Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
The New Jerusalem - By Paul Kocourek -
http://www.raptureready.com/2017/07/30/new-jerusalem-paul-kocourek/ Sometimes in the trials of everyday life, we need to take a step aside to gain perspective and to be encouraged. Scripture says: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). This life comes into better focus when we consider our eternal home. This world in which we live in every day and what we see every day, will one day be changed by God. What we will live in then will be beyond anything we can imagine for God Himself will be the architect of our dwelling place. The Bible teaches we will one day live in a glorious city called the New Jerusalem. Its size is mind-boggling. "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal" (Revelation 21:16). Now, for some arithmetic for the size of the New Jerusalem, take a peek at this: Let's compute the size of the New Jerusalem. Some translators say the 12,000 furlongs are 1500 miles, others 1400 miles. Let's go with the lesser. There are generally two geometric shapes that fit that description: a cube, and a pyramid. A pyramid has exactly 1/3 the volume of a cube. Let's go with a pyramid. Its size, then, is 1400 miles x 1400 miles x 1400 miles x 1/3, which equals (in rounded numbers) 915,000,000 cubic miles. Now, let's try and put that into perspective. A 2-1/2 bedroom apartment is about 30,000 cubic feet. Jesus said, in My Father's house are many mansions. So, for a figure to play with, let's assume that my mansion is 33 times larger than that apartment, giving me a mansion with 82-1/2 rooms, or about 1,000,000 (1 million) cubic feet. How many mansions, at 1,000,000 cubic feet, will fit into the New Jerusalem? Well, we have to convert from cubic miles to cubic feet. In one cubic mile, there are 5280 x 5280 x 5280, or 147,197,952,000 cubic feet. Now, when you multiple that many cubic feet times the cubic miles in the New Jerusalem as a pyramid, you get (take a breath here, folks!): 134 quintillion, 637 quadrillion, 60 trillion, 96 billion cubic feet (134,637,060,096,000,000,000 cubic feet). Divide this by 1,000,000 cubic feet for EACH mansion, and you get: 134,637,060,096,000 mansions. That's 134 TRILLION, 637 BILLION, 60 MILLION, 96 THOUSAND mansions. That's some serious real estate. Even if every person who ever lived (say, 100 billion) were able to enter into the New Jerusalem to live there, it would be mostly empty space, with 0.0009% being used for the mansions we'd be living in, and 99.9991% unoccupied. The largest home in America is the Biltmore Estate. Located near Asheville, North Carolina, America's largest privately owned home was built by George W. Vanderbilt, heir to the steamship and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, his grandfather. Consisting of 250 rooms and 175,000 square feet, the estate was opened on Christmas Eve in 1895 following nearly six years of construction. From the original 125,000 acres of property, about 87,000 acres were sold to the U.S. Government that is today part of Pisgah National Forest. Some Quick Facts: 65 fireplaces 35 bedrooms 43 bathrooms 16 chimneys 250 acres of landscaped gardens Now, as impressive as the Biltmore Estate is, I suspect that God's idea of a mansion is a LOT bigger than my example of 1,000,000 cubic feet or even the Biltmore Estate. Let's say my heavenly mansion was 1000 times bigger than my 1,000,000 cubic feet example (at a mere 82.5 rooms), so that my mansion has 82,500 rooms (about 330 times the size of the Biltmore mansion!). Then the New Jerusalem would still be about 99.1% unoccupied! This is assuming the New Jerusalem is a pyramid, not a cube. It should be noted that in the days of Moses, the Holy of Holies was a cube, so there is some possible support for the New Jerusalem being a cube; if so, then that would TRIPLE the number of mansions shown above! How great is God, and how unsearchable His ways! As the Scripture says, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). So when the trials and stress of this life start getting us down, let's remember that this life is not all there is, that we have a glorious future awaiting us that we can hardly even comprehend. "Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful.' And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts" (Revelation 21:2). For First Time in Millennia, Jewish Priests Will Undergo Training to Enter Temple's Holy of Holies - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.breakingisraelnews.com "Moshe called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aharon, and said to them, "Come forward and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp." Leviticus 10:4 (The Israel Bible™) For the first time in 2,000 years, a group of Kohanim (men of the Jewish priestly caste) living close to Jerusalem's Old City are studying the relevant Jewish laws to be able to ascend the Temple Mount and enter the Holy of Holies, where God's presence is said to dwell. This development was initiated by