Father Heroically Holds Son as They Plunge to Their Deaths - Israel Today

Father Heroically Holds Son as They Plunge to Their Deaths

Monday, December 12, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

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A grief-stricken nation on Monday laid to rest Dr. Omri Nir and his 10-year-old son, Ilai, who were tragically killed by a fall during a hiking trip in the Judean desert.

Omri and Ilai were part of a larger group including 15 other children that set out to hike the Tze’elim Stream near the Dead Sea on Friday.

During one of the descents, Ilai lost his footing and fell onto his father before continuing to roll toward a nearby cliff.

Omri did not hesitate and leapt for his son, wrapping Ilai in a protecting embrace before they plunged into the canyon below.

A medic with the group quickly descended and found Ilai still breathing. Omri was already gone.

Two days later, following frantic attempts to complete Omri’s mission to save his son’s life, doctors at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva were forced to declare Ilai dead.

“Now you will be together forever,” one family member was quoted as saying by Israeli media, as they prepared to lay to rest Omri and the child for whom he gave his life, little Ilai.

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Trumphoria: Americans Are More Optimistic About The Economy Than They Have Been Since Obama’s Win In 2008 - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Trumphoria: Americans Are More Optimistic About The Economy Than They Have Been Since Obama’s Win In 2008 Posted: 10 Dec 2016  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG Optimism about the future of the U.S. economy has not been this strong since Barack Obama’s first presidential election victory in 2008. Donald Trump promised us an economic resurgence, and what is not to like so far? As I discussed earlier this week, stocks are soaring, businesses are already announcing that they are bringing jobs back to the United States, and the U.S. dollar has been lifted to levels that we haven’t seen in many years. Many are referring to this post-election surge as “Trumphoria”, and I think that is quite appropriate.  Personally, I couldn’t imagine financial markets behaving this way if Hillary Clinton had won the election. Right now tens of millions of Americans are feeling deeply optimistic about the future for the first time in a very long time, and this is clearly reflected in the results of the most recent CNBC All-America Economic Survey… The CNBC All-America Economic Survey for the fourth quarter found that the percentage of Americans who believe the economy will get better in the next year jumped an unprecedented 17 points to 42 percent, compared with before the election. It’s the highest level since President Barack Obama was first elected in 2008. The surge was powered by Republicans and independents reversing their outlooks. Republicans swung from deeply pessimistic, with just 15 percent saying the economy would improve in the next year, to strongly optimistic, with 74 percent believing in an economic upswing. Optimism among independents doubled but it fell by more than half for Democrats. Just 16 percent think the economy will improve. It is funny how our political perspectives so greatly shape our view of the future. Because Trump won, Democrats now have an extremely dismal opinion of where the economy is heading, while Republicans suddenly believe that happy days are here again. Of course the truth is that the president has far less power to influence the economy than the Federal Reserve does, and so most Americans greatly overestimate what a president can do to alter our economic trajectory. But for now most Americans (excluding Democrats) are feeling really good about where things are headed. In fact, we just learned