Light Unto the Nations: IDF’s Unparalleled Humanitarian Efforts Around the World - Breaking Israel News

Light Unto the Nations: IDF’s Unparalleled Humanitarian Efforts Around the World While the IDF's primary aim is to defend the land of Israel and its people, it also serves as a light unto other nations of the world On This Day, Gifts and Tithes Brought to the Beit Hamikdash, Presented to Priests These are examples of biblical commandments that only apply to the land of Israel WATCH: Netanyahu Sees Off Most Recent IDF Recruits on Draft Day Thousands of Israeli teens part with their civilian lives to begin their chapter as IDF soldiers ICYMI: In The Days of the Messiah, the Story of Jacob and Esau Will Be Complete Breaking Israel News' month-long campaign of practical preparation for the Messiah is picking up pace How did Israel’s Enemies Become Experts in Tunnel Warfare? By Seth Frantzman From ISIS to Hezbollah, many terror groups have become experts in tunneling Israel and the Structural Islamic Discrimination of the UN By Daniel Greenfield "United Nations, Your Silence is Getting Worse": Extremist Persecution of Christians, September 2018 By Raymond Ibrahim

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Give Christmas More Meaning—With Music - J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

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Give Christmas More Meaning—With Music

12/19/2018 J. LEE GRADY  charisma magazine

(iStock/Getty Images Plus/LightFieldStudios)

I love Christmas music. I love it so much that I start listening to my playlist the last week of October—because 1) I'm not a fan of Halloween, and 2) I want to spread holiday cheer for as long as possible. I have almost every genre of music in my collection—including 1940s Big Band, 1950s rock, Bing Crosby, country and Kirk Franklin, along with more contemporary tracks.

Radio stations play "holiday" music 24 hours a day, but many of these songs don't even mention the reason for the season. We hear lyrics about snow, icicles and winter weather (even though Christmas is hot in most parts of the world), overcoats, shopping, sleighs, Santa Claus, reindeer, toys, holly, elves, bells, chipmunks and pumpkin pie.

I don't mind the secular songs. One of my favorite Christmas albums is Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song from 1963. But while it features classics like "Jingle Bells," "Deck the Halls" and the famous title track about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, it also offers 10 carols that are unapologetically Christian. (Nat King Cole's father was a Baptist minister, and the singer's faith obviously affected his career.)

There was a time in our history when Christmas music was mostly spiritual. People actually sat around fireplaces, gathered on street corners or met in churches to sing carols that made overt references to the birth of Jesus. I love those songs the most, and I encourage you to enrich your Christmas with the classic music that has been passed down for many years. Here are some of the "greatest hits" that capture the essence of the season:

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"O Holy Night." This stirring anthem isn't easy to sing unless you're a professionally trained tenor—and that's why I prefer listening to this version by Josh Groban. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Composed in 1847, it glorifies the incarnation of Christ and contains a powerful, prophetic denouncement of slavery: "Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother/ and in His name all oppression shall cease." A 1906 version of this carol was the first song ever played on the radio.

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Originally written in Latin in the 12th century, this majestic carol reminds us how the Jews yearned for the coming of the Messiah: "O come, Thou Rod of Jesse free/ Thine own from Satan's tyranny/ from depths of hell Thy people save/ and give them victory o'er the grave." Few hymns are as rich in biblical imagery. Irish singer Enya's version is one of the best because it maintains the medieval style.

"The First Noel." Christmas carols were originally used as lessons to narrate the story of Christ's birth. This song describes the shepherds, angels, wise men and the Christ child in masterful poetry—and reminds us that the Savior "hath made heaven and earth of nought/ and with His blood mankind hath bought." (The word Noel, or "Nowell" in 18th-century English, means Christmas.) Here is Ella Fitzgerald's take on this classic.

"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." Penned in 1849, this carol had deep meaning in the United States at a time when tensions were mounting between North and South. It emphasizes that the message of the angels at Christ's birth was about peace and reconciliation: "And man, at war with man, hears not/ the love-song which they bring/ O hush the noise, ye men of strife/ and hear the angels sing." Johnny Mathis' 1958 version is amazing.

