilians in the area. But more to blame than those brainwashing the “freedom fighters” was the Palestinian Authority itself, which Anastas reminded had committed itself to maintaining public order and instilling the principles of peace. Instead, she noted, the Palestinian regime actively encouraged young Arabs to take to the streets in violence.

In the midst of this, Anastas said that local Christians in Bethlehem quickly began to realize that the Muslim militias were deliberately launching their attacks against Israel from in the vicinity of Christian houses, so that the Israeli response would damage or destroy those homes. This tactic paid dividends in the public relations campaign, as Christians began fleeing for fear of Israeli counter-attacks.

To further bolster the notion that the Palestinians are their own worst enemy, Anastas recounted that during this time, her uncle decided to stop paying the jizya, the tax non-Muslims must pay for the right to live in a Muslim-dominated society (YES, this still exists in “Palestine”). In response, Palestinian militiamen imprisoned, tortured and eventually executed her uncle.

Anastas said that stories like this, which are by no means uncommon, are never told to the international media for fear of retaliation.

During an earlier Q&A session at Oxford (also included in the following video), chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was confronted by Anastas, who asked him whether or not he was able to negotiate impartially with the Israelis, despite all the pain inflicted in the course of the conflict.

Erekat was adamant that his pain and frustration only made it more certain that an agreement resulting in a free, open and accountable Palestinian state would be achieved.

Anastas later wondered if the freedom of speech and other liberties Erekat spoke of would be extended to her own family, now that she has publicly supported Israel’s biblical claims to the land. For it certainly hadn’t been before, for instance when her uncle stopped paying the jizya.

“I’d like to ask you, Dr. Saeb, I believe that you are a man of honor, and I believe that you will keep your word and protect my family members,” Anastas said in the opening of her new video compilation.

There is so much more to what Christy Anastas had to say, not just about the conflict, but about the dismal state Palestinian society in general.

This is a MUST WATCH video:

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Lord, Teach Me to Wait - RUTH L. WHITFIELD

Do you wait on the Lord or do you take matters into your own hands? (Stock Free Images)

Lord, Teach Me to Wait

One of my favorite Scriptures is Isaiah 40:31: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (KJV).

Years ago those words were put to music, and I sang them and taught them to my children. The song added the phrase, “Teach me, Lord. Teach me, Lord, to wait.” I loved that passage, and I loved that song. I sang it all the time.

But I didn’t think too much about what I was asking. Did I really want Him to teach me to wait?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like waiting. It seems like such a waste of time. I could be doing so much with the time I spend waiting! However, our heavenly Father knows there is a value in our learning to wait on Him, so He allows us to be placed in situations where we have no choice but to wait.

I remember the days when we had to wait for dinner to be ready. My mother would start cooking early in the afternoon. She made everything from scratch, and it took time to chop, cook, simmer and serve. She was a fabulous cook, so the end result was fantastic.

We can’t match the result of that effort today. We may try to duplicate it by popping food in the microwave or substituting one ingredient for another. We think we’ll arrive at the same end—but we don’t. Hurrying the process by taking shortcuts just doesn’t produce the same result. Some things just simply take time.

Waiting, however, is never easy. There is such a feeling of helplessness when we are forced into a situation in which we can’t do anything except wait! Back in 2001 our country was thrown into such a situation. People from New York to California watched and waited as the Twin Towers imploded and descended into a heap and the Pentagon burned. We held our breath as people ran for their lives and waited for word of lost loved ones.

We watched in 2005 as Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coast and thousands waited to hear about their home and family members. We waited with them. More recently, Malaysian Flight 570 disappeared while en route to China. We continued to watch, pray and wait with loved ones and family members of those on board, only to see their hopes dashed to the ground time and time again.

Every day there’s a new turn of events on the news. We don’t know what each day will bring or what we will face when we wake up each morning. At this writing, we await news about those affected from the mudslides in the state of Washington. Many are missing and bodies are still being uncovered. People hope for the best while anticipating the worse. Across the world we watched in horror as a South Korean Ferry boat capsized taking hundreds of young victims into the cold murky waters below. There are few survivors and anguished parents are still waiting for the recovery of their child’s body.

Waiting is painful whether you are sure of the outcome or not. We need someone or something to hold us secure while we wait. That someone is the One by whom all things consist and who holds all things together (see Col. 1:17). He is the One who brings the comfort and strength we need, even in the face of great loss.

We must also remember that we are not waiting simply for an outcome; we are waiting on the Lord. And waiting on Him—no matter how long the process seems to take—will have the best results.

