Ticket to Heaven

♥ ♥ ♥

 God’s Love is not for sale and you can’t earn a ticket to Heaven
by works or good deeds or wealth or fame or human intellect.

God’s Love is like His Grace; Unconditional and Eternal!
We have His undeserved kindness and love no matter who or
what we are. Eventhough we’ve sinned and not a penny to our
name; He’s ever ready there to forgive us when we repent of
our sins truthfully and honestly from the heart.

God doesn’t measure or grade us according to our intellect
nor our good deeds nor our works and certainly not our
bank accounts but only through our love for Him; whether it
is genuine and whole-heartedly.

♥

Be consistent in contact with Almighty God for He sits in the
Heavens above and that should be the key to remind ourselves
that we are on earth below. We are just mere mortals, kind of
like vapor that’s here one minute and gone in another. On that
note, we should strive not to be proud, arrogant or boastful at all.
Let us adopt a humble attitude and God will exalt us in due time.

♥

“Forming light and creating darkness, making peace and creating calamity,

I, Jehovah, am doing all these things.” – Isaiah 45:7

 

Image Copyright John R Bell

♥

Wait expectantly for His Miracles, Be in Awe of His Creation
of the whole Universe. Meditate on His Holy Words! God’s
words fills, nourishes, rejuvenates and refreshes our souls and
senses like mountain dew; it is His Love for us in the 66 books
of the Bible; it’s His loving letters of guidance to us.  God’s love
for us in Christ Jesus keeps flowing like the river that never
runs dry if we ourselves never stop loving Him.
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes
of the heart.”
*Hebrew 4:12*

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Even the Lord Byron in his quote, “I have drunk every cup of
pleasure, and I have quaffed every cup of fame, and yet alas,
I die of thirst!”; realized and lamented that his thirst can
only be quenched by the Living and One True God Jehovah
and His only Begotten Sinless Son, Jesus Christ, our Messiah.
Though he found pleasure, fame and fortune; he was still
empty and starving, he was craving for Almighty God’s love
which can be gotten only through Jesus, the Bread of Life,
the only Way and Truth to God.
“Jesus said to him: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
*John 14:6*

 Image Copyright John R Bell

♣

© keziah boey © April 25, 2012

Truth about West Bank

Ω

Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon explains the historical

facts relating to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The video explains where the

terms “West Bank”, “occupied territories” and “67 Borders” originated and how

they are incorrectly used and applied.

Ω

Origin of the Name Palestine

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Where did the name Palestine come from?

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The name Palestine refers to a region of the eastern Mediterranean coast from the sea to the Jordan valley and from the southern Negev desert to the Galilee lake region in the north. The word itself derives from “Plesheth”, a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as “Philistine”. Plesheth, (root palash) was a general term meaning rolling or migratory. This referred to the Philistine’s invasion and conquest of the coast from the sea. The Philistines were not Arabs nor even Semites, they were most closely related to the Greeks originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They did not speak Arabic. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs.

The Philistines reached the southern coast of Israel in several waves. One group arrived in the pre-patriarchal period and settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Another group, coming from Crete after being repulsed from an attempted invasion of Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 BCE, seized the southern coastal area, where they founded five settlements (Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gat). In the Persian and Greek periods, foreign settlers – chiefly from the Mediterranean islands – overran the Philistine districts.

From the fifth century BC, following the historian Herodotus, Greeks called the eastern coast of the Mediterranean “the Philistine Syria” using the Greek language form of the name. In AD 135, after putting down the Bar Kochba revolt, the second major Jewish revolt against Rome, the Emperor Hadrian wanted to blot out the name of the Roman “Provincia Judaea” and so renamed it “Provincia Syria Palaestina”, the Latin version of the Greek name and the first use of the name as an administrative unit. The name “Provincia Syria Palaestina” was later shortened to Palaestina, from which the modern, anglicized “Palestine” is derived.

This remained the situation until the end of the fourth century, when in the wake of a general imperial reorganization Palestine became three Palestines: First, Second, and Third. This configuration is believed to have persisted into the seventh century, the time of the Persian and Muslim conquests.

The Christian Crusaders employed the word Palestine to refer to the general region of the “three Palestines.” After the fall of the crusader kingdom, Palestine was no longer an official designation. The name, however, continued to be used informally for the lands on both sides of the Jordan River. The Ottoman Turks, who were non-Arabs but religious Muslims, ruled the area for 400 years (1517-1917). Under Ottoman rule, the Palestine region was attached administratively to the province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul. The name Palestine was revived after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and applied to the territory in this region that was placed under the British Mandate for Palestine.

The name “Falastin” that Arabs today use for “Palestine” is not an Arabic name. It is the Arab pronunciation of the Roman “Palaestina”.

Quoting Golda Meir:

• The British chose to call the land they mandated Palestine, and the Arabs picked it up as their nation’s supposed ancient name, though they couldn’t even pronounce it correctly and turned it into Falastin a fictional entity. [In an article by Sarah Honig, Jerusalem Post, November 25, 1995]

Ω

There are Arabs who lived in Palestine, just as there were Jews. They were all “Palestinians”
in that sense. Yasser Arafat coined the term “Palestinians” for the Arabs who who emigrated

from Israel on recommendation of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, just
before they attacked the new nation of Israel. They were Arabs before they emigrated, and
they are still Arabs. They are not Palestinians. They are palestinian Arabs, just as the Jews

who live in the West Bank are Palestinian Jews. There are even Palestinian Christians.

All because in ancient times, the Roman legions have mandated that area, that is east of the

Mediterranean, as “Palestine”.  But, in truth, there is NO Palestinian people!

 

 

Suit of Armor from God_Word of God

Ephesians : 6 : 10-18 [NWT]

10 Finally, go on acquiring power in [the] Lord and

in the mightiness of his strength.

11 Put on the complete suit of armor from God that YOU

may be able to stand firm against the machinations of

the Devil;

12 because we have a wrestling, not against blood and

flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities,

against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked

spirit forces in the heavenly places.

13 On this account take up the complete suit of armor from

God, that YOU may be able to resist in the wicked day and,

after YOU have done all things thoroughly, to stand firm.

14 Stand firm, therefore, with YOUR loins girded about

with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and with YOUR feet shod with the equipment of the good

news of peace.

16 Above all things, take up the large shield of faith, with

which YOU will be able to quench all the wicked one’s

burning missiles.

17 Also, accept the helmet of salvation, and the sword of

the spirit, that is, God’s word,

18 while with every form of prayer and supplication YOU

carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit.

The Sultan and Satan

*The Sultan and Satan*

An ancient legend from the East tells of a great sultan who was a devout man of God. One morning he overslept. When the Devil saw that the hour of morning prayer was passing, he woke the sultan and urged him to get out of bed and pray.

Sultan from the East

“Who are you?” asked the startled sultan, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Oh, it’s not important,” replied the shady figure. “The important thing is that I woke you up in time, otherwise you would have missed your prayers for the first time in ten years-and it is very good to pray, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that is true!” replied the sultan smugly. “I wouldn’t dream of missing my prayer time. Not even once! … But wait a minute! I think I recognize you. Yes, I know your face. Of course! You are Satan, and no doubt you have some evil motive for your appearance!”

Satan aka The Devil and Deceiver

“I’m not really as bad as you think!” exclaimed the intruder. “After all, I was God’s right-hand angel once.”

“That is all very well,” replied the wise old sultan, “but you are also the Deceiver; that is your business! So I demand in the name of God to know why you want me to get up and pray!”

“Well,” replied the Devil, having grown huffy and impatient with the sultan’s persistence, “if you must know, I’ll tell you. If you had slept and forgotten your prayers, you would have felt very sorry for it afterward and would have been quite penitent. That would have humbled you and brought you close to God. But if you continue on as you have for the last ten years, without missing a single prayer, then you will become so satisfied with yourself that it will be worse for you than if you had missed one prayer and had asked God for forgiveness. God loves your fault mixed with repentance much more than your virtue seasoned with pride!”

Often it is actually good for us to make some mistakes because if we didn’t, we’d most likely become so proud of ourselves and so self-confident that we’d no longer feel we needed any help from God or others. But in reality, when we feel so proud and self-satisfied, it’s because we’re not closer to God, but more full of ourselves.

Many people in the world today are taught that pride is a virtue. But God recognizes pride and self-righteousness for what they really are-sins of the heart! The Bible says that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” and that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 16:18; James 4:6).