Israel's first responder organization ZAKA, based on a decision by the ZAKA Rabbinical Council following an event occurring during the three weeks of austerity leading up to the Ninth Day of Av: the July 14 Palestinian terror attack against Israeli police officers that left three dead (including the terrorist), the most powerful source of ritual impurity, on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. Horrific as the attack was, one Temple activist said it may have served a divine purpose. "When the Jewish people are not moving ahead quickly enough, God does something to force it upon us," Yaakov Hayman, a prominent Temple Mount activist and expert, told Breaking Israel News. "When those Arabs did what they did, they created a new situation on the ground. We weren't preparing for it, so something happened that forced us to deal with it." The "new situation on the ground" is that Kohanim, men descended patrilineally from Aaron the Priest, will now be trained for the first time in millennia to enter the area where the Holy of Holies once stood. Their purpose will not be to offer sacrifices or pray for the Jewish people, but to retrieve dead bodies should the need arise again. The ZAKA council, headed by Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, ruled that there is a religious obligation to remove every dead body from the Temple Mount - Jewish, non-Jewish and even terrorist - but that in certain situations, only Kohanim can do the job. Kohanim are forbidden from becoming ritually impure and have stringencies placed upon them that other Jews do not. Kohanim are forbidden from entering cemeteries or coming into proximity with dead bodies. Normally, contact with a dead body would be forbidden to a Kohen, but this ruling overrules that condition. The training will require the revival of Torah laws "our people have [not] used for thousands of years, let alone on a yearly, monthly or daily basis, like most other laws," explained ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav to Breaking Israel News. "Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount) is the holiest place and there is a requirement that all ritually impure objects be removed as quickly as possible," he continued. "So, in this case, the rabbis ruled that it is acceptable for a Kohen to become impure himself to remove something from the Temple Mount." Meshi-Zahav added that the ruling brought hopes of redemption. "Of course, we hope that by giving the Temple Mount the proper respect it deserves, we will bring about the Messiah. We want the redemption to come as quickly as possible." "There is certainly something interesting happening here," Rabbi Ari Kahn, a member of the ZAKA Rabbinical Council and the head rabbi of the West Bank settlement Giv'at Ze'ev, said to Breaking Israel News. Rabbi Kahn said there was "something natural" about watching rabbis rule on decisions they have not faced for hundreds and hundreds of years. Due to the stringencies placed upon them, until now, Kohanim were not allowed to volunteer with ZAKA. Meshi-Zahav said the group is already in the process of hand-selecting these new first responders specifically tasked with Temple Mount duties. The members of the team of Kohanim will be "religious, God-fearing people, knowledgeable about Jewish law." He noted that learning the laws pertaining to ascending the Temple Mount is not simple. As one of the few ZAKA volunteers sufficiently familiar with Temple Mount laws, Joshua Wander was the first to go up after the July 14 attack. He pointed out the need to ZAKA for a Temple Mount team of volunteers able to cope with the halachot (Jewish laws) on the Temple Mount. "The positive side of this whole thing that's gone on in the past two weeks is that it's really created an interest globally to relearn these laws, which have been almost lost, and thank God, we are bringing back these laws," he told Breaking Israel News. Before ascending, ZAKA volunteers will be required to immerse in a ritual bath. They will ascend wearing a minimum number of clothes, not wearing shoes, bringing in the smallest possible amount of equipment, and entering and leaving by the shortest possible route. The guidelines Rabbi Nebenzahl used for his ruling were based on the writings of Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, a medieval Spanish Torah authority known by the acronym Ramban. The Ramban discussed the deaths of Aaron the Cohen's sons, Nadav and Avihu, inside the Tabernacle. Now Aharon's sons Nadav and Avihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before Hashem alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from Hashem and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of Hashem (Leviticus 10:1-2). The Ramban explains that these bodies needed to be removed speedily by a priest, as described in a following verse of the Bible. Moshe called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aharon, and said to them, "Come forward and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp" (Leviticus 