One definition Webster’s gives for “wait” is “look forward expectantly.” Those who wait upon the Lord stay in a place of confident expectation. We may not know what will happen tomorrow, but we know Who holds tomorrow. The promise Isaiah 40:31 gives is that if we depend on the Lord and look forward in hope and expectation, He will renew our strength. We will not fear or lose heart.

The Lord said that in the last days men’s hearts would fail them for fear (see Luke 21:26). Certainly, the events of 9/11 shook the core of our national and personal security. Surely Iran’s radical government poses a current threat to Israel, the U.S. and the European Union. Violence continues to escalate as Russia moves to capture previously lost territory. Some of our troops are still in Afghanistan and we wait for them to come home. Our nation’s choices to accept godless lifestyles as the norm have poised us for judgment. But God has not given us a spirit of fear (see 2 Tim. 1:7).

If you have given in to fear because you don’t know what’s coming, turn away from it and begin to wait—look with expectation—upon the Lord. He can turn things around and work them for good even in the worst situations. He will give you the peace and strength to step boldly into your future with the confidence that He holds the future and His results are best.

Prayer Power for the Week of 4/28/2014

This week, renew your strength by waiting on the Lord and meditating on His goodness. Thank Him that He is all knowing and all-powerful, and we are secure in Him. Thank Him for His faithfulness and ever abiding comfort even during the worst times. Continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones through various tragic events, those struggling with health issues and need of provision, and those who desperately need Christ as their Savior. Pray that God would send more laborers into His harvest field, and tell Him that you are willing to do your part to expand His kingdom. Continue to pray for the persecuted church, the peace of Jerusalem, and our national, spiritual and civic leaders. Isa. 40:31; Col. 1:17; 2 Tim. 1:7.

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March in Hungary Remembers Holocaust

March in Hungary Remembers Holocaust

April 28, 2014

Yori Yalon, The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Some 12,000 people participate in march honoring the memory of the 550,000 Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust • "I have deliberately come on this march to ask for forgiveness from the Jewish people and the survivors," one participant says.

Sunday's march in Budapest

|
Photo credit: AFP

Some 12,000 people participated in a march through Budapest Sunday, honoring the memory of the 550,000 Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Several Hungarian MPs participated in the march alongside Israel Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor, former Chief Justice Aharon Barak and heads of the local Jewish community.

Seeking atonement for their relatives, the grandchildren of some of those involved in the Holocaust joined the march, which began with a ceremony by the Danube River, on the site of a new monument for Hungary's Jewish community. Participants then marched some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to Budapest, where another ceremony was held, marking the 70th anniversary for the community's destruction.

"Unfortunately, the past decade has seen anti-Semitism rear its head again and every year we see in increase in violent anti-Semitic incidents around the world," Yaakov Haguel, head of the World Zionist Organization's Department for Countering Anti-Semitism, said.

"The World Zionist Organization strongly condemns any and all physical violence, anti-Semitic expressions, incitement and heinous blood libel," he said. "I urge everyone to fight this horrific phenomenon and make it extinct."

Frank Pfeiffer's grandfather voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS, the military arm of the Nazi Party, while his wife Barbel's grandfather helped build the electrical system at the Auschwitz death camp, including the wiring of its gas chambers.

At Auschwitz, about a third of its victims were Hungarian Jews.

"I have deliberately come on this march to ask for forgiveness from the Jewish people and the survivors," said Pfeiffer, a 44-year-old travel agent. "As the grandchild of a perpetrator, I want to express how deeply sorry I am at what my grandfather did."

The couple did not discover the truth about their relatives' actions until about 12 years ago, when they began researching their families' pasts.

"We are here with my husband to say the words our grandparents were incapable of," Barbel Pfeiffer said during Friday's remembrance at the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities. "Words cannot undo the events of the past, but we regret what happened with all our hearts."

Commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary have been tainted by disputes between Hungarian Jewish groups and Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government.

Authorities have acknowledged and apologized for Hungarians' actions in the Holocaust, but a statue commemorating the 1944 Nazi occupation of Hungary is being erected despite protests from Jewish groups, who see the memorial as an attempt to diminish Hungarian officials' role in the deportations.

Zoltan Pokorni, a former education minister, said last week that Germany's occupation of Hungary was "an explanation, but not an excuse" for the fate of Hungarian Jews.

"The murderers were Hungarian and the victims were also Hungarian," Pokorni said. "This is our issue, not a distant historical question."

A German pastor began the March of Life events in 2007. Since then, more than 20,000 people have taken part in reconciliation marches in 13 countries.

