OpentheWord.org | A bit of Bible, A bit of Life, A bit of Politics

Don’t Blink

by Andy Becker

Do you ever think about someone you love or admire? Maybe they are the same person. What kinds of things do they believe or do? If you look at me you’d notice that I like to talk. A lot. I like to write. I like Jesus, my wife, and hockey. You’d see that I was short for a man in my culture, a bit grey, and after a moment or two you’d notice my sense of humor and my impish grin. Hopefully you’d see that what I believe and what I do match. How long would it take you to form an opinion of me? A few minutes? Perhaps one minute? Thirty seconds? One tenth of a second! That’s it! That is all the time it takes for the person you just met to form an impression of you. This is according to a study by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov. I haven’t met them even for that long so I have no opinion about them either way. But I read the...

Isis, Al-Qaeda and that Bird

Published by smcintos

A funny thing happened in the Middle East, recently. A team from ISIS, probably in the country of Yemen, made a video for the Internet. One member of the...

August 18, 2019

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Islam, Main, News, Religious

Venom or victory

Published by Barb Smith

It has become clear to me that forgiveness is a practice. It is something you just do when you recognize resentment, anger or even hatred building in your life...

August 16, 2019

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Bible, Emotional health, Main, Teaching, Women

Sometimes there is more than one right way of doing things

Published by Dean Smith

He said: “Dean, there is more than one right way of doing things.” As Christians, we tend to fall in the trap of thinking there is only one way...

August 15, 2019

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Bible, Main, News, Religious, Teaching, Testimony

One Christian’s view of the death penalty

Published by Dean Smith

Several years back, I was talking to a friend who asked me why the Bible supports the death penalty in the Old Testament (Numbers 35:16-17), while Jesus states in...

August 14, 2019

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Bible, Main, News, Religious, Teaching

22 | Vision Part 1: God has a purpose for your life!

Published by Dean Smith

A recent survey of British young people discovered that 90% of them do not have a purpose or sense of meaning for their life. In this podcast, we discuss...

August 13, 2019

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Bible, Main, Podcasts, Studies, Teaching

Keep Your Shorts On!

Published by Andy Becker

The other night I was preaching. I was just giving it! I mean I was on fire! God had given me the words to say and it was incredible!...

August 12, 2019

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Bible, Main, Teaching, Thought for the day

Just What is the Temple of Satan?

Published by smcintos

There are reports this year, of an emerging new religion “The Temple of Satan.” This group may have existed for years, but recently it has been getting attention, and...

August 11, 2019

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Apologetics, Bible, End times, Main, News, Opinion, Religious

Breathing life into your dry bones

Published by Barb Smith

How far can you go without breathing? In reality, you are breathing but sometimes it feels like you have stopped breathing or does it feel more like your living...

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Emotional health, Main, Spiritual Life, Women

Apostle Peter’s house in Bethaisda discovered?

Published by Dean Smith

Archaeologists working with Nyack College’s Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christianity and Israel’s Kinnert College recently announced they had discovered what was thought to be the...

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Apologetics, Archaeology, Bible, Main

Chick-fil-A preparing a table in the midst of its enemies

Published by Dean Smith

Despite being closed on Sundays, Chick-fil-A continues its exponential growth as a fast food restaurant in America. Last year the sales for an average restaurant were double those of...

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Main, News, Persecution, Politics, Religious

Who is the Jewish Messiah — Jesus or Rabbi Schneerson?

Published by Dean Smith

There is an interesting story on Breaking Israel News (BIN) of how a group of Orthodox Jews from an organization called the Yad L’Achim recently prevented a Christian missionary...

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Bible, Israel, Main, News, Persecution, Teaching

Under Pressure

Published by Andy Becker

The other day I’m driving around and I hear an annoying ‘boing-boing’ sound. Normally the only annoying sound I hear when I’m driving is my singing so this really...

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Bible, Main, Teaching

Will God Give Us Money?

Published by smcintos

I was travelling for work recently, and on a quiet evening, in a hotel with free cable TV, I surfed the channels to find something interesting. One show had...

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Bible, Main, Teaching

21 | ASTEROIDS: A near miss, one MIA and one mentioned in the Bible

Published by Dean Smith

The Bible talks about asteroids hitting the earth in the end times. In this podcast we discuss an asteroid's recent near miss, an asteroid that has gone MIA and...

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Apologetics, End times, Main, Podcasts

La verdadera historia detrás de la primera Navidad

Published by Dean Smith

English: The real story behind the first Christmas Noche silenciosa Santa noche, todo está en calma todo es brillante… Cuando Franz Xaver Gruber y Joseph Mohr de Austria escribieron...