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"O Little Town of Bethlehem." An Episcopal priest from Philadelphia wrote this carol after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1865. It reminds us of how God used such an insignificant place to stage the miracle of redemption. ("How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!") Nat King Cole recorded one of the best renditions of this song.

"Joy to the World": Penned by Isaac Watts in 1719, it was not intended to be a Christmas carol. Yet today it is the most widely published Christmas hymn. It is based on Psalm 98 and celebrates Christ's victory through His Second Coming with powerful words like this: "He rules the world with truth and grace/ and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness." There have been many pop recordings of this carol (I love Whitney Houston's gospel rendition), but the one by Andy Williams is a personal favorite.

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing!" Charles Wesley, founder of Methodism, wrote this song in 1739, but it had a somber melody. The livelier version we sing was composed in 1840. This hymn packs a theological punch in every line, with references to the incarnation, the Trinity and regeneration: "Christ by highest heav'n adored/ Christ the everlasting Lord!/ Late in time behold Him come; offspring of a virgin's womb." Amy Grant released a perfect version of this carol way back in 1983.

"Sweet Little Jesus Boy." Written in the style of old Negro spirituals, this song captures the essence of Christmas from the perspective of distant observers—and reminds us that Christmas is not about white European culture. Mahalia Jackson's soulful rendition is one of the most authentic.

"What Child Is This?" William Chatterton Dix wrote this song in 1865 after a bout with depression. It was later set to the famous 16th-century English melody, "Greensleeves." Rather than retelling the Christmas story, it calls us to participate in it: "So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh/ Come, peasant, king, to own Him/ the King of kings salvation brings/ Let loving hearts enthrone Him." Michael W. Smith did a moving rendition of this song with Martina McBride.

"Angels We Have Heard on High." This hymn was translated into English in 1862 from a French carol, and is best known for its Latin refrain, "Gloria in excelsis Deo" ("Glory to God in the highest"). My favorite version of this carol is a rousing black gospel rendition by Sandra Crouch, sister of Andrae Crouch.

I encourage you not to rush through the holidays without listening to the songs that give Christmas its true meaning.

J. Lee Grady was editor of Charisma for 11 years before he launched into full-time ministry in 2010. Today he directs The Mordecai Project, a Christian charitable organization that is taking the healing of Jesus to women and girls who suffer abuse and cultural oppression. Author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, he has just released his newest book, Set My Heart on Fire, from Charisma House. You can follow him on Twitter at @LeeGrady or go to his website, themordecaiproject.org.

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Milestone - 15,000 posts on Love For His People ministry website - 12.21.18

MILESTONE - 15,000 posts on Love For His People ministry website - 12.21.18

Dec. 21, 2018  5:30 am

Charlotte, North Carolina USA

Being an accountant, I love to count. And I take notice when milestones are reached.

Only took eight years to post #15,000! 

(Began this website and posts in November 2010.)

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People ministry

Note: Screenshot from our website on Dec. 21, 2018. Left-hand column with "All (15000)" in red.

You May Believe in the Baby Jesus, but how about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? - CBN News Paul Strand

You May Believe in the Baby Jesus, but how about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

12-20-2018

CBN News Paul Strand

GREENSBORO, NC – Although believers and evidence exist, there remains the question: is there a God? Cold case detective J. Warner Wallace has pursued the question, applying the same procedures he used to solve cold cases. 

He started this investigation into God's existence many years ago as an atheist. But even then, he had to accept something beyond the natural because he already believed the universe had a beginning before space and time.

The Beginning needs a Beginner

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"It began from nothing. It didn't exist prior to the Big Bang," the author of Cold Case Christianity said of the universe. "That means you're looking for a cause that is non-spatial, non-temporal and non-material because those things are not available until the Big Bang. So you're already looking for something that's extra-natural –  if by nature you mean what we always mean, which is space, time, matter, physics, chemistry."

Astronomer Hugh Ross, who heads up Reasons to Believe sees God in the universe's birth.

"It has a beginning, which implies there must be a Beginner who was responsible for bringing the universe into existence," the astrophysicist said.