Quite frequently God uses our mistakes to help keep our pride in check, to keep us humble and more dependent on His goodness and strength, rather than our own. The Lord blesses humility. He gives more grace to the humble, and promises to dwell “with him who has a contrite and humble spirit” (1 Peter 5:5; Isaiah 57:15).

It has been said that out of what seems like defeat come some of God’s greatest victories. “But what kind of victory is that?” you may ask. Well, God very often uses humbling experiences to make us better people-more compassionate and understanding of the errors of others, more loving and patient, when otherwise we might not have been so. The Lord wants to use our mistakes to teach us many important lessons that perhaps we wouldn’t be able to learn any other way. So isn’t it encouraging to realize that even our failures can be for our good?

Of course, in order for the Lord to bring this good to pass, we must be honest with ourselves, be willing to confess our mistakes, and attempt to rectify them. The hardest words to say in any language are, “I was wrong!” This takes humility of the kind that only God can give, because it’s human nature to want to appear perfect and faultless, and consequently be unable to confess our mistakes.

But if we want the truth and desire God’s blessing, then we’ll honestly and humbly admit our faults and failings. Then we can take comfort in knowing that we are wiser today than we were yesterday. Contrary to what some folks seem to think, an admission of error is a sign of strength rather than weakness.

Besides, God knows you’re anything but perfect. In fact, He knows you can’t be perfect and never will be. So the crux of the matter is not whether you are perfect or not, but whether you depend on the Lord and His grace, love and mercy. Do you give Him all the glory and credit for anything good that you do? Whenever you accomplish something good, you should say, “Just thank Jesus. Don’t thank me! If I have done anything good, it’s only because the Lord helped me do so.”

A good rule to follow is this: Give God all the glory for anything good you do, and yourself the blame for anything bad. That will help keep you from falling into that horrible trap of self-righteous pride, which is the basis of virtually all sin.

So whenever you make a mistake and are then tempted to get down and discouraged, just remember the sultan’s lesson: God loves your fault mixed with repentance more than your virtue seasoned with pride!

PRIORITIES

Ω♣♥ PRIORITIES ♥♣Ω

α Ω α

William Gladstone (1809-1898) was England’s Prime Minister four times, and one

of the most important political figures of his era. He was also famous for being an

active Christian.

Every day as Gladstone went up the steps of the Parliament building, he bought

a newspaper from the same newsboy and said an encouraging word about how

Jesus loved him.

One day, as Gladstone and his secretary were going into Parliament, another

newsboy stopped them. “Hey, Mr. Gladstone, you know the bloke you usually

get’cher paper from?

Well, yesterday he was run over by a carriage and he’s going to die.

He wants you to come get him in.”

“What do you mean, ‘get him in’?” Gladstone asked.

“You know–get him in to Heaven.”

Gladstone’s secretary protested. “No, no, no, you don’t have time to go see

a newsboy! You know how important your speech today is. It could change

the course of history!”

Gladstone thought a moment, then said, “One immortal soul is worth more

than my speech in Parliament.”

So he went to the little garret where the newsboy lay dying.

Gladstone prayed with him to receive Jesus.

He “got him in”–and then the boy died.

By the time Gladstone made it back to Parliament, a heated discussion was

already under way. He gave his speech, and his side went on to win the vote.

Afterwards his secretary asked, “Sir, how could you have gone off like that

and almost miss making such an important speech?”

“The speech was a very important and good thing,” Gladstone replied, “

but getting that boy saved and into Heaven was a better, more important

thing!”

♦♦ * * * ♦♦

*David Brandt Berg*

♦♦ * * * ♦♦

To comprehend a man’s life, it is necessary to know not merely

what he does,  but also what he purposely leaves undone.

There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body

or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy

on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he still wiser who,

from among the things that he can do well, chooses and

resolutely follows the best.

** ♦ ♦ ♦ **

There is but one question of the hour:
How to bring the truth of God’s Word into vital contact with the
minds and hearts of all classes of people.

** ♦ ♦ ♦ **

♣ William E. Gladstone ♣

The Battle Within

∞ ∞ ∞

*** The Battle Within ***

Two Wolves

An old Cherokee describes an experience going on inside himself….

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

evil and menacing

The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

good and gentle

This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:
“Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

♣

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*Author Unknown*