National Library of Israel reveals Hannah Szenes' last letter - Holocaust Remembrance Day - Israel Hayom

National Library of Israel reveals
Hannah Szenes' last letter
Holocaust Remembrance Day

Israel Hayom April 28, 2014

Letter written by iconic World War II-era paratrooper Hannah Szenes six months before her execution unveiled on Holocaust Remembrance Day • "Szenes was an inspiration and one of the Jewish community's greatest symbols," says National Library curator.

Yori Yalon

Hannah Szenes

Photo credit: No credit

The National Library of Israel has unveiled the last letter written by iconic World War II-era paratrooper Hannah Szenes, just prior to her execution in 1944. The letter was donated to the library by Szenes' mother, Catherine, in 1951, and was released as part of various artifacts unveiled for the first time on this year's Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Born in Budapest in 1921, Szenes was the daughter of journalist Béla Szenes. An avid Zionist, she immigrated to then-British Mandate Palestine in 1939. In 1941, she joined the Haganah and in 1943 she enlisted in the British Army's Women's Auxiliary Air Force. She was trained as a paratrooper and later became one of 37 Jews sent by the British Army to assist in the rescue of Hungarian Jews who were scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz.

In March 1944, Szenes and her comrades parachuted into Yugoslavia and joined a partisan group. In June 1944, soon after crossing into Hungary, she was captured by Hungarian soldiers.

Szenes was imprisoned and tortured, but refused to reveal details of her mission. She was charged with espionage and treason and in Nov. 7, 1944, at the age of 23, she was executed by firing squad.

The letter, dated May 20, 1944, was written in English to Szenes' brother, George, and was sent from Yugoslavia.

"My dear George," she wrote, "I send you again a short letter to make you know that I am quite OK and that's all. I guess all my acquaintances and relations are cross with me, that I never write. Please try to explain the situation, if possible. If not they will forgive me later.

"To mother I do not write now either and your letters must replace mine. For this reason I give you the right even to forge my signature, hoping you will not make use of it for any 'financial obligations.'

"I hope you know that I get your letters with great delay but sooner or later they reach me and I am always ever so glad to hear about you. I love you and kisses to you and warm greetings to friends. Yours, Hannah."

"This letter is important because Hannah Szenes wrote it when she was clearly in danger and about to cross the border into Hungary," Dr. Hezi Amior, who serves as Israel Collection curator at the National Library, said. "It illustrates her acceptance of her mission and her sense of responsibility."

According to Amior, the letter "also reflects the atmosphere among the Jewish community in those days, as many of them volunteered to serve in the British Army out of concern for the fate of the Jews in Europe."

Szenes was a poet, writing in both Hungarian and Hebrew. "Her fate has turned her poems into staples of Hebrew poetry," Amior said. "Teenagers have been singing her songs for 70 years. She was one for the Jewish community's greatest symbols.

"When you read her letters you understand her personality, where the poems came from and why she became a role model. She was an inspiration and her struggles are a link between the Holocaust and resurrection, between the fight against the Germans and the fight for Israel's inception."

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Rick Joyner - Koinonia & Eklesia - Church Fellowship & Organization (2 of 2)

Rick Joyner - MorningStar

Rick Joyner - Koinonia & Eklesia - Church Fellowship & Organization 04.27.14 (2 of 2)

MorningStar

Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.

Rick Joyner - Koinonia & Eklesia - Church Fellowship & Organization (1 of 2)

Rick Joyner - MorningStar

Rick Joyner - Koinonia & Eklesia - Church Fellowship & Organization 04.27.14 (1 of 2)

MorningStar April 27, 2014

Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.

How Great Thou Art - Garden Tomb Dance Video (NC Dance team)

Published on Apr 18, 2014

Arts Evangelica dances on location in front of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, Israel.

Arts Evangelica:
Website: http://artsevangelica.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Arts-E...
Twitter: https://twitter.com//artsevangelica

Song:
"How Great Thou Art"
by Sandi Patty
Purchase Song: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hym...

Videography & Editing:
Stewart Media, LLC
Web Site: http://stewartmediallc.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StewartMediaLLC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StewartMediaLLC
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/stewartme...

Filmed on Location at the Garden Tomb - Jerusalem, Israel:
http://www.gardentomb.com

The video was filmed on a Canon XF100 with a Glidecam HD-2000:
http://www.canon.com
http://glidecam.com

Video edited on Adobe Premiere CC, part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite:
http://www.adobe.com

Category

Entertainment
License

Standard YouTube License

Contents List

Tuesday, April 29, 2014