All posts filed under: z66

“Ojo por ojo” significa que amas a tu prójimo como a ti mismo

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English version: “Eye for an eye” means you love your neighbour as yourself 24 ojo por ojo, diente por diente, mano por mano, pie por pie, Moisés (Éxodo 21:24 NBLH) “Amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo”, Jesús (Mateo 22:39 NBLH) A primera vista, la Biblia parece un libro de extremos. En el Antiguo Testamento áspero y caído, usted tiene la ley que exige la compensación del “ojo para ojo” si una persona fue dañada. Si arrancó el ojo de una persona, entonces su ojo fue arrancado. Entonces en el Nuevo Testamento usted tiene a Jesús que enseñó “ama a tu vecino.” Cualquiera que lea estos pasajes sería muy confuso – “ojo por ojo” no parece muy cariñoso. Pero ¿alguna vez has notado que hay algo extrañamente ausente en el Antiguo Testamento? No hay una cuenta de una persona que tiene su mano cortada o sus ojos arrancados debido a un crimen que cometieron – a pesar de que la ley lo requirió. Jesús entra en la controversia Entonces para empeorar las cosas, Jesús pesa sobre …

Don't let fear dominate your life. Street art in Dublin, Ireland. Credit: Giuseppe Milo/Flickr/Creative Commons

Achieving your full potential — deal with your fear

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There is an interesting parable in the Gospels that I believe Jesus purposefully told to prepare the disciples for Christ’s eventual departure. It would be a harbinger of what was to come. I am referring to the teaching on talents found several times in the Gospels. It appears in different forms and at different times, and it seems Jesus told this parable multiple times, because it was a message His disciples needed to hear. In the account recorded in Mathew 25:14-30, a ruler is going on a long journey and decides to leave his wealth or talents in the hands of his slaves to invest, until he returns. This parallels Jesus departure from earth, the bestowing of the Holy Spirit and His gifts (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8) and then Jesus second return. What are the talents? I  believe in God’s kingdom, they are the giftings (spiritual and natural) and callings that God has bestowed on every believer. The Lord has tasks for us to fulfill before He returns. Some of them are spiritual and some …

The Sea of Galilee where Peter "briefly" walked on water. Credit: Asf Antman/Flickr/Creative Commons

The incredible, delayed healing, of Delia Knox

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It was Christmas Day, 1987, when a drunk driver slammed into the back of a car that Delia was a passenger in. She along with her sister and brother-in-law were driving home from a church service in Toronto, Canada. Their car ended upside down and though her sister and husband only had minor injuries, Delia, then 23, was paralyzed from the waist down. Delia was also a gospel singer and though she continued to sing from a wheel chair, she dreaded ministering in other churches, because invariably they wanted to pray for her healing. At first, she appreciated their efforts but after a while she began despising these services that invariably focused on her healing. She recounts people dragging her out of a wheel chair and then watching her collapse to the floor. In an interview with CBN, Delia said “I’ve been plopped, dropped and flopped, and flipped to the point where I was like, ‘I just can’t go through this anymore.’” Then she met Bishop Knox, a speaker at a conference, she attended. They …

Wouldn't it be nice if voice spoke from heaven telling us what our spiritual gift was? Credit: The Shiney One/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Holy Spirit wants to be your personal trainer

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If you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, you have also received a spiritual gift (I Corinthians 12). Many of us are uncertain what it is. We expect the heavens to open up and a billboard descend stating the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of knowledge or gift of prophecy. It would be nice if it was that simple. But when you have been given a spiritual gift, one of the first things the Holy Spirit wants to do is display that gift personally to you. Like any loving parent, God wants you to unwrap your present and then He wants to train you in your gifting. My first prophetic revealing and training session oddly enough took place in 1986 as I watched a National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary flames. For those not fully familiar with the NHL, Calgary and Edmonton are both in the province of Alberta in Canada. Playing in the same division, there is a fierce rivalry between the two teams. Edmonton …

How is your oil supply? Credit: Ranil Amarasurilya/Flickr/Creative Commons

Do you have enough oil?

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“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.” (Matthew 25:1-2) Women are like oil lamps, when the oil runs dry, you can’t get fire. For years I resigned myself to ‘life by default’ where I went through the motions of dealing with whatever life handed me that day. There was never enough time to just rest, relax or enjoy a good book. Over the years, people-pleasing burned a lot of oil from my personal lamp. And, although it looked nice on the outside, I learned that it really was a way to avoid dealing with unresolved issues in my life. I ignored my emotions and what was going on inside and tried to make myself feel better by giving my attention and energy to things …

The Euphrates River in the Mesopotamia valley home to Melchizedek and Balaam. Credit: United States Navy

The Spirit of Balaam, social media and the end of the age?

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If the Book of Revelation is a vision of the end times, then the Apostle John’s message to the seven churches of Asia in the first three chapters is a prophetic snapshot of what the end-times church will face. In his letter to the church at Pergamum, John warns about the spirit of Balaam, suggesting it will be a rising force just before Christ’s return: 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14 NASV) Balaam was a prophet mentioned in the Book of Numbers and, using the vernacular from the 1960s, he was one “strange” cat. Balaam was from Petheor, in Amah near the Euphrates River, a country actually mentioned in Egyptian records. This puts Balaam in Mesopotamia where Abraham originated (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). But his unfamiliarity with Israel tells us he was a gentile. He may have been associated with …

Credit: Gillfoto/Flickr/Creative Commons

Don’t Crash and Burn

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One could think, “It’s only a dream,” but why does it remain in my mind and spirit days later? I was standing with a few other people when a low-flying plane passed overhead and took a nose-dive into a nearby hill. Its nose broke off from the rest of the plane and caught fire. Our initial reaction was one of fear – if we run toward the plane will we be caught in a blazing inferno that is certain to follow? Our fear is soon overcome by concern for the well-being of those who might still be alive. We rush toward the plane and climb into the passenger section which has remained intact. We don’t know how many people are killed but it doesn’t appear that anyone in the front burning section could have survived. And since the two broken sections are so close, we know it is just a matter of time, minutes or maybe only seconds, that the passenger section will also catch fire and be reduced to a heap of ashes. As …

Captured by sin. Photo: Chris Karr/Flickr

La diferencia entre la iniquidad y el pecado

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English version: The Difference between iniquity and sin Hace varios años, una niña de 10 años fue brutalmente asesinada en la ciudad de Toronto. El asesino cortó su cuerpo y lo depositó en bolsas cerca del Ontario. Ella fue secuestrada mientras caminaba las pocas cuadras desde el lugar de su amiga hasta su casa. El hombre de 37 años acusado en este brutal asesinato no tenía antecedentes. Pero se convirtió en un sospechoso cuando la policía – al entrevistar a gente en el barrio – se dio cuenta de que había pintado recientemente su casa e instaló una alfombra nueva. Para los expertos, esto fue un indicador sutil de un individuo que intentaba encubrir un asesinato brutal. Cuando la policía pasó por su casa, encontraron más de 10.000 imágenes pornográficas almacenadas en su computadora, incluyendo algunas con niños. Aunque no había cometido crímenes previos, la repetida visualización de estas imágenes aparentemente construyó un bastión tan potente en su vida que finalmente se manifestó en el brutal asesinato sexual de una niña. Durante años, consideré la …

Proportional Russian nesting dolls Credit: Elentari86/Flickr/Creative Commons

Prophesying Proportionally

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Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy according to the proportion of his faith. (Rom 12:6 NASV) In this verse, Paul gives insight into how we are to function not only in prophecy, but all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He says we should prophesy in proportion to our faith. The word proportion “analogia” used in this verse is a rare word in the New Testament and only used this once. It is a mathematical term and means ratio or proportion. Technically, the term refers to the comparison of one number with another — for example 1:2 is as 2:4. The word is also translated in the secular literature of that day to mean fused indicating an unbreakable connection. In this sense, the ability to prophecy is fused to faith. At first glance, it seems pretty straight forward. We prophesy in direct proportion to our faith in God. But here is the problem. If this is true, then …

Crosses overlooking Matera, Italy. Credit: Hugh Bell/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is mocking Christians ultimately an act of cowardice?

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On August 9, 2013, Greg Gutfiled of the O’Reily Factor interviewed Washington Post contributing editor Cathy Areu on the establishment’s double standard on how it treats Christians and Muslims. Earlier that week, Atheist Richard Dawkins tweeted: “All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though. “ There was an immediate backlash from people offended by the tweet. Celebrities, fellow atheists, liberals and Muslims alike condemned Dawkins’ tweet accusing him of racism for