And there's such precise design.

Wallace stated, "We have fine-tuning in the universe that's so finely-tuned that the smallest variation in the universal constants, you wouldn't even have a universe in which we have life at all. Now, what are the odds of that happening on its own?"

All Life Could Stop on a Dime

And just how finely-tuned is it for life?

"If you were to add the weight of one dime to the universe or subtract the weight of one dime from the observable universe, that would be enough to upset the balance to make life not possible," Ross said, adding, "How can we escape the conclusion there must be a mind with supernatural power that designed it just right so we could be here?"

Ross contends Earth needs to be just where it is on the arm of a spiral galaxy just like the Milky Way for life to exist here. Also that the unique feature of Earth's moon being as large as it is compared to its planet's size makes it able to control the tilt of the Earth's axis and the length of its daily spin in just such a way to make the planet optimal for life. 

Finally, Ross said the entire solar system is just perfectly balanced to achieve that end.

As he put it, "We're not looking at just a highly fine-tuned Planet Earth. The entire solar system has been highly fine-tuned to make possible the existence of advanced life. Every one of the eight planets in our solar system plays a critical role."

Jesus Christ Wasn't Just in the Bible

But what about Jesus Christ, His resurrection and deity?

Wallace said with a wry grin, "If there's a Being out there that can create all space, time and matter from nothing, I'm guessing He could probably rise from the dead. I'm guessing He could probably walk on water. I'm guessing those are probably small potato miracles compared to Genesis 1."

Some people say they'll never believe Jesus Christ is God because all the proof for it is in the Bible, and they just don't believe the Bible.

As an atheist, Josh McDowell set out to disprove Christianity and the Bible, but found so much evidence, it changed his life to one of faith. The result was his book Evidence That Demands a Verdict. And he found much proof for Christ outside the Bible.

He stated, "In this book Evidence, I give 20-some totally extra-biblical sources that you could recapture almost everything about Christ – that He was raised from the dead, He fulfilled the prophecies, etc. etc. etc. – from non-biblical sources."

Some Christian reviewers rate Evidence That Demands a Verdict as the most thorough and comprehensive book when it comes to evidence for Christ's existence. And there's more at McDowell's online resources page.

Alex McFarland's Truth for a New Generation puts on conferences nationwide to arm Christians with proof their God and faith is real – like the one in Greensboro, North Carolina where CBN News interviewed Wallace, McDowell and him. He pointed out what one of America's top twentieth-century historians – Will Durant, a non-believer – had to say.

"Durant, when he was not a Christian, said the four biographies, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: their historicity was (quote) 'indisputable,'" McFarland remarked.

To find out more on McFarland's defenses of the faith, you can search his website or his blog.

The Passed-Down Facts Go All the Way Back to the First Disciples

Some claim the New Testament was written hundreds of years after Jesus' time. So they suggest all the supernatural details about Christ could have been added in long after His death. But as witnesses, the earliest disciples memorized, sang and wrote down statements of Christ's miraculous life starting right after His death and rising from the dead.

"Deity, death, resurrection, Son of God, paid for our sins, rose from the dead – these doctrinal formulae, if you will, these statements of belief, come to us within – not years, not months – but weeks after the crucifixion," McFarland stated. "These verbalized, memorized creedal statements come within perhaps four to eight weeks after the Cross."

Wallace talks of how cold case detectives look for a solid chain of custody for all the evidence in an old case. And when it comes to Christ, "Every supernatural element related to Jesus from the virgin birth to the resurrection to the ascension to 'seated at the right hand of the Father,' all of that stuff is in the very earliest accounts and in the very first links in the chain. It never changes. It's never altered."

You Want 'Early, Eyewitness, Multiple & Even Hostile'

And Jesus' earliest disciples said not only were they eyewitnesses to Christ's miracles but so were their opponents there in Jerusalem.

McDowell hearkened back to his first months beginning to investigate Christ's existence. He recalled, "I had to define 'what is truth, and what do I accept as true statements, true acts historically?' And one was this: was it presented in the presence of hostile witnesses? Where if what they [the apostles] were saying was false, it would be exposed as false. And the apostles did this."

