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O little lamb.  I know the journey has been long and the road hard for you.  I know the perplexity of life and the thunderous waves of competing voices make it so difficult to hear the only Voice that matters.  But do not fear, little one.  Do not fear. Sometimes you thought you were holding on by a mere thread, with just the tip of a finger above water.  You could barely utter a prayer, nay even a word.  All you could offer was the wordless, inner groaning of faith.  And in moments of weakness you thought He might...

More and more scholars are becoming skeptical of Messianic prophecy in the Hebrew Bible—that is, the Old Testament. Michael Rydelnik notes that “Although evangelical scholarship still recognizes that there is something messianic about the Hebrew Bible, for the most part it sees it as a story that finds its climax in Jesus, not as predictions that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled” (Rydelnik, The Messianic Hope, 3-4). Yet, such skepticism is not justified. Sure, some passages in the Hebrew Bible have been stretched beyond its scope, something that can become a dangerous trend. Nevertheless, certain passages in the Hebrew Bible enjoy a...

“Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) The gospel was always and ever meant to be good news. It tells us who God is and how we can be saved. For many, the modern gospel has become a fear-based method of behavior control and doubt and jumping through hoops, just in case the “how” didn’t work, or in...

Atheists are fighting the war FOR Christmas? Solstice, Yule, Saturnalia, Hanukkah, and other traditions were blended centuries ago to form Christmas, and embellished with fairy tales and fables into the rich secular modern celebration we have today.See for yourself at http://atheistchristmas.org/ Values like joy, peace, sharing, and celebration are not limited to one faith or culture in December. The foundations of Christmas may be mythological, but the Spirit of Christmas is universal. Keep the Merry, without the Myths!

Regarding the midrash about Osnat's pendant/locket [that identified her to Joseph as a daughter of Jacob], it reminded me of the classic locket shape of a heart. Here is one with Hebrew "love" spelled on it, ahava: אהבה I had further considered that there is only so much information that can be written on a piece of jewelry, so perhaps a pendant with the Hebrew word "love" further represented a statement for Joseph to decode*; e.g. ahava as an acronym for "my husband is the lord of dreams" ("ishi hu ba'al ha-chalomot", which was what Joseph's brothers had derisively called...

A wonderful and deep Truth, worth of genuine reflection. Substitution He has made Him to be sin for us,…that we might be made the righteousness of God.… 2 CORINTHIANS 5:.21 The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy. The New Testament view is that He bore our sin not by sympathy, but by identification. He was made to be sin. Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the explanation of His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy with us. We are acceptable...

(PHOTO: US EMBASSY, Berlin)Vice President Mike Pence (M), Second Lady Karen Pence (L) and their middle child, Charlotte, tour Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial in Germany on February 19, 2017.Vice President Mike Pence has always encouraged his three children to make his Christian faith their own. But in order to do that, at least one of his daughters had teetered on the brink of atheism.Pence's 25-year-old daughter, Charlotte, released her new book, Where You Go: Life Lessons From My Father, on Tuesday. While the book focuses on the advice and words of wisdom that her father has offered her and her siblings...

Dream: A Short Hebrew Word Study on Hindsight With the year 2020 arriving in the not-so-distant future, I decided to look up the Hebrew word for hindsight. It's actually a phrase that literally means, "wisdom after the act": חכמה לאחר מעשה chokmah l'achar ma'aseh What's interesting is that the first letters spell chalam (חלם), the verb meaning to dream. It's the standard dictionary form, which is the 3rd person masc. sing. past tense: "He dreamed." Strong's Concordance H2492 Wiktionary Pealim He [Joseph] dreamed, saw ahead, envisioned the future... chalam - he dreamed (past tense) - is the abbreviation for hindsight....

Some amazing news came out of Australia today with a famous atheist politician receiving baptism. Bill Hayden had been the leader of a major Australian political party, then was the Governor General of Australia for 7 years. (The Governor General is the one who signs bills into law in the Queen’s name in 15 Commonwealth countries.) Recently, at 85, he renounced his atheism and joined the Catholic Church. Getting Close to DeathThe Australian reports his motivation to take this step. Bill Hayden, at age 85, has ­renounced his atheism and been baptised into the Catholic Church. The former Labor leader...