that the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey has soared to the highest level that we have seen since 2005. And of course the financial markets continued to roll onward and upward on Friday. The Dow was up another 142 points, and it is now less than 250 points away from the magic number of 20,000. I never thought that we would actually get to 20,000, but thanks to “Trumphoria” we may actually get there before the wheels start coming off. This post-election run has really been unprecedented. The following comes from CNBC… All major indexes have been hitting record highs since the election. In fact, the Dow has notched 14 record closes since then and gains in 20 of the past 24 sessions. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq also did something they haven’t done in more than five years: all three rose each day of this trading week. The last time all three rose every day during the same trading week was September 2011. Wouldn’t it be great if every month during Trump’s presidency was like the last 30 days? Trump promised that we would start winning so much that we would actually start getting tired of winning, and so far we are off to a tremendous start. As I discussed yesterday, some of the biggest winners from “Trumphoria” have been the big banks… The shares of Wells Fargo, the most hated bank in America these days, soared 28% over the past 30 days, Citigroup 25%, JP Morgan 26%, Goldman Sachs, which is successfully placing its people inside the Trump administration, 37%. But is this momentum in the financial markets sustainable? Of course not. There are signs of emerging economic trouble all around us. For instance, Sears just announced that it lost 748 million dollars last quarter and that it plans to liquidate even more stores. How in the world do you lose three-quarters of a billion dollars in a single quarter? If you had employees in every store literally flushing dollar bills down the toilet all day I don’t think you could lose money that quickly. And the moment that Trump takes office, he may immediately be faced with a major financial crisis in Europe which has been sparked by the meltdown of large Italian banks. The following comes from a Forbes article entitled “Italy’s Banking Crisis Is Nearly Upon Us“… There is a high degree of probability (approaching 90%, I’d say) that Italy will experience a severe banking crisis in the next few quarters. Perhaps they can stave off the problem for a year, but something will have to be done about the banks. Unfortunately, it looks like things are about to get very real for Italian banking giant Monte dei Paschi di Siena. According to Reuters, the European Central Bank has turned down their request for more time to raise needed capital… The European Central Bank has rejected a request by Italy’s Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) for more time to raise capital, a source said on Friday, a decision that piles pressure on the Rome government to bail out the lender. Italy’s third-largest bank, and the world’s oldest, had asked for a three-week extension until January 20 to try to wrap up a privately funded, 5 billion euro ($5.3 billion) rescue plan in the face of fresh political uncertainty. The ECB’s supervisory board turned down the request at a meeting on Friday on the grounds that a delay would be of little use and that it was time for Rome to step in, the source said. But most Americans have no idea what is unfolding in Europe right now. As Americans, we tend to be largely oblivious to what is going on in the rest of the world, and at this moment “Trumphoria” has gripped our nation. It is certainly not wrong to celebrate the fact that we are getting Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton, but let us also not lose sight of the fact that we are likely to be facing some tremendous challenges very early in 2017.