McDowell continued, "They would constantly appeal to the knowledge of hostile witnesses of the truth that they were saying. They'd say 'you know what I'm talking about; you were there; you saw Him do this; you heard Him do this.'"

McFarland added, "Historians look for eyewitness accounts, multiple accounts, early accounts and even what they call hostile accounts.

"The teachings of Christ, even His crucifixion and resurrection – we have testimony that is early, eyewitness, multiple sources and even hostile sources."

He concluded, "The idea that there was a conflation, and they made Jesus into something that He never claimed to be, over hundreds of years, that's just not what the record of history shows."

If It was all a Conspiracy, It's the Most Flawless One in History

Wallace insists Christianity couldn't have just been a conspiracy of liars who never cracked. There were way too many witnesses to Christ's life and resurrection – hundreds of them – later facing too much persecution and torture for at least a few to not 'fess up if they were all simply lying.

"They were under incredible pressure where many of them lost their lives in defense of what they said was true," he stated. "And we don't have a single ancient record of any of the disciples ever recanting when that was often the goal of the people who were persecuting Christians."

The investigator added, "This is why I think the deaths and the martyrdoms of the disciples is a key piece."

You can find out many other ways Wallace has for investigating and finding proof for God's existence and the truth of Christianity at his website, Cold Case Christianity.

If God Exists, You Win…Unless You Gamble He Doesn't

But you may feel none of this has anything to do with you and you shouldn't have to think about it. Well, what if there is an eternity, and what you believe about Jesus Christ will determine where you spend it?

Wallace implored that if you're a total non-believer, for your own sake, consider the idea there's a miracle-working Savior – with one caveat.

"You can't begin by saying 'I don't believe in the supernatural.' That's the thing you're trying to investigate," the cold case detective said. "If you start out by denying the supernatural, you'll never get to whether or not there's anything supernatural. You've already decided there isn't."

McFarland mentioned what's known as Pascal's Wager, saying, "If we live as if there is God and it turns out there wasn't, we've lost nothing, plus lived a good life and been happy. But if you the atheist live this as if there's not a God and it turns out there is, you've lost everything. So the wise man would wager that there might be a God."

Watch report here: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

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"How God Sees Us in Our Struggles" Bill Yount, THE ELIJAH LIST

"How God Sees Us in Our Struggles"

Bill Yount, Hagerstown, MD

December 20, 2018

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:

I know some of you want to get FREE of some things you've been struggling with...some of these things you've battled for years!

But I want you to take heart...beause God SEES your struggles and it's important that you also SEE as God does.

In this latest article, Bill Yount shares this most encouraging word about our struggles:

I believe this coming year will be a landmark for many who will break free from their struggles. Those who have cried out to the Lord for many years and yet are still bound will discover deliverance just because they didn't quit trusting the Lord for their victory. Although some will have instant deliverance, others will know they were being weaned from their bondage. Remember in our struggles we, as Believers, are not sinners struggling to become saints, we are saints struggling against sin.

Amen...take great comfort and heart in that. I encourage you that no matter what you are struggling with HOPE in God and His deliverance are on the way. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

URGENT NOTE! Hey, do you love this ministry as much as we do? Have you noticed...WE always, ALWAYS send these to you FREE OF CHARGE, including the ELIJAH STREAMS TV programs? 

The "NOW" URGENCY of these last few days of 2018 is that we DESPERATELY NEED YOU TO PARTNER WITH US—TODAY. Yes, this VERY DAY! There's still time before December 31, 2018 for you to make your VERY BEST 2018 year-end financial gift to Elijah List Ministries.

Please know that our gratitude to you knows NO BOUNDS. Derene and I are praying that all who give to us will have MORE than a 7-fold return BACK TO YOU!

Give a Monthly Gift

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

*************************************

"How God Sees Us in Our Struggles"

Bill Yount, Hagerstown, MD

You ARE Making Progress

For many who feel they go one step forward in the Lord and then two steps backward, be encouraged. I sense the Lord saying, "I count the one foot forward and two steps backward as forward progress."