Famed atheist Richard Dawkins continues to see belief in God as a threat to humanity and his latest effort to counter it is more books about atheism. But this time, it's not adults he wants to speak to but children and teenagers. According to recent tweets, the scientist and 'God Delusion' author has two new books in the pipeline, Outgrowing God, which will be about atheism for teenagers, and a second one with the working title of 'Atheism for Children' that will be illustrated. He explained in tweets this week that his 'Atheism for Children' book is not intended to...

“I want to believe God cares about me; I really do,” she told me, wiping tears from under her darkened, bloodshot eyes. Under the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor, Marci barely resembled the vibrant girl I remembered, that kid I’d watched grow up in our youth group at church. When she was a teenager, Marci was outgoing, fun-loving, and full of life, even as she was growing more and more serious about her faith, coming early to youth group and staying late. No one loved to worship and talk about God more than Marci.Then, in her early 20s,...

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2;1-4)The godless are going...

Many Christians want to believe that America is a Christian nation, and for the best of reasons. Many of the early founders were devout Christians. Much of America’s history has been shaped by Protestant and evangelical values. God has indeed blessed the nation with extraordinary natural resources and bold and courageous people. It has been and continues to be a land of opportunity, which is why so many across the world want to come here. And its Declaration of Independence and Constitution are grounded in the ideal of liberty as espoused by no other nation in history.

Religiously unaffiliated Americans are, unsurprisingly, less likely than their Christian countrymen to attend church regularly or say religion is important in their lives. However, on several common measures, “nones” in the United States exhibit nearly equal levels of spirituality as self-identifying Christians in Western Europe. A new study by the Pew Research Center, surveying more than 24,000 individuals across 15 countries in Western Europe on their religious beliefs and practices, reveal striking disconnects between Western Christians across the Atlantic. Equally striking is how similarly religious nones in the United States and Christians in Western Europe match up: * Only 27...

The 40-foot Peace Cross was erected in 1925 as a memorial to the 49 soldiers from Prince George’s County, Maryland who perished in World War I. The Bayview Park Cross in Pensacola, Florida has occupied its location since 1941 when America’s armed forces prepared to enter World War II. And the Veterans Memorial Bell Tower in Evendale, Ohio was dedicated just last year in memory of those who lost their lives in the service of our nation. As a grateful nation marks the sesquicentennial of Memorial Day, how ironic it is that the three aforementioned war memorials are in imminent...

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A source close to the Vatican told the Wall Street Journal: 'We thought we had an agreement'Beijing is stalling in talks with the Holy See, a source close to the Vatican has told the Wall Street Journal. The paper said that, according to people familiar with the dialogue, a meeting was planned in Rome later this month at which Vatican officials would agree to recognise seven excommunicated bishops appointed by the government ­– a move that would force two underground bishops to resign. But Beijing has so far declined to agree on a date for the meeting. A source familiar...

The movement that became known as the New Atheism was born in the smoldering ruins of 9/11. It was the horror of that scene, perpetuated by terrorists driven by a radical Muslim ideology, that convinced several atheists that the root problem was religion. Like secular versions of the biblical prophets of old, they concluded that they needed to speak out and denounce the dangers of religion with a new boldness and ferocity. Sam Harris led the way in 2004 by when he published The End of Faith. That book exhibited a strident, anti-religious message which helped it become a bestseller....

Arrest warrants have been issued for four Iraqis on atheism charges, according to Dhi Qar province's Garraf district judiciary. The announcement garnered quite a reaction on media and social networks, as some say these hunts infringe on the rights of the Iraqi people, whose constitution guarantees them freedom of belief and expression. Other observers say the campaign has political aspects. Dhidan al-Ekili, the chief Garraf judge, told local Iraqi newspapers March 11 that security forces had been able to arrest one of the four indicted, as the search for the remaining three continued. Ekili said they are being pursued for...

A 14' by 4' piece of linen in northern Italy genuinely appears (after exhaustive scientific testing), to contain a picture of the crucified Christ. The Shroud of Turin. But what about the Shroud of Oviedo? Their combined picture gives new significance to that old song 'nothing but the blood'. The linen cloth housed in Oviedo, called The Sudarium, meaning "sweat cloth", measures 33" by 21" inches. It contains no image of its own, only stains. The Scriptures describe both a shroud and a smaller cloth at the tomb: "And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying...