All posts filed under: z111

Wine at Saint-Laurent-d'Agny, Rhone-Alpes, France Credit: mll/Flickr/Creative Commons

Be not drunk with wine, but instead be drunk in the Spirit?

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When the Holy Spirit fell upon the Toronto Airport Vineyard church in 1994, people at the church my wife and I were attending went to Toronto to see first hand what was going on. They returned with a deposit of the Holy Spirit and God began to move in a profound way in our church similar to what was happening in Toronto. It was an usual time. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, people manifested all sorts of strange behavior. There were fits of uncontrollable laughter and crying. People were being slain in the spirit and falling to the ground. Others were experiencing travailing in the spirit and literally groaning when they felt birth pangs as the Holy Spirit prayed through them (Romans 8:26). I experienced that myself and physically felt contractions inside me. Sometimes they came so rapidly and intensely that I couldn’t stand. During this time one of the strangest things that happened is that every time I watched the Sound of Music, the true story of the Von Trapp’s family escape …

A church on the island of Barra that is part of the Outer Hebrides located off the coast of Scotland. Credit: A J/Flickr/Creative Commons

The first Christian?

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Though the term Christian is used today to describe those who believe in Jesus, it was never a term used by believers in the early church to describe themselves. According to Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, the disciples of Christ were first called Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:26), which today is located in modern Turkey. With a population back then of a half a million people, it is often considered the “cradle of Christianity.” Emboldened by the martyrdom of Stephen, the Jews began to aggressively persecute the followers of Christ. The disciples fled Jerusalem and a number went to Antioch and began preaching that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah both to the Jews and the Greeks (Acts 11: 19-20). Luke made an unusual statement, “a large number who believed turned to the Lord,” (Acts 11:21) which seems to imply that thought many believed Jesus was the Messiah, not all became disciples. Though the term Christian (Greek Christianos) was first used in Antioch, the term is only found in two other verses (Acts 26:28, …

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (L to R): Death, Famine, War and Conquest. by Victor Mikhailovich Vasnetsox (1848-1926) Credit: Wikipedia/Creative Commons/{{PD-US}}

Yemen and the First Horseman of the Apocalypse

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Did you know that the world has a huge war right now, involving millions of people? The best estimate is that twenty-two million people are directly affected by the war, and two million children are at risk from severe malnutrition. There is a real danger that the war could expand in the region, and there are reports of long-range missiles landing in wealthy countries in the Persian Gulf. RELATED: Yemeni Civil War I live far away from this civil war in Yemen, and the both sides are Arab Muslims, so I can’t criticize one faction or take sides. I know that the suffering is terrible and the UN sees no end in sight. Apparently no one is winning this “Vietnam War” of the Middle East. Did you know this war was happening? Many people in the world know nothing about it. The fighting started in March of 2015 and soon after that foreign powers intervened, or invaded. Saudi Arabia and Iran are powerful nations in the region and they are on opposite sides, with the …

Muslims walking counter clockwise around Kaaba inside the courtyard of the al-Haram Mosque in 2008. Credit: Al Jazeera English/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Missionary reports Muslims becoming Christians through dreams and visions while on Hajj

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According to Perry LaHaie with Frontiers USA, a number of Muslims attending Hajj in Mecca running this year from Sunday August 20, 2018 to Friday, August 24, 2018 are having encounters with Christ through dreams and visions and becoming Christians. Officials expect nearly two million Muslims will attend the five-day event this year that is held annually in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holiest site. Hajj is considered one of the five pillars of Islam and it is expected that every Muslim will make a Hajj or pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime provided they are physically and financially capable of doing it. Hajj involves a number of activities that includes walking counter clock wise seven times around Kaaba, a black building considered the house of Allah, found in the courtyard of the al-Haram Mosque. In fact, when Muslims pray in other parts of the world, they are expected to face Mecca or more specifically the Kaaba when they pray. On Hajj, Muslims are also expected to drink from the sacred ZamZam well and spend …

A photo of STEVE (left), taken on September 28, 2016 in Caithness, Scotland Credit: Gordon Mackie/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is ‘STEVE’ a sign of the times?

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According to a study by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) ribbons of purple and white light shooting up into the night sky that made its appearance a few decades back is not an aurora. Amateur photographers who started taking pictures of the phenomena named it STEVE and it seems to have stuck. These bands of purple and white lights piercing into the night sky were originally thought to be an aurora. However a research team led by a Canadian Physicist Bea Gallardo-Lacourt from the University of Calgary in Canada concluded that they are not. But, they are not exactly sure what causes them. The research group came to this conclusion after studying a STEVE that appeared in Ontario, Canada on March 28, 2008. In addition to analyzing the phenomena using ground cameras already in place to photograph auroras, they also used data from a satellite, POES-17, that found no charged particles associated with this particular STEVE. The lights associated with auroras, also called the Northern Lights, are caused when the sun spews out charged protons …

Snowy night on Brixton High Street in London, England Credit: A bloke called Jerm/Flickr/Creative Commons

Are you a chronic complainer?

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Español: ¿Eres un quejambroso/a crónico/a? We have all heard the phrases “chronic complainer” or “Debbie Downer” used for people who always complain. If it’s sunny, it is too hot outside. If it’s snowing, it’s too cold. If their favorite team wins, it could have played better. They always see the negative and can find something to complain about in everything they do. And these people almost get a sense of fulfillment when their complaints have some legitimacy to them. Well, according to one neuro-scientist, there is a reason “chronic complainers” act the way they do. Canadian Psychologist Norman Dodge says the brain has a unique pliability to it that he compares to Play-Doh. Its official psychological term is “neuroplasticity.” This means if we practice a certain way of thinking long enough, it creates a loop in our brain that entrenches this pattern into our mind. It becomes a rut in the road that we easily fall into as we drive down the highway of life. It becomes a pattern or way of thinking that taints all …

Storm near Parana, Argentina Credit: Emilio Kuffer/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is the end really nigh?

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On Sunday I went to a picnic-barbecue for a place where I work. The afternoon was beautiful, and we sat around talking about things, like old friends. We agreed that we would not talk about work, and the made the time almost perfect. One friend spoiled the happy mood by saying “I think the apocalypse is going to happen soon.” I don’t think he’s a Christian, but he drives long distances with a truck, and he visits a lot of places. His summary is simple, we can’t continue like this. He was just saying what he feels, and he spoke sincerely. My friend was watching people and nature, and sometimes I think the whole world is one big argument. People are divided. Nations like Turkey, India, Brazil, and Argentina are struggling with debt and economic collapse. Apparently, the Yellowstone Caldera, a super volcano, is larger and more ready to erupt than we thought, and there are other super volcanoes. We had so much smoke last week from forest fires in the west, that we called …

The chapel of Fort Leonard Army Base in North Carolina Credit: Marti Yoshida/Wikipedia/Public Domain

Revival breaking out at Fort Leonard Wood army base may be more significant than we realize

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According to reports, a mini revival has broken out at Fort Leonard Wood army base in Missouri. Actually, it many need to be upgraded from mini for one very interesting reason. According to the base’s army chaplain, Jose Rondon, since March this year, nearly 2,000 soldiers have accepted Christ. Posting on Facebook, Rondon wrote: “Today, 380 soldiers came to salvation in Christ once and for all. Thanks CH Cech for the excellent, clear, and powerful messages during the 3 services. Since March 11, 2018, we have seen 1,839 soldiers come to Christ. God’s doing an unbelievable work through our military at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. May God bring the same powerful conviction of sin and love for Him that we are experiencing at Main Post Chapel throughout our Nation and His world.” In a posting on July 29, Rondon wrote how 44 soldiers gave their lives to Christ during a chapel service. The Holy Spirit is obviously moving on this army base and in an interview with the Baptist Press, Rondon said that the reason …

The Siege of Jerusalem by David Roberts (1764-1864) Source: Wikipedia

Bulla confirms existence of Jerusalem’s false prophet Ben Pashur

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In 2008, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced a remarkable discovery. While working near a guard tower from the remains of King David’s ancient palace, her team discovered a bulla with the name Ben Pashur inscribed on it. People of importance had seals which they imprinted either on wet clay or wax that would seal an official document verifying its authorship and authenticity. In this case, the seal with Pashur’s name on it had been imprinted in clay. But Mazar was amazed it had survived. The bulla should have dissolved in damp ground surrounding it, but it didn’t. This was because it had been hardened in a fire that undoubtedly destroyed the document that it was sealing, but preserved the bulla. But there was more to this story. In 2006, at this very same location, Mazur’s team had discovered another bulla with the name Yehuchal ben Shelemayahu on it. Similar to Pashur’s bulla it had been fired and preserved as well. Both bullas are in pristine condition and there is no doubt who they belong too …

A crop close to harvest near Lohbusch, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Credit: Christian Kortum/Flickr/Creative Commons

The womb of God’s provision

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“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14) The growth and the nurturing we received while in our mother’s womb is a wonderful example of God’s great care for us. It is a clear picture of how God our Father wants to provide for us while we are in the womb and out of it. Our nine months in the womb, as an embryo formed into a tiny baby, is the precedent to experiencing the hand of God outside the womb. This tiny form deep inside the mother did not demand the nourishment it needed to develop. Before the babe knew what it needed the nutrients were already there for the next stage of growth as the hands, fingers, feet and toes, eyes and ears needed to develop. The baby was in perfect alignment with the Spirit of God who had prepared beforehand what was required for the …