10:4). This is not the first time an organization has acted to prepare Kohanim for the Messianic era. The Temple Institute, a non-profit government and privately funded center of "research and preparation for the Holy Temple" - located in Jerusalem's Old City - established a "Kohanim Training Academy" last spring, in which Kohanic students are taught and practically prepared to serve in the Temple. Reflecting on how a tragedy led to a miraculous renewal of Torah laws pertaining to the Temple, Hayman compared it to a parable in the Talmud which illustrated that the greatest light of redemption comes from the deepest darkness. The Talmudic story tells of a group of revered rabbis, including Rabbi Akiva, a first-century rabbi and a major contributor to the oral tradition, who visited the site of the Temple, then a pile of rubble. A fox ran out of the ruins, and one rabbi began to cry, but Rabbi Akiva laughed. Rabbi Akiva asked him why he cried and the rabbi cited the Biblical verse describing the holiness of the site. "...any outsider who encroaches shall be put to death." Numbers 1:51 The rabbi lamented that now, even wild animals could roam through the site. Rabbi Akiva explained that the Prophet Micah described the tragic scene they were seeing in front of their eyes. Assuredly, because of you Tzion shall be plowed as a field, And Yerushalayim shall become heaps of ruins, And the Har Habayit A shrine in the woods. Micah 3:12 Rabbi Akiva explained that just as this prophecy of destruction had already come to pass, it was inevitable that the prophecy of Zechariah on the same subject would also come to pass. Thus said God of Hosts: There shall yet be old men and women in the squares of Yerushalayim, each with staff in hand because of their great age. Zechariah 8:4 According to Hayman, the prophecy can be interpreted to mean that if the Jewish people do not take control of the Temple for holy purposes, another nation will take the opportunity to profane it. "It is a like a lion being pestered by flies. Every now and again he wags his tail, but it doesn't do much. Then he roars and that changes the whole picture," said Hayman. "We are just waiting for the Lion of Judah to roar, to give the blast that will turn everything on its heels and indicate redemption is here." Record Numbers of Jews Visit Temple Mount On Fast Of Tisha B'Av - by Deborah Danan - http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/08/01/watch-record-numbers-of-jews-visit-temple-mount-on-fast-of-av/ More than a thousand Jews on Tuesday visited the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem for the Tisha B'Av fast commemorating the destruction of both Jewish temples that once stood there. 1,043 fasting Jews visited from 7:30 till 11 this morning, a record for a single day, according to Yeraeh, a group advocating for Jewish visitation and prayer rights at the Temple Mount. The Jewish visitors passed through metal detectors at the Mughrabi Gate - the only gate through which non-Muslims can enter - and were asked to leave their identity cards with police. As per the policy at the holy site, they were escorted by police during the entire visit to ensure that they did not break the regulations on the site, such as those forbidding prayer to non-Muslims. Nevertheless, police said six people were arrested for not adhering to the regulations, in all likelihood for attempting to pray or bow. There was an increase in police presence throughout the whole of the Old City during the day and cars were prohibited from entering. The recent tensions over the Temple Mount and the government's decision to remove the metal detectors it placed at the site due to furious and violent Muslim opposition was part of what triggered the unusual interest in visiting the site, Yeraeh said. Asaf Fried, a spokesman for an association of organizations dedicated to Jewish rights on the Temple Mount, told the Jerusalem Post that many more people had been inquiring as to how to prepare religiously to visit the site since tensions erupted a few weeks ago. "People are very angry, the government's behavior last week was humiliating and degrading," said Fried. "If Moshe Dayan gave the Waqf the keys to the Temple Mount in 1967, then last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave over sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Waqf," he added, referring to the Jordanian Islamic trust that administers the holy site, which called on Israel to remove all the new security measures installed since a July 14 terror attack saw two Israeli policemen killed there. Jewish visitors are required to refrain from sex for 72 hours as well as immerse themselves in a mikveh - or ritual bath - prior to ascending the Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest site. New records have also been set for Jewish visitation at the Temple Mount during the Hebrew calendar year, with some 18,000 Jews having visited the holy site with organized tour groups compared with last year's figure of 14,908 - with six weeks of the year still remaining. Last week, Breitbart Jerusalem toured the site while Waqf officials and Muslim worshipers were still boycotting it. According to Yitzchak Reuven, a Temple Mount activist who accompanied this reporter, the feeling of being on the holy site without having Muslim officials "breathing down your neck" and checking whether silent prayers were quickly being said was a "huge relief." Iran Helped Fuel Muslim Riots at Temple Mount - http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/08/01/report-iran-helped-fuel-muslim-riots-temple-mount/ The Islamic Republic of Iran reportedly provided aid to Palestinian protesters demonstrating against new security measures at the Temple Mount last month. The aid reportedly included boxes of food and drink, which came with a flyer attached depicting the Dome of the Rock and a quote attributed to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reading, "With the help of God, Palestine will be freed. Jerusalem is ours." While Palestinian media reported that the food packages were provided by an Iranian youth movement, a PA intelligence official said it was clear that the Iranian regime was behind the aid. "It is clear to us that the regime in Tehran, by means of its long arms, is behind this catering operation," the official told the Israel Hayom daily in an article published Tuesday. "The sums come to millions of shekels and the Iranians found an opening to reap the benefits and send a message to the Palestinian public right under Israel's nose that it is Iran that looks out for them. The flyer attached to all the food packages and the quotes of Khamenei make clear who is behind these food baskets." The flyer also showed Khamenei's hand, pointing toward the Dome of the Rock. The hand was shown in mirror-image - appearing to be the Iranian leader's right-hand, when it is in fact his left. (Khamenei's right-arm was injured when he was badly hurt in a 1981 assassination attempt.) Another Palestinian official told Israel Hayom that while the PA was aware of the Iranian effort, it did not notify Israel because of PA President Mahmoud Abbas's decision to freeze security ties in protest of the security measures. Those were placed at the Temple Mount following a July 14 terror attack at the holy site, in which three Arab Israelis shot dead two police officers with weapons smuggled into the compound. "In the territory under Palestinian control this would not happen," he added. "We would not allow the Iranians a foothold like this, because this would come back at us like a boomerang with the reactions of Arab states." The Iranian involvement also angered PA higher-ups, with one unnamed official said to be close to Abbas telling the daily that it was a mistake to allow Iran to reach into the West Bank with its "tentacles." The Islamic Republic has long funded operations against Israel, often through its provision of money and arms to the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups. Iran has also made calling for Israel's destruction and the "liberation" of Jerusalem central to its propaganda efforts. Its foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, was set to fly to Turkey on Tuesday for a Muslim conference on the latest developments in Jerusalem. Israel removed last week all of the new security measures installed at the Temple Mount, and a PA official told The Times of Israel that security cooperation will gradually be restored as long as Muslim access to the holy site remains unrestricted. Nearing Midnight: Hate and Haters - Terry James - http://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ Explosive confrontations were spawned by an Israeli crackdown because of the murder of two Jewish policeman guarding a Temple Mount entranceway. If there is one word that can define the tumult surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem at this late hour of this dispensation, that word is hate. Hatred against the Jewish race and against Israel has again come to the boiling point. It is coming from, in addition to the usual suspects, a source considered by a large part of the world's population to be a bastion of not hatred, but love. Since this source is supposedly Christian-the Catholic pope-there is reason, from my point of view, to analyze the matters involved through troubled cogitation. I say this because much of the Christian world-the world to which I belong-believe the Jewish race and the nation Israel to be under satanic attack. My view is that those who are outraged at the Jews and at Israel come not from a godly perspective, but from undiluted hatred. It is profoundly disconcerting, to say the least, that all of this vitriol comes from those claiming the Christian religion as their own. Pope Francis is joined in his mild-mannered but sub-surface rage against Israel by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Christian conglomerate, consisting of 13 religious bodies within the Jerusalem community, issued a joint statement condemning the violence surrounding the Temple Mount. Although it was a condemnation of violence in general, the language reflects that of Pope Francis which, in tenor, was slanted toward support of the Muslim side. For example, the communiqué addressed all references to the sites of the area in Arabic terms rather than in Jewish or Christian terms. The statement clearly disregarded any connection of the Temple Mount area to the Jewish or Christian religions. The statement read: We, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, express our serious concern regarding recent escalation in violent developments around Haram ash-Sharif and our grief for the loss of human life and strongly condemn any act of violence. The statement, like the Pope, placed the blame for the ongoing violence on the metal detectors and cameras Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed in key areas to prevent further terroristic acts. Netanyahu, it is reported, has agreed to remove the metal detectors at some point, but not all safeguards. He will keep cameras and other devices in place in spite of the tremendous criticism of governments around the world and of threats of further attacks from the Arab-Muslim troublemakers. The 13-member Latin Patriarchate stated in its declaration: We are worried about any change to historical (Status Quo) situation in al-Aqsa Mosque (Haram ash-Sharif) and its courtyard, and in the holy city of Jerusalem. Any threat to its continuity and integrity could easily lead to serious and unpredictable consequences, which would be most unwelcome in the present tense religious climate. We value the continued custody of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy places in Jerusalem and the Holy Land which guarantees the right for all Muslims to free access and worship to al Aqsa Mosque according to the prevailing Status Quo. The following news item frames the "Christian" community's condemning tone, directed toward Israel. The statement made no mention of the Muslim terror attack that led to Israel placing the metal detectors at the entrances to the site. Nor did it refer to the horrific Palestinian terror attack on Friday. Bishop Munib Younan, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, said on Vatican radio that the metal detectors are a form of "collective punishment" which should not be permitted "because of an attack by two persons." The bishop claimed that thousands of Muslims pray at the site during Ramadan and "everything goes smoothly". He did not mention the murder of IDF Border Policewoman Hadas Malkah, which took place during Ramadan. "It's essential to find a political solution to end the Israeli occupation, which is considered illegal," the bishop concluded. (Catholic Churches in Jerusalem Blame Israel for Muslim Violence, Deny Biblical Roots of Temple Mount, By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Israel News, July 23, 2017) Though couched in high-sounding phraseology of religion-diplomatic speak, the hatred for the Jewish state is there. It is even more hateful in its thrust than such vitriol issued by other sources. This is because these are those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. It is hate-speech of the most troubling sort, in my opinion. Jesus, who is God,and, incidentally, is Israel's Messiah, loves the Jewish people. To hate them and falsely accuse them, even though they certainly have erred greatly as have all other peoples, is to show hatred for Jesus. The issuance of such condemnation, falling in line with all other hate-filled antagonists of God's chosen people, invites, ultimately, the curse of God (Genesis 12:1-3). Claiming to be "Christians"-if they are indeed so-these have no excuse for their deliberate denial that the Temple Mount as well as all the contested territory and far beyond was given to Israel in perpetuity by God, Himself. Those who claim Christianity as their faith base should take into consideration what it means to hate that which the Lord loves. About hate and hatred, the Lord-who here was addressing Jews first, as the Church wasn't born until Pentecost-said the following. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me... They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. " (Jn 15: 18-21; 16: 2-3) Pondering Age and the Age - Jesse Underwood - [email protected] As I age, I ponder just what age does to a person other than the obvious signs of age, i.e. wrinkles, hearing loss, memory loss, etc. With some folks, age mellows and with a proper attitude can be a reflection of many good and happy memories. However, some that struggle with a negative attitude may have some good but many bad memories. One might glean from this observation that (good) attitude is crucial. One might ask, how then do I develop a "good" attitude? There are many books available (I am not endorsing any of these books) about changing your thinking such as: Change Your Thinking", Transform Your Life, The Power of Positive Thinking, How to Think Positive, The Power of Positive Thinking, and many others available from bookstores. All