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Bible, Español, z96

It’s time to re-calibrate! You don’t have to save the world

Published by Barb Smith

Español: Es hora de volver a calibrar! Usted no tiene que salvar el mundo It’s easy to lose ourselves in the spinning and twirling events of our daily lives....

February 16, 2018

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Emotional health, Main, Spiritual Life, Women, z96

The disgusting, but not surprising, behavior of the media at the Winter Olympics

Published by Dean Smith

It seems that some in the mainline media have gone absolutely delusional. It involves the fawning headlines pouring out around the world over the appearance of Kim Yo Jong,...

February 15, 2018

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Main, News, Opinion, Politics, z96

US Vice President Mike Pence Declared ‘Mentally Ill’ Because He is a Christian?

Published by Dean Smith

Mike Pence, a born-again Christian, is also the Vice President of the United States. Recently the former governor of Indiana was labelled mentally ill on a TV program called...

February 14, 2018

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Main, News, Persecution, z96

Babylon is Imploding

Published by smcintos

In Australia there is a disagreement among scientists about global warming and the death of the Great Barrier Reef. Now the ‘disagreement’ has produced threats of firing and career...

February 13, 2018

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Main, Opinion, z96

‘Abba’ may be about family

Published by Dean Smith

Family is family. In the end its importance supersedes everything including a job. Some can spend hours at work, but on their death-bed regret that they did not spend...

February 12, 2018

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Main, News, Studies, z96

Siberian River turns blood red, just one of many in recent years

Published by Dean Smith

It hasn’t reached Biblical proportions yet, but when the Russia’s Molchanka River recently turned blood-red over night citizens, media and even scientists were perplexed and a bit shocked. Many...

February 11, 2018

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Apologetics, End times, Main, z96

The Dance of Life

Published by Barb Smith

Español: La Danza de la Vida These past few weeks my eyes have been opened to my need for love, respect and acceptance from others. I tend to accuse others...

February 9, 2018

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Emotional health, Main, Spiritual Life, Women, z96

Free Speech Under Attack: Ken Ham Stopped from Speaking

Published by Dean Smith

UPDATE: Since we wrote this article, the University of Central Oklahoma has reversed its decision and will now allow Ken Ham to speak on campus in March. There is...

February 8, 2018

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Apologetics, Main, News, Opinion, Persecution, z96

Muslim cleric warns of explosive growth of Christianity among Iranian youth

Published by Dean Smith

Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News, confirmed what many are reporting that there has been an extraordinary number of Iranians coming to Christ. The agency, that monitors Iranian news,...

September 1, 2017

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End times, Islam, News, Testimony, Uncategorized, z73, z96

Apologetics, Archaeology, Main, z38

A Gilgal site to become a garbage dump for Palestine?

Breaking Israel News is reporting the Palestinian Authority has contracted a foreign company to handle its garbage. The concern is that the proposed location for a new garbage dump...

Bible, Main, Spiritual Warfare, z38

Is Satan real? Thai model manifests a spirit on live TV?

An interesting YouTube video has gone viral showing a young Thai model, Thippawan ‘Pui’ Chaphupuang” being possessed by a spirit while being interviewed on a live TV show in...

Arts, Bible, Main, News, Studies, Teaching, Women, z38

Did God create you to dance?

Should we be dancing in church? Well, if a 2006 study is correct, it appears when God created humans, He hard-wired each of us to dance — more on...

Apologetics, Archaeology, Bible, Main, News, z38

UNESCO to vote if Jews have any connection to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

This week the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced it is postponing a vote that would put Jerusalem’s Temple Mount firmly in the hands of the...

Bible, Main, Teaching, z38

All Shook Up!

We have a nice apple tree in our front yard, and I just love apple crisp during the cold months. But, if you want nice apples, you have to...

Main, News, Testimonial, Testimony, Women, z38

God will fulfill His purpose for your life

Despite our setbacks, mistakes, accidents, failures, sins and fears, God fully intends on accomplishing His purposes for our lives. That was the first thing I thought of when I...

Bible, Main, Teaching, Thought for the day, z26, z38

The secret mystery of contentment

A favorite verse many Christians often quote is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Found in Philippians, I think we often miss how Paul intended...

Apologetics, Archaeology, Bible, Creation, Main, z38

Viking tales and dinosaurs

In the late 1930s, while digging in the remains of an ancient fortress, Sverresborg Castle, located near Bergen, Norway, archaeologist Gerhard Fischer came across the partial skeletal remains of...

Main, Spiritual Life, Women, z38

Are you a ‘limited’ edition?

Limits, we all have them and I have always looked at them in a negative way. Recently, I read an Albert Einstein quote, where he said: “Once we accept...

Emotional health, Main, Spiritual Life, Women, z38

Praying for connection

I am sitting in my living room in my new home. I am grateful for my life at this moment and for moving and setting up a new residence...