It's Time to Return to the Promised Land ✡ "I Will Be With Thee" - ISRAEL365

And Hashem said unto Yaakov: ‘Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.’ Genesis 31:3 (The Israel Bible™)    וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל יַעֲקֹב שׁוּב אֶל אֶרֶץ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ וּלְמוֹלַדְתֶּךָ וְאֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ בראשית לא:ג va-YO-mer a-do-NAI el ya-a-KOV shuv el E-retz a-vo-TE-kha u-l’-mo-lad-TE-kha v’-eh-YEH i-MAKH

Today's Israel Inspiration With these words God implies that He will be with Jacob only if he returns to the land of his fathers, the Land of Israel, but not if he stays with Laban in Haran. Rabbi Meir Leibush Weiser explains that God intentionally removed his protection from Jacob in order to motivate Him to return to the Land of Israel. After spending so much time outside the Holy Land it is time to go home. Discover more incredible insights like this one with The Israel Bible.   Subscribe to The Israel Bible Reading Plan » Take a Virtual Bite of Israel’s Creative Street Foods! Street food in Israel is “more than that,” says one sandwich shop owner. Enter the dynamic, energetic, modern and yet traditional world of Israeli street food and prepare to be amazed (and hungry)!   Watch » Gaining Inspiration from the Flag of Israel Before we are redeemed we must verbally commit ourselves to Hashem and not become haughty through our success. This commitment takes the form of prayer in which we must make explicit our affirmation to believe in G-d.   Read more » Patterns of Evidence - Part of our DVD Sale   Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus by Timothy Mahony, is a video presenting an examination of a plethora of information gathered during twelve years of research and travel, in an attempt to unlock and reveal evidence of one of the most well-known stories within biblical history, The Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Literary, archaeological and historical records were examined to determine whether or not the famous story of the Exodus of Israelites from the land of Egypt is fact or fiction.   Any 3 DVDs Only $50 - Shop Now »   Today's Israel Photo Jaffa Gate is one of eight gates allowing entry into the old city of Jerusalem. Did you know that its unique angled position is thought to have been created intentionally, purposefully oriented in the direction of Jaffa Road, from which pilgrims arrived at the end of their journey from the port of Jaffa. See more photos by Joe Aminoff » If you enjoy your Israel365 daily email newsletter, please consider donating to one of our causes or buying products from our store and blessing the Land and the People of Israel.   Thanks to our recent Fire Victims Donors "Todah Rabbah" to Peggy Larson from Minnesota; Diana and Georg Neumann from Sweden; Wolfgang Schuler from NRW, Germany; Allan Littell from New York. Donate to our Arson Victims Fund »  Thank You to our latest Tree Donors "Todah Rabbah" to Harry Hudson from Riga, Latvia; Hazel Sproull from Arizona; Cathy Strode from California; Lane Singer from Colorado. Plant a Tree in Israel »  Thank you to our Israel365 Store Customers "Todah Rabbah" to Tom Newman from Oklahoma; Erin Nemeth from Washington; Matthew Cuthbert from New Zealand; Barbara Stiver from Nebraska. Shop the Israel365 Store »   Thank You Please help us continue to spread the beauty and significance of the Land of Israel!   Sponsor a day in honor of a loved one » “I Love the Beautiful Pictures” It’s great to hear from you and make new friends from all over the world. Please send me an email and let me know how you are enjoying Israel365 (don’t forget to say where you are from!).   Stay in Touch » Hi, I do enjoy reading your information from ISRAEL 365. I love the beautiful pictures. I pray for Israel. I am impressed by its beauty and peaceful appearance. mI am from Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. In the Caribbean. Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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Why You Should Keep Praying When There is No Answer - RICK WARREN CHARISMA NEWS

There are several reasons why you should keep praying when God isn't answering. (Flickr )

Why You Should Keep Praying When There is No Answer

12/10/2016 RICK WARREN  CHARISMA NEWS

"To that end be alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18b).

Why should you be persistent in your prayers, even when you don't get an answer? There are four reasons:

1. Persistent prayer focuses your attention. When you pray a prayer request over and over, it's not to remind God. He doesn't need to be reminded. It's to remind yourself who is the source of your answer and all your needs. If every prayer you ever prayed were instantly answered, two things would be true. First, prayer would become a weapon of destruction in your life. And, you'd never think about God, because He would become a vending machine. If every time you prayed, you instantly got results, all you'd think about is the blessing. God wants you to think about the blesser.

2. Persistent prayer clarifies your request. A delayed answer gives you time to clarify exactly what you want and to refine your prayers. When you pray persistently to your heavenly Father, and you say something over and over again, it separates deep longings from mere whims. It says, "God, I really care about this."

It's not that God doesn't want to answer your prayers. He does. It's just that He wants you to be certain about what you really want.

3. Persistent prayer tests your faith. James 1:3-4 says, "knowing that the trying of your faith develops patience. But let patience perfect its work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." The only way you can grow to spiritual maturity is to have your faith tested. One of the ways God's going to test your faith is by delaying some answers to your prayers.

4. Persistent prayer prepares your heart for the answer. When you make a request of God, He almost always wants to answer in a bigger and better way than you've prayed. Sometimes He denies your prayer requests because you're thinking and asking too small. He wants to give you something bigger and better. But first, He has to prepare you for it. So God uses delays in answering prayer to help you grow, to help you get ready and to help prepare you for a bigger and better answer.

Remember, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us" (Eph. 3:20).

Talk It Over

• What is something you've been praying about for a long time? How do you need to refine your request?
• If God is testing you right now by delaying an answer to your prayer, how can you show Him you are willing to grow and accept his will and purpose for you?
• Think of something you prayed for over the years that God never supplied. How have you seen that His denial was actually a blessing in your life? 

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.

For the original article, visit pastorrick.com.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!

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