these books deal with attitude, but almost none deal with the real and crucial answer. For a true and honest good attitude, one needs only to accept that Jesus Christ loves us unconditionally and will forgive all our failing and insecurities. Once we yield ourselves to Jesus, then His attitude becomes our own! Allow me to digress for a moment to address a critical point: God with all His power and sovereign rights will NOT violate any persons choice to believe or not believe in Him or His power. Any person has the right to accept or reject the concept or belief in God. Now don't be mistaken to believe as some have taught, that all our troubles will be over once we commit ourselves to Jesus, that is simply not the truth. We, as long as we live on this earth will have trials and tribulations. The bible teaches that we may not avoid trouble, or go around it, but that He would be with us THROUGH it. The wisdom of the Lord shows through here. If He just removed the trouble, allowed us to go around the trouble, then what would we have learned? No, in His wisdom He allows us the pain of going THROUGH the trouble, hence we learn to trust Him and His wisdom. The wonderful and truthful news is that we can overcome and be joyful in spite of troubles and persecution, because we have a PROMISE of Jesus insuring that He will never leave nor forsake us and that we will enjoy an everlasting life with Him! There is a very troubling time that is coming upon this earth (soon) and many believe that we who accept Jesus as our Lord and savior and the Messiah will escape this tribulation coming upon the earth prophesied in several books of the bible. There are others who believe that we will go through this tribulation, but with the strength given to us through Christ, we believers will prevail even though we may have to be martyred. In my own opinion (which carries no weight), I believe that the righteous will not have to face the judgment of God that is coming upon this earth. I may be wrong, however the point is we need to ready (in a true relationship, with God) in any event. I have discovered that life is a time of trials. How we handle these trials dictates whether we experience joy or bitterness. All trials are hard to bear, but these trials, I have learned, develop character. Character development makes us more like Christ...very pleasing to God. If we truly love Jesus, we can than expect trials to come our way. Paul in his teaching in the bible encourages us to be content in ALL our circumstances good or bad. Paul (one chosen by Jesus to do many things for the kingdom of God) experienced all kinds of hardships, beatings, shipwreck, prison, etc. but he never complained, but only looked forward to seeing the face of Jesus! If Paul had to experience all these things, should we expect to face anything less? Think about this when things are not going well with us...is it a trial or are we just complaining? When things are going bad, suck it up, pray about it and then turn it loose! Give it to God. Easy to say, you might inject, but if you will truly do it through faith, taking all of it out of your own endeavors (trying to solve it by your own means), and giving it to God, you will be amazed at what will happen. I can personally witness to this in my own life...it has happened many times....God is faithful if we only let Him loose to do His will! We, however, will tie God's hands (He will not violate our will) when we try to do what we think best or even try to do only what God can do! It seems that we struggle to really believe that He will do what He says He can and will do! How is it that we believe that God created all things and yet doubt that He will do what He says that He will do? Unbelievable! Lord help us to believe!! The enemy of our soul really works hard to bolster our unbelief. We can battle unbelief by reading and studying, absorbing God's word. The more we read the bible the more we can comprehend God's character and that will build our faith! The message here is READ, READ the bible...it is a living thing that will build faith! Unbelief ..... that is the crux of our problem. May God heal our unbelief! PRAYER: Oh Lord our God, forgive our complaining....you have blessed us so, and we would be negligent if we did not praise you for what you have done for us! Please forgive us. We have a tendency to be complacent, expecting things to go along as they always have....what folly, we do this from day to day, not examining the sign of the times. We do not want to be like the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt, complaining all the way. Help us oh Lord to give praise to you, for you have done marvelous things on our behalf. Your love is boundless and we thank you and with all our hearts, we praise and thank you for you are truly worthy of our praise! Lord we know not what lies before us, the world events are such that no one knows what to expect next, but you pointed out in Mat: 24 that we should know by the signs of the times that the end is near. Help us, oh