In football, when the team needs one yard for a first down and the player carries the ball forward one yard yet gets pushed back two yards, it's still marked as a first down. They call this forward progress and so does the Lord. He counts your one step forward, not your push backs.

I'm convinced that many who feel like quitting are actually making progress.

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14 KJV)

The Lord Sees Your Victory Before You See Your Struggle

"You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob." (Psalm 44:4 NIV)

Many years ago at a Russ Bixler miracle meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I stood in proxy (stood in the place of) for my father, who for twenty five years, couldn't stop smoking cigarettes. When I arrived home, my father was in the living room watching television. I whispered to my mother in the kitchen what I had done for my dad so he would stop smoking. I didn't know he overheard me telling mom.

He walked into our kitchen and said, "Maybe that's the reason when I lit up a cigarette about eight o'clock this evening it didn't taste right, so I put it out." Dad never smoked another cigarette the rest of his life! It was the same time I stood in proxy for him that evening sixty miles away.

On the other hand my mother, who was bound by cigarettes, fought the craving for 16 years. Each time she was tempted she would go down to the basement of our home to an old box of jars and would kneel down, crying out to the Lord for deliverance. Finally after sixteen years the craving left her. I believe now that God wasn't counting the years she couldn't stop smoking but only the sixteenth year when she overcame it.

The Lord for some reason knew something good was happening in her as a result of persevering. During this time my mother learned compassion for people who struggled in their weaknesses and many were delivered before she was, for she knew how to pray for them as one of them.

He is Weaning Many from Their Struggles

I believe this coming year will be a landmark for many who will break free from their struggles. Those who have cried out to the Lord for many years and yet are still bound will discover deliverance just because they didn't quit trusting the Lord for their victory. Although some will have instant deliverance, others will know they were being weaned from their bondage.

Remember in our struggles we, as Believers, are not sinners struggling to become saints, we are saints struggling against sin.

My mother had major heart bypass surgery in her 70s. The doctors came to us in the waiting area and told us these words: "Because of what your mother has just been through, she's not going to look very good to you, but she looks great to us because of what she's been through."

I sense many reading this article feel like they are not doing well at all in their own eyes and also as a result of what the enemy and what other people are saying to them. But I hear the Father saying, "Because of what you've been through, you look great to Me." Many who feel like fainting are actually doing well from what God sees.

The Lord takes in to account what we have been through and what we are presently battling. He understands why we are struggling. He remembers all of our struggles from the womb to the present day. The One, who numbers the hairs on our head and knows our every weakness, knows us best and loves us most. When everything is against us, He isn't.

Amazing Grace Is When We Think We Have Blown It

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Are you still struggling against sin? IF so be encouraged, because that means you haven't quit. When you quit is when you are in trouble.

You are Crucified with Christ

Remember, you've been crucified with Christ. You were nailed to the Cross with Him. No matter how much your old nature acts like it's still alive, it's dead. You are dead—dead to sin but alive unto God... You are free before you are free because of Calvary. You are free indeed. Go ahead and live unto God.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 KJV)

(To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministry

Email: theshofarhasblown@juno.com
Website: www.billyount.com

Bill Yount has been a member of Bridge of Life Church in Hagerstown, Maryland for the past 40 years where he is in leadership. He faithfully served in Prison Ministry at Mount Hope Inc. for 23 years and now travels full-time, ministering in churches and Aglow circles. He is currently an Advisor at Large for Aglow International and is also a member of the Apostolic Company of Alliance International Ministries. 

Bill's calling is to encourage the Body of Christ to move forward into God's destiny as they are sent into the harvest field. "Humility and Humor" characterize his ministry as he brings forth a fresh word that is "in season" proclaiming the Word of the Lord! 

The shofar or (ram's horn) is at times used in his meetings, breaking the powers of darkness over regions, churches and households. The shofar represents God's breath blowing into the nostrils of His people, reviving them and awakening the lost as he travels across the U.S. 

Many of God's messages which Bill ministers prophetically, come out of everyday life with his family and friends. Bill is also a member of the Apostolic Company of Alliance International Ministries.