Lord, to be ready as shown by the parable of the 10 virgins awaiting their bridegroom that we may have our lamps (hearts) ready for your soon coming! Lord may our nation realize that we have turned our backs on you..Lord may our nation repent and turn once again to you that you may heal our nation, for it says in your word if we would turn and repent that you would heal our land. Lord, may it be so. Oh Lord, know that we love you with all that is within us...Come soon. Daily Jot: The purposely hidden atrocities - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com In recent weeks there have been many news reports about group rapes, forced marriages, human sex trafficking and the modern slave trade extending from European countries. News reporters are using code words rather than exposing the truth behind these atrocities. They use words like "migrant population" or "immigrants" or "migrant communities" to describe who is responsible for and where these violent acts against women and children are taking place. What the media is not telling the public is that these "migrants" or "immigrants" are Islamic or are from Muslim-dominated countries. The media is irresponsibly hiding these atrocities rather than expose the "Religion of Peace" for its reprehensible acts. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in the UK reports some 6,000 visits to its website that offers counseling and resources to those concerned about forced marriage. Counseling sessions were up 12% over 2016 with "Girls as young as 13" saying they were "frightened about being taken abroad and forced to marry strangers by their families." In addition, UK's National Health Services reported more than 5,000 new female genital mutilation cases in the year from April 2016 to March 2017. These are the consequences of allowing unrestricted immigration from Muslim countries because they are practices of the Islamic religious and political system, although governments don't want to admit it. Festivals in Europe are also the target of sexual assaults and gang rapes committed by "individuals from migrant backgrounds." In Sweden, for example, four girls aged 15-17 were raped over the weekend at a festival. Last year, 40 girls were attacked at just one music festival in Sweden, showing a increase of a 1,000% country-wide over 2015. The disrespect for girls and women by Islamic "immigrants" is common. The US State Department report on Human Trafficking seems to go out of the way to avoid singling out Islamic nations, but it is Islamic nations that appear to commit the most human trafficking. For example, the top eight nations that nabs children for "child soldiering" are Islamic. Approximately 60 of 71 countries that are on the State Department human trafficking watch list are Islamic dominated or have high Islamic populations. Communist or former communist nations make up the bulk of the rest. Of course, the State Department doesn't single out the common thread of Islam in these countries. It seems that the governments and media cannot or will not see the truth in where a large part of the evils of the world are coming from. For those who do see this, I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 4:2, "But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." Let us be such. Daily Devotion: Evangelism Starts Here - By Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." -Isaiah 6:8 In all honesty, I think the reason more Christians are not sharing their faith is they really could care less. Their attitude is, "Look, we've got ours. That's your problem." Jesus told the story of ten bridesmaids, five of whom were wise, and five were foolish. The five who were wise had oil in their lamps, and the five who were foolish did not. When the cry went out that the bridegroom was coming, the bridesmaids who had no oil said they needed some, while those who had it said, in effect, "Get it for yourselves." In other words, "It's not our problem. We're set. We're happy. You work out your own problems." Quite honestly, I think that is the way many people feel in the church today. They don't want to be bothered with it. They just don't care. They hear so much about the need for evangelism and hear sermons on how to share their faith with others. Programs are designed to mobilize the church to do it. But all this is of no consequence if we as believers lack one simple basic: a burden and a concern. The great British preacher C. H. Spurgeon said, "The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you. If you can rest without their being saved, they will rest too; but if you are filled with an agony for them, if you cannot bear that they should be lost, you will soon find that they are uneasy too. I hope that you will get into such a state that you will dream about your child, or about your hearer perishing for lack of Christ, and start up at once and begin to cry, 'O God, give me converts, or I die.' Then you will have converts." We have to care. 
FROM THE HEART
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